Acceptable or Not?
By Adam
Radzik
Marketing & Sales Coach
(Scene – Connie Nelson, the owner of a food distribution company, has just retained Adam Radzik to assist her company to improve its performance and growth.)
 Connie – “So, Adam, how do we begin?”
Adam – “The first thing I need, Connie, is an overview. I need a broad look at the business so that my advice to you will be helpful.
I am going to ask you a bunch of questions about your business – something I call an Acceptability Rating. For example, I will ask you about your annual profits. You might be inclined to answer that profits can always be better. That is not the answer I am looking for. I want you to tell me whether your profits are acceptable to you or not. Do you understand the difference?”
Connie – “Yes, I do, and my profits are not acceptable to me.”
Adam – “Okay, what about the quality of work done by your employees? Acceptable or not?”
Connie – “I guess, overall, it’s acceptable. Not great but acceptable.”
Adam – “What about the quality of your managers?”
Connie – “Definitely not acceptable! At least three of them have the intelligence of a pet rock.”
Adam – “And what about the level of conflict within the organization?”
Connie – “I am not happy with that either. There is a lot of backbiting behavior that is not acceptable, and some of the problem even comes from my own family members!”
Adam – “How about your reputation in the business community?”
Connie – “Oddly enough, that continues to be good. You know, my father and my uncle founded this business, and they always ran a quality operation. Also, our customer service department reports directly to me, so they know they have to be top-drawer. I guess the answer to your question is that our image is acceptable.”
Adam – “Glad to hear it. Do you have problems with food spoilage?”
Connie – “Absolutely! That’s why I am unhappy with my managers! That area is unacceptable, and we have to be especially careful because the Board of Health is very unforgiving. They could just close us down.”
Adam – “How are your expenses and spending?”
Connie – “Well, since the recession hit, we have been a lot more careful about how we spend a dollar, and in some ways I think we have actually cut back too far. Overall, though, I would have to say it is acceptable. By the way, how many questions do you have?”
Adam – “About a hundred.”
Connie – “And what are you going to do with my answers?”
Adam – “I am going to list all the acceptable and unacceptable items and then together we are going to carefully evaluate the unacceptables and prioritize them in order of importance. We will have our greatest concern, our second, our third. Then, you and I are going to get busy on the first concern and do everything within our power to make that concern go away.”
Connie – “Sounds like a good plan. I am excited to get this thing cooking. What’s your next question, Adam?”
Adam – “How about the amount of non-work-related conversations, surfing the Internet, and just plain old playing and not working?”
Connie – “Don’t get me started! This problem is eating up our profits. Everything takes twice as long to do as it should because my people have to talk about what happened on Desperate Housewives last night, how come the Jets lost, and whether Obama’s healthcare is good for America or not. And, oh, let’s not forget the sale on Coach bags at Macy’s this Saturday!”
Adam – “So I guess that one is unacceptable!”
Connie – “If I wasn’t a refined person I would tell you in very colorful language how I feel about my employees putting in their bids on eBay while I am paying them. By the way, how come you’re not coming back till next Wednesday? We’ve got work to do here, young man!”
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Excerpt from CD Set: Quick Advice on Improving Our Relationships
When one person does not respect the other person’s boundaries, the relationship becomes argumentative and then combative.
As an example, Stanley’s mother moved in with Stan and his wife after her husband died. She said she couldn’t live by herself. Within a day of her arrival, she was criticizing the way Stan’s wife kept her house and neglected her children. Stan didn’t want to take her on. After all, she was a widow. Stan’s wife was not happy, especially since Stan tended to side with his mother. The three of them had many fights. Stan is now divorced and lives with his mother. The children all elected to live with their mother.
As an example, Cuyler admitted that he wasn’t the nicest guy on the block, but he claimed he couldn’t be. He was in an inherited printing business with his brother, Rustin, who was, as far as he was concerned, a damn parasite. Cuyler regularly embarrassed Rustin in front of the other employees, even implying that Rustin was a homosexual. Eventually, Rustin started bringing a revolver to work and Cuyler hired an armed guard to protect himself. Finally, a judge forced the profitable business to be sold.
Comedy Corner
Hard to believe:
The recession has hit the economy so hard that parents in Beverly Hills have fired their nannies and even learned their children’s names; a truckload of American laborers was caught sneaking into Mexico at night; Motel 6 won’t leave the light on anymore; the Mafia is laying off judges left and right; and ExxonMobil has even laid off 25 Congressmen.
An immigrant, Jose Rodriguez, pays careful attention during every minute of the five hours of classes he is attending on American citizenship at a local high school. He receives a copy of the American constitution that the teacher has passed around the class. Jose reads the document very carefully, adds his signature to the ones that are already there, and solemnly hands the document to the next student. |
Adam Radzik has been helping businesses since 1982. His experience
lies in marketing, sales, management and conflict
resolution. He has taught thousands how to
improve their results through individual coaching.
