So, in Blog #65 I talked about helping security deal with criminals. In this blog I want to talk about how people make the difference.

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you know I’ve been pretty passionate about the “people” aspect of business. It is so important. Let me emphasize, it is Most important. People make the difference. So hiring great people has to be a focus.

“Hire great people and give them freedom to be awesome.”

– Andrew Mason, Founder, Groupon

A well balanced team makes all the difference though.I talked about All-Stars and Pacesetters in blog 59, People that give great service and people that can actually sell a lot of stuff. Then there is the knowledge piece.

We hired a few people as we were going and these three were great additions.

Randy:

Randy was a shoe dog with a lot of experience from a shoe store famous for their training. That training came in handy as he had a great foundation on the basics. Multiple selling, customer service , so he was a natural for Nordstrom. He was very passionate too. Randy was something out of a 50’s movie with his slicked back hair and mannerisms. He eventually got into management down the line and he was great at it.

Bill:

Bill was an old shoe dog who had a lot of experience in fitting shoes. He was tall and somewhat imposing but great with the customers. His knowledge came out to them and they trusted him to help them find the right item for their needs. Bill wasn’t pushy but he could be in the right way to make the sale. He was a good guy and had a big heart.

Loren:

Another great addition and he also eventually got into management. He was a good hearted person and had a great sense of humor. His warmth came out to the customers and he was also someone with a lot of experience that people trusted. He was never intense, always pretty easy going but was smart in his decisions.

So the key to this group were they were all leaders even when they didn’t hold a leadership position. These three inspired others to do the right thing which is the key to being a leader. A well run floor needs the service people, the sellers and a group of leaders to inspire more leaders.