Perspectives

This week on February 3, 2009, Jeannie Cole died. No one reading this blog knew Jeannie but she was my first cousin and a dear friend. She died far too young, far too unexpectedly, and far too suddenly. I will miss her.In the past when I have lost someone I care about, I think about my perspectives…about what really matters, what’s important in life. Then, with time, the loss lessens, the hurt subsides and while the memories are still there, the perspectives seem to once again be forgotten and with them, the images of what really matters, fades. They are overtaken by the daily humdrum and focus returns to the trivial matters that truly matter not.

As you read this, you understandably might question, “what has this to do with running a furniture business?” The answer is everything. Running a furniture business, any business for that matter, is all about perspective, only about perspective.

Perspective…what you see from where you sit. If you are sitting too close, you can’t see the whole picture; too far away and you lose the detail. I guess, that is the point of this article, the old “forest and trees” analogy”. In operating our businesses it is all too easy and so common to lose perspective because we are so close to the situation we lose sight of what is really important. How often a manager becomes so involved and engrossed in a particular activity or job that he or she loses perspective on what the job is supposed to accomplish. How many times does the old “we’ve always done it that way” mentality kick in without a really sound, relevant and most importantly current reason for doing the job to begin with.

I like to venture into furniture stores when I travel, just to see from a front-room perspective how that particular business is run. As I wander a showroom floor, I make mental notes from both a professional and a consumer perspective. I see a lot of creativity and cleverness on these forays but I also see waste, ineffectiveness, and inefficiencies. In some cases, there may well be purpose that I am not privy to, however I would bet that much of what I see are simply carry-overs from another day. I often see profit drains and sales reducers (as opposed to sales creators). I might see actions not taken that might enhance revenues and sales associates that, if I were a customer would drive me out the door (certainly not all…most are well trained, pleasant and professional but enough that I am sure sales are lost). I see these things, not because I am so smart (as my sons would attest, I’m not that smart). I see these things because I have fresh eyes, because I am not intimately involved in that particular business, and because frankly, I have no pride of ownership.

There is not a retailer on the planet that is not fully aware there is a recession going on. Retailing is tough and may get tougher. This is the time to re-evaluate everything done in the business. Nothing should be immune to scrutiny, not a thing sacred. The good news is that Charles Darwin’s theories regarding survival of the fittest is alive and well in business. I would be willing to bet that as devastating as it is to thousands of stakeholders, the fact that Circuit City and Linens and Things have both gone out of business, will result in Best Buy and Bed, Bath, and Beyond becoming even stronger in their respective industries. Furniture retailers, as well who survive this deepening downturn will also come out of it stronger.

My message and advice to anyone asking would be to get some fresh eyes. Stand back and really examine the business. If a retail consultant could be engaged to look at the operation so much the better. If not, lose any sense of pride and ownership conceit and find ways to assess and improve the business. One idea might be to trade time with other local business people in non-competing fields. They would look at your company with fresh eyes and you look at theirs. No cost and high potential for gain. Another idea might be to assign trusted employees to evaluate jobs outside their own responsibilities. The company’s controller might evaluate customer service, the store manager might investigate the distribution center, the distribution center director might assess the selling floor. How about having friends come in, “shop” the floor, and tell you what they saw. They might shop for a particular type of furniture and report whether they could find it in the showroom. Actions like these cost nothing and might result in significant improvements.

At the very least, resolve to look into every crevice of the business and attempt to view what you see as if you had never seen it before. Take note of what goes on as you do when you are a customer shopping for a product. Go back into the distribution center and examine every piece of damaged merchandise. Why is it there? What is being done about it?

What I am suggesting is, now when there are not the pressing demands of the business gone wild, might be the best time to get deeply into the workings of the company as if the workings of the company were foreign. Stand back from the forest and look at the trees, then dive back in and shape the trees in the most effective, efficient fashion for the future of the company.