B283 - Week 6

I really enjoyed David Neeleman talking about their approach to creating the JetBlue Experience. Rather than throwing more money at something that customers are not really paying you for (food on a flight), spend money on something that will give them an experience different from any other business in your industry (personal in-flight entertainment controlled by each passenger)! I also liked their inventive approach to get each plane turned around as quickly as possible, by getting the flight attendants along with the pilots to clean the plane (team building anyone?), as well as actively assisting the passengers to stow their carry-on luggage and get them to their seats.
Neeleman makes some great points: You don't have to reinvent the wheel, just get rid of all the annoyances that make a wheel spin less effective (squeaky noises, out of balance, etc) and provide your consumer with as smooth an experience as possible. If we look at everything that touches our business with that frame of mind, we will find countless opportunities to improve both eternally as well as internally, all the while increasing satisfaction, profits, and the success of our company.
No news on the $100 challenge. I thought I still had the HTML code for a nice looking eBay template, but it most have gotten lost in the transition to a new PC.

B283 - Week 5

Continued success at work, yeah! My new outlet goal for Q4 2015 is almost within reach and the first month still has a whole week to go! I wish I would have transferred out of the big city a long time ago, that could have meant as much as $6,000 more annually. But downtown was good for me, I learned a lot, built a lot of relationships and it allowed me to have more time available for family.
My new counterpart still works hard, he just has a hard time seeing what improvements could be made. Even at his young age he seems to be set in his ways and doesn't like to hear new or different ideas. I'm honestly surprised. It's not any major areas, so I may just wait until he gets to move on and work with other employees on our team as well. He's done a good job holding down the fort during the transition, but I need to make this area work for me, and do it fast!
I've checked out all the print cartridges I picked up and priced them by using the "closed" auction search feature on eBay. Even going with the lowest closing prices on eBay, the sales should total just over $200. Hopefully I will be able to sell 2 of them for higher than the low prices, which means I could easily go well over $300!
I want to put together some nice auction templates, or find if there are any free services that offer templates. I really don't like the default eBay look for individual auctions.

B283 - Week 4

This week I started in my new territory for work. One of the big reasons management made this change was so I would have a better chance of successfully prospecting for new customers. One of the student leadership associates (SLA) will be working alongside me for the next few months. He is a recent college grad and had been helping the previous market manager for the last 3 months. I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with this young man. Over the past 5 years I have worked with plenty of new employees and SLAs, but I have to say I’ve never found them to be this hard working and more importantly humble! Parker is a go-getter, not afraid to get his hands dirty, always polite, quick to share his thoughts, but willing to go with my lead if it’s different. I hope my boys will grow into young men like him!

I’ve picked all the printer cartridges now for my $100 challenge. I was going to work on finding out this week for how much money they’ve recently sold on eBay and the likes, but I simply have not had the time yet. Tomorrow is Saturday and with my homework almost done, I should be able to spend a couple of hours doing some product pricing research. I plan to list the cartridges first at a fair market value price. If nobody makes a purchase within the first few weeks, I will list them as a 99c auction with no reserve.

B283 - Week 3

As I mentioned last week, there are some changes at work and I am moving on to a new area. This week it was frustrating to see the lack of engagement from management to actually lead this change. Instead they simply decide to make a change, but leave it to the individuals involved to figure out if these changes are correct and more importantly work for the customer! Being who I am, I stepped in and made sure that the changes are communicated correctly and in a timely manner, but I am certain that nobody actually in charge noticed or was told about it by the managers whose job I did. That is the part that really annoys me. I have no problem stepping in, helping out, but at least I would like to see it benefiting my long term career goals! I guess I will have to do what so many of my co-workers do: Toot my own horn and make it know what a great guy I am.
Listening to the Acton video for Paul Radshaw this morning reminded me, though, that that is not who I really am. I am not a loud and obnoxious self-promoter! Instead I simply treat others like I would want to be treated, with loyalty and respect, always giving a helping hand, and focused more on the greater good than on how I can profit from a given situation.
So I've decided to simply carry on this next week, again helping out rather than focusing on just what benefits me. I will spend the week assisting one of my co-workers who is going to have to carry the biggest burden of these changes and hopefully earn some goodwill in the long run! Word of mouth is what I'm going for. That's much more beneficial than a flash in the pan.

Let's talk about the $100 challenge. I had the change this week to further talk to my contact and explain what I am planning to do with the printer cartridges. After hearing that this is a school project and that the profits would go towards a good cause, he simply offered me the cartridges for free! I just couldn't do that, though. Knowing how hard he works and how hot summers can get in Georgia, I offered him one of the large water coolers I won at work. He was ecstatic and grateful. I have five printer cartridges now for business level laser printers, that cost me nothing more than a dusty cardboard box with a new water cooler inside that had been sitting in my garage for two years!

B283 - Week 2

Last week I found out that I will be taking on a new territory at work. Rather than focusing on downtown Atlanta and its high volume, but stagnant soft-drink market, I get to move out to some of the surrounding countries, one of them being consistently ranked in the top ten fastest growing counties in the US. While that thought excited me, the last minute news that I would have to work with the manager that is the most senior on the team and has not been able to move on in his career for years and years, in addition to being known as a micro-manager, had me seriously consider other options. Two days later I was actually asked if I wanted to join the team of our newest manager in the area. I gave that decision careful consideration. While I would have loved to work with the new DSM, the area simply would not have allowed me to grow at the rate that I need to build my career, in addition to adding considerable mileage to be driven every month. Instead I have focused over the last week to find all the positive aspects of my new territory and approach it as a “new business venture” for myself.

$100 challenge report

I have made contact with a gentlemen who cleans out business buildings in preparation for renovation. He agreed to sell me print cartridges that he has pulled out of these business building dumpsters. We will negotiate the price once I have inspected his stock.