Benton Clyde Clark

The innate desire to be somehow noteworthy, memorable or at least noticed has motivated people to do . . . well, noteworthy, memorable or noticeable things.

Consider what it must be like to be one of ten children. How do you get noticed when so many are living under the same roof? My neighbor has multiple children who I cannot name. They range in ages from toddler to college grad. Large families cause me to imagine all kinds of things. When my mother got upset she would run down the list of her kids' names — first and middle names — until she got to the one she was after. Me. So it sounded something like this: Jeffrey Laurence Paul Frederick Alan Jack. What must that be like in a family with ten children?

I can only imagine.

Benton, however, did not have to imagine what it would be like. He had nine siblings. Growing up on the Mississippi farm meant they all had plenty to do. I suppose if a chore did not get done on the farm, it was not long before someone noticed. Stuff piles up pretty quickly on a farm.

All the chores could not keep Benton from eventually wondering if there was something more for him than farm life. It was an inner calling to do something noteworthy. At the tender adult age of 18 he left the farm to go work for his older brother at his jewelry store in Texas. Under his brother's professional care, Benton learned about jewelry and watch repair.

The desire to strike out and pave his own destiny kept Benton looking and listening. Stories of fortunes being made up north in Indian Territory intrigued him. His dreams of money and adventure propelled him to leave his brother's store and hop a train towards Chickasa in the Indian Territory with fifty dollars in his pocket.

Pulling to a stop in Purcell, Benton went to purchase a ticket for the remainder of the trip to Chickasa only to discover that his wallet was gone! Penniless and in a town where he knew no one, Benton was nowhere near noteworthy, memorable or even noticeable. A man of weaker resolve might have begged his way back home with his ego bruised to live a life unnoticed in the shadows of the familiar. The 23 year old son of a Mississippi farmer decided that going back was not an option.

Some might call it fate and others might call it Providence when Benton met up with a familiar face from Texas. A gentleman from down South had opened a racket store (a forerunner to the five and dime store) in Purcell and permitted Benton to set up a corner where he could fix watches. It was an opportunity.

Benton hung up a shingle proudly announcing his service.

The town of Purcell was a regular stop for trains from the North Division and the South Division. Railroads required all company watches to be inspected every fifteen days! Benton the watch repairman became a noteworthy stop for railroad employees and a business that moved out of the five and dime into a store of his own.

Within a few years a watch engraved with his name had the reputation of fine quality sought after by railroad employees.

Benton weathered severe economic times by diversifying what he offered in his store. He sold phonographs, player pianos, the first General Electric refrigerators and even cars. Even though jewelry and watch repair remained his core business, it became known that this father of six was resourceful and determined. It was his good business sense in responding to the needs of his market and his creative solutions that kept his business growing while many others shuttered their doors.

Benton's commitment to customer service, superior quality, resourceful and entrepreneurial spirit engraved his name in the territory we now call Oklahoma. A memorable and noteworthy business. A true American success story. Most people do not know this old family story when they pass by one of three jewelry stores that bear Benton's name in Oklahoma City today. Most shoppers are unaware that the fine store was the idea of a Mississippi farm boy.

Ask anyone on the streets of Oklahoma City about Benton Clyde Clark the jeweler and you might get a puzzled look in return. "You mean B. C. Clark?" followed by a warm smile.

B. C. Clark, the business that is known for it's Christmas jingle. A jingle so familiar and so endearing to Oklahoma that Christmas would not be Christmas without it. A jingle that has been sung every year since 1956.

I bet you'd like to hear it for yourself . . . the jingle that is so noteworthy, so memorable, so noticed that young and old alike sing it with a smile on their faces . . .

The familiar jingle

Made famous on Jay Leno

Danced to

Played by

Sung by

And Sung by

Noteworthy. Memorable. Noticed.

fritzed

Fritzed is the word of choice in my family to describe what it's like when life and responsibilities get overwhelming. This past weekend I have heard it a lot.

Dictionary.com says that "fritz" is of obscure origin — possibly coming from the theater. Drama. That sounds about right. Maybe the stage show on that particular day when the phrase was coined headlined an actor named Fritz. He had too many lines to memorize, too many directives being thrown at him by too many people, too many things going on at home, too many critics scrutinizing his every move, . . . and then it happened. He collapsed on the stage. The audience gasped. The corners of the critics mouths curled up fiendishly.

On the front page of the paper the next day a journalist coined the phrase "fritzed out."

Sounds about right. Well, that's my take on it since the origin of the word is "obscure." (Maybe I will post that in wikipedia. After I get my other things done.)

When work and life get dramatic and you feel like you are fritzing out, what do you do?

I mean apart from letting someone be the recipient of some choice words. Or heading out to your favorite watering hole. How do you un-fritz?

1. Step back. It is part of my daily discipline to step back. This is my perspective time of the day when I warm up my motor, assess the lay of the land, and make sure I'm ready for whatever snowballs are going to be hurled at me. But when the unexpected assault begins, I have to mentally make the choice to "step back" and get perspective before I do something that I will regret.
2. (Re)assess. Here's one image of what it means to reassess: I am standing in the middle of my workroom facing all my tools and jars of nails and bottles of glue. Envisioning what I am trying to build, I gather together the tools I need to make it happen. Do I need to call on the glue of my people skills? Is it time to take out the hammer of persuasion? What would happen if I used the screwdriver? One huge help in assessing is being able to implement an objective ear to help me see things clearly before proceeding.
3. (Re)engage. As much as I would like to retreat to an island in the Bahamas for a looooonnnnngggg time, I do have to engage with the matters at hand. The good news is that having stepped back and reassessed the situation, I can engage from a position of strength and control. 

I don't know if Fritz had the opportunity to step back, reassess and re-engage during an intermission or scene change. But maybe if he had, "fritzed out" might have an entirely different meaning.

Too Busy

Always rushing. Too many things to do and not enough time to do them. Something is always screaming for attention. Not enough time to do those things that are most important. Stressed out. Out of control. What can be done?

Start by knowing that you are not alone. Many small business owners feel like their business has grabbed the reins of their lives and is calling all the shots. No one intends to have this happen. (Imagine someone's business plan stating the intent to have their business take over their life!) The solution, however, must be intentional. You have to make up your mind that something can be done, identify what needs to be done and then do it.

Here's an abbreviated list to help jump start your thought process:

1. Just say "No." If it's unimportant, just say no. If someone else can do it, let them. If it doesn't generate revenue, how important is it? If it's urgent, decide who is in control.

2. Prioritize. Some people mistake time management for priority management. Not everything that demands your time is a priority. That's how many people get caught. Identify your priorities based on your vision, your talents, your values, and your revenue generating strengths. Let everything else fall to the bottom of your list where it can be delegated or deep-sixed.

3. Manage your money. When was the last time you heard yourself say, "I'd do it if I had the money." This often feels like a catch-22. Make up your mind that you are in control of spending, earning, and managing.

4. Focus. How important is getting clarity to you? When you know where you are going and how you intend to get there, the journey is more like hopping on the interstate instead of taking all the dirt roads. Gaining clarity can have immediate positive effects on your business.

5. "To thine own self be true." Look inside the treasure chest of your talents, skills, limitations, and strengths. Chances are there is not a suit made of lycra with a bold S emblazoned on the chest. Give yourself to your strengths and let go of those areas where someone else can be more effective.

An essential key to being more effective and successful starts here.

*****
Making an investment in a coaching process can be the first definitive step in turning things around in your business and life. Take charge and start working "on"your business and life!

Of Leaves and Roots

The dynamics of change is curious. I think most people are content with status quo. Change takes effort and for most people life is pretty much o.k. without change.

This is why there will always be Get Rich Quick and Fix It Fast scams - the promise and allure of a quick fix is so enticing. Real change takes effort. Real change costs you something. Real World 101.

Individuals that can engage in real effective change rise to leadership. They are the exception.

*****

An organization began to question why their numbers were dropping. Their product was good but fewer were buying. To grow they knew they had to increase their revenue. The decision was made to formulate a survey and see if they could learn what they were missing.

The survey results seemed to identify some key areas requiring attention; things like packaging and value to the end-user and availability. Surveys can mislead and so can the interpretation of the data collected. The axiom about listening (we have two ears and one mouth) never goes away. Even after we get the survey results.

The key players met to discuss the findings and what should be done about them. Without engaging their clients and potential clients in further discussion (one mouth, one ear with a weak battery in the hearing aid), they began to make decisions.

• Decisions about packaging. Change the font. Instead of square, let's do rectangle. Can't the container be clear? If we package it this way it will look like the customer is getting more. (If we can't change the real value, then we can change the perceived value.)
• Decisions about value. They chose to define value in monetary terms (cost per unit) instead of in terms of benefit to the customer. 
• Decisions about availability. We will put our product in these new venues.

None of the decisions they made were necessarily wrong. All of the decisions increased work load. None of the decisions increased revenue that validated the changes. In other words, they could have done nothing at all and their bottom line would remain basically the same.

It appeared that they were trying to change their harvest by playing with the leaves and ignoring the roots. Leaves are easier to access. You can trim them, rake them into a pile and jump in them, sit back and admire them. But roots are beneath the surface and not so easy to see. They are not as easy to change.

Turns out the company's product itself just did not taste as good as their competition. Changing packaging, pricing or availability did not address the real problem.

*****
Change - effective change - is the arena of Leaders. For effective change to occur Leaders focus their concern on the roots. That's where the real action is.

• Active listening (like radars that never turn off) helps the Leader to hear "through" the answers to its questions.
• Vision casting helps the Leader to take his people from where they are at to where they need to be.
• Priority management helps the Leader stay out of the galley and in the cockpit.
• Reality checks help a Leader to stay fresh and relevant.
• Smart goals and accountability help a Leader to keep moving forward.
• Identifying the root issues and addressing them decisively causes beneficial change.

*****
Put the rake away. Pick up the shovel.

Compelled

A powerful or irresistible effect; influence.

Now there's something I'd like to have in my back pocket. A compelling message-product-service that would cause people to line up and drop money into my checking account!

*****

I remember a story from my Sunday School days of a man who walked through a field and discovered a treasure. Until he found the treasure the plot of land was just some undeveloped real estate - a field of dirt, rocks, worthless trees and bugs.

When I lived in Spain I used to drive away from the city and park my car and go walking out in the Castillian landscape filled with rocks, dirt, scrub trees . . . and sheep droppings. Worthless for most people but for me that barren landscape held value because that's where I could go to retreat from the noise of the "to-dos" and take time to focus. I did a lot of conversating out there with my own thoughts and the Maker of barren fields. But I never hopped back in my car to return home without having made some kind of decision. It might have been a decision about someone I had to talk to, something I had to purchase, a move I had to make, or a course of action that had to be implemented.

Fields have value according to the user.

So the guy from the Sunday School story might have been wandering in the field for similar reasons. Why else would you go out kicking around the dirt and rocks? Apparently he already owned enough stuff to make a life and take some time off. I think he was probably basically happy. After his morning cup of tea he announced to his wife, "I'm going for a walk. See you when I get home."

Out walking in the sun, enjoying the horizon, poking around with a stick until he was interrupted by a hidden something. Brushing away the dirt revealed something he did not already have and once he saw it, he realized he was missing something.

That's when he made a decision that altered his future. Returning home he set about selling everything he owned and approached the owner of the field. "I'd like to buy your field."

The old landowner probably had an interesting conversation. All the intricacies and nuances of bartering and negotiation with his mouth saying, "What field?" and his head thinking, "Oh? How come?" Long story short, he sells. "You want that plot of land, it will cost you." The wanderer walks away and the former land owner with a twinkle in his eye relishes in the deal he just sealed.

But it was the wanderer who found the greater value that the field held and the power it had to alter his life.

****

In a recent coaching workshop the question turned to Our Greatest Talents and how those Talents turned into money in the checking account. These astute professionals seized the moment and turned the tables on me. They asked me about My Talent. What was it? What do people say about their coach?

I tried to change the subject and move on. Nuthin' doin'. They insisted that I say something. *sigh*

"When I have the opportunity to sit down with professionals and business owners I do a lot of listening and a little talking. You all know that. But one thing I invariably hear from everyone is 'That's a good question.' And then I can see their gears turning and their thoughts processing. I know a decision is about to be born."

Around the room a chorus of "Yes, that's what you do" affirmed what we all already knew.

Coaching sessions are like a field. Useless for a lot of people who choose not to go there. But for those who make the choice to break away and focus, the treasure the coach brings is the power of the Question. The Question combined with the owner's desire to see good change in their business and life is powerful. The results are empowering decisions that alter the future.

For those who experience it, it is compelling.

****

What is it that makes your product-service-message compelling to your audience?

Look at your calendar: When is your next scheduled breakaway for "treasure hunting"?

7 Good Tips for Developing a Good Vision

Vision is the stuff of leaders. Vision inspires and gives a reason to get up in the morning. Vision is the impetus for change. 

How does a "regular Joe" identify a vision? Here are some good considerations to keep in mind.

1. Get a good grip on what's really going on around you.
While vision makes the incredible reality, vision is not fantasy. Edward Nino Hernandez may conjure up a vision for becoming the world's greatest basketball player . . . but that is pure fantasy. Edward is the world's shortest man. Coca Cola embraces the vision to refresh the world . . . and I was reminded of this as I sat in a Saharan tent hundreds of miles from modern western city life.

2. Take a good look in the mirror.
Understanding yourself - talents and abilities, character strengths and shortcomings, beliefs and values, and all those things that contribute to making you who you are - is key to developing a vision. If you can guarantee that one person is going to take this trip to the future, you can guarantee that it's you. The better you understand yourself, the better you can make #3 a reality.

3. Surround yourself with good people.
Even the Lone Ranger had an inseparable #2. Commanding leadership relies on people to lead. Surround yourself with good people that share your values, embrace integrity, and pursue excellence. They are invaluable in making your vision a reality.

4. Good values are rich soil for growing good vision.
A good vision benefits other people. At the core of any good vision you will find good values. Good values are timeless. They inspire the human spirit to pursue noble character. Good values attract loyalty, sacrifice, and selflessness. A vision which is self serving will not last.

5. Ask good questions.
Good questions do not accept the cliche. They challenge the soul without defeating it. An apt question  will provide insight, clarity and understanding. King Solomon once said, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; it is the glory of kings to search a matter out."

6. Feel good about it.
If you cannot embrace your vision and feel good about it, get rid of it.

7. Good vision needs a good chance to be developed.
If you have identified a good vision, start making choices today that are in line with it. If for some reason you should make a choice that deviates from your good vision, push the reset button and get back on track. Every athelete trains to win the prize. Every farmer plants seed and patiently waits for the harvest. Every soldier submits himself to the purpose he has enlisted for enduring each skirmish for the sake of winning the war. Stay true to your vision and choose forward.

Passion ... Fruit

"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." (Christian Hebbel, German poet and dramatist 1813-1863)

I was once told that no one cares what dead European poets said. That might be true. I have never read a Gallup poll on that topic. But I think Mr. Hebbel nailed it on the head and so maybe I was misinformed about dead poets. Passion and greatness are a great Jerry-McGuiresque couple as in "You complete me."

My wife and I went shopping tonight to feed my addiction: bagels. Don't ask. Just trust me. I get ornery if there are no bagels in the house. If there are bagels in the cupboard then all is well. Bagels aren't a passion of mine. They are just one of my addictions.

But we got sidetracked at the store like I did just now writing about passion. On my way to the bagel shelf we stopped to get bananas. Bananas are one of my wife's unpublicized quirks. She buys them all the time and oftentimes will never get around to eating them. Then they turn spotted and then brown and then black. I am not sure what comes after black except maybe a darker shade of black. If I try to throw them away with the promise that I will buy her some more, she will tell me rather assertively, "Don't throw those away! I'm going to eat them!" I have to sneak black bananas out to the garbage can.

So we are standing at the expansive banana table and I hold up a bunch and say, "How about these?"

"Not those; those are gray." They looked yellow to me but I kept my mouth shut.

We compared bananas. Then I asked the guy who was loading up the table with fresh bananas which ones he would buy if it were up to him.

That's when we had a serendipitous meeting with passion.

This young guy's eyes actually sparkled as he talked about bananas. He explained that all bananas are gassed and that is why they are green. If they did not gas them then the bananas would come even darker green - three times darker - and would be hard like a piece of wood. Once in a while they had to send a case of bananas back because they had not been gassed.

"Do you know which bananas are more nutritious and better tasting?" he asked with the tease of someone who had captured a magical nymph in the backyard.

I did not even have a chance to venture that it depended on what country of origin when he answered his own question. "You look at the stem. The longer the stem, the less nutritious and the less flavor the banana has. Look at this short fat stem," he taught us holding up two different bunches for contrast, "This bunch is full of nutrition and flavor. This bunch with the long slender stems will taste bland like tallow. Look at them. It just makes sense."

Tallow? My taste bud memory program kicked in and I mentally compared the tasteless fat from a rendered cow to some bananas that I had eaten. I understood. I wanted to know more. To avoid that bland tallowy experience I just had to by short stumpy stemmed bananas. Teach me, oh great produce guy; I yearn for more!

"Hey, aren't you the guy who was talking to us about cantelopes a couple of weeks ago?"

"Oh, probably."

I am an unashamed 52 and I still ask my wife how she knows if a watermelon is good or not. Thump it. If I ask ladies nearby thumping on watermelons what they are listening for I get a answer that sounds like they are quoting Farmers Almanac. But after an invigorating conversation with this produce guy, I now know exactly how to pick an excellent melon. I suppose I could have learned it with a Google search, but the internet is not nearly as interesting as a passionate produce guy.

With laughter in his eyes and a smile as wide as the produce table he talked about his passion for produce. Produce! I know, right? This is 2010 suburbia. My wife and I walked away to hunt down my bagels and we laughed and talked about the produce guy. It dawned on me that we did not even know his name. We went back to ask. A new agenda item was to mention our experience to the store manager.

Lawton. The passionate produce guy. You will know him if you ever meet him. He does not just know facts and data about produce; he knows produce.

We paged the store manager. As he approached the counter you could see in his eyes the look of someone getting ready for a Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick from the Irate Customer.

"We just wanted you to know what a great guy you have working for you in the produce department. Lawton."

The manager's eyes lost their edge and the corners of his mouth turned up. "Oh, you met Lawton. We hear that all the time."

**********

A passionate person is blessed with the power of attraction. Passionate people are like magnets. You want to be near them.

A passionate person is blessed with the power to make a difference. Passionate people are like strong acting baker's yeast. They cause positive things to happen in others wherever they happen to be.

A passionate person is blessed with richness of life. Passionate people are like the zest in a key lime pie from Key West. They take the pedestrian and elevate it to a whole new level.

Just imagine what can happen if you add passion to leadership. Wow. Short-stemmed banana leadership.