The summertime is always the time at Steiner Sports. Different from the holiday season, where most all retail businesses are flush with orders and a constant flow of business, the summer is traditionally slower. That’s when it’s the time to shine for us because we have to be the most creative, persistent and energetic group in order to reach our goals.
Summertime is make or break season. I recently shared a list of “keys to success” for the staff at Steiner Sports and want to share with you because these are things you should be carrying through in any business environment.
So, without further ado, here they are:
- Culture – Company culture is more important than numbers. Why? Because without respect for your co-workers, a collaborative work environment and the ability to have fun, you’re never going to hit your numbers anyway!
- Personal Growth – Former New York Rangers Head Coach Mike Keenan once told me, “The hardest thing when trying to motivate people is not to get them to reach their goals, but to get them to realize they can climb higher!” Everyone needs to grow. It’s one thing to reach your next goal, but it’s another to expand on that goal and to set your sights higher than you thought you could go.
- Be Creative – Never let your best products get stale. Always think about how your best products can get even better, no matter how well you think they are selling right now.
- No One Plans to Fail, They Fail to Plan – When you plan ahead, you win 99% of the time. When you don’t, you get stressed and make yourself susceptible to missing out on key opportunities to expand your business.
- Be Grateful Everyday – Be appreciative of everyone you work with. Especially in my business, where the athletes we work with have different people coming at them everyday saying they can do better than the next guy for them, you have to be grateful for the fact that your clients choose you, that your customers choose you AND that your employees choose you.
- Take Care of the Customer Every Day – Separate yourself from the competition by going the extra mile for your customer, both your legacy customers and the newly acquired. WOW them from the start and WOW them everyday after that. Send a personalized note, ship your products out as fast as possible and make sure everything is 100% perfect, every time. Going that extra mile with every customer you are in contact with will pay HUGE dividends down the road.
Winning in business, sports and life is about “How good can we be in the future if we’re all on the same page?”
Right after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup 20 years ago, Mark Messier said to me, “Winning and being successful isn’t for everybody. It takes discipline, heart, dedication and courage. Everyone wants to win and be successful, but few are willing to pay the price the journey requires.”
Check out this clip from my Meet & Greet with Messier and the 1994 Rangers. Messier talks about the importance of culture to build winning teams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78E3SqCNYmg
