The Merrill Dubrow Blog

A few weeks ago Apple announced that Steve Jobs was stepping down as CEO and Tim Cook had been promoted to fill his spot.  Here is Tim’s first company email:

Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

I really like the message for a number of reasons:

• First, the tone seems very sincere and from the heart.

• It is very complimentary to Steve Jobs and highlighted his leadership and mentoring.

• It is short, direct and to the point.

The only negative is the teamwork message is a little thin for my taste.

• What are your thoughts?

• Do you like the message?

• If you worked at Apple what would you want to hear?

• If you work at Apple now what is the overall tone atmosphere of the company?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (4) »

I am in the process of doing a lot of remodeling and have been spending some of my free time at Lowe’s. As I was coming out of the restroom I noticed a number of employee lockers and a big sign that read, ‘THE IMPACT MODEL.’ I got a little closer and really concentrated on their IMPACT MODEL and what it meant.

I really liked the IMPACT concept. I like what it stands for. The question is, how did my experience rate compared to the IMPACT MODEL?

Initiate Contact – I must admit I was in there at 5:45 which can be a tough time to find someone to help you. For those of you who don’t know me, I am not handy and clearly need a ton of help. It took me a while to find someone to help me – probably about 5 minutes. It wasn’t because the employees were helping anyone else. It seemed like they were short handed, which was confirmed by Cleo, the nice gentlemen who helped me. Also, there was no greeter at the door. For ‘Initiate Contact,’ I would give them a D.

Make Assessment – I must say that Cleo did a really nice job. He asked lots of questions and really helped in the process. I assume ‘Make Assessment,’ means can the employee help me or does he need to find another colleague who can? Cleo was solid at this and I would give him an A.

Provide Assistance – Again, Cleo was fantastic. However, the second person I spoke with was just OK. They couldn’t answer all my questions so they brought in a department manager, who in turn passed me onto another person, who finally answered my questions. This process was very fragmented and didn’t work very well. It made me feel like a hot potato. This is also when I asked Cleo how business was doing. He said it was OK, but they were very short handed. It showed. For ‘Provide Assistance’ I got a mix of good and bad so I would give them a grade of a C.

Add on Sales – Cleo did nicely in a VERY nice way. I never got the feeling that he was trying to sell more expensive items or items I didn’t need. One of the other people who helped was Chance, who was also great. He mentioned a few ideas about getting the items they were out of and for a little less money. He told me I could do that online and get this – at other stores! For ‘Add on Sales’ I would give them a grade of a B.

Close the Sale – Well, the proof is in the pudding and I bought almost $800.00 worth of stuff so it seems like a Grade of an A to me.

Thank the Customer – It started with Cleo and ended with the cashier. Everyone was great, friendly and helpful. The only person who appeared to be a little short and show how busy they were was the department manager. As a manager, I would have been proud to say all these people worked for me.  I would give them a grade of an A.

My scorecard reads:

Overall, that would be a solid B.

Now your turn:

• What do you think of the Lowe’s IMPACT MODEL?

• Please describe and RATE your last experience at Lowe’s.

• Are you more loyal to Home Depot or Lowe’s?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (9) »

I was at the airport a few weeks ago and as I was walking down the hallway to my gate I noticed a new ad for Accenture. As I always do I stopped, took a look, paused for a minute, took a picture of the ad and kept thinking about what the words meant and, how does that apply to our business.

I think the ad is very creative and right on target! Opportunity does not always land in your lap! It doesn’t always come with fireworks or a bow. I truly believe the most successful companies and executives can identify and evaluate opportunities.

I still remember my dad’s words to me as a young kid – he said “son when an opportunity presents itself to you, you need to do two things, first recognize it’s an opportunity and second do something about it”. Those words have stuck with me for decades – thanks Dad!

The question is:

• Do you and your company do a good job of recognizing opportunities?
   
• Who is typically involved in that process?
   
• How do you evaluate opportunities?
   
• Looking back – what opportunities do you think you or your company missed?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (0) »