Executing Culture; Part One What is it?

Jul 30, 2025

Who Does Culture Well?

In 2015, a CEO in Canada asked me that question over dinner after a leadership workshop. We had been talking about the steps in building a desired culture. To create a little context, I told a story from back in the day.

There was a speaker at a conference who asked the audience a question, “Who is the best at customer service?”  Many answers were thrown out until one stood out above the rest…Nordstrom.  The speaker asked the audience, “How many of you think Nordstrom’s has great customer service?”  Nearly all the hands were raised.  The speaker said, “Keep your hands up if you have actually been in a Nordstrom’s store.”  More than half the hands went down.

I have heard this shared repeatedly and often wondered if it was the truth or merely an urban legend to prove a point. Either way, our excellent customer service experience tells a story of culture. We have all heard stories about businesses that get it right.  We even have our favorites. Amazon.  Starbucks.  Southwest.  And yes, Nordstrom.  Whether it is our experience or someone else’s shared story, culture is a byproduct of behavioral choice; those choices create an experience, and the expertise influences a reputation.  And the reputation can very well precede any subsequent experiences.

What is “it” That Makes a Good Experience? 

If you are a customer, it could be many things. It is the widget.  It is the products and services we want or need. Also, it could be the vision or backstory of the business we like.  We like their cause and who they are as a company.  They stand out in the marketplace or the community very compellingly. Maybe it is the people we like—their personality, energy, and enthusiasm. The team is well-trained and expert at what they do. They legitimately care about every person. Or it is the way they conduct the business. The process.  It is like clockwork, and the consistency is seamless. We know that when we show up, everything flows.

Let us be real: culture can be the feeling we get, and we like that feeling.  When all those things collide, the result…it feels right.  It is the experience: the products, the vibe, the people, the systems, the interaction. If broken apart and viewed only as parts…each have a place.  They are all important.  It is the sum of all parts. For the customer.

Culture is a Result.

As it pertains to the company, one of my peers shared a perspective that really hits home. “Culture is the sum equation of what you promote and what you permit.”  This suggests it is still a matter of choice. In fact, all the things that the customer likes in their experience are all guided by the efforts of managers and leaders to make them happen through the efforts of their teams.

All the things that the customer needs, wants, or desires are influenced by how the business supports and directs the behaviors to make it all happen. So then, culture is an output. Good or bad, companies create and external experience (for the customer) and internal experience (for the team member) by what they inspire and what they allow.

Genuine Experiences are Remembered and Shared.

It is pretty simple.  If it is a good experience, we remember it.  If it is bad, we tell everyone. Yes, in retail as in life, our reputation proceeds us. We are all advocates in one way or another.  We celebrate and forewarn. Culture is something we can see, hear, feel, and store way in our memory.

So, who does culture well? It depends. I’ll leave that up to you.

If You Are Interested, Consider Some of the Following Questions.

• First off, how do you define “culture”? What about “good culture” or “bad culture”?
• What is the story circulating about your company and the customer experience it provides?
• How are the people around you taught the culture?
• How do people demonstrate the culture where you work?
• Do the people around you believe in the culture, especially what, why, how, and to what extent?
• What systems are in place to reinforce the culture?
• What is promoted and what is permitted, and how does it all get managed?

How to Start a Business with Verizon

Jul 15, 2025

Have you been looking for ways on how to start a business? Verizon offers tailored solutions for businesses of all sizes—yes, even yours. Whether you are running a home-based business, a growing startup, or managing multiple locations, Verizon has the tools to help you thrive.

What Type of Business Does Verizon Support?

Verizon supports a wide range of businesses—from sole proprietors and remote workers to enterprise-level organizations. Whether you are a freelance graphic designer working from home, a retail shop owner, or a field-based construction business, Verizon Business provides scalable solutions that fit your needs.

Examples of Businesses Verizon Supports:

• Home-based businesses (consultants, creators, e-commerce sellers)
• Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) (boutiques, salons, local services)
• Mobile workforces (construction, real estate, event planning)

How to Start a Business with Verizon Business Internet

While Verizon Home Internet (including 5G and LTE Home) may suit very small or home-based businesses with basic connectivity needs, most growing businesses will benefit more from the enhanced speed, security, and reliability of Verizon Business Internet. If you rely on multiple devices, handle sensitive customer data, or need consistent performance to support your operations, Business Internet is the smarter, more scalable choice.

For businesses that handle sensitive customer data, operate multiple connected devices, or need priority support and advanced networking features, Verizon Business Internet is the smarter option. It includes options like Business Fios, 5G Business Internet, static IPs, and professional installation.

Why Should You Use Verizon to Start a Business?

Verizon is not just a phone company—it is a business partner. Here is why so many entrepreneurs and companies choose Verizon to power their operations:

• Reliability: Verizon has one of the most reliable networks in the U.S. for both wireless and wired services.
• Speed: From fiber to 5G, Verizon delivers the speed businesses need to stay productive.
• Scalability: As your business grows, Verizon offers flexible plans and products that grow with you.
• Security: Verizon Business Internet and Mobile plans come with advanced security features and available add-ons to protect your operations.
• Support: 24/7 business-grade customer support ensures you are never left in the dark.

How to Get Started with Verizon for Your Business

Getting started is easier than you think. Here is how:

1. Identify your business needs
   Are you mobile? Office-based? How many employees? What devices do you use daily?
2. Explore Verizon Business Solutions
   Visit a Russell Cellular location to compare plans and solutions or speak with a Business Specialist.
3. Choose the right internet and mobility solutions
   Whether it is Business Fios, 5G Business Internet, or wireless plans for your team, Verizon will help match you with the best setup.
4. Get set up and stay supported
   Enjoy professional installation, ongoing support, and the ability to scale up as your business grows.

Final Thoughts

Starting or upgrading your business with Verizon means you’re investing in connectivity that works as hard as you do. From day one to scaling success, Verizon is ready to support you every step of the way.

Procrastinate Much?

Jul 1, 2025

Never put off until tomorrow what you could do the day after tomorrow.

That’s a quote loosely attributed to Mark Twain. It’s a cheeky way of calling out extreme procrastination and highlighting the absurdity of delaying tasks even further.

It’s also a humorous counterpoint to something Benjamin Franklin famously said: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”  This emphasizes the importance of not delaying tasks unnecessarily. While we all understand the need for efficiency, diligence, and follow-through, we still struggle with being mindful of how we manage our time and tasks.

Procrastination is…

The simplest definition of procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks.

Being real, while I write this, I am knee-deep in some irony. I have procrastinated writing this blog for two weeks. I have had “other things to do,” and this task seemed to keep moving down the list until I realized, “Oh man, this is due tomorrow.” The thing is, I love writing, so it wasn’t procrastinating on something I don’t typically like doing. I believe this to be more situational irony.

This is an example of knowing I had an article to write, targeting it as a post on procrastination, and then allowing a thousand other things with varying degrees of importance and urgency to take precedence instead of just knocking it out. I think it was more a loss of sight than procrastinating. Regardless, I am clanking away at the keyboard in the eleventh hour before the deadline.

Procrastination is too easy.

Based on some research, the reasoning behind delaying tasks is more than mere laziness, lack of motivation, or poor time management skills. While those certainly can play a part, I have found that there may be deeper, more psychological factors in delaying select tasks.

Procrastination can stem from emotional responses like fear of failure, judgment, doubt, unrealistic expectations, low self-esteem/efficacy, or difficulty with emotional regulation. Essentially, procrastinators may delay certain tasks, even when they know it’s harmful, to avoid negative emotions associated with the task, thus creating a cycle of avoidance and increased stress.

It’s a cycle that begins easily enough with some immediate gratification by avoiding or doing something else (typically more pleasurable), and then the avoidance leads to longer term issues of stress and anxiety. To me it’s like having a cold. The truth is everyone will get it. The severity of it depends on how we treat it. The longer it lingers, the more dangerous it can get.

Stubbing out procrastination requires action.

If you want to eliminate or treat procrastination, it will require some intentional energy and effort. Dan Pink recently shared a vlog, This is How to Finally Stop Procrastinating; 7 ways to stop stalling and start moving. In this 10-minute video, Pink provides seven considerations to combat those urges to not do something or make it, whatever it is, less important. Here’s the seven things with a tiny bit of commentary.

Follow the two-minute rule. Whatever you can do in two minutes or less, just do it. Anyone can do 120 seconds. Let it stimulate more complex things that need to be done next.

Remake your environment. Create a workspace free of distraction and noise to help focus your productivity. Get rid of the stuff that can derail your effectiveness and follow through.

Bundle your temptations. Pair stuff you should do with stuff you want to do. Make the mindless and mundane mindful and meaningful.

Visualize future regret (and success). Allow your future self and the possible outcomes to direct how your present self decides to act and react in the current set of circumstances.

Break tasks into microtasks. This one is simple. Break down tasks into more do-able bite-sized chunks. Spread them out and then celebrate each completion as a means to keep going.

Make a public commitment. Let others know what you’re doing. This accountability makes it harder to avoid stuff if you know you have created expectations others are now watching.

Say, “Just five more.” Five more minutes, five more tasks, whatever; this is about giving and doing a little bit more each time. It’s challenging our drive and resilience to keep at it.

Procrastination is self-sabotage.

It doesn’t have to be. It’s a choice. So is engagement and getting after the stuff we need to get done. We get to decide how we respond to the important, urgent, and everything else in our day, which means ‘someday’ is not a day of the week. Get it done!

If procrastination is something you wrestle with, or may in future, consider your answers to some of the following questions.

• How do you define procrastination?
• What are some of the emotions that come to mind when you define procrastination?
• What are the tasks you typically avoid or put off?  Make a list.
• Why do you typically avoid or put off those tasks?
• What tasks do you never avoid or put off? Make a list.
• What’s the difference between the lists?
• What is one thing you could start doing today to diminish procrastination in your life?

May I Have Some Change Please?

Jun 9, 2025

“The hard part won’t be the vision; it will be the change it requires.”

Change. I have always heard, in general, people do not like change, or do they fear change? Either way, I have a problem with that premise. I believe people are OK with change. It is just that they do not like or fear the various things that can come with change. Like learning new behaviors, being judged, fearing failure, falling short, etc. I believe most difficulties with change involve how we see ourselves or how we are seen in change. It is not change – it is our place in it.

Over time, I have learned that change will be what it is, to make what needs to happen, happen. Leadership guru John Maxwell famously said, “Change is Inevitable; Growth is optional.”  I find change is more than inevitable; it is necessary. It is essential for our growth, and more often than not, it happens naturally.

We cannot not change.

Brad Stulberg, in his book Master of Change, states that there are two constants in our lives. One is that we age. Trust me when I say we are different from what we were yesterday. We see gradual physical change over time. However, regardless of how old we are, we create our own realities with our choices. Nevertheless, you and I are aging, one day at a time.

Second, Stulberg speaks of what he calls disorder events. Every 18 months or so, we, as research suggests, go through some disorder event. Not good things or bad things specifically…all things. They are events that require us to make some alteration, adjustment, variation, switch, or modification to what we are doing or how we do it. I would not necessarily call them life-changing events as much as I would call them pivotal events when we need to embrace what is in front of us.

Life’s fluidity, or flux, is real, and when we accept it, it can be empowering. When we accept change and how it challenges us, we move into a posture of letting it cultivate who we are and who we are becoming. We allow change to be our hinge for growth. Then, we develop a rugged flexibility and resiliency that is a chance for a new way to be ‘better’ no matter what we face. This can lead to better performance and productivity because when we see change as neutral, or naturally being what it will be, it becomes less about the circumstances and more about how we respond.

Change management would be easy if it weren’t for the change part.

Change, and more importantly, managing change becomes a series of choices. Step one represents acceptance. Accepting change as inevitable, cyclical, and necessary. Personal and professional. Big and small. Important and routine. Urgent and slow burn. We accept that no matter how the factors of “what, why, how, when, who, how much, how often, how long, or to what extent” play in change…change is going to happen.

The second step will always be the space between acceptance and action. It is where we place our intentions, outlook and attitude. It is about how we see and own our commitment to change. Our real commitment. Not the one that sounds good. The place and space where our grit, determination and resilience are tested as accelerants into action.

The third is to act. To do whatever it is right away without overthinking it. My advocation is always, start small. Then, a quick pause and reflection. Question the current action and behaviors…is it working? If it is working, keep at it. If not, pivot.

Ahh, but when is the best time to change?

I have found that it’s not the size of change that really matters. What really matters is the size of our response, especially the size of our acceptance, intention, and action.

Maybe the best time is when we are fully ready to start. I have researched and found four interesting considerations. One, when we hurt enough, we have to. This is about resiliency. It is one thing to say, “Knocked down seven times, get up eight.” Well, it is got to be in the eighth time where we decide, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” OR said another way, “Enough, I need to change.” Desperation drives us.

Two, when we see enough, we are inspired to. This second one is about being provoked in our thinking and doing. Something done, said, or lived out gives us an example of what change can look like and be like. That influences or triggers our motivation for change. Inspiration sparks us.

Three, when we learn enough, we want to. This is about competency. Our capacity to learn, know, and grow forward into change. That our ability to cognitively and logically process the things that need to change, the behavior that gets us there, and the follow-through to maintain our momentum. Understanding directs us.

Four, when we receive enough, we get to. Lastly, whether it seems like it or not, change can also flow out of a “others’ first” point of view. To change as a benefit to others and leveraging what we have in the service of others. Putting others first stimulates us.

Change is hard. Or at least, that’s how we see it. Hard is relative.

What if you and I saw change as an awesome, amazing, fruitful opportunity to do things better and be a better person. To not see it so much as hard, as simply challenging.  Because it takes time, and it does not just happen without focus, work, discipline, and dedication. Slow down, pause, and then re-consider the point from above…make change happen in small steps.

There is an old saying, “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time. “How do you eat a herd of elephants?” One bite at a time. Consider that today. We have talked about scale not being bigger than our intention. Maybe the simplest way to get change squared away is in one small step at a time. For two reasons. One, picking one thing makes it do-able, and it creates a singular manageable way to work through change. And two, getting one win builds momentum and the confidence to do more and more. One thing at a time, one bite at a time.

Taking all this into account, my last bit of advice is to not fear change because of the possibility of failing, fear not changing and staying the same. But then again, change is inevitable. Change will happen to you or through you, and you get to choose the pathway.

Consider the following questions and how your answers have the possibility to shape all the next steps.

• First off, how do you define change?
• What do you fear most in change? What do you appreciate the most about change?
• Think about one of your past changes, what happened? What did you learn?
• What are some triggers or motivators for you to change?
• How would you describe your behavior(s) in change?
• How do you typically measure success (or failure) in change?

Want to learn more perspectives about change? Visit our podcast or one of our locations.

Retail Realities Part Three: Process vs. People

Apr 29, 2025

How do you Perceive Effective Sales Tools and Resources in Retail?

Selling has existed throughout human existence. Way back in the day, someone was selling something to someone. At first, it was the stuff of life, and it may have been less selling and more bartering for goods. As communities, villages, towns, and cities sprang up, some types of currency developed, and people needed stuff; some created a marketplace for goods and services. Then came expansion, and the goal was to create new trade routes and for some kings or queens to invest in the business adventure. From then till now, the zeitgeist through the ages and all the socio-economic technological changes have impacted how we sell, buy, and use effective sales tools and resources in retail.

Past and present, a salesperson has always needed some type of tool or resource to help a customer with their buying decision. They needed something, somewhere, or some way to get their point across, position the goods or services in a beneficial light, and help make the process as pleasing and seamless as possible for the customer to say “yes.”

Tools and Resources are…

A simple definition would relate to anything that helps salespeople close sales most effectively. Because the possibilities for defining a tool and resource are so widespread, I have always combined them and called them elements in an effective and efficient Retail Ecosystem.

This represents all the things that can impact sales enablement and engagement. These are software applications and other digital platforms that sales teams use to streamline their workflow, affect transactions, manage customer relationships, track sales progress, analyze data, and so on. It is showroom merchandising, inventory management, marketing platforms, sales support systems, and materials. It is everything on hand that can be leveraged to help sales reps sell and make it easy for customers to buy.

The Greatest Tool and Resource is People.

The thing is, you can have the best, most effective and efficient systems, tools and resources in place, but they will only be so when you add people to the equation. None of those things matter until a person interacts with another person.

Which then means a critical element in the systems, tools and resource library is training and development. People are not effective and efficient until they fully know and understand what they do and how they do it. It’s clarifying the “what, why, how and to what extent” they have at their disposal to sell and sell well.

And just knowing and understanding is not enough. They must leverage these systems, tools and resources in every selling opportunity, realizing that every customer and every situation is unique and will require a certain amount of adaptability and flexibility.

This Ultimately Defines the Art and Science of Selling.

Science represents the systems, tools and resources that aid the selling experience, and art represents the way we, the salespeople, use them to create the selling experience.

I have learned over time, in selling, conditions dictate approach and challenge how we make our decisions in an ever-changing sales environment, constantly evolving market and industry, and diverse customer wants, needs, and reality.

It also reminds me of an old saying, “Sell what you have today”.  I have come to understand this is more than just product and service availability. It’s also about being truly improvised in our selling mindset and skillset to accomplish our sales goals.

I’m not sure who said this, “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” This quote emphasizes that salespeople shouldn’t wait for perfect tools to begin selling but should utilize what they have and continuously improve as they learn and adapt. In other words, it is people and their actions that present the most effective and efficient tool and resource.

People Helping People get what they need.

The processes that make up our ecosystem are important. They have meaning and purpose. The people, using what they have at their disposal to provide solutions for the customer, also have meaning and purpose. Just like the sales rep and the customer, in retail, you can’t have one without the other.

For the last time, as an individual or sales team, consider the following questions and how your answers have the possibility to shape all the next steps.

• Define all the types of tools and resources you have on hand…what are they?
• How do the tools and resources benefit you? How do they benefit the customer?
• Think of the selling steps, which tools and resources best apply to each step?
• How do you typically use the tools and resources?
• What is a challenge in leveraging your tools and resources?
• Knowing what you know, which of your tools and resources need some attention?

Want to learn more perspectives about effective sales tools and resources in retail? Visit our podcast or one of our locations.