My wife, Karen, has studied horticulture (in both college and through local programs) her entire life. As a result of this we have always been blessed with great gardens. It has been challenging this year in Waco because of the Texas drought. So, we just have to water more, use the right amounts of plant food and pay attention because of this. The end result, however, will be a great crop.

Recently, Karen and I began helping one of my colleagues, Mark, and his wife, Mary Kay, start an herb garden in their back yard. We found an area around their house that would be well suited for some herbs, tomatoes, squash and even a few potatoes. Karen went to the store and picked up the compost, the plants and even some plant food. Then we went to the house to help with the planting. Now, it’s very rewarding to hear from Mark how great the garden is going and how Mary Kay drags him out nightly to look at it. He is happy because she is thrilled.

This got me thinking about how we need to continually train our people, too. At Glass Doctor we just finished our intermediate auto glass course at Glass Doctor University’s facility in Waco. During the course, Glass Doctor technicians and other future technicians joined together to learn from industry veteran Frank Levesque. Levesque was one of four former AGTI instructors and will be one of judges at the Auto Glass Olympics competition during Auto Glass Week.

When those techs get back to their offices the owners of those companies need to do what Mary Kay does every night—tend to their gardens. These glass company owners have employees who need “watering” just like plants do. And, when those techs make mistakes, they will need “a little fertilizer” and more help. Just as Mary Kay goes out every night to water and pull weeds, glass company owners need to constantly review what their employees are doing to make sure they are making progress.

The end result will be employees who are very excited about their growth. They will come in and tell you what a great job they did – just as Mark comes into the office to tell me how excited he is that his garden is growing.

If Mary Kay didn’t water and tend to the plants they would wither and die. When glass company owners don’t tend to their employees who are learning new things in the business, they wither and quit. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

Guess what – it isn’t simple, but it is easy. It will be a great crop this year even with the drought. Remember this story the next time you are about to say to yourself that your employees aren’t growing the way they should. It will take a little more work in the beginning – but how your employees grow will be very rewarding.

It is all up to us as the gardeners!

I was excited recently when it was announced that we were having a Glass Doctor company meeting and bringing in all of our out-of-town consultants. It is always good to learn best practices from throughout the country. The first night, however, was going to be a dinner at my counterpart’s home with both our teams. I had mixed emotions because I realized I would miss my son’s Boy Scout meeting and I had already missed quite a few due to my travels.

The dinner was very enjoyable and I called my wife, Karen, when I jumped in my car to drive home and learned that my son was still at his Boy Scouts meeting. Great – I could go by and pick him up.

I pulled up to the meeting place at 9 p.m., and the parking lot was still full of cars. Inside, I found the Scoutmaster and assistants still talking and the boys off in their meeting room. At one point, I overheard Alex, the senior patrol leader, mention something about his new position in the troop. I knew that meant they must have had an election and next week the troop would have new leadership.

When my son and I got in the car to leave, he smiled and said, “Guess what, Dad? I am the new senior patrol leader.” I had not even heard him mention running for the position, and he hadn’t asked for help in writing an election speech. So I asked about the speech and he said that he had given one. He said, “I wrote down some notes beforehand to help queue me on what to say.”

He handed me a typed speech that read as follows:

I am J Dotson, as you should know by now. I have been in many leadership positions and feel that I am best suited for the rank of the senior patrol leader. I would like everyone in our troop to feel like they are not being left behind, and I will push everyone to do their best. This troop has a very large reliance on adults, but I personally would like to move up and make this even more boy-lead, where the troop can act more independently. Our troop has sort of grown into a family and I would just like to continue this mood and atmosphere. Sometimes we don’t always get along, but this is something we can just work on. Alex, Jonathan and Dylan are older and are close to Eagle, so I would just like to be following in their footsteps and stepping up to fill their shoes. I will work to become an example for future scouts younger than me. I just hope that you vote for me because I would fill this title best and fulfill all of the troop’s needs.

I handed it back to him, smiling inside, and said, “Very nice. It sounds like you have put some thought into what you want to do with the group.” Wow. My dad “proud buttons” were secretly jumping off my chest. I was so proud of his initiative, and I know how tough it must have been to get up in front of everybody and do a “campaign speech.”

Great companies are built by team members that not only take on responsibility, but also take the initiative.Think of the times in your career where you have been that person with initiative or saw someone who didn’t have the title help direct a company to new heights.

This reminds me of a famous saying by Mark Twain: “The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

This month do yourself a favor. Personally challenge yourself to take some initiative on something that you know needs to get done. Or, challenge someone on your staff to step up and be a leader on a project or something that needs to get done.

Be the one with the initiative. Take some responsibility and achieve more.

I love the spring. What a great time of year! It is warming up and the birds are moving north … at least in Texas. Baseball players are showing up for Spring Training, getting ready for the next 162 games. I can almost hear the fans in the stands cheering the Rangers back to the World Series.

Forty players are invited to come to spring training trying to make a final roster of 24. Some of them will go back down to the minors, still hoping to make it to “the show” later in the year. Others simply are knocking the rust off their spikes and looking forward to a banner year. There is no doubt about it – only the best survive. Those who aren’t in shape might not make the club – regardless of who they are or their stats last year.

John Kruk once said, “I ain’t no athlete; I’m a professional baseball player.” His self-effacing personality made him a fan favorite. So did his ability to be a lifetime .300 hitter and a three-time all-star.

Do you have players on your team who think they don’t have to perform year after year? Techs who say, “I have put in my time, so I deserve to get the easier jobs and not have to work so hard,” or “I have experience and I don’t need to show that I can produce?” It doesn’t work that way in the big leagues, does it? The best hitters face the best pitchers every day. One will win and one will lose. Like sports, only techs and companies that produce at a high level can/should be compensated at a high level.

Here is where good coaching can come into play. Superstars still need coaching and understand they need to continue to get better to stay at the top of their game. There are pitching coaches, batting coaches, fielding coaches and the head coach.

The glass business needs to be the same. Even the best techs need coaching. So do the best glass business owners. Some might need a financial coach. Others might need a technical coach. Still others need a customer service coach.

At Glass Doctor® we have a regional staff of franchisee consultants (coaches). As coaches, our franchise consultants support our franchisees with a goal of helping them increase their bottom line and become more profitable.

For the last nine years I’ve had the opportunity to be a franchise consultant. Sometimes I had to challenge franchisees to live up to their potential. Other times I’ve had the opportunity to watch franchisees blossom and become more successful than they ever imagined.

Abraham Lincoln said, “Always bear in mind that our own resolution to succeed is more important than any other thing.” Unfortunately Honest Abe never had a chance to go to spring training, but he sure knew how to coach our country, didn’t he?

I challenge you to remember those words. If you have the resolution to succeed you WILL find the right coach to help you, knowing that you have the drive inside yourself to do it. It starts by having the resolve, then surrounding yourself with the right players and coaches.

This summer – play ball! Your customers will be the fans that tell you how you and your team really are doing!