How Closely Do YOU Read?
Read It All
Carsten Pedersen runs a multi-million dollar international company. He once told me about something he does as a result of a meeting he had with me in Miami a few years ago. He said that he hands out copies of Retail Selling Made Easy to his employees, and when he asks people if they read it, he always gets a “Yes” reply.
The Real Test
Following our Miami meeting, Carsten made a change. Now, before handing out the book he opens it to a random page about 1/2 way through the book, and writes on one of the pages, “As soon as you read this, come see me and pick up $50.” It’s been shocking to him that he hasn’t paid out the $50 even once, although they have all told him that they read the book.
I asked him if he shows the note to them later, and he said, “No, I keep hoping that someday they will come across it.” I suggested that he start putting a “deadline date” on his note so that he could then call their attention to it at a later date, and hopefully impart the intended lesson.
He liked that idea a lot. He said, “The more lessons we learn today, the fewer mistakes we make in the future, and it is our responsibility as managers to impart as many lessons as we possibly can to our employees.”
So Much to Learn
Mahalo Carsten for all of the lessons you have taught me. I look forward to your every visit to Hawaii. One of these times I’ll even go to the beach with you so that I look more “local” when we go out to dinner.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:50 am
BUSTED!!!
November 9th, 2009 at 10:55 am
As a university student I am developing good reading habits that I expect to stick with me when I graduate. Reading with comprehension in mind makes the process much more rewarding than reading out of obligation. I would assume that Mr. Pedersen sees the value in his employees understanding the words in Ron’s book and thus it is an insult to him for them to set it aside, and even worse lie later about having read it.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:58 am
It’s a pretty sad commentary that people given a copy of this fabulous book need to be prodded to read it. Following the guidelines in this system will insure one’s retail success.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
aloha ron!
back on big island working for mark hanna again. as you know , your book is required reading here. on day one, as we fill out our paperwork we are given your book to read with a test. after 4 hours i was still not done. mark said i was the slowest reader he ever had. i told him i wanted to absorb all the info inside, and would not leave til i was done. now i wonder if anyone else ever really read it?
November 13th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Hi Ron, You very well know I’m a HUGE fan of your books and even better your DVD series. Your material is all common sense, but boy does it become clear, when you tell the stories… As for Mr. Pedersen, I too am a big fan of his. He is a great man of integrety and I love his work ethics. It is a guy we both see way too seldom. I get inspired EVERY time I spend an hour with him! Cheers from Peter!