"A great tip from one of our long standing members." Victoria Downing, President

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The Power of Phone Groups

In my last phone group meeting with my fellow Roundtables members, I related that our sales backlog is back up but we have experienced 2 months of GP slippage, a problem we have not experienced in several years, and I was somewhat baffled.

They urged me to conduct a company meeting and get everyone's input on solutions, a tactic that has been beneficial for us in the past. So we modeled the meeting on a Remodelers Advantage Roundtables brainstorming format. We encouraged everyone to put out whatever they thought was appropriate (boss is an s.o.b. not qualifying) then categorized the ideas into three headings.

We then divided into three teams to meet individually and recommend solutions. I closed the meeting asking each employee for total years experience in the business and came up with 239 years, pointing out that I had no doubt that 239 years of experience could solve the problems. The breakout teams met during on their own last week, and today, the management team reviewed the recommendations for 1 hour and committed to an action plan which was presented immediately to the entire team.

The positive response and commitment was obvious, and I predict reportable results within 2 months. No one will be handing down edicts- we all own the plan. It was especially rewarding to see two new employees participate in the process.

I am grateful to Gary Adams and Joe Roeser for their support and targeted recommendations. They saw immediately what I did not. Thanks also to Jim Mirando for getting us extra help when we were spread thin last month. Not a recommendation for an increase, but I believe we get back value and more for every Remodelers Advantage Roundtables dues dollar.

If anyone should see value in such meetings: serve the pizza at the end of the meeting.

This is a tip from Jerry Liu, president of D.G. Liu Contractor, Inc. located in Dickerson, Maryland.

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