Book Review by Joan M. Hebert, MBA, MS

"The Bear Necessities of Business: Building A Company with Heart!"

by Maxine Clark , Founder and Chief Executive Bear

Build-A-Bear Workshop

This is an exceptional book by a very innovative CEO of one of the most successful retail chains, Build-A-Bear Workshop, which has grown exponentially since its' inception in 1997.  I had the pleasure of hearing her speak at the WISE Conference held in Syracuse, NY.

This is a book I would highly recommend, whether you are a small business or Fortune 500 company. The many concepts Maxine shares include the key concepts used by Disney and many other stellar companies. She offers a wealth of insight into empowering employees, leadership, building a customer-focused culture, and how to create a company that retains both employees and customers. The sections of the book include: Getting Started, Being a Great Boss, Connecting with Your Customers, Creating an Incredible Experience, Using Essential Marketing Strategies, Growing Your Business, and Giving Back.

I found this book to be such a creative catalyst for new ideas for marketing, customer service, and business basics I wanted to share some of the concepts. This book is available on www.amazon.com

I. "Innovate Incessantly" - Continuous improvement should be a company-wide priority.

Some questions to spur innovation and improvement:

Ø      What products/are missing from my inventory?

Ø      What can be done to improve my existing products?

Ø      Which items would make my customers' lives better?

Ø      What changes would make my employees' lives easier?

Ø      How can I make the business operate more smoothly?

Ø      What changes would increase revenues?

Ø      What technology would reduce my costs?

Ø      What am I doing the hard way?

Ø      What's the easy way?

II. "Ensure That Each Person Feels Special"

Ø      Your primary job is to make your customers feel special.

Ø      Taking care of your customers will lead to many personal and financial rewards.

Ø      If you give people a reason to do business with you, they will travel far and wide to do so.

Ø      Among the required ingredients to make people feel special: quality products, attentive service, personalized communications, and involving them in product decisions.

III. Respect Those Around You

Ø      As the head of your company, you hold a lot of responsibility for your employees, customers, and investors.

Ø      Create a company where people work for you because they want to, not because they have to.

Ø      Bosses are in charge and dictatorial. Leaders listen to what their employees have to say and create a climate of reciprocal respect.

Ø      Follow the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Ø      Coach people to reach their full potential and make the biggest contribution possible.

Ø      Employees like to feel valuable at work and know they are appreciated. It's not just about the paycheck!

Ø      As a company leader. Realize the impact your words and actions have on everyone else.

IV. Empower Your Employees to Contribute

Ø      Listen to those who work for you.

Ø      Make yourself easily accessible to employees. Otherwise, you'll miss a direct connection to your customers and a tremendous source of ideas.

Ø      Employees are the brain trust of every company.

Ø      When you empower employees to contribute, you position your company to be more successful.

Ø      Ask new hires what you're not doing that their previous employer did that could make their jobs easier and the company more successful.