you can't make this up!

Darrell Zwicker

Be different, make a difference, have fun.

You can’t make this up!

© 2010 Zoo Nation - Darrell ZwickerWriting and editing: Darrell Zwicker, Terry Small and Paul Collin

Design and illustrations: Denis Hambucken

Acknowledgements Without a doubt this collection of stories wouldn’t exist without the wonderful support

from my family, colleagues, former employers, friends and neighbors.

Kudos to writing partners Paul Collin, and Terry Small. With their creative flair they breathed enormous life into my small idea.

Denis Hambucken for his branding discipline and world-class graphical touch for both this document and the website. Without Denis, Zoo Nation would not have gained

the instant credibility and forward momentum.

A big thumbs up goes to my neighbors Joe Malila and Tim Harrington for being my sounding board over a cold one on many occasions.

To Amanda Bacon for being the first to provide feedback and for encouraging me to make things happen.

And to my long-time childhood buddy, Dan Boyd. Thanks for the many evening conversations, recollections and laughs that kept me going.

Of course there are lots of people who I’ve never met who inspired me and gave me

the courage to follow my dream. People like Seth Godin, Michael Margolis, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jack Trout, Andy Sernovitz, Tom Peters and Howard Shultz.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t thank the entire Irving and Lamprey family for teaching me valuable life lessons on their dime.

Most importantly, I’d like to thank my parents and grandparents for raising me in a wonderful supporting and fun family. Despite our individual challenges and shortcomings, we remained a loving family.

Finally, my deepest appreciation and love goes out to my wife Sue, daughter; Bryanna, and son; Sam for allowing me to leave the security of a job, to get a life. That’s the best gift anyone can receive.

I love you dearly for this life-changing gift. Now, if you’ll just let me buy an MGB! L xoxox

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Unlearning2

The captain went down! 6

Now get up and learn! 10

The early bird gets the worm 16

Introduction 4

You have to ask for it! 18

Ever been to sugarloaf? 21

When was the last time you visited our washrooms? 24

You got to be kidding! 26

Be different, make a difference, have fun! 28

Need a job! 29Relearning3

Table of Contents

3

The next chapter - A few stories rolled into one. 32

My name is Darrell Zwicker. I have TWO passions in life. One is to raise awareness for mental illness and develop-mental disabilities AND the second is to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed.

I have TWENTY FIVE years experience in Marketing/Sales Development, Human Resources/Training, and General Management in Oil/HVAC industry & family branding.

Here are a few stories I would like to share with you - the stories are in the spirit of what I learned, had to unlearn, and more recently, what I had to relearn.

I am happily married, two kids and a rapidly approach-ing fiftieth birthday. Like most people, the story of my life up to this point has been a roller coaster ride of incred-ible highs and devastating lows. Which, when you think about it, is how life should be. Because of or maybe in spite of the normal aspects of my life (job, family, chores, bills, etc.), I had something of an epiphany several years ago.

I think it began when I read Scott Peck’s The Road Less Travelled. The first three words of his book stopped me in my tracks - “life is difficult”. He went on to say something along th lines of; once you realize life is difficult, life be-comes not so difficult. This concept changed my life.

By the time I was 35, I became skilled at controlling my thoughts and removing the negative chatter twirling around my brain. No, I wasn’t hearing voices but a real-ization was growing within me that life was passing me by pretty quickly. I was doing all the right things; working,

Introduction

Introduction4

Everyone has a story— here’s mine.

paying bills, being a good dad and husband but something was missing. I felt that my time on Earth is my time and what I did with it was really up to me. As my forties became a reality I was learning not to take myself or life too seriously and quit my job after 21 years of loyal service to explore the great unknown. At 47 I decided to create something more meaningful, something that would make me feel truly alive. I created Zoo Nation.

SO, WHAT IS ZOO NATION? Well, it’s two things actually.

ZOO NATION raises awareness and money to help fund a variety of organizations committed to the health and well being of the communities we serve, with a special focus on mental illness, developmen-tal disabilities, and youth enrichment. We donate 100% of profits from our company’s signature product - the Welcome Mat.

ZOO NATION CONSULTING helps companies and entrepreneurs breathe life into their business. My 21 years in the heating oil & HVAC industry gave me an education beyond what any college could pro-vide. In fact, without it, Zoo Nation would not have been possible. During my tenure I was afforded daily opportunities to learn, unlearn and relearn timeless aspects of business and management that can be applied to businesses large and small.

In order to share some insights, I’ve created You Can’t Make This Up, a collection of fun and inspir-ing stories that delves into the corporate world, and shows through example, real-life experiences and best recollections, the necessity for all of us to Be Dif-ferent, Make a Difference and Have Fun.

Enjoy!!

Introduction5

It was a cold January Monday morning in Saint John, New Brunswick and my first day as the General Manager of the Heating Division at Irving Oil. Look-ing back on my climb up the corporate ladder, I’ve come to appreciate this particular rung and the people and events associated with it.

Arriving at the Golden Ball Building, dressed appropri-ately in my new Seville Row suit, I reflected for a mo-ment on my new position. Moving from a cube to an office. Having a secretary (oops!) I mean, executive assistant. And How Mr. Irving had chosen me – me of all people to carry out the infinite day-to-day details of his business.

It was only 48 hours earlier that Mr. Irving gave me an assignment of checking-in on “the boys” at the Saint John Home Heat Branch to see what time the drivers actually fire up their trucks. It seemed ludicrous at the time but I did it anyway on my way in just in case anybody was watching.

I kept the visit short as the arrival of suited execu-tives often made workers nervous and introductions awkward. Luckily for me, everything looked fine. Six, 3000 gallon delivery trucks were lined up side-by-side ready for the day. As I walked through the delivery area casually nodding and greeting the guys, I saw Lou Costello (no, not the one from the famous com-edy team) - a long term driver who dedicated over 25 years of his life to Irving. He was something of a leg-end who took great pride in mentoring new employ-ees, teaching them the Irving way of doing business and taking care of each customer, one at a time.

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TheCaptain went down!

The Captain Went Down!6

“Why such an errand?” I thought. After all, I was in charge of the biggest heating division in Atlantic Canada - approximately 100,000 customers and it was my job to grow the customer base - not spy on the work habits of drivers. Having gained nothing from my visit I thought it was just a waste of time but could honestly report that I was there if asked.

Settling into my new surroundings that morning I couldn’t help but feel like a new man. Senior Manag-ers and executives were congratulating me on my promotion, shaking my hand and making me feel welcome. These were now my peers! I made it!... or so I thought.

Suddenly there seemed to be a “buzz” within the office. A perceptible electric charge in the air that made people move, phones ring and things hap-pen. Having experienced it before, I knew what it was – Mr. Irving was here.

Catching me totally off guard, I was summoned to a nearby office. “Keep cool. Don’t panic. Don’t inter-rupt. Let them do all the talking” were the instruc-tions I replayed to myself in my head. As I crossed the threshold of the office door, Mr. Irving looked at me sharply and said “The captain went down, the captain went down!” I paused dumbstruck trying to decipher the meaning of this statement. Was it some sort of secret greeting executives gave to one another like Masons? Was it something to do with my job?

The only thing I could connect it to was his final mes-

sage to me on the previous Saturday where he said, “You are the captain of the ship, now you got to earn your stripes”. Again he repeated “the captain went down, the captain went down… did you know them”? I stared shockingly and blankly towards him - I didn’t know what to say. “Did you know them? The fishing trawler that went down last night. All the fisher-men perished.” Mr. Irving continued, “you’re from Lunenburg, that’s where the fishermen were from, did you know them?” I reminded Mr. Irving I was not from Lunenburg, but from Windsor, a small town ap-proximately 30 miles west of Lunenburg.

Without missing a beat, he looked me squarely in the eyes and asked me if I did the little favor we talked about. Proudly and confidently I replied “Yes sir, drove through just shortly after 6:30 AM this morning… trucks were fired up and ready to go”. “That’s great, now how were sales last week?” was his reply.A wave of heat came over me like I was being stud-ied under a magnifying glass in direct sunlight. He can’t be serious I thought. I’ve only been on the job for 2 hours and already he was setting up some accountability for me? I vaguely knew sales were down a few percentage points, but I didn’t know for sure… something like 3 or 3.5 %? I simply didn’t know. With a dry mouth, I replied as honestly as I could. “Well, was it 3 or 3.5%?” He retorted. “That 0.5 % may not mean much to you, but it certainly means a hell of a lot to me.” He continued, “you have to be like a pilot, he plugs in his coordinates before take-off and he knows exactly where he’s going and where he’s going to land. It’s all based on his starting numbers and what he plugs in… he knows exactly what these

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numbers are… and you have to be exactly like that pilot… and if you don’t know the numbers in your business unit you won’t know where you are going or if you are going to the land the plane safely”. He was right, of course and he added, “you need to have goals, and it’s all based on the numbers. Now go and figure out your goals, write them down, and remember to have fun”.

Empirical research and anecdotal evidence clearly show the connection between having goals and doing well. Now evidence is mounting that not only does the fact of having and writing goals down will lead to ultimate success, but can lead to ultimate happiness.

In his article “Positive Affectivity” psychologist David Watson writes about the process of reaching the goal as being equally or more important than the goal itself. This is what I believe Mr. Irving meant when he said “now go and figure out your goals, and write them down, and remember to have fun”. The jour-ney versus the destination of goal setting is a critical concept I learned at Irving. Without having fun along the way, everything is for not. I did not fully grasp this fundamental principle until years later. A goal enables us to experience a sense of purpose.

Getting caught up in the hectic daily activities of work, school, and just living pay check to pay check, we all lose sight of long term goals. Of all the goal planning methods, the one approach that made most sense to me is the S.M.A.R.T design.

Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic’ Tangible with a target date

Sample Goal Sheet:


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What are your lifetime goals?

What are your goals for the next 3-5 years?

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

What are your weekly goals?

Put these goals in writing and redefine your goals over time. BUT, writing down the goal is the absolute most important part of the strategy to achieve your goals.

I just wish I had understood goals in this context. I sheepishly felt Mr. Irving wanted more goals, only to feed his inexhaustible appetite for wealth. But in reality he got it - work ethics that he handed down to his family and coworkers were as a result of his love of the journey, not the final destination. Most people,

especially young as I was, didn’t grasp this funda-mental principle.

As Tal-Ben Shahar wrote in “Happier”- Goals are means, not just the ends. He goes onto to say “the proper role of goals is to liberate us, so that we can enjoy the here and now. There are many ways to get things done in organizations. Goal setting is not the only way, but it is an important way, as Mr. Irving demonstrated in my early hours of being in the hot seat.


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“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or write,

but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Alvin Toffler

I moved to Saint John, New Brunswick in the fall of 1989, just a few months after starting with Irving. As mundane as that may sound, it is the circum-stances that led up to that move that have proven to be life changing.

A new position was being created within Irving Oil to promote oil heat in the emerging new home construction market. Up to this time Nova Scotian homeowners were not really given a choice of how to heat their homes and building contractors could bang in electric baseboards for about a 1/3 of the cost of an oil heat system. Most new homeowners took such decisions for granted and felt secure in the assumption that the contractor was knowl-edgeable and offering the best system available. Unfortunately for the homeowner, winter would arrive and with electricity rates soaring, they soon realized that not only were they paying an ever increasing cost for basic comfort, electricity was an inefficient way to heat a home.

Years later, I learned from Noel O’Dea, President of Target Marketing and Communications that this marketing psychological profile was known as High Inertia, Low Involvement. A home heating system is a grudge purchase without the sex appeal of buying something like a computer, cell phone or automobile. It’s just something that comes with the house, right? I love the term High Inertia, Low Involvement. People look at me as some sort of ivy-league genius when I start throwing it around into everyday conversation. If I’m at a restaurant with friends and the server asks me if I want pota-

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Now get up and learn!

Now get up and learn!10

toes or rice with my meal, I just dazzle them with an abridged synopsis of this point. Which is also prob-ably why I don’t get invited out to many restau-rants anymore.

Anyway, with less than 1% of the new homes going the oil route, we recognized the potential of this new market niche and were determined to get a big piece of the pie. Sure, the up-front cost was higher, but the payback and improved comfort were the main selling features. Besides, the retrofit market was going wild with high efficiency furnac-es replacing old, broken down models. Especially for those homeowners who were not happy with the comfort of electric heat in their new “dream home”.

As a relatively new Irving employee, I was surprised when my boss asked me if I would be interested in a new opportunity being created in Saint John to help grow the Home Heat Division – not just in Nova Scotia, but in all Atlantic Canada! What? Me? I could barely tell the difference between a warm air furnace and a hot water boiler system. I seriously doubted that I was the man for the job but my boss reassured me that there were other candidates and there would be no harm in throw-ing my name in the hat. So, I agreed.

After several weeks with no word on this big oppor-tunity, I felt I may have dodged a bullet and that this was for the better. Besides, I was really catch-ing on and had added oil tanks to my repertoire of selling specialties. As you can surmise, I’m not

a technical wiz and my ascent up the learning curve felt like Mt. Everest. Then the silence was broken on a late Friday afternoon. My boss called to say he wanted me to prepare a presentation to all regional managers in Atlantic Canada on the progress I was making in Nova Scotia on promoting oil heat in new home construction. I had to be in Saint John – first thing Monday morning.

Luckily for me there was Ted Moore. Ted worked out of the Truro operation and was out-performing all of Nova Scotia combined. He was a wonderful salesman who would put on his rubber boots and trudge through muddy construction sites to talk to builders face to face on the benefits of oil heat and discuss giving homeowners a choice of heat-ing methods. I just had to share and exploit Ted’s successes. If he could do it, everyone could do it. If the regional managers didn’t have a dedicated new home salesperson, then my presentation would be part of the convincing strategy.

Monday came and my presentation (complete with overhead projector slides, charts and graphs) went well. It was not long after I finished that my boss tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to follow him. “Remember the opportunity in Saint John that we spoke about two months ago?” he said. “We’re now ready to move forward and I’d like you to meet Mr. Irving.”

“Oh God, just take me now.” I thought.

At that time in 1989, the second floor of the Irving

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Corporate Office was being renovated and Mr. Irving was using a makeshift office on the 1st floor. As we made our way down the stairwell we had to watch our step as construction was also in progress there.

Navigating past spools of hanging wires and ca-bles, whirling table saws, loud hammers and drills, we approached a man in a plaid lumber jacket when my boss said, “Darrell I’d like to introduce you to...” But I couldn’t hear the man’s name due to all the noise. I responded with a friendly “it’s a pleasure to meet you” even though I didn’t know who I just met. Moments later I discovered that the man was Mr. Irving.

As he hung up his plaid jacket, he looked at us and said sharply, “How can I help you gentlemen today?” My boss began by saying, “Mr. Irving, I’d like you to meet Darrell Zwicker, he’s working out of our Woodside office and is a potential candidate for the new marketing position to grow the home heating division throughout Atlantic Canada.” Mr. Irving looked me rather sternly and said, “where were you born? Where do you live now?”“Windsor, Nova Scotia” was my answer to both questions. “Tell me, what does your father do?” was the next question. I said he was a Sales Executive for Atlan-tic Lottery for the past 10 years. Without hesitation Mr. Irving shot back, “ they’ve only been around for 9 years!” Then Mr. Irving said, “So, you think you can help us?” Like a deer in the headlights, I proceeded to demonstrate a total lack of pre-paredness and went off into a completely inco-

herent response about being a hard worker, that I understood the importance of being entrepreneur-ial, and basically ended my oration exhausted, confused, and feeling totally inadequate for the job. There was a pause and the few seconds that passed felt like decades. Then Mr. Irving pointed his finger authoritatively at me and said, “let me tell you, sometimes you got to know when to shut-up and stop talking.”

With that I was convinced I just talked my way out of a job. My only desire at this point was to get the hell out of this office and not come within 100 miles of this place ever again.

But Mr. Irving continued. “Tell me, did you hear An-dre Welland speak this morning?” I hadn’t. “What do you mean you never heard him speak? Lubri-cants are a very important part of our company. How about Frank Flynn? Did you hear him speak?” Again, my answer was no. “You mean you came all the way from Halifax and you never heard Frank Flynn speak? He looks after our tires, batteries, and accessories department – another important area of our business. What have you been doing since you got here?” With a dry mouth I offered up the truth. “I’ve been working on preparing my pre-sentation on new home construction.” Obviously unimpressed with me and my answers I visualized in my mind how it would look if I leapt out of my chair and ran screaming for the door. Just then a rather official looking red phone rang on the desk. As it was some direct line to an important part of the company, Mr. Irving had to take this call and it

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gave me some time to regain composure. When the phone call ended Mr. Irving asked me if there was anything else I would like to say. I re-member giving him a response like “Mr. Irving if ever given the chance to come to Saint John, I promise I will work hard to help you grow the business...” The rest is a little hazy but the whole time I was talking I was privately thinking, “if you just let me out of this office alive, I promise I will never come back as long as I live.” To my astonishment at the end of my statement he replied, “well that’s great… now get up there and learn!”

So I got up and ran up the backstairs to the confer-ence room. Within the hour I was tapped on the shoulder again to visit Kenneth Irving. He asked me if I had seen his Dad yet, I replied yes. His response was this is good news that you are here. I did get the job, but it was nearly 7 years into my tenure that I truly grasped the meaning of “get up there and learn.”

“Get up there and learn!” I didn’t know it at the time but this statement would make a big impact on me.

For me, learning was painful. I did not enjoy school. I disliked homework and formal learning. I felt so liberated when I graduated from King’s Edgehill School. My tenure at the University of Guelph was short-lived and lasted only one and a half semesters before I bowed out early in 1980. It was many years later that I finally graduated from St. Francis Univer-sity, a secondary education institute. It was part of

a corporate sponsored program but an immensely proud moment for me as I finally had my university diploma. Mark Van Doren, the Pultizer prize winning poet and critic so rightfully said it best:“Our best chance for happiness is education.” I now had my Diploma in Education and I was happy.

I had implemented and delivered a Management Training program for all Convenience Store Manag-ers in Atlantic Canada. The curriculum was devel-oped in partnership through Cornell University and National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

Irving gave me that experiential learning opportuni-ty - hands-on training. Looking back, I can unequiv-ocally say one of the most rewarding and motivat-ing traits at Irving is their level of commitment to the training of their employees. Irving was legendary in this regard. It was truly a learning organization, however, quite informal back in those days.

Of all the wonderful learning opportunities, prob-ably the most valuable and sustainable learning lesson was taught to me accidentally as I was pre-paring to deliver a training lesson to frontline store managers. During my preparation, I was intrigued by learning about a Johari Window, a psychologi-cal tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955. The squares represent the windowpanes through which we see ourselves and how others see us. I found it to be so simply profound and profound-ly simple to grasp and utilize.

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Socrates left a legacy of wisdom to the world. The simplicity of his “Know Thyself” dictum belies its complexity. This is the best advice I have ever heard.

Learning begins with learning about yourself. And it starts with the courage to look yourself in the mirror. Imagine that.

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Known to self

Open Blind

Hidden Unknown

Knownto others

Not knownto others

Not known to self

The Johari Window

Adjectives that are selected by both the participant and his or her peers are placed into the Open quadrant. This quadrant represents traits of the par-ticipant of which both they and their peers are aware.

Adjectives that are not selected by the participant but only by their peers are placed into the Blind Spot quadrant. These represent information of which the participant is not aware, but others are, and they can decide whether and how to inform the individual about these “blind spots”.

Adjectives selected only by the partici-pant, but not by any of their peers, are placed into the Hidden quadrant, representing information about the participant of which their peers are unaware. It is then up to the participant whether or not to disclose this informa-tion.

Adjectives which were not selected by either the participant or their peers remain in the Unknown quadrant, rep-resenting the participant’s behaviors or motives which were not recognized by anyone participating. This may be be-cause they do not apply, or because there is collective ignorance of the existence of said trait.

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• able• accepting• adaptable• bold• brave• calm• caring• cheerful• clever• complex• confident • dependable• dignified• energetic

• extroverted• friendly• giving• happy• helpful• idealistic• independent• ingenious • intelligent• introverted• kind• knowledgeable• logical• loving

• mature• modest• nervous• observant• organized • patient• powerful• proud• quiet• reflective• relaxed• religious• responsive• searching• self-assertive

• self-conscious • sensible• sentimental• shy• silly• smart• spontaneous• sympathetic• tense• trustworthy• warm• wise• witty

source-wikipedia

I can’t think of a better way to end this discussion than saying “I believe Mr. Irving would be proud of me today, as I am still learning.”

“Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.”

W. Edwards Deming

Johari adjectives: A Johari Window consists of the following 56 adjectives used as possible descriptions of the participant. In alphabetical order they are:

At dawn on a frigid January morning, Kenneth Irving and his father Arthur set out from the Hotel Beausejour in downtown Moncton for a brisk walk. As they reached Main Street they stopped to notice their arch rival Petro-Canada filling up an oil tank at one of the boutiques in the trendy part of town. The oil truck driver, unaware of the Irvings, could have no idea how this rather mun-dane task of filling up a tank had gotten their attention. For Kenneth and his father it was almost distasteful to see a competitor conducting business in an area of town which they felt belonged to them.

They decided to continue their walk and visit the Irving Regional Office which was less than a mile away. Making their way down St. George Boulevard they arrived to find the gates of the compound locked. Not a soul in sight and no sign of being open for business. It didn’t matter that it was 6 a.m. - just the very idea that the Irvings were caught napping was nothing short of blasphemy! You can only imagine the resulting “discus-sion” that took place after that - it probably could have peeled paint. This experience definitely gnawed at Mr. Irving and it wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon. In fact, the entire experience was relayed to me on the Saturday I was promoted to General Manager. This was the reason I was given the assignment to check in on the boys at the Saint John branch - just to see if they were getting out of bed any earlier than their counter-parts in Moncton.

This story of Mr. Irving and Kenneth up at the crack of dawn across from the Beausejour was told to me in a lively and animated fashion that only Mr. Irving could deliver. And after telling me this he looked me squarely in the eye and said, “the early bird gets the worm”.

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Theearly bird gets the worm!

The early bird gets the worm!16

Yes, we’ve all heard that one before. But can it ap-ply to business? Well, the truth is that we all know the early bird really does get the worm - especially in the highly competitive world of business. And if you’re not following up on a consistent basis, you’re going to lose a lot of deals simply because someone else was more persistent, and motivated than you to get it done.

Getting out of bed and ready for a day’s work is half the battle and persistence is an attribute that does not come easily. Working at Irving I learned that be-ing ready and prepared was key to survival. Which reminds me of a great African proverb that spoke to me as loudly as Mr. Irving’s well-worn adage and it goes like this:

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

A few months into my new job, I went into work one Saturday morning to catch up on a few things. It was about 8:30 and I heard voices coming my way. It was Mr. Irving and his son Arthur Jr. Mr. Irving didn’t hesitate to quiz me as to the time when I arrived. I told him just a few minutes earlier. He said, “well to keep up with me, you need to get in here earlier than that.” He then stated that he had been up since 3 a.m. and asked if I read the morning paper yet. I replied I hadn’t and he quickly pointed out that I should be aware of an ad on page three placed by a furnace

manufacturer. Sure enough as I leafed through the paper I found an ad by Kerr Manufacturing out of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia promoting their new furnace line, right on page three. It truly amazed me how Mr. Irving was on top of every aspect of his business at all times. His “early bird” comment never left my mind. Think of all the talented people in any number of fields: singing, painting, dancing, sports and more but who lack the persis-tence, determination and sense of urgency. Their achievements certainly are not what they could be.I knew if I were to bring any kind of value to the Irvings I would need to be consistently at work early ev-eryday to demonstrate my understanding and the importance of knowing whatever our competition was up to and how we could out do them. Or in Mr. Irving’s words “the early bird gets the worm”.

Do it now! List 5 things you have been procrastinating about and make a plan to take at least a little bit of action on all five this week.

And if you think you can delay your plans until tomor-row, think about this … Multiply your age x 365 days - then subtract that number from 27,375 days (that’s average lifespan) = ___ days left to accomplish your dreams! Remember, every day matters.

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The early bird gets the worm!17

X 365 days = days

27,375 days =days left toaccomplishyour dreams!–

I learned early in my career that sales is part art, part sci-ence - that there’s a process to sales and if you followed the steps, you’d find great success at the end of the rainbow. Well, when it came to sales, Mr. Irving also had great insight and shared a very important aspect with me in his own direct way.

I was in his office getting checks signed, a ritual where I never really knew what would happen. My goal was to get in and get out as quickly as possible with the fewest visible scars. You see, when you went in for check signa-tures, you never knew if you’d get all the checks signed. There were lots of variables involved such as the time of day, the amount of a particular check and of course, any extenuating circumstances. Mostly, the time it took to sign checks depended on how many questions Mr. Irving had and what lesson he was going to teach. It’s funny, whether they knew it or not, for most visitors to Mr. Irving’s office, there was always an underlying lesson.

This particular day we were talking about hiring more sales personnel to grow the residential heating business when Mr. Irving looked me in the eye and asked, “Do you know how to make a sale?” Keep in mind that Irving was a sales-focused organization where the old ad-age of “nothing happens until a sale is made” reigned supreme.

I froze. Was this a trick question? I wished for a time machine where I could set the controls to “yesterday” so I could prepare an answer. He asked me again and as I sweated and wondered what to say, Mr. Irving blurted out “well it’s simple… you have to ask for it”. Oh, of course it is. I was just about to say the same thing I mock-ingly said to myself.

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Youhave to askfor it!

You have to ask for it!18

Mr. Irving continued, “selling is as simple as asking for it. Can we count on your business today? Simple as 1-2-3 and if they ask you a question, and you don’t know the answer, tell them the truth - ‘I don’t know, but I’ll get the answer to you right away’”. It was obvious that Mr. Irving loved to sell.

Tom Hopkins International Inc. conducted a survey on why people were not persuaded to buy a particular product or service. The most common answer: They were never asked!

Can you imagine after all the preparation, prospecting, phone calls and emails to get to the presentation and then walk away without ever asking for the sale? All salespeople have to ask for the sale sooner or later to be successful.

For years, I thought that if I simply asked for the sale, and if I asked often enough, a sale would be made. Invari-ably this is true, but by focusing on just this selling virtue alone, greater opportunities to close more sales were missed. The old sales philosophy of “Always Be Asking and Closing” is often misconstrued to mean not taking your foot out of the doorway until the customer buys. As widely believed as this is, I really had to unlearn it and acquire a new skill. By substantiating the value of the company, the product, and/or service I represented, I could turn what I knew into action.

Now you’re asking yourself, “how do I articulate value by knowing what sets my offerings apart from the com-petitive landscape?”

Well, for starters it helps to be passionate about the product you’re selling. If your mind and heart are not fully engaged, then maybe a career that relies on you influencing others in making decisions is not right for you. If you are engaged, start asking great questions. A sale is the result of creating value and value creation starts with value creating questions.

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Value creating questions

What’s most important to you about . . . . . . . ?

What has been your experience with . . . . . . . ?

If you could change one thing about. . . . . . . ?

…

Explain what results you’re hoping to achieve.

…What plans have you made ?…

What time frame are you considering?

Tell me a little about . . . . . . . …

Lastly, create an extraordinary sales experience for your potential customer. The art and science of the sales process is more important than ever, but it’s the art side that will give you a sales advantage. If you’re the boss, it’s paramount that you create a highly engaging work environment that inspires sales employees to give the very best of themselves.

Remember that every interaction with the customer is part of the value creation - the first introduction (to you or to the company), investigating the customer’s needs, understanding and presenting options and yes, as Mr. Irving schooled me, “asking for the business”. All of this goes into solidifying a long-term customer or advocate for life.

Yes, it does all seem quite simple when presented like this but it’s all part of a carved out process that needs to be adhered to if a sale is to occur. Each step needs

to make that emotional connection. And like any artist who can “move” us, the artist known as a salesperson can also affect others. A great starting point is being aware of the importance of value creation. What you also receive: The part of the iceberg that is under the water and value points that are not seen and need to be articulated more often. Value creation can take different forms, and providing new ideas or sharing new perspectives often is the value creator, that enhances the perceived value of the prod-uct and/or service. And often, it’s polishing off existing strengths that are not talked about. Rather a hidden value, that would be deemed valuable only if shared.

As I gained experience over the years, I truly appreci-ated “you have to ask for it”, but had to unlearn it as the only part of selling. Value creation is the game changer in the world of selling.

Unlearning4


“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

Dorothy Parker

In the mid 1990’s I was quarterbacking a major initiative to promote oil heat in homes throughout Atlantic Canada. Helping my efforts were the facts that at the time the cost to heat a home with oil was less than electricity and the existing retro-fit market was booming.

My “Oil Costs Less” campaign was scheduled to kick off in January of 1994. But as the launch day drew nearer it became abundantly clear that I was heading for a mental crash. This was a stressful time for me. I endlessly obsessed over the details I had reviewed with the owners and the extent of the campaign. Did I involve our legal counsel enough? Would I be sued by the utilities? Was the data in the campaign accurate? Was it validated? Was it current enough? On and on it went. I couldn’t turn it off.

By the middle of February I was having full-blown panic attacks on a daily basis. During regional visits to promote the campaign, I sometimes thought I would end up in a local hospital’s emergency room. At least in Saint John I had the comfort of knowing that if I had the BIG ONE I was close to Saint John Regional Hospital.

When I was calm I knew that all of the thoughts putting me in that state were just that - thoughts. But when my mind started to whirl in that panicky mode, my heart would race, my arms would grow heavy and I would have a water sensation rising up through my body. Trying to convince myself that I was not having a coronary was impossible.

Unlearning5

Ever been toSugarloaf?

Ever been to Sugarloaf?21

Sure enough, on several occasions I did end up in an emergency room only to be reassured a few hours later that I would be fine. Just another run-of-the-mill terrifying but non-life threatening panic attack. My doctor factually stated that I needed to address my health issue and would most likely require some time off from work. What he failed to realize was that I was Darrell Zwicker (alias Super-man) and that I could beat this mental hurdle in a single bound and not miss a single day of work. Besides, big corporations thrive with big, strong, committed employees like me, not shrinking violets.

I was also nurtured by the thoughts that if I missed a day at work, took more than one week holiday at a time or had to admit to having a stress disor-der that these were all valid points to be relieved of my job. I was also convinced that if I broached the subject with my boss and needed time off, it would be nothing short of corporate suicide. This thinking was later validated by many of my colleagues.

So, as the “Oil Cost Less” campaign built up steam and got attention on many fronts, I was losing steam and getting attention in emergency rooms - blowing into a brown paper bag. By the end of February I finally had to admit to myself, my wife and my doctor that I needed to take some time off.

Now I had to tell my boss. The trouble was that back then I wasn’t really sure who my boss was. I reported to Mr. Arthur Irving on a regular basis

and to Kenneth on other occasions. Unfortunately, they were both out of town the day my doctor prescribed the medical leave. So, instead of telling them, I told the HR Manager.

It wasn’t until the following Monday that I finally spoke first with Kenneth, then his father. Both seemed genuinely pleased that I called and were very supportive. Arthur pointed out that he had asked me two weeks prior if I was alright and that I said yes. “I knew at that time you weren’t up to your old self,” he said.

Arthur then added, “take as much time as you need, your office will remain closed til you’re back. And don’t hesitate to drop in to see the boys if you wish.“ Then he asked “ever been to Sugarloaf?” Was this a veiled reference to an early retirement? I wondered. What does Sugarloaf have to do with my mental health? “Great place to ski and unwind. Perhaps you should spend a couple days there,” he remarked. I thanked him for the advice and replied I was under doctor’s orders not to ven-ture too far from the city since I was seeing the doc every two days.

Well, the time-off, the psychotherapy, the rest, and most importantly, the support I had from my wife, my doctor, and my employer were the best pre-scription for me to recover. The time off for healing and re-creating myself was key in controlling my irrational thoughts. Best of all, taking time off was not a recipe for professional and personal failure.Since that time I have been able to control my

Unlearning5


panic and anxiety episodes, and could even joke about it. Over the years I’ve shared my story with colleagues, friends, and family as a way of offering support to someone after they’ve revealed some of their inner challenges. To this day, I feel I’m more capable both person-ally and professionally because of the struggles I faced. But most importantly, it was the unlearn-

ing lesson - that I was put on this earth just to work and that time off was a sign of weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Have you ever been to Sugarloaf?... has become a mental image instilled in my mind, much like the images of watching the sandpipers along the beaches of Florida.

Unlearning5


“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you.

Then they fight you. Then you win.”

Gandhi

When I started working at Irving in 1989, I learned very quickly of two absolute obsessions with the company - growth and providing great customer service. I was not sure which was more important or if they were of equal value.

You see, back then Irving was acquiring lots of smaller oil dealers throughout Atlantic Canada and New England. The marketplace, especially in Atlantic Canada, had very high expectations on the service Irving provided since that’s what the company was known for since it began in 1924.I remember being in Mr. Irving’s office when he put his pen down, looked me squarely in the eye and asked, “when was the last time you visited the washrooms in one of our service stations?”. For a moment I thought he may have had me confused with someone else because I didn’t work for the service station side of the company, I was in the heating division. Well, Mr. Irving clarified that in an instant and said, “I don’t care if you think you work for the heating division or not, it’s my name on the check, it’s Irving you work for. When you’re travel-ling, stop at every service station and check out the washrooms… our reputation for clean wash-rooms is critical for us to grow”.

Years later Irving actually ran an entire advertising campaign around “OUR WASHROOMS ARE CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN !!” Our marching orders were to look after the customer - any customer. It didn’t matter how big or small or how far away from the bulk plant they were. “We need customers to turn the wheels on the truck” Mr. Irving often said. And it seemed there was no expense too great in grow-

Unlearning6

When was the last time you visited our washrooms?24

When was the last time you visited our washrooms?

ing the business - newspaper ads, radio, TV - you name it, we did all with the support of the Irvings. Forget expensive campaign consultants, drab mar-keting statistics and bottom line ROI forecasts. We had to seize the day. These were fun and excit-ing times! Of course getting customers and keeping custom-ers are paramount to any business but it took me years to unlearn this premise of getting customers at any and all costs. It was learning the importance of getting and keeping the RIGHT customers that led to a breakthrough for me.

Back then the idea of firing a customer was un-heard of. Customers who are unprofitable, unruly, and time-wasters should be fired without hesitation.Broadcasting marketing messages to the masses is a waste of time. Narrowcasting to your target audi-ence is the only cost effective way to go. Unlearning the idea of getting any and all custom-ers at all costs was a tough process for me as it went against conventional Irving wisdom. But the day Mr. Irving asked me, “when was the last time you visited the washrooms?” will stay with me forever.

Unlearning6

When was the last time you visited our washrooms? 25

“You can’t be normal and expect abnormal returns.”

Jeffrey Pfeffer

In January 2010, after 21 years of loyal service, I decided to take a hiatus from the oil industry and breathe life into a small family business. What I didn’t realize then was that I was going to have to relearn many aspects of starting a business that I had accepted as truths or givens regarding such a venture.

It was a classic clash of my baby boomer mentality in the old economy versus the generation X & Y mentality of a new economy. For instance, in the old economy if I needed legal help I dealt with a lawyer. If I needed an online presence, I dealt with a web developer. And if I needed a professional video shoot, I dealt with a videographer. So by April 1st, and this is no April Fool’s joke, I shockingly learned that if I had adapted to a new economy mind set sooner, I could have saved a minimum of $20,000 in start-up fees.

I’ll share my story in regards to my legal learnings. Primed to become the next Howard Shultz, I registered our new company and did a name search at a price of $2,200.00. At the time I felt this investment was money well spent. After all, it takes money to make money, you know. About a month after securing our name and registering it, we asked our lawyer about licensing agreements, and for approximately $1,600.00 he would oblige and send me an agreement that could be easily modified for each state. I tucked this information away until I needed it. In the meantime, when another name for our company had to be registered and protected I noticed an ad for Legal Zoom, a do-it-yourself legal document service, and it intrigued me enough to go to their website.

Relearning7

You got to be kidding!

You got to be kidding!26

Knowing that my initial investment was $2,200.00, I was hopeful that I might be able to save some money. I thought it was worthwhile to at least evaluate the entire process and then make a judgment on whether involving a lawyer was really necessary going forward.Legal Zoom made it clear up front that they could not offer legal advice, only options. Fair enough I thought, worth the experience just the same.

Well, right out of the gates I thought I blew it, because I misspelled the word I wanted to protect. It was Zoo-apalooza, not Zoo-apolooza. In a panic I emailed and called Legal Zoom in L.A. even though it was a Satur-day. Instantly I received an email back, thanking me for the business, and stating that they would make the appropriate changes to the application on Monday. Whew! Simple and easy enough for me. Once that was taken care of I thought OK, now what happens? Thankfully, every step of the way I received an email explaining my options. Even though they couldn’t offer advice, if I needed clarification I was invited to call Eric in L.A. I took them up on the offer and thought to myself - OK, this is going to be painful at best, I’m out of my element here, I probably need real legal counsel and I’m calling a call center. But again the experience was simple and easy. Bottom line… my investment to protect Zoo-apalooza through Legal Zoom was $494.00 versus my original investment of $2,200.00. But wait, there’s more! Here’s the “you got to be kidding moment”. Since my initial experience was so great I asked one of the Legal Zoom customer service reps if they provided licensing

agreements and if so, what would it cost? Remember, the lawyer said that this type of document would be approximately $1,600.00. “We can help you with that Mr. Zwicker” I was told. I held my breath and said, ”OK, how big of an investment am I looking at?” The reply was $14.95, and included a Licensing Agreement Guideline Booklet. “FOURTEEN DOLLARS AND NINETY FIVE CENTS??!! - you got to be kidding!” was my reac-tion. I was torn between wanting to fly to L.A. to give him a hug or leap out my attic window. Imagine that, $14.95 versus $1600.00 - it took about 1 nanosecond to make the decision.

The more I thought about this the more I realized this new legal model must be a real threat to the legal world, at least to the ones that pump out standard legal documents for a living. I felt certain that the ones that don’t offer true value in advice and other areas will be out of business. Their focus needs to be on value creation, not document creation.

Nowadays, I feel I could compete with old economy business by using the ingenuity and technological advancements and offer more relevant products and services. It’s about thinking beyond old economy businesses that adhered to and /or paying on a bank loan of outdated infrastructure, despite them being in business for decades. If that’s not a wake-up call to us all, nothing is... and as a magnet on my refrigerator says, “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” Now, the question I ask is - how am I creating myself? How about you?

Relearning7

You got to be kidding!27

Isn’t it interesting that most of us grew up with such advice as: • you gotta fit in• don’t bring too much attention to ourselves• can’t be differentThe relearning of these 3 points can be summed up as be different, or go home. Whether you’re a lawyer, coffee shop owner, printing firm, oil dealer or any small business in America, you need to touch the heartstrings of the community to create a customer… for life.

Imagine that our job is to change people’s perspec-tive on us, our industry, our lookout, and even our day! That’s a pretty awesome and cool respon-sibility when you think about it. And accomplish it by having fun. My Dad said, “who has more fun than people?”Pema Choldron said, “the whole globe is shook up, so what are you going to do when things are falling apart? You’re either going to become more of a fun-damentalist and try to hold things together, or you’re going to forsake the old ambitions and goals and live life as an experiment, making it up as you go along.” Just imagine if we could lead our life, our business - with these three attributes:1 Be different2 Make a difference3 Have fun

The relearning of running a business genuinely and authentically different to make a difference, with fun to boot is an awesome challenge to embrace.

Relearning8

Be different, make a difference, have fun!

Be different, make a difference, have fun!28

When I left Irving in the spring of 2006, I was really up-tight because it was the first time in 17 years that I was unemployed and looking for a job. After all, that’s why we exist, right? We go to school, finish school, and then get a job for the rest of our lives. Even though I had a healthy severance package, I didn’t want to stop and smell the roses - I needed a job.

Speaking of school, I remember my Dad saying, “before you go west, go out to Murray Sawler’s place and he’ll show you how to drive one of his tractors and you’ll never need to worry about a job again. And if that university stuff isn’t for you son, look the professor straight in the eye and tell him to take those books and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine and you’ll be coming home Charlie Brown!”

Years later I came across a quote from Fran Lebowitz, that echoed my Dad’s sentiment on formal educa-tion. “Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I can assure you there is no such thing as algebra.”

My Dad was self educated and felt education only delayed the inevitability of getting a job. I realize now my Dad’s approach to formal education was the right approach for someone like me - riddled with dyslexia, attention deficit, anxiety and panic disor-ders. He had a wonderful way to look at the big pic-ture. The education would come because continual learning would occur.

Relearning9

Needa job!

Need a job!29

After considering moving to Florida in the spring of 2006, I landed a job in New Hampshire. At least at the time I thought it was a job… it became much more. I had a position as Marketing Director for Lamprey Brothers, which later led me to become their General Manager. During this time I acquired a passion for transitioning this oil company into an alternative energy company.

I didn’t have a job. I was having fun! I was doing something I enjoyed! It was my calling! I started to understand what people meant when giving advice about career choices - “do something you’re pas-sionate about” they would say. But I was never quite sure what that meant. It conflicted with the continual drone heard throughout my life of, I needed a job. Is it something you stumble upon or is this something you acquire after years of contemplation?

At Lamprey Brothers, I realized bit by bit the culture of the company was changing by simply chang-ing the story… sharing the history, the affinity for the family’s love for the land and the animals. Lamprey Brothers is a wonderful family business just 1.5 miles

west of the Atlantic Ocean in North Hampton. Since 1923, the family had been providing home comfort in the area… from wood, ice, coal, oil, to alternative energy solutions. The locals knew the story, but many of the newcomers to the seacoast did not know the rich history.

It was fun taking customers, suppliers, and opinion leaders throughout the historic homestead. It was only at this time I started to realize I didn’t need or want a job. I and most likely others only wanted the results of a job - a paycheck. By early 2008, I was getting a nudge to do something different… that would give me a reason to make a difference… the creation of Zoo Nation is a result of this. While there may be a lot of motivation to have a job, doing something that in some small way express-es our family’s soul is a strategy that will sustain us in the long term.

And I finally relearned the importance of having a job.

Relearning9

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than

a life spent doing nothing.”

George Bernard Shaw

Need a job!30

Zoo Nation helps companies and entrepreneurs breathe life into their mission and find tangible solutions to everyday challenges.

• Corporate branding• Consultation services for developing corporate vision, mission, and objectives• Individually customized marketing strategies• Awareness-building public relations campaigns• Effective and creative website design• Understanding and employing social media integration• Enhanced leadership skills

Partnering with a person or an organization is an investment-both financially and emotionally. Even though my title is CEO & CMO - don’t let that fool you - we are small and nimble. Zoo Nation is a wrecking crew of a few good, I mean, great people. AND capable of making things happen in your business.

Perhaps more important we have heart and soul, and deem our relationship successful, only if you are successful.

Call, tweet, or drop us a line today to help you start to make things happen!

Phone 603 502 4344Email- [email protected] Facebook: http://bit.ly/b57FSRTwitter: http://twitter.com/darrellzwickerwww.linkedin.com/in/darrellzwicker

Are you ready to make

things happen ?

31

10The next chapter

introducingthe consulting arm

of Zoo Nation

Call To Action To All Current & Former Irving Employees and Corporate America In General.

What is the story that has impacted your life in a positive way ?

Everyone has a unique memory, an interaction, a story that can have an impact on all of us. That’s why I am sharing a free digital download of You Can’t Make This Up!

Now is the time to share your story! If you chuckle, find value, or catch yourself reminiscing about your time at Irving Oil or with any other company, please share it with others.

Here’s how you can participate:

• Email, tweet, or blog about this FREE gift to your colleagues and friends.• Tell them about Zoo Nation and the services we offer to small businesses.• Share your story with us - we can help you create the next chapter.And to inspire you, here are stories shared by Terry Small, longtime Advertising Manager at Irving Oil.

contact us :

Darrell Zwicker:[email protected](603) 502 4344Or Terry Small: [email protected](352) 404 6397

32

Create the next

chapter

10The next chapter

of You can’t make this up!

Facebook: http://bit.ly/b57FSRTwitter: http://twitter.com/darrellzwickerwww.linkedin.com/in/darrellzwicker

When Darrell asked me to contribute a few stories, I thought to myself, where do I begin? After all, I had worked at Irving Oil for 25 years! So, following are some of my stories, rolled up into one... see if you can figure out the learnings, unlearnings or relearnings...

I joined Irving Oil in 1984 and was charged with building an in-house advertising and sales promo-tion team. It was felt at the time that doing more marketing in-house would be more efficient and save the company money rather than hiring a full-service advertising agency. For an advertising guy like me with over nine years retail ad experience with Firestone Canada Inc. in Hamilton, Ontario. – this opportunity with Irving Oil in Saint John, New Brunswick was both exciting and challenging!

To provide some context here, Firestone was a typical big, bureaucratic, publicly-owned com-pany. Everyone had a job title and you knew your job responsibility... and you stayed within clear job boundaries. In 1984 Irving Oil was the exact opposite in terms of company structure. Irving was (and still is) privately owned, it was not bureaucrat-ic, no one had a title and the company was rela-tively small, at least compared to its multinational competitors like Esso, Ultramar, Petro Canada, etc. And, in those days, every manager reported directly to Arthur Irving, president of the company. At Firestone, I could count on one hand the number of times I actually spoke to the president.

A few stories rolled into one33

A Few Stories Rolled Into One…

by Terry Small, Former Advertising Manager at Irving Oil

10The next chapter

What Is A Customer?

By reporting to Mr. Irving, I soon realized I was in for a great learning experience. Without question, the first learning for me was “the customer is #1”. Most companies say this, but Irving truly lived it! Every Irving branch office in Atlantic Canada, and for that matter, many of the walls in the home office in Saint John displayed the following creed written by KC Irving, the company founder.

What Is A Customer? • A customer is the most important person in your business.• A customer is not an interruption to your work – he is the purpose of it.• We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.• A customer is not dependent on us – we are dependent on him.• A customer is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it.• A customer is not a cold statistic. He is a flesh and blood human being with feelings and emotions, biases and prejudices.• A customer is not someone to argue and match wits with. Nobody ever won an argument with a customer.• A customer is someone who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle them profitably to him and ourselves.

KC wrote this customer service philosophy in 1924! And today, it is just as relevant as it was back then.Is there anything in this philosophy that does not apply to your business today?

Attention To Detail.

Another aspect that fascinated me about the Irving culture was the attention to detail. Here’s one brief example that every Irving manager can relate to. If you spent the company’s money to buy anything from office equipment to gas pumps, you had to get Mr. Irving to sign the check. In my case, my ad budget was between two and three million dollars a year! Just imagine how many checks I had to get signed! We were told that Mr. Irving signed every check himself so he could see where his money was being spent. And at every “sitting” you could be certain that you would be challenged at least once… ”Why did you use this vendor?”, “Is he a good Irving customer?”, “How many quotes did you get?”, “Did we get value for our money?”. I learned early in the game – be prepared – know your vendors – be able to justify every nickel! And, the most important lesson – don’t try to bluff an answer! If you didn’t know the correct answer, just say “I don’t know, but I will find out and let you know” and, you better not forget to follow up quickly!

Attention to detail was and still is a big part of Irving’s winning formula when it comes to build-ing a network of Irving Big Stops across the Trans Canada Highway in Eastern Canada. The Lincoln


10The next chapter

Irving Big Stop near Fredericton is a great example. Start with a great location – quick access to the busy Trans Canada Highway; lots of parking – both the truckers’ parking lot and the regular parking lot have tons of room; easy access to both the diesel and gas pumps; big letters on the building shout “Blue Canoe Restaurant” – code for great, homestyle cooking inside; the décor has a local, rural hominess feel to it – but still a very modern service station; inside the convenience store there’s everything from the usual snack items – to fresh fruit – to CDs – to magazines – to groceries – to toys – to, well, you get the idea. The staff looks sharp in crisp, professional uniforms; the wash-rooms – well, they are not your typical gas station washrooms – they are immaculate; plus there’s a 1-800 number posted for you to call if you want to lodge a complaint! Everything is well organized, leaving no detail undone! But, there’s more – start with great operators, long time Irving lessees, Lynden and Beth Fenety – they keep everything in the facility running smoothly and are always close by to help a customer; there’s a big community bulletin board promoting anything local; and of course, the famous Irving Restaurant – even with lots of seating, it’s not uncommon to see a lineup of customers waiting for a seat – and that great, home-cooked meal!

Every business could learn a thing or two from Irving’s ‘attention to detail’ playbook……

You Can’t Sell From An Empty Shelf

This phrase still rings in my head. Remember back in the early 90’s when those neon colored ball caps were so popular? Well, I was in my office one morning and in walked Mr. Irving, who threw a neon cap on my desk and said, ”we should get some of these, they’re a big thing in California”. He then walked out as quickly as he arrived. I thought to myself… is he serious? How many should I order? What message would we put on them? I pondered this a moment until the proverbial “light bulb” went on over my head. We were just introducing a new gasoline with an exclusive additive called Microlene and we could order a couple thousand caps to help launch our new gasoline! I scurried up to Mr. Irving’s office… proud of myself, that I was responding to his request so fast… and said to him, “let’s order two thousand caps to promote Microlene… we could ship every branch a couple cartons...” That’s when he interrupted and said, as only Mr. Irving could… ”Small, you can’t sell from an empty shelf… order a truck load… at least a hundred thousand caps… every Irving location needs to sell them….” Just then, his phone rang – I was saved. I left his office and yes, ordered a hun-dred thousand neon caps! Every Irving location in Eastern Canada sold hundreds of these red, green, yellow and blue caps. Each one embroidered with slogans like “Lean & Mean With Microlene”. The caps were a novelty and big hit that summer. Every time I saw someone wearing one, I couldn’t help


10The next chapter

but remember those prophetic words “you can’t sell from an empty shelf”. So simple, but yet so true!

Why Does The Fox Piss On His Biscuits?

It was a typical, summer day at Irving’s home of-fice in Saint John when Darrell Zwicker, our home heating General Manager and I were waiting out-side Mr. Irving’s office. This area, referred to as the “bull-pit”, was where Irving employees would wait for their chance to meet with Mr. Irving. It did not matter how far up the ‘pecking order’ you thought you were, every manager waited his or her turn in the bull-pit. When his office door opened you would jump up, catch Mr. Irving’s attention, and hope to get his signal to come inside. We anxiously wanted to review with Mr. Irving our latest advertis-ing campaign, called “Oil Costs Less”. We knew we had a winner, after all, oil heat was less than electricity and the new home building market was booming. We had three or four different newspa-

per ad layouts to review. As our meeting pro-gressed Mr. Irving looked at the first layout, then the second and as we were waiting for his approval, he asked, “why does the fox piss on his biscuits?” This was not the question we were expecting and one that I was sure I didn’t know the answer. Darrell and I glanced at each other. An eternity of silence seemed to pass until Mr. Irving answered his own question for us! ”So no other animal will eat his food”. His message to us? If you are going to do battle with the utilities, you better be prepared! Did we have our facts nailed down? Did we get legal counsel? Did we do our homework?

On the surface, one might be confused by Mr. Irving’s question; but just below the surface is the real meaning of the so-called ‘Irving culture’… be passionate about your work; have integrity and honesty; be decisive and as in the case of the ‘Oil Costs Less’ campaign... don’t be afraid to take a risk... if you are prepared!


This material is copyrighted. Reproduction in part or in fullfor anything other than personal use is subject to

express permission from Zoo Nation.

We’d love to hear from you!Phone 603 502 4344

Email- [email protected]

References and books that provided content and inspiration:Rouillard, Laurie A. “Goals and Goal Setting” Crisp Publications, 1993

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window “Where will you be five years from today?” Sold Exclusively at Starbucks, 2008

Godin, Seth “LINCHPIN-Are you indispensable?” Penquin, 2010Margolis,Michael “BELIEVE ME” Get Storied Press, 2009

Vaynerchuk,Gary “CRUSH IT.Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion” HarperCollins, 2009Trout, Jack “In Search of the Obvious” McGraw Hill, 2008

KODAK Social Media Tips Booklet, 2010Sernovitz, Andy “Word of Mouth Marketing” Kaplan Publishing, 2006

Peters, Tom “Re-Imagine!” DK Publishing,2003