By The Numbers

Saturday, May 14, 2022

^{_{“Flower Moon” is Waxing Gibbous @96.4%; Full Moon + Total Lunar Eclipse, visible on May 15.}}

Yesterday, I returned to work, back into the swing, and the event went smoothly. That morning, lots of chicks had arrived along with some ducklings. Customers paraded in to admire babies in the brooders.

A coworker gave me a new mask, handmade from a chicken-print fabric. So cute; I wore it as a perfect fit for my “chicken lady” role in the store.

Another new thing, and a plus, the store manager pulled some numbers for me doing with chicken sales. I had requested them as an incentive to sell more. The company doesn’t push employees to make sales; it focuses instead on teamwork. Because many who are very young work, too, it might be that a “teaming over profit concept” works okay. Unapologetically, I’m old school; I want to know what I’m accomplishing, and please, Dear Manager, by the numbers.

That was a big nod, getting some numbers. They’re not excellent and detailed but general and uninformative. However, it’s a step. I’ll be quiet a while before asking for more, but I will return to the topic. Sharing data is the correct way to involve people and encourage high effort.

In my career days, I worked with top managers to create communications and leadership training. I then worked with subordinate managers of profit centers to communicate to and train their teams. It’s funny today that I’m trying to teach upwards from a lowly position as a chicken lady. My point is that, as much as most things change, not everything does. Excellent employee leadership and communications never change except for vocabulary adjustments.

Speaking of numbers, I have a longtime friend who lays floors professionally. He is an exacto kind of guy. I’m calling on him to consider my floor replacement job. Even if he can’t take it on, he’ll give me an idea of the project’s actual value, which will help when I’m gathering estimates.

Dear Friends: The fun number is tomorrow’s 99.9% Flower Moon + Total Eclipse. Diana