Mention "cookies" in this high-tech world, and the first thing that comes to mind might be those small files Web sites add to your hard drive to recognize who you are and personalize your visits. (A quick check just now of the computer I'm writing this on revealed 91 cookies present.) While electronic cookies have an air of mystery about what they really do, another type is definitely better understood...and certainly more delicious. When it comes to the edible version, there is no doubt which cookies are most famous. Since debuting in 1917 - when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, sold them straight out of their kitchens - Girl Scout Cookies have become a highly anticipated annual tradition. This year, Brownies and Girl Scouts will deliver more than 200 million boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, DoSiDos and five other varieties in neighborhoods and workplaces across the country. Girl Scout Cookies are big business, with: preferred vendors (ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers); strategic planning (budgeting by local councils and troops); marketing techniques (a "healthy living" initiative encourages bakers to find trans fat alternatives); and, sales incentives (coupons, trinkets, etc.). Averaging $3.50 per box, Girl Scout Cookies could bring in $700 million this year, with 70% of the proceeds staying at the local level. Success Handler Action: Girl Scouts of the USA utilizes cookie sales for more than fund-raising. Its nearly three million members have the opportunity to learn "life skills like planning, decision-making, and customer service." Plus they see the importance of "a team working towards a common goal, with each girl striving to do her best." After you finish reading this, ask yourself these questions to see if you're giving your small business team members similar opportunities to excel: ~ Who among your team knows your products/services best? (Why doesn't everyone?) ~ What are your team members' biggest challenges? (Why aren't they being overcome?) ~ Where do you keep seeing errors? (Why haven't they been corrected?) ~ When do members act alone? (Why don't they think like a team?) ~ How do your team members view opportunity? (Why don't they see the big picture?) More than 50 million American women participated in Girl Scouts as children, and it's probably safe to say most had their first exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit by selling Girl Scout Cookies. Skills you use every day to be successful in your small business - such as honesty, respect and kindness - are all lessons developed when young Girl Scouts go knocking door-to-door, asking neighbors, "How many boxes would you like to buy?" Success Handler Action: Troop leaders encourage each Girl Scout to set realistic goals for the number of boxes they would like to sell and what they want to learn from participating in cookie activities. They also provide encouragement and support. To help your employees achieve the goals of your small business, and to show them how to set and reach their own personal goals, consider these five possibilities: 1. Bring your team together to share their favorite success stories in the last year. 2. Ask each team member what they hope to accomplish this year. 3. Remind your team of your company's vision/mission statement and/or core purpose. 4. Explain the goals/direction you have for your small business. 5. Together, create action steps with timelines and individual responsibilities to achieve each goal. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low telephoned a friend and said, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah (Georgia), and all of America, and all the world, and we're starting it tonight." She gathered 18 girls and registered the first troop of what became the Girl Scouts of America - bringing "girls of all backgrounds into the out-of-doors, giving them the opportunity to develop self-reliance and resourcefulness." Now, nearly 100 years, 50 million girls and billions of cookies later, using principles the Girl Scouts teach entrepreneurial young sellers will prove to be a tasty treat for your small business. Copyright 2006 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved. |
