Can we simply love some things to our detriment?

Can we simply love some things to our detriment? I suppose we can, especially in my case. In fact I think some of these loves have turned into obsessions and therefore create challenges.
Take my white boxer dog, Paris who I am so connected to. She has a life expectancy of 13 years max and yesterday had her 10th birthday… pretty amazing given she is white and expected to live for an even shorter duration. The challenge for me is that I have altered the way I live my life to accommodate her and this often creates a handbrake for me. It was one of my friends that said to me “The problem is that you need to be indifferent to her. Practice indifference and the handbrake will be removed”.  Impossible in my case, in that I can’t even contemplate having a cyst removed from her hip given her heart murmur. 

  

Paris and Jam Jam at Hahei Beach

I have become incredibly passionate about great food and wine and this love has possibly become to my detriment. Yesterday we went to Whitianga excited about having the day ahead planned: a quick visit to one of our retail stores and then a long lunch in our favourite restaurant... perfect. Especially as a promised fine weekend had turned overcast but much to our dismay the restaurant was closed for lunch on Saturday.
No problem; there’s at least 10 or more establishments that were open. Yep but they are not options for us as they are not at the calibre that we like to eat and drink. We became agitated with the moment and the loss of what we would consider to be the only option for us in this town. A well planned and anticipated day was ruined all given our benchmarks around food and wine.

And we can definitely extend this into business. It was Annette Presley that said to me, “You can never be a workaholic as long as you love what you do”… and I truly believe that given that I find it hard to differentiate between work and play as I simply love what I do (even after 20 years of doing it).
I often have my senior team say to me… “How do you cope with all the people-drama that comes with running this company?”… And believe me there is drama most days especially with 180 women on the team. To me people are no different to the other operations of my business; they simply need to be put into perspective. The departure of a great employee, if for the right reasons, is simply part of the business process; no matter how difficult and costly.

Recruitment is an ongoing challenge for us, and given the high level of connection and passion that so many of my retail team have for the brand, the recruitment process is always about breaking through new glass ceilings.

The constant stream of emails and Facebook posts that we get on the team (and these were never as recurrent five years ago) show just how many of our customers have developed huge relationships with the retail girls which mean that when we have a capable retail team member depart, the replacement has to be carefully selected; so we can see a huge number of candidates before we make a final decision.
In fact, the high benchmarks that so many of my retail girls have created are problematic in the recruitment process and I often have to work alongside a frustrated senior team when they are seeing possible candidates to enthuse them as to the fact that we will get there. The key to this whole process is to never compromise as those great girls are out there. We have, in fact, created a problem for ourselves, given that we will and can never be indifferent to employment; just as I have with food and wine.

So when does a benchmark just become too high? We experienced this the other day when two senior managers disagreed over the recruitment of a part timer. One said no, the other yes… ouch!!
The verdict? We hired. The problem for the first senior: “I just wanted a 9/10” so as much as I agreed I asked her to reference other part time members that were ‘9/10s’ that were in our employ. The examples she gave were all products of our training and nurturing and had not been at this level on recruitment.
Admirable that she had wanted this but knowing that we have the right systems and processes to get a girl that is a great fit for the brand to these levels is also just as important. Pity I am not able to do this in regards to some of the external factors that come into play in my life everyday…

Some recent feedback on some of my great girls in my team:

“Your Hamilton team made my whole experience such a pleasure. The attention to detail, colours, body shape and creating a complete look was fabulous and made such a big difference for me. Don’t change a thing ladies you are wonderful!”

“Danelle made me feel a million dollars! She was absolutely spot on the mark with her advice and professionalism and was able to change the dress with a few rosettes carefully whipped up in the back in no time. I will highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for the perfect outfit and the wonderful experience.”

“I have been lusting after a Chameleon dress for years, and finally decided I really should try one on. Shona greeted us and got involved straight away selecting colours and sizes for me. She was helpful, entertaining and honest, without being at all pushy. Her enthusiasm and lovely personality really made my Chameleon shopping trip wonderful.”

“It is so refreshing to have the help and expertise of a sales person who understands a woman's curves, shape and colour preferences. I came out of your shop feeling 10 feet tall, all due to Annette's help!”