Consistently Mediocre

By Michael Knapp

This book is a compilation of stories, anecdotes, and experiences I have been the cause of, the result of, the victim of, a witness to, and a part of. They are all true. Some are unbelievable, some are unrealistic, and some are just a part of everyday life. However, every one of them, in some way, shape, or form, gave me the lessons, the knowledge, and experience I have hopefully passed on to others. This is not a self-help book or success manual. It is not a how-to book by any means. It is, however, real-life experiences and stories that hopefully will let you look at things a little differently, change your perception, and show you how to apply it not only to your business, but to your everyday life. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684569069

Michael Knapp

Michael Knapp is a historian of radical democracy, Cofounder of the Campaign Tatort Kurdistan and member of NavDem Berlin. His research focuses on the Kurdish issue and the construction of alternatives to capitalist modernity. His research has taken him to the Middle East, where he has studied the Kurdish Liberation Struggle and the PKK.

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Consistently Mediocre

Michael Knapp

Copyright © 2019 Michael Knapp

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2019

ISBN 978-1-68456-905-2 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64544-720-7 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-68456-906-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Outside the Box—Changing Your Perception

No Lemon Please

Dad Jokes—Rayisms

How It All Began

My Other Birthday

Forgotten Assets—Your Treasure Chest

When Was the Last Time You Called Yourself?

It’s All in the Name—Know Your Audience

Roast Slicers—Solutions to a Problem

Consistently Mediocre

Dedication, Motivation, and Inspiration

This book is dedicated to too many people to mention, but I’ll give it a try. To the many people I have encountered, worked for, worked with, worked around, and worked among, and the business professionals I have been fortunate enough to absorb their wisdom, knowledge, and experience. To my mentor Gary, who got me started in my career and saw something in me and believed in me so many years ago. To my partner and friend Rafael, who convinced me to memorialize my experiences and stories with the world. Without his encouragement, this book would not be possible. To my dad, whose lessons weren’t even a part of me until many years after his death and made me who I am today. He taught me to be the best I can be no matter what it was I wanted to be. The longer he’s gone, the smarter he seems to get. To my sons Michael and Jerry, who motivated me to keep going and always believed in me. They truly are my heroes, and I could not be prouder. To God, who makes all things possible and provides the opportunities for us to recognize. But most importantly, to my beautiful wife, Christine, who stood by me all these years and, no matter what, always believed in me and had my back. Her undaunted dedication and support made me who I am. I am nothing without her. She is my rock!

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.

—Wayne Dyer

Outside the Box—Changing Your Perception

1

Outside the Box—Changing Your Perception

Clear your mind. Forget everything you know about anything. Forget about business, how things should be, and why they are not. Just for a minute, let’s look at your everyday life from an unfamiliar perspective. No matter what you do or who you are, you are all consumers of goods and services. Using the space below, or on a different sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle of the page, and list all the places you like to do business with on the left side of the page. Not generalizations, but specific names of the business. For example, don’t put grocery store, put the specific name of the grocery store. Now on the right side, list the places you you don’t like to do business with.

I’ll bet something interesting happened, didn’t it? You had no problem writing down names on the right but hesitated putting names on the left. Didn’t you? Why is that? Why is it we continue to do business with people or places we don’t like? I do this exercise while training in the field with different groups of people. These groups vary in size and demographics, but the results are always the same. I look around the room, and people’s eyes wander, and the left side is usually not as filled as the right. I will go around the room and ask people to share their answers. Hands go up for the right side without hesitation, but the left side, not so much. One that is always on the right side is the name of the world’s largest retailer based in Bentonville, Arkansas. You know the place. The one that has sixty-five cash registers but only four are open. Another may be the DMV or cable company. Both are very common. On the left side, you may find a home-improvement store that wears blue aprons as opposed to the store that wears orange ones. In Florida, where I live, there is a grocery store chain where shopping is a pleasure that almost always makes the list and is always on the left side. The answers may vary slightly but are usually relatively consistent. Now, I ask you, why did you choose the way you did? It is probably because of the way you are treated when you patronize these businesses. You feel like you are valued. Price almost always does not come up or is never a factor. It is all about the way we are treated and the level of service we are provided.

Now, ask yourself, if you run a business or work at a business in any capacity, what side of the page would your business be on? Left side or right side? Where would your customers put you? Better yet, if you did not work there, would you go there or do business with them? How many times have you been in a restaurant or other place of business (I chose restaurant because all of us have been to at least one in our lifetime), and you see a waiter or employee and think to yourself, I hope this guy or gal doesn’t wait on me. You don’t know why you feel that way; you just have a preconceived notion that you just don’t want them taking care of you. Well, guess what? Your customers do the exact same thing. They enter your workplace, and your employees are onstage. How do they act? When I am out in the field at my automotive dealers, I conduct interviews with everybody in the service department but specifically service advisors. One of the things I ask in the interview process is, If you didn’t work here, who would you want to take care of you if you brought your car in? Which one of your fellow employees would you want to take care of you or your family? The answers I get would astound you. Some don’t know how to answer. Some wouldn’t even go there. Imagine that. You have an employee that would not even trust the place he works to take care of him. These are the same people that are running your business. Let that sink in for a second.

So I ask you, Who would you want in your business to take care of your family? Every business has that go-to person that is often called upon to take care of the owner’s VIP guests. In the car business, we call that the house mouse. He or she is usually the person that gets the house deals, and the owner knows that their special customer will be taken care of. Why is that? So I ask you again, who would you want in your business to take care of your family? If you can’t say anyone, then you must take a good, long look at your business and the people who are running it for you. You may have to make some changes and some tough decisions. If you can say anyone, you are either full of shit and/or have not really taken a good look at your business and afraid to admit it or are among the very rare and very few that actually can. Either way, you need to look deep inside your business. Try to see what your customers see. If you are a dealer or run an automobile service department, stand in the service drive and see what your customers see. Try to look at things objectively, and be observant. Watch your service advisors and see how they interact with your customers. Does anyone smile? How do they greet your guests? What are their mannerisms? Same thing if you run a restaurant or any other business. Work the floor. Watch your staff. You would be amazed of the shit they pull or how they act even if you are watching. Now, imagine if you are not watching. Try to look at your business as other people do. Try to see things as other people see them and from their perspective. You will be amazed of what you see.

The sad part is, it’s probably not even their fault. They were either never taught any differently, never trained properly, or probably never should have been hired in the first place. Almost every manager I encounter manage their department; they do not manage their people. Learn to manage what’s important. Manage your people. That’s the hard part. The rest will generally take care of itself.

Now, you have a homework assignment. Go back to your business, and make an honest determination of what side of the page your business is on. If it’s on the right, what can you do to move it to the other side? Look at your people, are they the reason? Take inventory. Use what I call the HOW method: honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness. Are you being honest with yourself, are you open-minded and can look at things objectively, and are you willing to make the changes necessary? You will be glad you did. Change your perspective. It could change your life.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

—Ernest Hemingway

No Lemon Please

2

No Lemon Please

Now that I have