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• 1. All Day Training Course

  Can every day be a training day in the salon? We say yes and give you a few tips to think about this week on how to do it.

  As we learn in the video:

  Create a Buddy System

  Team up stylists based on their strengths and weaknesses so they can learn from each other. Make sure their stations are next to each other.

  Create Mutual Accountability

  Make sure the buddies understand that they must both perform as a team, not as individuals.

  Change Stations Frequently

  Change stations (and buddies) frequently. This keeps things interesting and fresh and ensures that all day training is always new and fun.

  The buddy system with frequent changes and accountability creates an entire team of mini-managers and mini-trainers!

  Tags: accountability buddy course system training

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• 2. Just Hangin' Around Post

  

  Many people have been asking me about the “hanging” blow dryers in some of our video episodes. These dryers aren’t just hanging from the ceiling but are also “weightless” and turn on automatically when you grab them. This system, created by Freestyle Systems, is pretty ingenious and worth a look if you are remodeling. Great to end clutter and help end sore arms.

  Tags: blowdryer freestyle hanging

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• 3. Are you a Leader or a Manager? Course

  Sometimes I resist using the term “salon manager” or to call my seminars “salon management” because I believe there are too many people focused on management and not enough people focused on “salon leadership”... are you a manager, a leader or both?

  As said in the video, managers manage tasks and leaders lead people. In many salons the manager and the leader are often the same person and many times that person is also the owner and a working hairdresser! What are the differences between the two?

  In my view, a good manager creates, executes and monitors systems within the salon. The manager is motivated by making sure things are done right, done consistently and just plain done!

  A good leader creates a vision that everyone can get behind, keeps the team motivated through inspiration and example, and builds trust that goes above and beyond the systems and rules.

  Being a good leader or a good manager in today’s salon is tougher than ever. While there are many courses and seminars on leadership and management that are very good (including mine!), in today’s world no one can give you a template that will work for your salon. Due to the emergence of Generation Y, the days of management templates and binders and rigid systems are over. They can be great guides but they won’t work with Generation Y (especially in a creative industry such as ours).

  Homework: Make sure to read the written course on Generation Y. This will give you more insight on the above.

  In the 80s and 90s the management mantras were all about “creating a business that runs like a machine”... that way of thinking won’t work anymore. My view is that salons should instead strive to “create a business that runs like a symphony.”

  In the old paradigm the role of the manager was primary —to run the machine. Today, the role of the leader is primary —to conduct the symphony. Conducting the symphony means honoring everyone in the salon and the strengths they bring to the business. However, they all have to be playing to your sheet of music. This sounds like it may be tougher, and for Baby Boomers and Gen X managers it is. However, by keeping this in mind and exercising this new “muscle” you will find it easier in the long run with Generation Y.

  Take to heart that Gen Y is wired in a whole new (and wonderful) way. Using rigid tactics written by and for prior generations just won’t work. We’ll explore this more in future courses about training, culture and motivation.

  More Homework:

  Identify who is the manager and who is the leader in your salon. If it’s the same person, look out for when you are leading and when you are managing. When are you running a machine and when are you conducting a symphony? Think of the fire department analogy in the video. Will your team follow you into the burning building? Will they follow you through tough times? If so, you are a leader.

  For Independent Stylists:

  Are you managing or leading your clients? Has your work become s system or a symphony? Use the same techniques to make your day and interaction with clients more like making music and less like doing work!

  Tags: geny leadership management

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