Month: June 2012

Dress for Success Volunteer Appreciation

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Tuesday night Dress for Success held their volunteer appreciation event.  This is an organization I have volunteered at for 14 years.  The difference this group makes to women’s lives in outstanding (and sometimes truly unbelievable).  I have heard and witnessed countless lives changed by what we do as a united group.  Unfortunately I missed the event because of a lovely migraine but Dress for Success is one of my top priorities for where I spend my energy and time.  Consider volunteering or making a donation today!

 https://www.facebook.com/DFSOregon

http://www.dressforsuccessoregon.org/1/post/2012/06/volunteer-appreciation.html

Two Recent Books Reviews-“The Vertical Garden” & “Mediterranean Landscape Design”

Posted on by Seniye Groff

The Vertical Garden

The Vertical Garden by author, artist and botanist Patrick Blanc is a book beyond your typical garden book.  The book opens with nine chapters devoted to natural habitats such as waterfalls, cliffs and epiphytes, just to name a few.  Blanc has traveled the world and has captured some stunning photos of plants and their habitats.  The book then moves to the impact of plants on architecture.  Again, Blanc has countless photos detailing superficial, hazardous and destructive impacts.   For many of the pictures, you must look at them several times in order to believe it is real.  Blanc’s passion is obvious.  He invented the concept of the vertical garden in 1991 and believed he could make a building transparent or invisible with plants.  He offers step-by-step photographs detailing the incredible process.  The book then closes with almost 100 pages of photographs and details of many of his works.  This book is a testament to Blanc’s vision, dreams and artistry in a life-altering way.  You will be mesmerized from beginning to end with the intricate plans and the attention to detail that is not often seen.

Mediterranean Landscape Design

265 tantalizing, breathless photographs grace the pages of Mediterranean Landscape Design by Louisa Jones with photographs by Clive Nichols.  Jones asks “What is the role of human beings in nature?”  This book reviews mountains, stonework, earthwork, woodwork, clipped greenery, meadows and field geometry with that vision in mind.  She explores the inspiration of age-old materials, skills and sites to give the reader lots of ideas.  The garden tapestries chapter was especially beautiful and the seascapes and gardens of Venice romance the reader with the pictures and the words.  Mediterranean Landscape Design places the reader in the middle of the Mediterranean landscapes of Greece, Spain, France, Morocco and Italy.  After you have viewed this book, you will almost feel like you have just returned from a stunning, relaxing Mediterranean vacation.

What’s Going on in Retail Training

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I was recently asked by a client to do some recent on current retail training methodology.  I did a tremendous amount of research and even connected with some old retail buddies to get a sense of what is going on out there.  I will write several posts in the next few weeks, sharing snippets of what I learned.  Comment back if you have additional insight or questions.

According to the National Retail Federation, almost 30 percent of all retail workers are age 30 or younger, and nearly half of them have college degrees. Today’s employees have been immersed in technology almost since birth, and based on their experiences as students and consumers; they have come to expect technology in the workplace as well. The pervasiveness of social media and social computing is a big part of this expectation, as well as, comfort with technology.  These expectations have to be factored in when trying to recruit, retain, motivate and train younger employees.

Many retailers have empowered their employees with the right mix of tools and information, and have invested in mobility solutions that help them answer customer queries, look up price, confirm item availability and know their customers. In-store associates are using handheld applications not only for information, but also for guided selling, check out and replenishment. Retailers have implemented new features for online chat so that associates can perform sales and support activities to better serve their customers during transactions.

Enhanced features in employee touch points have allowed customer service associates to use real-time information to provide product features, benefits, recommendations, product availability and price information.  Enhancing employee efficiency and customer experience are value drivers to implement mobility solutions at the store front. Concerns like security, infrastructure management and integrated solutions have been the primary reasons for slower adoption of mobility solutions. At the same time, improved technology, along with some killer applications to support functions and infrastructure, has helped faster adoption of mobility solutions. A classic example is Apple which took customer service to a new level by adopting mobile solutions for all business functions in their stores.  Apple offers the Genius Bar, free workshops, personal setup, personal pickup and EasyPay; all of this could not happen unless their staff was trained and trained very well.

 

The House of Tyneford

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I am reading “The House of Tyneford” by Natasha Solomons and it an engrossing read.  Nineteen year old Elise Landau is forced to leave her comfortable, bourgeois lifestyle in Vienna to become a maid in England because her parents want to keep her safe.  Being Jewish in 1938 is a dangerous prospect when her sister leaves for California, Elise goes to England and her parents stay behind waiting for their Visas.  Elise worries about her parents as she begins her new life as a servant.  Her life changes, though, so read on to find out what happens.

Today I Felt Like a Soccer Mom

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Let me be clear, although my daughter does play soccer, I DO NOT consider myself a soccer mom.  Meaning, I don’t have a minivan and cart kids all over the place!  Actually I try to be in the car very little, prefering to bike and walk as much as possible.  Nonetheless, I found myself as a field trip driver for Carli and five of her classmates yesterday.  They were going to visit their yearlong pen pals at a school about 30 minutes away. 

Once everyone was situated and the arguing over the front passenger seat was done, we proceeded to move along.  I had the radio on a pop station deemed appropriate by my 10 year old daughter.  All the kids (and I mean ALL), in unison, sang the lyrics and waved their arms crazily.  I was really surprised that the four boys knew all the words and were willing to sing aloud.  I really thought singing was a “girl” thing.  There was a lot of energy and happiness in the car!

On our return trip home, Carli asked if everyone could have a piece of gum.  I gave it to them and they proceeded to sing the entire ride home.  When the school bell rang and Carli returned to the car to go home, she informed me that the kids in our car were proclaiming to everyone that “They had the best driver in the class because I gave them a treat and no other mother had thought to do this.”  Carli beamed with pride that her mom was “cool”.  Although my “coolness” was not intentional on my part, I said to myself, “Who knew it was so easy to please a bunch of 10 year olds?!”  If only my coolness would last more than 10 minutes!  Oh well, motherhood is tough.