Yoga Pants are for Yoga!

As I was shopping over the weekend, I went into at least three stores where all of the staff (all under the age of 20) were wearing some type of yoga pant. Now, don't get me wrong - I have a pair of Lululemon yoga pants and think they are fantastic (though I was reluctant to buy them, so my sister got them for me as a gift). But despite the fact that yoga pants have become the new sweat pants, they do not translate into an acceptable uniform for a job. Do you remember the old cotton jogging outfits or track suits? They were never acceptable at any job I've ever had. From landscaping to grocery clerk to retail to home sales to advertising, etc. Never, ever were jogging pants acceptable. So when did the switch happen?

There is a purpose in a uniform at work: it sends a message and sets a standard. For me, the message I get from yoga pants is that our standard is just one step above laying on the couch, watching TV. The message continues: I'm here just to lounge around, so don't ask me to work or to help you. Don't get me wrong, for those who know me, I don't often wear ties and like casual attire. But I also demand that my staff at the restaurants always follow a dress code because we need to have a standard message of professionalism, style, order and service.

You have the ability to influence the dress code at your work. All of us do! So please take the time to bring it up at your office or place of work. TD Bank has just decided to move away from Casual Fridays because staff were getting too casual and the message being sent to customers wasn't appropriate. I applaud them (yes, me applauding a bank!) because they recognize that not all their staff choose appropriately and each employee sends a message.

What are your clothes saying about you at work? What message does your appearance deliver? I got this quote from a Vanity Fair article - Your appearance sends a visual message that should coordinate with the verbal message you are trying to deliver. Keep that in mind and please change out of the yoga pants for work!!

Persistence ... and a patio in the sun!

When we first opened our restaurant in Garrison Woods in Calgary, we expected to launch our patio that spring and have a booming outdoor business. I went to the city for my outdoor cafe license and was quickly told that due to zoning, the patio was an "impossibility!". The developers had opted to not include patios in their original development permit and I was stuck. The lady at the city said there was absolutely no way to get a patio in that location.

I was furious! I thought, I am going to find a way - just to spite the developers and the woman at the city. So I began working on finding a way to open a patio at our restaurant.

I spoke to consultants, city officials, designers, architects, community associations and finally found a long, expensive way to do it. For two years I have worked on getting letters of support, preparing drawings, meeting with city officials and speaking with consultants who work with the city.

The only person really standing in my way at every turn was a neighbour. He also happened to be a lawyer who didn't want to see any patios, noise, bars, restaurants, etc. Apparently he has never sat on a patio and the savored the experience of a chilled glass of wine with a delicious meal in the summer sun. He had threatened both the city and the developer with legal action, and they had backed down.

Last week I stood in front of City Council and expected to stand toe to toe with this lawyer. He never showed. I had out-worked him. I had gone through all the steps with persistence and determination. He eventually got worn down and couldn't be bothered.

My point is this - persistence is what got me a patio and a huge boost to our restaurant. None of the steps over two years were that tough. It's just that there were hundreds of them. The process, like so many, is designed to weed out the people who don't want it as badly, so that only those who are really serious remain. Over the past two years, most people told me to drop it; I was beat; the neighbour had won; I had given it a good shot. I said, no, I am not giving up.

Persistence is 99% of the race and of any competition. I count on the other side seeing my determination and eventually throwing in the towel. Don't get me wrong, I pick my fights. I also know when something is important and I dig my heels in. I highly recommend this approach - it has worked for me and for all those people I look up to.

What's Your Culture Personally?

When I talk about culture, people typically think I mean at their work. When was the last time you thought about your own personal culture? Let me define that; Your own personal culture is really how you operate and interact in your life everyday. It is the words that people would be left with after meeting you. Its the choices you make each day and the way you purposely live.

I am under the impression that if you know what culture you would create for yourself, then you are empowered to choose what parts of our larger culture you will participate in and support. Equally, it empowers you to decide which aspects you will ignore or avoid.

I mention on my website that my friend Krista helped me breakdown my personal culture into 5 words. Each of these words sums up what is critically important to me, what message I want people to get from me and how I want to operate each day. It is a great measuring stick for my daily life and activities.

In order to define your personal culture:
1) Take a piece of paper and a quiet moment to define what is important to you in terms of what you like to do, what you value, what is meaningful in your life.
2) Second, think about what others would say about you if I asked them. How would they describe you? Not sure, then ask 5 friends to give a list of 10 words to describe you.
3) Look at how you live each day - what things consume your time? Work? TV? The gym? How you spend your day says a lot about what is important to you.
4) Create a list of all the words that come out of the first 3 steps. Sit down with someone you trust (and can be honest with) and start to find the words that matter most. Narrow it down to 5 that encompass your culture and your approach. If your chosen words don't match you exactly today, but do match your ideal approach - then good, it gives you something to shoot for.

Need any help? Ask me.

Culture at Work - A Conscious Choice

A couple of months ago I was talking with a business owner that said, we don't really have a culture here. He demonstrated the biggest misconception with corporate culture - it exists whether you intentionally create it or not. A culture is something that grows out of your work environment and the people around you automatically. If someone isn't actively creating and directing a culture, then it is growing organically and may not be heading in the right direction.


I have said, and believe, that the most critical components to any business are its people. Nevertheless, we often spend countless hours building out our marketing messages, our product packaging and our financial model, yet no time consciously building out our culture - an element that impacts every aspect of your business, every day.

Here is a little exercise:
1. Take a piece of paper and write down the first 10 words that come to mind to describe your business and its people. Is it positive, negative? Fun? Performance based?
2. Being as honest as you can, review your list. Are any of your choice words describing how you wish it was or how it really is?
3. Now get 5 other people to do the same exercise anonymously. When you compare the lists of each person, the words that come up repeatedly are the ones that really define your current culture.


Want to know how to create a new culture at work? Ask me, marty@martypark.com

Did I Just Become Really, Really Smart?!

I was driving in the car to work this morning and the weather was really bad, so it made the commute a little longer. Unusually, I was listening to one of the morning shows. I really tuned in at the lights, right as they were talking about when you would be too old to be on Facebook. I quickly changed stations and they were talking about how drunk one of the DJ's got at an event the night before. So I changed stations again. They had a call-in where people could voice their opinion on which city was better Calgary or Edmonton (Calgary being the home favorite). I finally turned it off.

So I ask if I just got smarter because radio content just seems to get dumber. Now I can get updates on what happened in Hollywood yesterday - every single morning! Could there be anything less valuable to report on?! Dont get me wrong - I don't want to listen to reports on astrophysics or microbiology either, but at least then I could accidentally learn something!

Your choice of inputs is a dangerous thing. Think of the music, DJ's, movies and magazines that you consume. How much of it is dumb? How often do you participate in conversation that is not enriching? If you answered over 30% to either of these questions, you may have a problem (we all need a little mindless content now and then, so 0% wasn't the right answer either).

Please, please go get some books on CD, download a good podcast, read a book (mags don't count), find someone with something to say. Find positive sources for content. Make your ride to work useful and still enjoyable. Make your inputs things that could improve your knowledge or quality of life. People that have interests and knowledge are interesting people. Make sure your inputs are helping you in some way. North American society is geared towards less thinking and more empty listening. Break the mould and follow the old adage ... Learn something new today.