- A SACK FULL OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Introduction ... 5 Build A Wonderful Workshop ... 11 Choose Your Reindeer Wisely ... 19 Make A List and Check It Twice ... 27 Listen To The Elves ... 35 Get Beyond The Red Wagons ... 43 Share The Milk and Cookies ... 51 Find Out Who’s Naughty and Nice ... 59 Be Good For Goodness Sake ... 67 Closing Thoughts ... 75 Summary Checklist ... 78 Your Commitment Letter (To Santa Claus) ... 80 Santa’s Selections ... 82 3

Introduction 5

               Believe you me, having to smile and be jolly every day when you’re wearing the same thick, hot, red-wool suit (that itches like crazy) is no picnic. This is a job that will definitely strain your sanity and drain your ego if you let it. Seems like everyone wants a piece of me. Yet many of the people I serve question my existence ... or just plain don’t believe in me at all. And those who do believe often expect me to do the impossible – rarely caring about what I have to do, or go through (including chimneys), to meet their expectations. And they ALL have expectations. Give people exactly what they want, and Ho, Ho, Ho – everybody loves good Ol’ Santa. But miss one or two items on the list, or for- get to include the batteries, and you’d better be ready for the alli- gator tears, the fat jokes, the stupid songs, no cookies, the wet laps, the yanks on the beard, and the “I could do Santa’s job better than Santa” remarks. And that’s only half of why it’s not easy being me. t’s not easy being Santa Claus! I 6

There’s no doubt that my biggest challenges come from two roles that people rarely associate with this red-cheeked, bag-carrying sleigh driver: Santa the MANAGER and Santa the LEADER. I am, after all, running a business here. I’m a boss. I’ve got re- sponsibilities – both to the gift-getters and the gift-makers. There are workers to lead, letters to read, orders to fill, processes to manage, stuff to buy, stuff to make, standards to maintain, new technologies to adopt, skills to develop, elf problems to solve, and reindeer droppings to scoop (although I delegate that one). Trust me, I’ve got some big and not-always-easy-fitting boots to fill. It’s true that over the centuries, I’ve learned a lot from mistakes and miscalculations. One year, for example, my well-planned toy production schedule was thrown completely out of whack by last- minute changes in customer requirements. I thought I had a good read on what the kiddies were wanting, and we had geared up for a big push on dolls and board games. Then a new movie came out and WHAM – all of a sudden everyone now wanted action figures and video games. Boy did we do some last minute scrambling! We were working twenty-four/seven to deal with that one. What a pro- duction challenge! What a motivation challenge! Another year, I had two reindeer come down with the flu right after Prancer pulled the plug, retired, and took off for Florida. That left me with a thirty-three percent delivery staff reduction (if you count Rudolph) with no immediate replacements. And the number 7

of houses to visit had increased by seventeen percent. Talk about “doing more with less”! That year was not only tough on me, but also placed an extra load on the rest of the reindeer. Those puppies were really dragging by the time we finished the last house. We barely made it back. They were ticked and I was tired. But since it takes almost a year to train new harness-team members, there was no rest to be enjoyed. I had to immediately post the open positions and start reviewing reindeer résumés. Like most managers, I have to deal with marketplace fluctuations (“Dear Santa, I thought I wanted that, but now I want this.”). And I’ve seen more than my share of budget cuts, staff reductions, em- ployees who are either unwilling or unable to adjust to change, technology advancements, increasing demands for higher quality and better service, fluctuations in the economy, competing priori- ties, ever-growing performance expectations (for all of us), and a whole lot more. Whew! Think your job is tough? You try recruiting in, and for, the North Pole; You try retooling your plant – and retraining your people –   every year to produce the newest fads in toys; You try delivering tons of presents on a route as big as mine – all in one long night. No, it’s not easy being Santa Claus. But in spite of that, I love what I do. People need me ... they depend on me. We’re doing something important here. And knowing that gives me the energy to carry the sack, lead the pack, and keep coming back. 8

By now, you may be wondering how I meet all of these many challenges and responsibilities ... how I manage to bring everyone and everything together to complete our mission. Some people think I use magic. But really, there’s no magic about it. So, if it’s not magic, what is my secret? Actually there are eight of them – eight practical strategies for leading others and getting big things done all year long. They’re called “The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus,” and I’m here to share them with you. They are my gifts to you. And I guarantee that if you apply them, you’ll find these “secrets” more valuable than anything you might have written on your holiday wish list. Read on! Lead on! Santa Claus 9