The Do ‘Z’ List

The Do ‘Z’ List

The Do ‘Z’ List

One of the very most important things to us at Pure Dixie is our relationships.  Relationships within our family, with employees, customers, suppliers, other vendors, artists and everyone we come into contact with.  These relationships are more important than the bags and belts that we create!

One way that we work to maintain healthy relationships all the way around is through systems.  These systems are crucial to our relationships by making sure everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goal.  We spend a LOT of time focusing on our systems.  These are simple, (usually written) processes that we do over and over.    An example of a system that we use at Pure Dixie is the Do ‘Z’ List (pronounced doozee).  This is something I named because of how it works and it is fun to say!  The Do ‘Z’ List is a simple system and it is short for:  When ‘X’ gets to ‘Y’, do ‘Z’.  For example, if we maintain a level of shipping boxes for belts, at some point they will need to be reordered.  We have a Do ‘Z’ list for shipping boxes, when X (4”x12”x18” boxes) gets to Y (50 boxes), do Z (order 100 more from ______).  The nice thing about this system, ANYONE CAN DO IT and they do not have to ask Dixie or myself how many, or for authorization to make the order.  It is a one time decision for us to decide what X, Y and Z are, and then our shipping person, Misty, keeps count on the boxes and a dozen other things on the Do ‘Z’ list. She then makes the call when to reorder based on the simple numbers on the Do ‘Z’ list.  If something does need to be changed it is simply: increase X if we run out too soon, or update Z if we change suppliers. 

The alternative to our simple Do ‘Z’ List would be: Misty comes to me on Wednesday and says, “we are out of shipping boxes”.  I reply, “Really!?  I had no idea we were low!  I need to order more, do you know how many we need?”

Misty: “No, you usually order them.”

Me: “Well, how many did we order last time?”

Misty: “You usually order them.”

Me: “How many do we usually use?”

Misty:  “In a day, a week, a month?  I am not sure what you are asking.”

Me:  “Ok, well do you know where we got them last time”

Misty:  “No, you usually order them”

Do you see the problem here?  If we do not have a simple system in place, I spend a lot of time I don’t need to, trying to figure out how, when, and where to order shipping boxes.  And it creates undo tension in a relationship between owner and employee at work.  When Misty uses the Do ‘Z’, it is so much smoother and I haven’t ordered (or even thought about) shipping boxes, myself, in years… and our conversation goes like this:

Me: “Good morning, Misty”

Misty: “Good morning, I ordered shipping boxes today,”

Me:  “Great, thank you for doing that!  Did Vince get his elk yet?”

By using the Do ‘Z’ List, or any other system in our shop, we have taken this (along with dozens of other potentially tense situations) and turned them into something that we don’t even think about, and now we can have a lighthearted conversation about me asking Misty if her husband (and my good friend Vince) has had any luck hunting recently.  This is one of the ways that we build and foster great working relationships with those that we work with.  

Other things we use the Do ‘Z’ for:  Snaps, all of our shipping packages, office supplies, leather supplies (glue, screws, thread, hole punches), bathroom supplies, etc.  I have even thought it would be a great way to organize our pantry but haven't gotten that far.  You could see how it would change the conversation of: “We are out of flour!”.... “You usually buy that!”.

We use customer systems to keep customer relationships strong with our Exchange and Return Policy and Product Guarantee.

We use supplier systems to keep  supplier relationships strong with having clearly communicated prices, standards and contracts.

We keep our relationships with our kids strong by having very specific expectations like, No Screen Sunday, and ‘chore for the month’ (so it is not day to day, “whose turn is it to unload the dishwasher today?”)

We keep our artist and collaborator relationships strong by making sure every detail of partnership is spelled out clearly ahead of time and leaving nothing to question. 

The committees of trade shows we attend take it upon themselves to keep our relationships strong with contracts (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has a vendor handbook that is over 100 pages, and believe me, this sounds daunting, but they do a great job and I prefer all the standards and systems they have).

The relationships with those we work with are some of the most important and why we have so many systems that are geared toward that.  These include:  Operations Manuals, Style Team Handbook, Accounting Handbook (for just that one but very important job!), employment contracts, affiliate expectations, etc.    It may seem silly on the surface to focus so much time on systems when relationships are at the core…but THE SYSTEMS ARE WHAT HELP MAKE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETTER AND LESS STRESSFUL!

 Some would ask, “don't you trust me or the people you work with?”  I would answer by saying, “I DO trust you, but I value our relationship enough to eliminate a gray area that would cause a misunderstanding to come between us”.  And I think that is where most relationships start to crumble.  Not with a lie, or deception, or greed, but with a MISUNDERSTANDING that leads one of us to think the other is lying, deceitful or greedy.  These systems are designed to eliminate that opportunity!

One last note on systems.  Anyone can write something down, but they are nothing without follow through and accountability.  Our Product Guarantee is worthless unless we are not fully committed to standing behind what we sell and doing exactly what we say we are going to do.  We may as well burn our Style Team Guidelines if we are not willing to hold accountable those who don't follow our expectations and reward those who are committed to being the best representative of Pure Dixie that they can be.  And it NEEDS to be in writing.  I have heard it said “The faintest ink is better than the best memory”.  Handshakes are great, but they should not just be an alternative to a written agreement.  We write it down.  Our relationship is at stake, and it is too important!

Back to blog