Did you know that there are only TWO types of service? I was finally able to nail down these two types of service this past weekend. As with most things in life, you usually only ever have an opinion on one type of service without something to compare it to. This weekend, I found the comparison.
Service Model #1 – Service By Inquiry: As the name suggests, inquiry is the key here. How can I help you? What is it you’re looking for? What specific model/brand are you looking for? These are all questions usually asked by a clerk/service personnel as you wander around their store with a lost look on your face or when you have finally decided to approach the Customer Service counter as a last resort. Then there are the questions posed by the customer: Where do you keep your …? Where would I find …? Do you carry any …? These are simply inquiries which should normally be met with simple answers.
Service Model #2 – Service By Insanity: As this name suggests, the customer has to lose his mind, his patience, his good mood and his common courtesy before he gets the service he should be entitled to. Sending a customer across the store to the Customer Service counter to be helped when there is a perfectly good in-store phone at your fingertips drives a customer nuts. Getting a clerk to help a customer only after they have hit “desperation” is not good service.
However, the worst question in any retail setting is usually asked just before you leave the store if you’re making your way through the checkout line: Did you find everything you were looking for? That’s really a dumb question that makes unhappy customers crazy. Yet more and more retail operations are hell-bent on asking it. Most people simply answer “yes” and silently vow to never come to the store again.
But what if the answer is “no?” Are you going to hold up all of the other disgruntled customers who are also standing in a long checkout line? Answer “no” and the clerk gets a look of terror on their face. Who fixes the problem with you only ten feet from the door? I’ll tell you right now, if you answer “no,” you get the pat-answer, “Oh sorry.”
Look, if you want me to find everything I’m looking for; don’t place your cashier in an embarrassing situation. Put more people on the floor to help the customers. Jeez, it’s really a simple idea. Don’t try to fix my problem when I’ve already gone through your whole store and no one helped me there. Now you think you’re going to help me once I've already decided to leave? It doesn’t work that way. Besides, if I didn’t buy anything, no one asks the question. I’m not in the right line (checkout line) to see if I’m satisfied.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: When a manager has to help a complaining customer with two or three qualified staff standing around doing nothing means your people don’t own a Service Attitude. If you’re a manager who feels compelled to respond to customer concerns, it usually means that your staff is unmotivated. If so, your management style needs a lot of work. Obviously, if as a manager, you have to help, it’s because your people aren’t helping enough. Either get rid of these people or move them to where they don’t deal directly with customers. A manager should be doing PR on the floor. Clerks and customer service reps should be ensuring that a manager never has to actually help customers find things. By the time a manager speaks with a customer, it should be all smiles and chuckles – not complaints.
If you’re a manager who deals with complaints, then your people aren’t doing it right. If you’re a service representative and you’re not looking for ways to help a customer in every moment of your day, then you are not doing enough to ensure you become the most valuable person in your organization.
Help me, the customer, on the floor so that when I get to the checkout line and get asked, “Did you find everything OK?” I can answer “yes” and take the pressure off of the cashier. Your cashier should not have to be the last line of defense of ensuring customer satisfaction. Besides, if I’m on my way out, how are you going to fix it now anyway?
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Are You Indispensable?
This is my favorite time of year - hockey playoffs. So on game night, which is pretty much every night, I'm glued to the tube watching in hi-def. It's a Canadian thing.
I was watching the game highlights from the games I missed. The New York Rangers are playing the Washington Capitals. Sean Avery of the Rangers was up to his old cheap-shot tricks again. I began to wonder, would the Rangers be a worse team without Avery playing?
On American Idol, would the show be worse if Tara DioGuardi were not a judge this year? Would her contribution really be missed? Of course, the answer would be different if I asked the same question about Simon Cowell.
How would your workplace be different without your contribution? Honestly. Would the job get along without you if you weren't there anymore?
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Have you been able to make yourself indispensable? Are you prepared to become the go-to person in a pinch?
Here's what it takes to become indispensable: continuous improvement. The more valuable you make yourself, the more you assure yourself of job security. And if your position is still tenuous, you set yourself up well to become the person that other organizations "must acquire."
The market continues to shift and change and so must you. You must keep on top of your game - keep sharp, keep adapting and keep learning.
You don't have to be in a leadership position to own a leadership attitude. In fact you don't have to be in management to be a leader.
The truth is, if your workplace could get along without you, then you're an average performer. Average performers get an average wage. Top performers get top wages. The difference between pay scales is in your willingness to improve and to position yourself as indispensable.
Don't complain about the job or the pay. You get paid what others think you're worth.
I was watching the game highlights from the games I missed. The New York Rangers are playing the Washington Capitals. Sean Avery of the Rangers was up to his old cheap-shot tricks again. I began to wonder, would the Rangers be a worse team without Avery playing?
On American Idol, would the show be worse if Tara DioGuardi were not a judge this year? Would her contribution really be missed? Of course, the answer would be different if I asked the same question about Simon Cowell.
How would your workplace be different without your contribution? Honestly. Would the job get along without you if you weren't there anymore?
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Have you been able to make yourself indispensable? Are you prepared to become the go-to person in a pinch?
Here's what it takes to become indispensable: continuous improvement. The more valuable you make yourself, the more you assure yourself of job security. And if your position is still tenuous, you set yourself up well to become the person that other organizations "must acquire."
The market continues to shift and change and so must you. You must keep on top of your game - keep sharp, keep adapting and keep learning.
You don't have to be in a leadership position to own a leadership attitude. In fact you don't have to be in management to be a leader.
The truth is, if your workplace could get along without you, then you're an average performer. Average performers get an average wage. Top performers get top wages. The difference between pay scales is in your willingness to improve and to position yourself as indispensable.
Don't complain about the job or the pay. You get paid what others think you're worth.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Four-Letter F-Word
Oh you’ve used this word too so stop being so offended. In fact, you’ve witnessed other people use the word and you don’t get offended. So what’s the problem here?
You see, you’ve used the word when you get lousy service in restaurant, get a lousy night’s sleep in a hotel and even when someone asks how their salesperson handled your complaint. You use this word freely and it seems not enough people take offence when you use it – well, the right people anyway.
The word I am speaking of is the word “Fine.” And if you use that word to describe someone’s service, they should be offended. If anyone has ever used this word to describe your service, you should be doubly offended. “Fine” is the word of indifference to describe your opinion. People use this word when they don’t want to hurt your feelings or they don’t want to seem a bother. But you sure didn’t give them any sort of “wow” factor.
I refuse to use the word “fine” to describe any service encounter. If I know that at the end of my experience I am going to get asked that question, I begin preparing my answer at the beginning. Hey, if they’re going to ask, I’m going to answer. If the only reason they’re asking is so that I can blow a little smoke up their skirts, then they’ve asked the wrong guy.
In fact, in recent weeks, I have stayed at a number of hotels who have asked me the question at checkout. In both instances, I have asked the clerk what they do with my answer to their question. I was, on both occasions, met with an uncomfortable, stammering clerk (as though they were expecting “fine” to be my answer).
“No, answer the question,” I asked. "What do you do with the information I give you?"
“Umm,” the clerk started. “We tell maintenance if something is wrong.”
“Well what if it’s not a maintenance issue?” I asked.
“Uh, we tell a manager?” She asked in question-form as though only I knew the right answer and she was answering her high-school History teacher’s question.
“Good answer.” I offered. “Now get a piece of paper to write these things I am about to say down.” And she did.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Look, if you don’t want an honest answer, don’t ask the question. Otherwise, if you’re going to ask customers to describe their experience, be prepared to take notes. Don’t make your “Satisfaction Survey” empty and vacuous. It's patronizing and you’re wasting your customers' time.
Also, if you’re going to force your front-line people to ask the question, then you had better prepare them to handle the answers. It amazes me that so many organizations will force their people to ask but then it becomes clearly evident that they have not been trained to handle an answer other than “fine.” What's the protocol when the answer is other than "fine?"
Not preparing your people to handle an answer other than “fine” means that you really don’t care how your customer experience was or you would have armed them with the tools to fix it or at least tell the customer right away that they're taking this information upstairs. A "Service Attitude" means understanding that the whole reason for being in business is to serve. If you don't care about customer answers and instead just want to be placated, then you don't get the whole "Service Attitude" thing at all.
If your people don't know how to handle your customers' truthful answers, stop asking the question. It’s embarrassing to you.
You see, you’ve used the word when you get lousy service in restaurant, get a lousy night’s sleep in a hotel and even when someone asks how their salesperson handled your complaint. You use this word freely and it seems not enough people take offence when you use it – well, the right people anyway.
The word I am speaking of is the word “Fine.” And if you use that word to describe someone’s service, they should be offended. If anyone has ever used this word to describe your service, you should be doubly offended. “Fine” is the word of indifference to describe your opinion. People use this word when they don’t want to hurt your feelings or they don’t want to seem a bother. But you sure didn’t give them any sort of “wow” factor.
- How was your meal?
- How was your stay?
- How did that rental car work out?
- How was our salesperson?
- How did we do in responding to your concern?
- How was your experience with us?
- How did we do in solving your problem?
I refuse to use the word “fine” to describe any service encounter. If I know that at the end of my experience I am going to get asked that question, I begin preparing my answer at the beginning. Hey, if they’re going to ask, I’m going to answer. If the only reason they’re asking is so that I can blow a little smoke up their skirts, then they’ve asked the wrong guy.
In fact, in recent weeks, I have stayed at a number of hotels who have asked me the question at checkout. In both instances, I have asked the clerk what they do with my answer to their question. I was, on both occasions, met with an uncomfortable, stammering clerk (as though they were expecting “fine” to be my answer).
“No, answer the question,” I asked. "What do you do with the information I give you?"
“Umm,” the clerk started. “We tell maintenance if something is wrong.”
“Well what if it’s not a maintenance issue?” I asked.
“Uh, we tell a manager?” She asked in question-form as though only I knew the right answer and she was answering her high-school History teacher’s question.
“Good answer.” I offered. “Now get a piece of paper to write these things I am about to say down.” And she did.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Look, if you don’t want an honest answer, don’t ask the question. Otherwise, if you’re going to ask customers to describe their experience, be prepared to take notes. Don’t make your “Satisfaction Survey” empty and vacuous. It's patronizing and you’re wasting your customers' time.
Also, if you’re going to force your front-line people to ask the question, then you had better prepare them to handle the answers. It amazes me that so many organizations will force their people to ask but then it becomes clearly evident that they have not been trained to handle an answer other than “fine.” What's the protocol when the answer is other than "fine?"
Not preparing your people to handle an answer other than “fine” means that you really don’t care how your customer experience was or you would have armed them with the tools to fix it or at least tell the customer right away that they're taking this information upstairs. A "Service Attitude" means understanding that the whole reason for being in business is to serve. If you don't care about customer answers and instead just want to be placated, then you don't get the whole "Service Attitude" thing at all.
If your people don't know how to handle your customers' truthful answers, stop asking the question. It’s embarrassing to you.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Why Should You Be Hired?
My friend and mentor, Brian Stecyk, sent me an email recently in response to a Blog entry I had written called Memo From The Customer. In it, I mused aloud as to why front-line staff feels that everything else, other than serving me, is more important at the time of my transaction. All I was asking for is a little attention and a genuine thankfulness for my business – not a tall order really.
Brian sent along the following comments that included a great observation at the end.
Great column. Every time I interview someone, I ask them the question, "Why should I hire you?" I have received the following responses:
When I inform them of what I am looking for, I usually get an absolutely stunned response. It is as though the thought that they must make a contribution to the bottom line is heresy. On a couple of occasions, interviewees even remarked, "It shouldn't be all about money and profit." Obviously those people did not get hired. Without profit I cannot hire anyone.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: As the market heats up with increasing competition for the same numbers of jobs, what are you bringing to the table that is better than the last guy who was interviewed? What is it that you possess that you do better than anyone else?
At no time in history (I am guessing here) has a paycheck ever been handed to an employee with a little notation in the bottom left corner of the check that reads, “For Being Nice,” or “Because You Needed A Job,” or “Because We Needed Someone.” That’s not why you get hired.
If your Attitude on the job is one of “that’s good enough,” when it comes time for performance and pay review, your employer is likely to say, “What we’re paying you right now is good enough.” If you want to be paid more, you need to be valued more. If you want to be picked over all of the other job seekers, you need to have more value than they. If you want to be promoted, your number of years on the job aren’t enough – you need to be more valuable than the others being considered.
If you think you’ve gotten as far in your current job as you can go and you’re not the person running the place, then people don't think you're worth more and you obviously haven't given them any reason to think differently.
If you won’t do the work to get better, become more knowledgeable and to become the most valuable person in your organization, then why should anyone pay you more? That’s like paying more money for the very same item, made by the very same manufacturer at the store next door. Why would you pay more for it? It hasn’t been improved and it will do the same thing it always does.
What’s your edge? What makes you more valuable? What is demonstrably different about you?
Brian sent along the following comments that included a great observation at the end.
Great column. Every time I interview someone, I ask them the question, "Why should I hire you?" I have received the following responses:
- Because I am nice.
- Because I need a job.
- Because I am a hard worker.
- Because you need someone.
When I inform them of what I am looking for, I usually get an absolutely stunned response. It is as though the thought that they must make a contribution to the bottom line is heresy. On a couple of occasions, interviewees even remarked, "It shouldn't be all about money and profit." Obviously those people did not get hired. Without profit I cannot hire anyone.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: As the market heats up with increasing competition for the same numbers of jobs, what are you bringing to the table that is better than the last guy who was interviewed? What is it that you possess that you do better than anyone else?
At no time in history (I am guessing here) has a paycheck ever been handed to an employee with a little notation in the bottom left corner of the check that reads, “For Being Nice,” or “Because You Needed A Job,” or “Because We Needed Someone.” That’s not why you get hired.
If your Attitude on the job is one of “that’s good enough,” when it comes time for performance and pay review, your employer is likely to say, “What we’re paying you right now is good enough.” If you want to be paid more, you need to be valued more. If you want to be picked over all of the other job seekers, you need to have more value than they. If you want to be promoted, your number of years on the job aren’t enough – you need to be more valuable than the others being considered.
If you think you’ve gotten as far in your current job as you can go and you’re not the person running the place, then people don't think you're worth more and you obviously haven't given them any reason to think differently.
If you won’t do the work to get better, become more knowledgeable and to become the most valuable person in your organization, then why should anyone pay you more? That’s like paying more money for the very same item, made by the very same manufacturer at the store next door. Why would you pay more for it? It hasn’t been improved and it will do the same thing it always does.
What’s your edge? What makes you more valuable? What is demonstrably different about you?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Car Wrecks, Grieving Mothers And The Economy
You’ve seen it happen when a tragedy befalls a family. You see the media clamoring and jockeying for position to try to get an exclusive interview with the affected family members. Family members are in tears trying desperately to remain coherent and composed while facing the barrage of cameras and microphones shoved in their faces.
I get no pleasure from watching events like this. I don’t understand how the media can be so calloused as to think that someone who is suffering a personal tragedy would make for good TV. But they do it anyway because in order to boost ratings, the media feels compelled to put the most sensational, gut-wrenching and over-the-top footage on their newscasts. We, the public, love to watch a car-wreck. Events like this are sadly, just like that.
Shoving a camera in the face of a grieving mother is not factual – it’s sensational. Interviewing the investigating police officers of a crime is factual.
At the same time, we look to that same media for the facts of what is happening to our economy. If they will go through great lengths to make a personal tragedy sensational, wouldn’t it figure that they would do the same with every story – including the state of our economy.
There are many experts who believe that we are turning the corner in the economy right now. There are just as many who believe that we’re headed for more trouble. Those who think more trouble is ahead seem to get more than their fair share of the headlines. Those who think that our economy is on the upswing usually get buried in the story (for balance so they tell us). If you read only the headline and the first few paragraphs of a newspaper story, you get the idea that things are going to get worse.
In no less than twenty stories in various newspapers across the country in the past few weeks, I have found buried inside the dastardly-headlined stories, some hope, some optimism and some good news. But the headline rarely suggests that. My friend and business growth expert, Marty Park, made an interesting suggestion: start telling your friends that the recession is over and claim you heard it on the news. Watch how people react.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Let’s not forget that the media is a business. After being a member of the media for eighteen years, I can tell you with no reservation that the media’s job is to sell advertising. Ads are easier to sell for those with a bigger share of the market. In other words, a bigger audience means bigger dollars. Make the headline sensational. Make it loud. Make it brash. And make it appeal to the inherent “car-wreck watching” parts of us.
The awards for best photo don’t go to photojournalists who shoot beautiful sunsets. They go to those who shoot tragedy. Journalism awards don’t go to reporters who write good news stories. They go to investigative reporters who uncover a major plot. Documentary awards don’t normally go news crews who tell happy stories of companies succeeding during tough times. Those awards go to crews who bring down the big multi-nationals.
Before you think that what you read in newspapers, see on television and listen to on radio is gospel truth, think about what the individual reporters are trying to do (win awards) and what the media companies are trying to do (win awards and raise advertising revenues). Journalism is “supposed” to be fair and balanced – but that doesn’t mean that the headlines have to be.
It’s your own personal economy that’s really most important to you anyway. Your own personal economy is turning the corner if you whatever is necessary to make it turn the corner. For the most part, what’s happening in the rest of the country or the world won’t have much effect on you personally if you look after your own personal economy (household, personal finances, revenue streams, etc.). Let’s keep our eyes on the ball and stop getting so spooked by organizations trying to profit from our difficulty.
I get no pleasure from watching events like this. I don’t understand how the media can be so calloused as to think that someone who is suffering a personal tragedy would make for good TV. But they do it anyway because in order to boost ratings, the media feels compelled to put the most sensational, gut-wrenching and over-the-top footage on their newscasts. We, the public, love to watch a car-wreck. Events like this are sadly, just like that.
Shoving a camera in the face of a grieving mother is not factual – it’s sensational. Interviewing the investigating police officers of a crime is factual.
At the same time, we look to that same media for the facts of what is happening to our economy. If they will go through great lengths to make a personal tragedy sensational, wouldn’t it figure that they would do the same with every story – including the state of our economy.
There are many experts who believe that we are turning the corner in the economy right now. There are just as many who believe that we’re headed for more trouble. Those who think more trouble is ahead seem to get more than their fair share of the headlines. Those who think that our economy is on the upswing usually get buried in the story (for balance so they tell us). If you read only the headline and the first few paragraphs of a newspaper story, you get the idea that things are going to get worse.
In no less than twenty stories in various newspapers across the country in the past few weeks, I have found buried inside the dastardly-headlined stories, some hope, some optimism and some good news. But the headline rarely suggests that. My friend and business growth expert, Marty Park, made an interesting suggestion: start telling your friends that the recession is over and claim you heard it on the news. Watch how people react.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Let’s not forget that the media is a business. After being a member of the media for eighteen years, I can tell you with no reservation that the media’s job is to sell advertising. Ads are easier to sell for those with a bigger share of the market. In other words, a bigger audience means bigger dollars. Make the headline sensational. Make it loud. Make it brash. And make it appeal to the inherent “car-wreck watching” parts of us.
The awards for best photo don’t go to photojournalists who shoot beautiful sunsets. They go to those who shoot tragedy. Journalism awards don’t go to reporters who write good news stories. They go to investigative reporters who uncover a major plot. Documentary awards don’t normally go news crews who tell happy stories of companies succeeding during tough times. Those awards go to crews who bring down the big multi-nationals.
Before you think that what you read in newspapers, see on television and listen to on radio is gospel truth, think about what the individual reporters are trying to do (win awards) and what the media companies are trying to do (win awards and raise advertising revenues). Journalism is “supposed” to be fair and balanced – but that doesn’t mean that the headlines have to be.
It’s your own personal economy that’s really most important to you anyway. Your own personal economy is turning the corner if you whatever is necessary to make it turn the corner. For the most part, what’s happening in the rest of the country or the world won’t have much effect on you personally if you look after your own personal economy (household, personal finances, revenue streams, etc.). Let’s keep our eyes on the ball and stop getting so spooked by organizations trying to profit from our difficulty.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
If The Job Is Boring, Maybe It’s Not The Job
Ok, you’ve heard about Southwest Airlines. They are the airline in the United States that makes the experience just a little bit different. As a flight attendant on any airline, what do you think the boring parts of the job are? My guess, having flown enough, is that the announcements on most airlines are always the same, the passengers all start to look the same, the airports all start to look the same and you can bet that the boredom factor can be high when you’ve been up and down on five or six flights in the same day.
So that means that the fun on the job would be up to the employee – otherwise it’s a boring affair after a while.
Have a look at the following video to see what happens when you exercise a little creativity in the mundane work each day.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Don’t complain that the job is boring. It’s boring if you let it be boring. If you want some excitement, make it exciting. You’ll have many more better days than boring ones.
So that means that the fun on the job would be up to the employee – otherwise it’s a boring affair after a while.
Have a look at the following video to see what happens when you exercise a little creativity in the mundane work each day.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Don’t complain that the job is boring. It’s boring if you let it be boring. If you want some excitement, make it exciting. You’ll have many more better days than boring ones.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
3 Key Components To Succeeding In Today's Economy
Ray was a former Sales Manager of mine when I sold radio commercial time. Although I had been in radio for some sixteen years to that point, I had never formally been a sales representative. We had, as sales reps, monthly quotas to achieve. The numbers seemed daunting in a relatively new territory which I was taking over. I had also never actually sold radio airtime before. I just couldn’t figure out how I was going to achieve the monthly quotas that were expected of me.
Ray, in his wisdom from years on the street, simply focused me this way: “Kevin, if you look after the weeks, the months will look after themselves.”
Ray refocused me by showing me how to break down the monthly totals into four weekly performances – small manageable steps.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: This is good advice at any time in the economy, especially today. But there are three key components that you will need to consider to succeed in a resetting economy. Perhaps you may have overlooked these in the past few years.
People want to believe that there is something positive coming out of all of this and they want something to look forward to. People want a reason to believe that what they do matters and that they are valued. People want believe that they can still succeed in this economy. And I believe that they can. Anyone can. And I will argue to the death with anyone who believes anything to the contrary.
Ray, in his wisdom from years on the street, simply focused me this way: “Kevin, if you look after the weeks, the months will look after themselves.”
Ray refocused me by showing me how to break down the monthly totals into four weekly performances – small manageable steps.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: This is good advice at any time in the economy, especially today. But there are three key components that you will need to consider to succeed in a resetting economy. Perhaps you may have overlooked these in the past few years.
- Get rid of the need for record-breaking performance. Not every year is a record-breaking year. An organization can still do well in today’s economy if they are prepared to commit to creating relationships based on value with their clients and staff. Relationships based on money only will seriously be undermined and loyalty becomes non-existent. When you teach your clients and staff to buy based on price, then the guy with the best price wins. What are you offering as far as solutions go? People will pay a fair price for something they get tremendous value from. Sell your “value-proposition” and not your need to have a record-breaking sales year. What has that got to do with your staff’s and customer’s needs anyway?
- Stop comparing to last year’s performance. Last year and the year before were boom-years. If you want a fair comparison, compare to 2002 just prior to the boom. (If we could only teach the media how to do this when they tell us how bad our economy is today.) But in relative terms, comparing apples to apples (2009 to 2002) we are about the same – perhaps a little better today. Make a fair comparison. Measure yourselves by the quality of your work and not the finances. Money is a lousy way to keep score. Customer satisfaction is a better way to check how you’re doing. Keep customers satisfied and they keep coming back. Look after the customers and staff and the dollars look after themselves.
- Chop the deadwood. When times are good, you get fat. You get bloated. You feast at the table of the never-ending supply of money. You gorge yourselves and treat your lives like a drunken orgy of delights. Now is the time to get lean, to lose weight, to trim the fat. Because times were so good you had to hire people who were not necessarily the right fit for your organization. But you needed warm bodies and any body would do. But now is the time to eliminate waste. Companies are getting rid of programs that don't positively impact the bottom-line directly. Feel-good motivational stuff doesn't make people better salespeople, better workers or better managers. But change an attitude, a perspective or point of view and you can make a difference in the day-to-day functioning and results of any organization.
People want to believe that there is something positive coming out of all of this and they want something to look forward to. People want a reason to believe that what they do matters and that they are valued. People want believe that they can still succeed in this economy. And I believe that they can. Anyone can. And I will argue to the death with anyone who believes anything to the contrary.
Friday, April 03, 2009
You Don’t Have To Go To Meetings
Recently, I was chosen to address the full staff of a small municipality – everything from Administration and Social Services personnel to Fire, Police, Library, Recreation and Public Works staff. This was their annual Staff Day, a half-day session to inform all of the members of the municipal government staff of what was happening with new projects, new staff additions and new directions for the coming year. I was brought in to wrap up the morning offering a new perspective and a new attitude towards work, safety and developing a personal leadership role within the job environment.
During the early part of the meeting, while representatives from each department were addressing their updates to inform the rest of the staff of the goings-on, a few employees sitting in the back row decided that it was more important to chatter amongst themselves instead of keeping up to speed on what their own employer and organization was doing and how it may affect them, their work and the community in which they live and work. There was little respect or courtesy being demonstrated by these few workers especially during the part of the program in which the CAO was addressing the topics of Respect, Trust and Integrity.
Just prior to my session commencing, there was an open forum to ask questions. One back-of-the-room disruptor muttered under their breath loud enough for others around them to hear, “Do we have to be here?”
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: No you don’t have to be here. You don’t have to attend any staff meetings. You don’t have to show up at work on time. You don’t have to endure three hours of coffee, donuts and free pizza for lunch. You don’t have to give your attention on the job. You don’t have to be considerate to your fellow workers. And no, you don’t have to sit through a boring meeting. Simply hand in your resignation and you’re free to do whatever you want.
However, if you take the job, you need to suck it up. You take all of the meetings, the procedures, the bosses, the whining of your co-workers, the hours, the holidays, the paycheck and the benefits you’re entitled to. You don’t have to do any of the jobs you don’t like – but you will have to give up everything you do like in order to stop doing what bores you. Some parts of the job are not as much fun as other parts of the job, granted. But they are all necessary.
My guess is that the Staff day was developed in response to, “How come no one ever tells us what’s going on?” I’m willing to bet those comments came from the people in the back row who chose not to pay attention anyway. And in a few weeks they’ll ask, “How come no one told us this was going on?”
Full kudos to the Administration for bringing the staff together to communicate what is happening with the municipality. They demonstrated respect, trust and integrity with their employees. Too bad not everyone reciprocated.
People who show no respect for their fellow workers will likely show little respect to their work, their equipment, their responsibilities, their co-workers, their bosses and their customers. Would it be a loss if these people left the job? Really?
During the early part of the meeting, while representatives from each department were addressing their updates to inform the rest of the staff of the goings-on, a few employees sitting in the back row decided that it was more important to chatter amongst themselves instead of keeping up to speed on what their own employer and organization was doing and how it may affect them, their work and the community in which they live and work. There was little respect or courtesy being demonstrated by these few workers especially during the part of the program in which the CAO was addressing the topics of Respect, Trust and Integrity.
Just prior to my session commencing, there was an open forum to ask questions. One back-of-the-room disruptor muttered under their breath loud enough for others around them to hear, “Do we have to be here?”
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: No you don’t have to be here. You don’t have to attend any staff meetings. You don’t have to show up at work on time. You don’t have to endure three hours of coffee, donuts and free pizza for lunch. You don’t have to give your attention on the job. You don’t have to be considerate to your fellow workers. And no, you don’t have to sit through a boring meeting. Simply hand in your resignation and you’re free to do whatever you want.
However, if you take the job, you need to suck it up. You take all of the meetings, the procedures, the bosses, the whining of your co-workers, the hours, the holidays, the paycheck and the benefits you’re entitled to. You don’t have to do any of the jobs you don’t like – but you will have to give up everything you do like in order to stop doing what bores you. Some parts of the job are not as much fun as other parts of the job, granted. But they are all necessary.
My guess is that the Staff day was developed in response to, “How come no one ever tells us what’s going on?” I’m willing to bet those comments came from the people in the back row who chose not to pay attention anyway. And in a few weeks they’ll ask, “How come no one told us this was going on?”
Full kudos to the Administration for bringing the staff together to communicate what is happening with the municipality. They demonstrated respect, trust and integrity with their employees. Too bad not everyone reciprocated.
People who show no respect for their fellow workers will likely show little respect to their work, their equipment, their responsibilities, their co-workers, their bosses and their customers. Would it be a loss if these people left the job? Really?
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Look Who’s Talking
There is one very powerful voice today that is speaking to your staff, your customers and the customers of your customers. That voice is shaping purchasing decisions, growth strategies, corporate training, hiring practices, customer service models and your corporate culture. Left unchecked and unchallenged, that voice will continue to chip away at your bottom-line.
I’m not speaking of that one big dissenter within your organization that the rest of the staff wish would just go away or get fired. This one voice doesn’t even work for your company. It stands outside of your organization like a lone protester carrying a “The World Is Ending” picket sign and creates havoc and warns people that they had better not spend their money with you because tomorrow, there won’t be any money left. That voice is like a single mosquito in a tent at 2:00 a.m. – incredibly annoying until it has been squashed. But people are listening to that voice and they are making decisions about doing business with your organization based on that single voice.
Why are people listening to that voice? Because you’re not challenging that voice. You’re not engaging in the same public forum to reassure your customers and your staff that doing business with you is a good thing to do. That voice is doing huge damage to your organization right now because it is being allowed to singlehandedly make a lot of noise, disrupt your business, scare your staff and sully your customers.
That voice is the voice of the media who look for evidence every single day to justify the “Sky Is Falling” headline in their stories. And since there are very few opposite opinions telling their “good news” stories, that one voice is allowed to continue to dominate the discussion with your clients and staff. People are listening to the only one voice that seems to be talking. And since you’re not talking to your customers and staff, since you’ve decided to suspend training until the “recession” is over, that voice is allowed to dominate the market and potentially bring about the dire consequences it is predicting. Say something enough times and people start to believe it.
Had your decision to pull back training, or have a hiring freeze or take a “wait-and-see” attitude been done during a Boom-time, your decision would have been interpreted as a corporate strategy. People applaud corporate strategy. Most time corporate strategy makes an organization stronger at the end. During this time, however, any of those same decisions are perceived to be a reaction to the marketplace and makes each organization look like a follower and not a leader. It makes customers nervous. It makes staff nervous. And when customers and staff are nervous, you will see the evidence on your bottom-line.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Yesterday, in the Edmonton Journal, read the following headline in 72 pt font: “City Economy Will Shrink In '09.” The truth is, in Edmonton, this year’s growth is expected to be down 0.2%. That’s zero point two percent folks – for a city. Is that even news? Of course it is – if your mandate is to sell newspapers. Make it loud. Make it scary. Make it a must-read and people will buy the paper. More papers sold means more advertisers attracted.
The story went on to explain that Edmonton’s growth will bounce back to 3.1% growth in 2010, and 3.8% in 2011 to 2013. But the headline doesn’t indicate that the 0.2% decline is short-lived. So, you, your customers and your staff read headlines like this (since virtually no one reads the whole story anymore) and start to pull in your horns a little. Everyone gets nervous and the nervousness spreads like a virus. Sorry, but to the average organization, a 0.2% decline in growth would only seem like a small correction in the market – not the basis for an outlandish headline.
I challenge you today, to find a good news headline in your organization and either call a meeting or send a company-wide memo telling your people about your positive growth story and do it every day. Ask your people to pass it on to your customers. Let’s start talking about what’s good in your organization and let’s start drowning out the voices of the dissenters. Those dissenting voices are not good for your business. Why are you allowing someone outside of your company to dictate the success of your organization? Speak up. Where’s your Leadership Attitude?
I’m not speaking of that one big dissenter within your organization that the rest of the staff wish would just go away or get fired. This one voice doesn’t even work for your company. It stands outside of your organization like a lone protester carrying a “The World Is Ending” picket sign and creates havoc and warns people that they had better not spend their money with you because tomorrow, there won’t be any money left. That voice is like a single mosquito in a tent at 2:00 a.m. – incredibly annoying until it has been squashed. But people are listening to that voice and they are making decisions about doing business with your organization based on that single voice.
Why are people listening to that voice? Because you’re not challenging that voice. You’re not engaging in the same public forum to reassure your customers and your staff that doing business with you is a good thing to do. That voice is doing huge damage to your organization right now because it is being allowed to singlehandedly make a lot of noise, disrupt your business, scare your staff and sully your customers.
That voice is the voice of the media who look for evidence every single day to justify the “Sky Is Falling” headline in their stories. And since there are very few opposite opinions telling their “good news” stories, that one voice is allowed to continue to dominate the discussion with your clients and staff. People are listening to the only one voice that seems to be talking. And since you’re not talking to your customers and staff, since you’ve decided to suspend training until the “recession” is over, that voice is allowed to dominate the market and potentially bring about the dire consequences it is predicting. Say something enough times and people start to believe it.
Had your decision to pull back training, or have a hiring freeze or take a “wait-and-see” attitude been done during a Boom-time, your decision would have been interpreted as a corporate strategy. People applaud corporate strategy. Most time corporate strategy makes an organization stronger at the end. During this time, however, any of those same decisions are perceived to be a reaction to the marketplace and makes each organization look like a follower and not a leader. It makes customers nervous. It makes staff nervous. And when customers and staff are nervous, you will see the evidence on your bottom-line.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Yesterday, in the Edmonton Journal, read the following headline in 72 pt font: “City Economy Will Shrink In '09.” The truth is, in Edmonton, this year’s growth is expected to be down 0.2%. That’s zero point two percent folks – for a city. Is that even news? Of course it is – if your mandate is to sell newspapers. Make it loud. Make it scary. Make it a must-read and people will buy the paper. More papers sold means more advertisers attracted.
The story went on to explain that Edmonton’s growth will bounce back to 3.1% growth in 2010, and 3.8% in 2011 to 2013. But the headline doesn’t indicate that the 0.2% decline is short-lived. So, you, your customers and your staff read headlines like this (since virtually no one reads the whole story anymore) and start to pull in your horns a little. Everyone gets nervous and the nervousness spreads like a virus. Sorry, but to the average organization, a 0.2% decline in growth would only seem like a small correction in the market – not the basis for an outlandish headline.
I challenge you today, to find a good news headline in your organization and either call a meeting or send a company-wide memo telling your people about your positive growth story and do it every day. Ask your people to pass it on to your customers. Let’s start talking about what’s good in your organization and let’s start drowning out the voices of the dissenters. Those dissenting voices are not good for your business. Why are you allowing someone outside of your company to dictate the success of your organization? Speak up. Where’s your Leadership Attitude?
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