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This month's newsletter.
November 2004
August 2004
June 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
Innovative Business:
Do you make
time to plan for your business?
Are Your Sales Where They Should Be?
Are you open to
future changes in your business and willing to consider what
impact they will have?
Has your
company's product or service become a commodity?
Measuring
performance is an important function in business. Are you
measuring the right things?
The rate of
change for businesses is increasing and it is important to
consider these changes as part of the planning process.
Mentoring: Read about this win/win
situation where everyone benefits including the business.
Who will be your next competitor?
Why is
strategic planning so important?
Are you getting extraordinary
outcomes from your work teams?
Do people like
to work at your company?
How do you define accountability?
Many companies
struggle in the face of change.
Innovative Customer Service:
Is your business good at keeping customers
informed?
Are you truly listening to your customer or are you assuming
you already know their problem and the solution?
Employee morale
is
difficult to describe but the impact is obvious.
When is it OK to say "No" to your
customer?
A culture within your company that
revolves around the customer is a valuable asset.
Does your company excel at customer
service?
Correct but shocking
responses to questions.
“Are you sure you’re not on
our payroll?” What a great question to be asked by a
customer.
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. Which employees
are serving your customers?
Promise what you can deliver and
deliver what you promise.
Great customer service can create
loyal customers and a wonderful work environment.
Think for a moment about
the reasons your customers buy from you.
Focusing on your customers is critical for business success
since they represent your revenue stream.
Your Personal Development:
The world is filled with many exciting people and
destinations from which we can learn and grow. But you
don’t have to take a trip to gain the benefits; many
opportunities exist right at home.
Do you have what it takes to be
persistent and achieve your goals?
What you think, even unconsciously,
influences your behavior and the results of interactions.
We all get to make choices regarding
what we do. Are you making the right choices for you?
Do you have the winter blues?
Do you think spring is never going to arrive?
Have you established any new
goals as part of a New Year's resolution?
Christmas, the Season of Giving.
What are you giving?
Here are seven simple
suggestions that can improve your listening.
Accepting personal responsibility is one
of the cornerstones of leadership.
I Think I Can
Check out the steps you can take to get motivated!
“Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin Franklin.
How to make your habits more effective.
"Leadership
and the New Science" by Margaret J. Wheatley
"Failing Forward" by John C.
Maxwell
"Leadership 101:
What Every Leader Needs to Know" by John C.
Maxwell
"Managing By Values"
by Ken Blanchard and Michael O’Connor
"Can you
Hear Me Now?" by Dallas Demmitt, PH.D. & Nancy
Demmitt, M.C.
"The Power
of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
"The Second
Industrial Revolution: Business Strategy and Internet
Technology" by John J. Donovan
"Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spenser Johnson, M.D.
"Fish!
Tales"
by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., John Christensen
and Harry Paul
"How To Become A
Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and
Clients" by Jeffrey J. Fox
"Leading Change"
by John P. Kotter
"Leadership" by Rudolph W. Giuliani
"Fail-Safe Leadership: Straight Talk
About Correcting The Leadership Challenges In Your Organization"
By Linda L. Martin and Dr. David G. Mutchler
Innovative Business
Planning
is one of those important tasks that frequently are
overlooked. Do you make time to plan for your business?
Innovative Customer Service
Communicating with customers is a key part of any
enterprise. Is your business good at keeping customers
informed?
Your Personal Development
The world is filled with many exciting people and
destinations from which we can learn and grow. But you
don’t have to take a trip to gain the benefits; many
opportunities exist right at home.
Book Review
"Leadership
and the New Science" by Margaret J. Wheatley
Innovative
Business
We’ve all heard
it. The saying that a failure to plan is a plan to fail has
been around for years. It’s true that planning is important,
otherwise how do you establish priorities and make decisions
between alternatives without knowing where you are going.
Planning is
frequently avoided because individuals don’t know how to plan
and find it easier to just avoid. Some people mistakenly
believe that they have a plan for what they want to accomplish
but frequently those plans are not thought through. Many people
will argue that they have a plan but it takes too much time to
write the plan down. They are kidding themselves if they
believe that an unwritten plan in their head is a well thought
out approach.
Good planning
requires thought and effort to accomplish. You can begin by
identifying where your business currently stands and then
thinking about where you would like it to be in the future.
Then begin considering what it takes to achieve that future
state. What needs to change? What goals should be set? What
resources are required? What obstacles might exist?
You
will find that going through a complete planning process will
help you consider the pros and cons of various alternatives,
identify opportunities and threats, and help determine where
priorities should be established and valuable time allocated.
Then, as the daily emergencies arise, by looking at the plan you
can determine if the situation is important in reaching your
future state.
As a challenge,
take a couple of hours, sit down in a quiet location, and write
out your plan for the next year. The benefits you receive will
be well worth the time you invest. November
top
Innovative
Customer Service
I was talking with
a colleague a few days ago. He was relaying to me his
experiences with an ongoing kitchen upgrade project and his
encounters with the kitchen remodeling company. As the project
was nearing completion, he was pleased with the results but he
said the experience left much to be desired.
It seems that the
initial time frame he was given was about 4 weeks from start to
end. However, as the project proceeded, numerous delays were
encountered; some were unexpected but others were clearly part
of their standard procedures. During all these activities, the
remodeling company seldom contacted the homeowner to keep him
informed of the status of the project or when he could expect
additional work and completion. The project was over 3 months
old and was still incomplete.
This situation
illustrates a couple of important points about communicating
with customers. First, set realistic expectations and then work
to meet those expectations. If you make a habit of providing
the most optimistic expectation at the beginning, then the odds
are that you will have dissatisfied customers at the end.
Second, stay in contact with your customer to keep them
informed. After the initial expectations have been set,
problems may arise and require changes. If this happens, call
the customer immediately, let them know you are working on the
problem, and provide the best estimate you can for a revised
completion date.
New
customers are generally harder to obtain than maintaining
existing customers. Help to keep those existing customers and
turn them into great references by communicating with them and
keeping them informed. Not only will they love the results you
deliver, they will also appreciate how you deliver the results. November
top
Your
Personal Development
We can all learn
new things and gain a greater appreciation for the world
around us just by getting involved and paying attention to the
people and situations surrounding us each day. Many say that
work and family schedules are too busy to add additional
activities but there are many ways to grow available to us on
a daily basis.
For example, if
you have a little free time, have you thought about taking a
class in a subject area that interests you? Maybe it is a craft
class, history class, computer class, cooking class, or wine
appreciation class. Whatever the subject, give it a try. Or,
as an alternative, what about helping someone else with a class
– being a tutor for your local school district. Not only will
you find you learn even more about the subject you tutor, you
will also learn from spending time with others and talking with
them.
If taking a class
or serving as a tutor requires too rigid a schedule, consider
volunteering in your community, church, or other local
organization. There are numerous organizations dealing with
young people, old people, and everything in between that would
welcome your services. You will find a high level of
satisfaction from knowing that you participated and helped
others. In addition, you will both learn and grow from the
experience.
Still too time
consuming? Then just pick up a book or make an effort to read a
magazine article addressing a subject new and different to you.
The great thing about reading is that you can do it whenever
time permits and it is a wonderful way to fill in those few free
moments that we have. Spending time driving? Then consider
books on tape.
Whatever
the environment - classroom, tutoring, serving, reading, or
listening, you will find there are always opportunities to learn
and grow. The key is watching for the opportunities and making
sure you take advantage of them when they present themselves.
November top
Book Review
"Leadership and the New
Science" by Margaret J.
Wheatley
This book on
leadership presents the subject in a very different way. The
book does not present concepts and then the typical list of do’s
and don’ts. Instead, it focuses on the changes that have
occurred in the sciences (physics, chemistry, etc.) and draws
parallels to organizations and leadership.
Ms. Wheatley
begins by reviewing Newtonian theories and compares them with
organizational concepts that traditionally have been accepted.
She then begins moving into the new science of quantum mechanics
and how they apply to group behavior. The concepts simply state
that you cannot look at pieces of the whole and be able to
understand or predict the behavior of the whole. The challenge
is that you are unable to grasp the whole at a single point in
time, thus you see what appear to be unpredictable events or
chaos.
She carries these
themes further by examining stability, growth, learning, and the
purpose and handling of information. Ms. Wheatley believes that
growth takes place when there is a lack of stability and that
information is not something to be managed but broadly shared.
Information is the lifeblood that causes people to see and
interpret a situation differently and thus leads to new ideas,
approaches, and concepts.
If you are seeking
a text with answers regarding how to lead, this is not the book
for you. It contains no lists, case studies, or recommendations
regarding tried and true management approaches. In fact, she
challenges that there are no tried and true approaches.
However, it is a book that can challenge your thinking and
broaden your horizon in many ways. Its basis in the physical
sciences shows how radically the science has changed and Ms.
Wheatley will have you thinking very hard about those things you
considered “givens” in your beliefs about organizations and
leadership. November top
August 2004
Innovative Business
Are your sales where
they should be?
Sure, maybe the
economy is tough, customers are fickle, or the competition
is fierce. But if your business works with prospects
to help them address a need, then the real problem with your
sales could be something else. Maybe it's your sales
methodology that needs updating.
Innovative Customer Service
Are you truly listening to your customer or are you assuming
you already know their problem and the solution?
Your Personal Development
Persistence is that internal drive that keeps people going
when the going gets tough. So many times it would be easier
for them to just “give up” but they continue driving
forward, facing their challenges. Do you have what it takes
to be persistent and achieve your goals?
Book Review
"Failing Forward" by John C.
Maxwell
Innovative
Business
Sales
methodologies vary from company to company, but any solution
orientation sales methodology will contain similar elements.
One key step is the problem identification or needs analysis
step. This part of the methodology focuses on understanding the
problem or identifying the need that the prospect has BEFORE
presenting the capabilities of your product or service. When
done properly, you will then understand what the prospect is
trying to achieve and can present your product or service in the
context of the prospect’s requirements.
This approach to
selling yields benefits for both the prospect and you. By
determining the prospect’s needs prior to presenting your
company’s solution, you begin to differentiate yourself from
your competitors. Understanding how your offering addresses the
prospect’s requirements better manages their expectations which
leads to improved customer satisfaction after you close the
deal. The prospect benefits by purchasing a solution that will
meet their needs and deliver the return they are seeking. In
addition, effectively focusing on the needs and benefits will
enable you to shorten the sales cycle.
So take some
time in the next week to review your sales methodology and see
if you are focusing on the prospects needs. Determine if you
have the rights steps necessary to address the prospects
requirements and close the sale. Then make sure that the
methodology is being followed on each and every sales cycle.
Both you and the prospect will benefit if you do! August
top
Innovative
Customer Service
For many businesses, customers frequently
call because they are having a problem. In order to
resolve the customer's problem and provide a true benefit, you
must be sure to stop and listen to what their pain is.
Although you may have vast experience in the field, you cannot
assume you know the pain of the customer and the customer may be
insulted if you assume to know everything about their particular
situation.
So take the time to really listen to your
customer. What is their pain? What will make their
job/life/company better? Here are some tips for
listening:
-
Don't finish their sentences. What
they say may surprise you!
-
Listen with empathy. You may not
agree, but listen to their point of view and try to understand
WHY they feel that way.
-
Ask relevant questions based on their
replies. This show that you are paying attention to what
they are telling you.
-
Periodically summarize what you have heard
back to them to confirm that you understood what they were
saying.
Be sure to remember that every experience with
the customer should be all about the customer and not about you.
Focus on them and they will reward you for it!
August top
Your
Personal Development
Easy goals are normally just that – easy
to obtain. It doesn’t mean that the goal isn’t necessarily
important, but it does usually represent a goal that has few
obstacles. Conversely, we may establish goals that are
difficult to complete. If it is a large goal, we may break it
down into smaller goals and achieve them individually. At
other times, we just need to work our plan and stay on task
until the goal is achieved. This is where persistence comes
into play.
Persistence is the ability to continue
forward in spite of opposition. When you encounter challenges
that are preventing you from achieving a goal, you should
evaluate the challenges and determine if a change in action is
required. If so, make the change. If not, it is time to be
persistence. Don’t just give up, stay focused and keep working
toward your goal.
One way to stay focused and be persistent
is to review the rewards that will be obtained when the goal is
achieved. The rewards can provide a great deal of motivation at
times when energy levels may be low or frustrations set in.
Likewise, consider also the consequences that will occur if the
goal is not achieved to gain further motivation.
You may also encounter some failures as you
work toward your goal. These failures are opportunities to
learn (see this month’s Book Report for details). Don’t become
discouraged. Progress is only made when you take action and
failures sometime do occur. Again, be persistent, learn from
your failures, and keep moving forward
Remember that most
meaningful goals will require facing a number of obstacles. If
completing the goal were easy, you would likely have done it
long ago. Be persistent! Your sense of accomplishment and
obtaining the rewards will be well worth the effort.
August top
Book Review
"Failing Forward"
by John C. Maxwell
John Maxwell has written an excellent text
outlining a process for what he terms is failing forward. His
asserts that in order to accomplish any goal, you must take
actions that will sometimes result in failure. In fact, if you
aren’t failing, then you are not accomplishing all that you are
capable of achieving.
The book outlines a positive way of viewing
failures so that we may recognize that they will occur and how
to learn from them. Each chapter addresses one of 15 steps in
failing forward to achieve your goals. Among the steps, you
will learn the major difference between average people and
achieving people, a new definition of failure, how to take a bad
experience and make it a good experience, that there is little
difference between failure and success, and other key points.
In addition, most chapters have a self
review at the end and suggestions to help you evaluate if you
are failing forward. Potential goals and actions are also
outlined that can help establish a plan to take advantage of
failures and turn them into successes.
Maxwell points out that most people were
never taught about how to deal with failures. People are afraid
of failures, don’t understand failures, and try to avoid them at
all costs. However, failures can be very positive and provide
great opportunities to learn and grow. The difference is how
you approach the concept of failure.
Failing Forward is
beautifully written, easy to read, and full of examples and
quotations to which we can relate. But most importantly, it
addresses a part of life that is rarely examined and gives us
all some excellent points to consider as we work to achieve our
goals.
August top
Innovative Business
Changes in business
continue to occur at a more rapid pace than ever before.
Are you open to future changes in your business and willing
to consider what impact they will have?
Innovative Customer Service
Employee morale may be
difficult to describe but the impact is obvious when morale
is either very high or very low.
Your Personal Development
We're all creatures of habit. Even our attitudes are
habits of thought. What you think, even unconsciously,
influences your behavior and therefore, the results of
interactions.
Book Review
"Leadership 101:
What Every Leader Needs to Know" by John C.
Maxwell
Innovative
Business
Change is so difficult for us to accept.
When things are going well, we don’t want change to alter the
status quo. On the flip side, even when things aren’t going as
well as desired, we are frequently reluctant to make changes
necessary to turn things around.
As you look at your business, what changes
do you see coming in the future? Are customers going to obtain
your products or services differently? Are your markets going
to change, either expanding or shrinking? Are there new
competitive threats that will cause demand for your products or
services to shrink or new opportunities that will cause demand
to grow?
Every business should take time
periodically to reflect on these questions to determine where
their industry is moving and how to best accommodate upcoming
changes. Sometimes what you see may be scary, but being
proactive is clearly the best course of action to take. Rarely
does burying your head in the ground yield the positive results
you are seeking.
In a recent discussion with a CPA, he
mentioned the concern that existed many years ago when companies
began installing computers and doing a significant amount of
their accounting internally. CPA’s at that time generated a
significant amount of billable hours just adding up numbers.
With clients doing the calculations themselves, would the
billable hours shrink? Would the impact result in the need to
reduce staff and eliminate future plans to grow the practice?
As it turns out, the entire
accounting industry did change. Today, CPA’s spend relatively
little time actually adding up columns of numbers. Instead, the
use of computers has freed up time for CPA’s to focus on
understanding the expanding tax code, generating “what if”
analyses to help clients reduce tax liabilities, and helping
develop strategies for client’s future operations.
Changes are coming. It’s inevitable. Take time to consider
what is changing in your business and your industry. Consider
ways to take advantage of the change and be proactive about
dealing with it. You will feel better as a result and the
benefits to the business will be significant.
top
June
Innovative
Customer Service
Morale can be tough to deal with. You
can’t touch it, it is sometimes hard to see, but you can
normally feel it. And if it doesn’t feel good to you, it
probably doesn’t feel good to your customers either.
Webster’s has multiple definitions for the
word morale. One states “the mental and emotional condition …
of an individual or group with regard to the function or tasks
at hand”. Another indicates “the level of individual
psychological well-being based on such factors as a sense of
purpose and confidence in the future“. As employees understand
what they are doing, why it is important, and feel a degree of
ownership in what needs to be done, morale improves. The
converse is true as well.
How your employees feel, about the business
and their job, has been shown to be highly correlated to
customer service. As morale improves, so does customer
service. Attitudes improve, employees are more satisfied with
their work, and a positive change is noticed by your customers.
To improve morale, consider sharing with
your employees the mission of the organization and your
direction for the business. This will help them gain a sense of
purpose and allow them to develop the sense of ownership that is
so important. Employees can also be an excellent source of
ideas to improve business operations and identify new
opportunities. Ask for their suggestions and give serious
consideration to implementing their suggestions. Likewise,
share with them your ideas for change and get their feedback.
In most cases, they know the details of the job they are doing
better than anyone else.
Good employee morale is good for your customers and
therefore, good for your business. Look inside the company to
see how you can improve morale. Customers will feel the
difference, customer loyalty will improve, and revenues will
grow. top June
Your
Personal Development
Have you ever
thought a person was not very smart because of the school they
went to, the type of degree they had or didn't have, the
company they worked for, or the department they were in?
Preconceived ideas such as these prompt us to act in a manner
which affects the response from that person. The entire
contact will follow the attitude which you brought with you.
Negative attitudes bring negative results and positive
attitudes bring positive results.
How much more
productive could you be if you could eliminate the behaviors
which produce negative results? Here is an exercise to
help address your negative attitudes.
Step One:
Analyze situations that had results that were less than you
desired.
Step Two:
List your thoughts, anticipated results, and attitude toward
the individuals prior to the meeting.
Step Three:
Highlight any attitudes which were negative. List what
effect they had on the meeting.
Step Four:
List three or four action steps you can implement to
change your attitude.
Step Five:
Review your current attitudes and desired results prior to any
situation.
Going through a
simple and deliberate process will help you eliminate the bad
attitudes which prompt negative behaviors. Repeat these
steps as required to positively influence every interaction you
have.
Adapt a positive attitude to
see the positive results you are striving for.
top
June
Book Review
"Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know"
by John C. Maxwell
No matter who you are, you can lead and lead well. That
is the message New York Times bestselling author John C. Maxwell
gives in this power-packed guidebook. This book is short
and easy-to-read and at the same time provides the essentials
for enhancing the leadership abilities you already possess.
The book begins with "Why you should become a better leader."
What you want to accomplish is restricted by your ability to
lead others. In order to increase your effectiveness and
create a larger impact, you must raise your level of leadership.
The book continues
with the traits of a leader. Maxwell states , "The
discipline to prioritize and the ability to work toward a stated
goal are essential to a leader's success." Methods to
improve self-discipline and a process for prioritizing your life
are detailed. Establishing trust and providing
vision are other key traits for leaders.
Finally, the impact of a leader is
discussed. A truly effective leader not only leads, but
provides a foundation for those who follow to be effective
leaders also. Your lasting value will be measured by
succession.
According to Maxwell, each person influences 10,000 other people
in his lifetime. So the question is HOW WILL YOU INFLUENCE
OTHERS? Developing your existing leadership abilities is
essential to ensuring your personal and professional success.
top June
Innovative Business
Webster
defines a commodity as an economic good: as a
mass-produced unspecialized product. Has your
company's product or service become a commodity?
Innovative Customer Service
Have you ever said "No" to a customer? Can you think
of instances when you should have? When is it OK to
say "No"?
Your Personal Development
Have you ever noticed how frequently we hear people
complaining about life or wishing that they were in a
different situation? We all get to make choices regarding
what we do. Are you making the right choices for you?
Book Review
"Managing By Values"
by Ken Blanchard and Michael O’Connor
Innovative Business
Recently, an Indiana
Gubernatorial candidate, when asked about Indiana jobs going
off-shore, replied "Anything that can be reproduced will
become a commodity. Its all the same. Initially, it
was unskilled labor that became a commodity, now more skilled
trades are becoming commodities. Its our job in the United
States to make ourselves DIFFERENT. To determine how we
can be special."
Being different could mean
making your product or service better; being faster to deliver
or easier to buy. So has your company's product or service
become a commodity? How can you check?
-
Take a look at your competitors. What are they saying
makes them unique? Is it the same thing you are
saying? Many companies are claiming quality or
customer service as their specialty. These concepts by
themselves no longer are uniquely identifying traits.
What aspect of your customer service makes it different?
When a buyer must justify to others why he should buy your
product or services, what can he say?
- Are
customers purchasing your product or service based only on
price? If so, your customer is not seeing any unique
VALUE that you bring to the table. Find the want or
need you satisfying for the customer that no one else is.
Remember to always focus
on the customer. What does the customer really want and
need? What VALUE are you providing to the customer?
If you focus on continuously identifying these items, you can
prevent your product or service from becoming a commodity.
top March
Innovative Customer Service
Customer service is the single most
important aspect of any business. Without satisfied
customers, there is no one to buy the service or product and
hence no business.
Given that, as a business we want to always
say "Yes" to every request from the customer. In
actuality, it is a disservice to the customer to say "Yes" when
we cannot meet the commitment. Whether the request is for
items outside of the current offering or for a delivery date
that can't be met, the customer would much rather know up front
what can realistically be delivered. This could mean just
a modification to specifications or to the promised delivery
date. A customer can adjust their plan accordingly if they
know the facts.
Saying "No" when the commitment cannot be
made develops trust with the customer. Customers respect
integrity and will reward those suppliers with their continued
loyalty. top March
Your
Personal Development
We have all heard individuals at
different times wishing that one thing or another would
happen. Let’s face it; we have all done it ourselves. The
thing that we frequently forget however is that we make
choices every day that influence or even directly result in
outcomes we either desire or want to avoid. Recognizing that
we make those choices all the time is important if we want to
take control of our lives.
Choices can normally be categorized as one
of two forms. Proactive choices are made when we decide to take
a certain action that results in a consequence. A positive
example might include applying for a new job and subsequently
receiving an offer of employment. A negative example would be
choosing to drive after drinking alcohol leading to a serious
automobile accident.
The second choice category is a passive
choice that results from ignoring a decision that needs to be
made. This is a classic situation that many people don’t
recognize; avoiding a decision IS, in fact, a decision.
Unfortunately, many people make this type of decision frequently
and thus open themselves up to results that are determined by
others.
We may wish that we could control all
events and circumstances but in reality that is not going to
happen. Whether we like it or not, there are times that
undesirable or bad things will occur; this we cannot always
control. However, we always have a choice regarding how we
respond to an event or action. You may elect to respond in a
positive manner, attempting to make the best out of a less than
ideal situation or you may choose to respond negatively,
possibly venting some anger.
Next time you have a choice to make,
think about the options available to you. Consider the possible
and probable results of your decision. Is a no decision the
right decision? Are you choosing the response that makes you
feel good and will make you proud when you look back on the
situation? We all have choices. Make each choice one that
moves you forward toward your goals and puts you in control of
your life.
top March
Book Review
"Managing By Values" by Ken Blanchard and Michael
O’Connor
This
book provides an interesting approach to managing an
organization by establishing core values for the organization
and then directing activities and resolving conflicts using the
values that have been established. The book opens with a review
of life stages for people and then discusses the key
stakeholders for the organization. The managing by values
principals are then presented as the foundation for the
stakeholders.
Before addressing the
values for the organization, Blanchard and O’Connor indicate
that top management must recognize that there are three “acts”
in every individual’s life. The first act is to achieve: being
by doing. Some people never move beyond this point. The second
act, connect, is all about relationships: being by being with.
The third act, integrate, involves bringing the first two acts
together: being by becoming. Top management must recognize
these acts and realize that people are the heart of any
organization.
The book then outlines
that any organization has 4 principal pillars identified by the
acronym CEOS. The C represents Customers, E represents
Employees, O represents Owners, and S represents Significant
Others such as community, vendors, creditors, distributors,
etc. Everyone in the organization should understand these 4
pillars and they need to feel, think, and act like a leader.
The foundation under these pillars is managing by values to
support all the stakeholders.
The managing by values
process involves 3 phases including 1) clarifying the mission
and values, 2) communicating the mission and values to the
organization, and 3) aligning the organization with the mission
and values. Each phase is described in detail including why it
is important along with examples regarding how the principals
can be applied. All this is accomplished in the form of a
fictional novel about a CEO making these changes within their
company.
Given the recent rash
of corporate scandals and unethical management behavior, the
concept of managing by values seems very relevant. Whether you
desire to follow this approach in your organization or not,
understanding the concepts and principals may go a long way to
help insure your organization weathers these difficult times. top
March
February 2004
Innovative Business Measuring
performance is an important function in business. Are you
measuring the right things?
Innovative Customer Service A
culture within your company that revolves around the
customer is a valuable asset. Read about ways to assess
your customer service culture.
Your Personal
Development Do you have the winter blues?
Do you think spring is never going to arrive?
Book Review "Can you
Hear Me Now?" by Dallas Demmitt, PH.D. & Nancy
Demmitt, M.C.
Innovative
Business
When most businesses talk about performance
measurement, financial reports immediately come to mind. How a
company is performing financially is important and serves as an
excellent way to compare organizations over time. There are
other measurements however, that can focus positive attention on
areas of the business that may not be easily identified on the
income statement or balance sheet.
Examples include a multitude of sales
metrics (average number of transactions, average transaction
size, time to first sale, average items per sale, etc.),
delivery metrics (number of on-time deliveries, number of
backorders, number of cancelled orders, etc.), quality metrics,
customer metrics, marketing metrics, inventory metrics,
employment metrics, productivity metrics, supplier metrics, …
You get the idea; the list goes on and on.
So how do you choose which metrics to
incorporate into your business? The best way is to identify
what is important to your business. Sure, all the metrics are
important but to different degrees. Look at your business and
determine those key areas where you believe that improvement is
needed. Then determine what metrics would help to focus
attention on those areas.
Individuals are most effective when focused
on two or three key metrics. If you have a large organization,
having different metrics for different departments makes sense.
Be careful however; you need to insure that the metrics are
consistent and lead to overall improved performance, not just
improvement in one area while sacrificing performance in
another.
Performance measurement
can be a powerful tool to help organizations improve and excel.
Think about adding one or two measurements and publishing the
results to your staff. You will be pleasantly surprised at the
improvements that can be achieved.
top
February
Innovative
Customer Service
We all know that customer service is an
important aspect of any business. Without customers, there is
ultimately no reason for the business to exist and no business
will stay in business for long without them.
Every organization has its own culture that
develops based upon its fundamental beliefs and values. In your
organization, ask yourself if the customer is truly valued?
Virtually every senior manager will say that customer service is
their number one priority but is that feeling reflected in the
behaviors of everyone in the organization? Does management make
the effort to spend some of their time with customers and hear
what they have to say? The actions of senior management send
the strongest message to the staff about how they should behave
and perform. Be confident that staff members pay attention to
where senior management focuses their time.
When customers call or visit, take notice
of how the staff responds. Do they promptly and courteously
greet the customer? Are they genuinely happy to see or speak
with the customer and interested in helping them? Or are they
short and abrupt because the customer interrupted the task the
staff member was working on? Help you staff understand that
they are there BECAUSE of the customer.
A culture that embraces the customer and
thrives on helping them will experience much greater success.
As an added benefit, the working environment will also be much
more pleasant leading to greater retention of both customers and
staff. A win / win situation for everyone!
top February
Your
Personal Development
Its the same every winter. Once it
gets cold, everyone stays bundled up in their homes instead of
going out. Friends say "We should get together."
But it never happens. How many of you feel that way?
How many people around you feel that way?
Instead of sitting around and waiting for
spring, take the initiative! Find a way to make
someone's day!
-
Help at the homeless shelter.
-
Collect food for the food pantries.
-
Bake your friend a cake.
-
Help the neighbor shovel snow.
-
Start a new hobby and invite all your
friends.
-
Join a book club and take the new person
in the neighborhood.
Getting out and helping others not only
benefits the recipient; it helps you get over the winter
blues. So, turn off the TV and GO! top
February
Book Review
"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Dallas Demmitt, PH.D. and Nancy Demmitt,
M.C.
Conversation: A vocal competition in which the
one who is
catching his breath is called the listener.
Anonymous.
Do you find this definition to be true in your life?
Effective communication is vital to
personal relationships and business transactions. This
powerful book not only discusses the skills required for better
communication, but the mind-change that is essential.
In this book, communication is broken into
two main parts: discovery listening and
discovery talking. The five elements of discovery
listening: anchoring, focusing, summarizing, inviting and
asking, are all discussed in detail with examples and
exercises. Discovery talking begins with "How
to Listen to Yourself". All of the concepts are based on
the "mind-change" that Christ is the anchor in every
conversation.
As stated by Gary Smalley who wrote the
foreword, "In the pages of this book, you will learn how to
improve and master one of the most critical communications
skills in every day life - listening."
Practicing
these techniques will change your relationships for the better!
top
February
January 2004
Innovative Business
The rate of
change for businesses is increasing and it is important to
consider these changes as part of the planning process.
Innovative Customer Service
Many
consulting firms, chambers, and associations give awards to
companies who have excelled in customer service. Was
your company on the list of nominees? Do you have
a plan to get there in 2004?
Your Personal Development
Have you established any new goals as part of a New Year's
resolution? We have all seen resolutions fall by the
wayside in February. Try following this process to
achieve your goal and gain the satisfaction of conquering
that New Year's resolution!
Book Review "The Power
of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Innovative
Business
Your business plan should be updated at
least annually. In many businesses, the updates should be
even more frequent. So, if you have a plan, pull it out
and blow off the dust. If you don't have a plan, create
one!
First, review your vision. This is
"the quest" for your company. Is it still valid?
Does it state what you want to achieve? Remember, this is
your statement of potential, so STRETCH.
Next, your mission and value statements
should be updated accordingly. The mission should reflect
actions that will enable the vision. The values are
standards that the entire company should follow while executing
the mission.
Next, consider your market, competition and
customers. How have they changed? Do you need to
add, remove or change products or services to keep your
competitive edge? Have your strengths and weaknesses
changed? Be creative and open minded. Don't fall
into the trap of "we've always done it this way." The
producers of typewriters, polaroid cameras, and other
products had to learn to re-invent themselves or be eliminated.
DON'T PUT THIS BACK ON THE SHELF!!!
Take
these new ideas and create a plan to execute.
Prioritize your goals and create action steps with due dates.
Put the actions in your daily planner.
Use your
planning process to make change a competitive advantage instead
of a problem for your business.
top
January
Innovative
Customer Service
Excelling in customer service begins with a company wide
commitment to customers always first. The vision
and value statements of the company should be rewritten to
incorporate customer always first concepts. Every
level of the organization must then be truly committed to the
customer AT ALL TIMES, not after production, inventory, or
revenue goals have been met.
In order for the commitment to show through all the levels,
down to the part time employee, management must first live the
vision and values. Actions speak louder than words.
If management continues to put other objectives first or
rewards employees for behavior other than customer always
first, the employees will react in kind.
Management must also empower their employees to make
decisions. If management has set a proper example, the
employee can ask themselves, 'Does this match our vision and
values?" and respond accordingly. Both the customer and
the employee benefit from this attitude.
So now what's keeping you from getting that award in 2004?
top
January
Your
Personal Development
The start of a new year always seems to
be a time to begin resolutions. Usually these resolutions are
goals that we would like to obtain but have been unable to
achieve. If reaching a goal is truly important to you, then
consider spending a little time determining how you will
achieve it.
First and foremost, there must be a
workable plan to go along with the goal; otherwise it is just a
dream. The saying that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail”
holds true here. Set yourself up to succeed by creating a list
of the rewards that you will receive by reaching your goal and
the consequences if you don’t. Identify as many things as
possible for rewards and consequences and continually review the
list to help stay motivated while working toward your goal.
Next you want to list all the possible
obstacles that are keeping you from achieving your goal. For
each obstacle, determine what possible solutions exist and
identify the actions that must be taken. Set a date that you
will complete each action. Then work on the action items and as
you complete them, the obstacles will be removed. As the
obstacles are removed, the goal will be achieved.
For large or complex goals, consider
breaking them down into smaller goals. For example, if you want
to loose 30 pounds, consider having three goals where the first
is to lose 5 pounds, the second is to lose 10 pounds, and the
third is to lose 15 pounds. Upon the completion of each goal
you have proved that you can do it! Celebrate your achievement
and use that success as motivation to continue toward your next
goal. If you encounter an unforeseen problem, add it to the
obstacles list, determine solutions, and identify the actions
and timing necessary to reach the solutions.
Remember to keep reviewing the rewards and consequences to
increase your motivation and help you through those challenging
times. And don’t forget to celebrate your successes to further
encourage yourself to keep going. By following this process,
your goals established as a New Year’s resolution WILL become a
reality. top
January
Book Review
"The Power of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
The Power of Positive Thinking is a short
but compelling book containing steps to help you manage your
life. The recommendations are clearly outlined and easy to
read, but to be effective, the book should be reviewed a number
of times to reinforce the suggestions and help put them into practice.
Each chapter focuses on an area for
improvement. The chapters include:
-
Believe in Yourself
-
A
Peaceful Mind Generates Power
-
Try
Prayer Power
-
Stop
Fuming and Fretting
-
I
Don’t Believe in Defeat
-
How
to Break the Worry Habit
Positive thinking can have a major
influence upon your attitude, your outlook for the future, and
your interactions with other people. As you become more
positive, others around you will begin to adopt a more positive
view. This can lead to greater success both personally and as
part of a team working toward a goal. Also, most people prefer
to work with and be around people who have a positive outlook.
If you are having difficulty with thinking positively or
struggling with the many challenges of life, I would recommend
picking up a copy at the bookstore or library and giving Dr.
Peale’s approach a try. As he states in the book “…when your
mind is convinced, you are convinced, for as you think so are
you.” Positive thinking can change your life.
top January
Innovative Business
Mentoring is a powerful
method to help new employees grow while the mentor gains
personal satisfaction from helping someone else. Read
about this win/win situation where everyone benefits including
the business.
Innovative Customer
Service
Have
you ever been shocked by the response to a question? Here
is a response that was technically correct but not the best
way to handle the situation.
Your Personal Development
Christmas, the Season of Giving. What are you giving?
Book Review "The Second
Industrial Revolution: Business Strategy and Internet
Technology" by John J. Donovan
Innovative
Business
A mentor can be defined as a trusted
counselor or guide, or a wise, loyal advisor or coach. A mentor
is an individual, usually older, always more experienced, who
helps and guides another individual’s development. This
guidance is not done for personal gain.
Having a seasoned employee mentor a new
employee can provide significant benefits to both employees as
well as the company. The mentoring process can be either a
formal program with specific steps and procedures or just an
informal paring of two individuals. One of the most valuable
assets a person’s career can have is a good mentor.
Just a few of the benefits that the new
employee receives include increased confidence, a higher degree
of job satisfaction, learning through others by example, a
feeling of belonging, and more rapid growth than would be
available without mentoring. Likewise, the mentor benefits
through increased levels of commitment to their field and
employer, satisfaction of knowing they have helped someone else,
and opportunities for self-reflection and self-renewal. In
addition to the personal benefits, the business gains include
increased productivity, improved morale, and higher employee
retention.
Mentoring is a win for all parties involved. Regardless of the
reasons for participating, most people find it is a special and
positive experience. Consider implementing either a formal or
informal mentoring program and experience the benefits first
hand.
top
December
Innovative
Customer Service
On a recent trip, I had the unfortunate
situation of being stranded at the airport in Hot Springs,
Arkansas. I phoned my usual rental car agency to inquire
about the availability of a car. The customer service
representative indicated that yes, they did indeed have a car
available for me. However, the car was located in Little
Rock, Arkansas, about an hour drive away. When I asked how I
might get from Hot Springs to Little Rock, I was informed
“That’s your problem!”
After recovering from the initial shock of
the response, I began to reflect upon the situation. The
customer service agent’s response was 100% correct – it was my
problem. But here is where an opportunity to build customer
loyalty slipped away. The agent could have taken advantage of
the situation by trying to make my problem their problem. Easy
alternatives would include suggesting possible taxi or limousine
service, shuttle or bus service between Hot Springs and Little
Rock, or even the phone number of a local contact in Little Rock
that might be aware of other options.
Think about your customer service
encounters. Are you taking full advantage of opportunities to
serve the customer? Have your customer service representatives
been trained to recognize and respond to opportunities to help
the customer? Even if your “customer” is internal to the
company, do you attempt to help others, thereby helping the
company overall? These same questions also hold true for sales
representatives working with both customers and prospects.
By working to help make
customer problems your problems, you demonstrate that you are
there to serve the customer in whatever way possible. And that
is the definition of great customer service!
top
December
Your
Personal Development
Many of us spend hours in the mall
looking for the perfect gift for each of the people on
our Christmas list. But what have we really given to each
other? Christmas is more than the material gifts we give.
Most of us are familiar with the following
Bible verse: 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 Love is patient, love is
kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (New
International Version).
Notice that the definition involves
ACTIONS, not feelings. Giving of yourself to others provides
the true joy of Christmas. So, take time during your hectic
holiday schedule to do something extra special for those around
you. Let the love of Christ show through you!
Merry Christmas! top
December
Book
Review
"The Second Industrial
Revolution: Business Strategy and Internet Technology"
by John J. Donovan
During W. E. Demming's time (total quality
management concepts), corporations changed each decade.
At the time of Gary Hammel's work on business reinvention,
corporations changed each year. Now corporations must
change every DAY!
Of the Fortune 500 companies in 1950, 50%
no longer exist. Why? They were resistant to change.
This book provides a strategy for
reinventing your business. It contains many examples of
companies that have been both successful and unsuccessful during
this time of rapid change. Old business
strategies must be replace with new. Even corporate tenets
such as "A stable organization is good." must be rethought.
Additionally, the book details the
technology framework for the getting a business started on the
internet. Legacy systems, support software, and security
are some of the issues discussed.
Finally, the biggest obstacle is addressed:
Changing People!! Ten impediments to change and the
roadmap to remove them are reviewed.
As with many of the books we review,
dealing with change continues to be a critical success factor.
This book provides an excellent road map to deal with change
with a technology (intranet) spin. If your business is not
ACTIVE on the internet yet, this is a must read! top
December
Innovative Business
When you provide a
valuable good or service, there will be competition. That’s
a given. Who will be your next competitor?
Innovative Customer
Service
“Are you sure you’re not
on our payroll?” What a great question to be asked by a
customer. Read why.
Your Personal Development
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