Gibsonia Gazette

Random Thoughts As We Enter A New Decade December 16, 2009

Given the times, why haven’t our elected officials taken a pay cut?

Smokers do have rights; does that include using the street as their ashtray?

Responsibility for ones own actions creates a better working environment and a better world.

Every time you point your finger at someone, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

When the political discourse changes from shouting to conversation, the world will be a better place.

Attitude is everything!

“Work ethic” is a powerful phrase.

Conversation in place of Email, what a concept!

If twitter is limited to 140 characters, can we do the same with Email?

If all the World’s political, religious, and business leaders were sent to the moon for a few days, would that view of the world change their view of the world?

If newborns have no preconceived ideas of the world and the people in it, what causes bigotry?

The United States constitution begins with the phrase, “We the people…”, not “We the politicians…”.

As we start a new decade, I am reminded of the title of the John Lennon song: “Imagine”

Thank you for all of your comments regarding this blog.  I look forward to continuing in 2010.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season and may you find peace and happiness in the New Year.

Best regards,

Dick

The Value Of Making Your Customer Feel Important November 15, 2009

The Value of Making Your Customer Feel Important

A few weeks ago, I was in a retail store buying a few items.  When I approached the cashier, she was in a conversation with another employee and, from what I could tell, it was about a mutual friend.  The cashier continued the conversation as she rang up my purchases and never “connected “ with me at all.  Connecting to me would mean just looking at me to acknowledge I was there.  She did, however, give me a cursory “thank-you” as we completed the transaction.  So she knew I was there, but she did not make me feel that my business was appreciated.

I felt as though I was interrupting her, and that my transaction was an inconvenience.  I did not have a good feeling as I left the store and, as a result, I don’t feel compelled to return.  I find it hard to understand how, especially in this economy, managers and employees don’t seem to “get it”; that without customers, you are out of business.  So, who is the most important person you deal with in business?

Do you really know who your customer is?  Is it the person doing the purchasing, or the person using the product or service.  If you don’t know, figure it out.  This recession is teaching us that our business should be about creating happy customers.

Many businesses have taken necessary steps to insure that they will survive during these uncertain times:  layoffs, salary reductions, reducing inventories, more efficiencies, etc.  However, I have seen and heard very little about  addressing how to improve customer service, the one area that should be considered sacrosanct. Your customer’s perception of your company will be positively influenced by excellent customer service.

So consider whether customer service is a top priority in your business.    Has your organization learned to make the customer its number 1 priority?   How else will you differentiate yourself from the competition in what is becoming more and more a commoditized business environment?  Survival means it can’t be only about price.  Success means that your business relationships remain steadfast – or even flourish – in a rough and tumble economy.  So make your customer feel appreciated.

What are the long-term implications for your business, if there will always be someone willing to sell at a lower price?   In dealing with your customers, you have to take price out of the equation to whatever extent possible.  The way to do that is to overwhelm them with top-notch service.  Always try to deliver more than you promise.  And let them know that their business is important to your business.

I recently experienced good customer service, when I was driving to an appointment and needed a bottle of water.  I stopped at a national drugstore chain location.  I got my water and took it to the cashier.  The young gentleman behind the counter looked directly at me, smiled, and gave me a big “Hi how are you today”.   After waiting for my response, he asked, “Do you like M & Ms?”  And when I responded “yes”, he told me that they had a special on snack packs of M & Ms, buy two, get a third one free.  As I looked at the counter display he said, “And if you buy the M & Ms, I’ll give you a free water bottle”.  His sincerity and demeanor were such that I bought the package.  Instead of spending $1.39 for water, I spent $3.39, 144% more, all because the clerk had the right attitude and the right skill set.  Remember, he didn’t try to sell me with a special on M & Ms, he asked if I liked M & Ms. He acted as though whether I liked M&M’s mattered.  And that’s an example of making the customer feel important.

Teach your employees to recognize the value of every customer.  Talk to them about customer service, reinforce it at every meeting, give awards for great customer service, and set the example by your own internal as well as external dealings.

By no means should you scrimp when it comes to customer service. Do whatever is necessary to make your employees understand what each and every customer means to the survival of the organization.  It’s their livelihood as well as yours.

A book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, “Raving Fans”, deals with this issue, and it’s worth taking the time to read if you want further insight into this topic.

Finally, ask for customer service input from both your employees and your customers.  Plan to teach your employees how to make your customers feel important.  Teach them to learn the customer’s names.  Train them to project recognition with their voice and to find out about their families if appropriate.  Teach them to smile when they speak, whether in person or on the phone, even if they don’t feel like it.  Make every customer contact with your company a productive one.  Teach your employees how to recognize the opportunity to “go the extra mile”.  Have them practice their listening skills.  Teach them that initiative is appreciated (“sounds like you need______; let me find someone to help you with that.”)

Turn your customers into “Raving Fans”.

2010 Is Just Around The Corner, Have You Set Goals For The Year? October 14, 2009

Sales “guru” Zig Ziglar said “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

It’s amazing the number of people that have not set clear and concise goals for their business as well as personal lives.  Many people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their future.

Goal setting is the way we see into the future and determine where we are going.  At the most simplistic level, we are unconsciously setting goals every day.

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning your goal is to get out of bed and get ready for the day.  When you turn on the engine of your car, you are expecting to arrive at a pre-determined place.  When you get on the elevator, your plan is to get off on a specific floor.

These are just some of the many unconscious goals we set for ourselves everyday.  But do we take the time to consciously set strategic business and personal goals?  Are these goals going to stretch you?   Do they have benchmarks?

How much time does it take to set your goals for the coming year?  Is it important to have a “roadmap” to help you determine where you are going and how you will get there?  You can’t spend too much time setting goals.

Empirical evidence shows that we can accomplish more and go farther if we dedicate ourselves to written goals, keep them on our corporate and personal radar screens, and follow through on the steps required to make them happen.

Edwin Locke, a leading authority on goal setting, established this model of goal setting motivation:

1. Goals give us focus:  Distractions occur more easily without them.
2. Goals get us going:  They serve as beacons for our attention and they motivate us to act.
3. Goals add to our resolve: Accomplishing what we want to do takes persistence. Without goals, we may find ourselves being persistent at low-priority activities.
4. Goals lead to actions:  Once a goal is set, a plan for action is the natural next step.  Action plans outline the “how” of achieving or accomplishing goals.

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Time-sensitive.  The SMART system for setting goals is a well-recognized way to put your goals in perspective.  Goals must be specific; they must have benchmarks for measuring progress; while they should be a “stretch”, they need to be within one’s grasp; there must be a stated result;, and there must be a time-frame in which the goal must be accomplished.

If you or your company are not in the habit of setting SMART goals, well, maybe now is the time.  Think about a specific accomplishment you want to achieve by December 31, 2010.  Think about whether or not it is a realistic goal, how you intend to achieve it, what you need to set as benchmarks through the year to keep you on track, and what will be the result when you achieve this goal.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.  It’s your way of looking into the future, envisioning where you want to be and setting a course to get there.

So, when you’re getting out of bed tomorrow, feel good about the fact that you’ve achieved your first goal of the day.

Is Your Team In Alignment? September 11, 2009

A few years ago I noticed that the tires on my car were wearing very unevenly and when I inquired about it, I was told that they wouldn’t pass Pennsylvania State Inspection.  I  have the tires rotated on a regular basis, but that doesn’t accomplish anything if your front end is out of alignment.  You would think the people doing the rotation would have noticed.  As a result, I had to prematurely buy four new tires for the car and have the front wheels aligned.

As the car was being worked on, I thought about alignment as it applies to cars and to business.  When an automobile is properly aligned, it gets better gas mileage, longer wear out of the tires, and it has a better, more enjoyable ride, just to name a few advantages.

So, how does alignment apply to business?  In business, alignment means that you’ll stay on course with regard to goals and objectives, the business will have power to sustain itself, and its management group will be more stable.

If your wheels are out of alignment, the car could be pulling to one side or the other.  In other words, it could be trying to go someplace that you don’t want to go.  If the people who help you run your business are out of alignment with the vision and goals that you have set, then the business could be pulled in conflicting directions.  The organization may not be meeting projections , and you may not know why.

Proper wheel alignment means that steering is smooth and the vehicle does not wander.  It travels on the course to where the driver wants to go.  Proper business alignment means that your “troops” are marching on course towards the point that you have set as the goal.  Unfortunately it can be a lot more difficult to align your managers than to align your car.  Just a few simple adjustments and your car is good to go.  Your staff, on the other hand, might need a bit more of an adjustment.

This is a good time to check your company alignment as you begin to plan for next year, especially given current economic conditions.  If an organization is not in alignment in this economy, it could face disastrous consequences.  Find out what your people are thinking.  Ask them what their vision of the future is for the company.  Plan a day away from the office.  Get them all in a room and have a free flowing discussion about the future of the company, with no restrictions on ideas.

It would be wise to have an outside facilitator so that the discussion doesn’t get “pushed” in one direction or another.  Just remember that you are trying to get everyone on the same page with regard to the vision and goals of the company.  A facilitator is the person with the objective point of view.  He/she should have no agenda except to help the group achieve that goal.

The most important function for a leader in this situation is to listen to the ideas that are coming from his or her people.  Treat every idea as a good one.  The less judgmental the leader is, the less inhibited their managers will be.  The good ideas will rise to the top and the team may be surprised from whom they come.

As you and your team go through this process, be sure that action items are assigned and milestones / deadlines are set up for accountability.  This will help to keep everyone focused on their contribution to the whole.

It will take more than one meeting to determine the vision and focus of the company.  Starting with a session in which everyone has input will help you to get the alignment you need from your managers.  In this manner you will have created a level playing field for all to participate.

By the way, when was the last time you had the alignment checked on your car?

Are You Out Of Focus? July 31, 2009

Are you one of those people who cannot focus on one task because there are too many tasks that seem to require your attention?  Do you refer to yourself as a “multi-tasker”?  Have you learned how to prioritize?

Many executives seem to have a tendency to make everything a priority to the point where nothing gets done or, at least, nothing gets done well. Where is it written that we must learn to do many things at once?

How would you feel if you learned that your car was built with the same lack of focus on priorities that some of us use to do our jobs?  Scary thought, isn’t it?

Hall of Fame and Cy Young Award winning pitcher Steve Carlton knew about focus.  Carlton’s concentration was so intense that he sometimes didn’t even see the batter, he has said.  He focused on the catcher’s glove and the pitch that he was throwing, nothing else.

Did he have interruptions?  Of course he did.  Batters will step out of the batter’s box to “interrupt” the pitcher and opposing fans will try to create as much noise as possible.  Carlton was still able to maintain his focus.

This is not to say that Steve Carlton didn’t have some bad days.  After all, he’s human, too.  And so are you, so a day here and there where it’s difficult to focus is a management challenge.  It’s OK to give yourself some time to handle the “mindless” activities; the stuff you want to do but don’t have to do.  Just be sure to get back on task.

We live in an age where everyone thinks they need to do many things at once.  The dictionary defines multitasking as  “ a computer doing more than one function at a time.”  I have not found a definition of multitasking that refers to human beings.  And yet, our culture has adopted this hi-tech term to explain what is becoming normal human behavior.

A study published in the American Psychological Association Journal describes research done by two University of Michigan Psychologists along with one from the Federal Aviation Administration.  The researchers did four experiments with 108 young adult subjects, split among four groups, measuring speed of performance as a function of whether the successive tasks were familiar or unfamiliar, and whether the rules for accomplishing them were simple or complex.

The measurements revealed that the subjects lost time when they had to switch from one task to another, and time costs increased with the complexity of the tasks in every instance.

Switching from one task to another requires time to disengage the brain from the current task and engage it with the new one.  Your way of thinking about each task changes along with the skills needed to perform the new task, thereby slowing down your ability to complete each task.

This process is both inefficient and counterproductive.  However, if you focus on the priorities one at a time until they are complete or, you’ve achieved the goal which you set for that task for that specific day, you’ll be more efficient.  As a result you’ll eliminate the stress that goes along with knowing that things aren’t getting done.

Try this to help you get started;

1. List your “priorities”

2. Schedule blocks of time to work on them, uninterrupted

3. Have a mind set that you can only do  one at a time

4. Eliminate the ones that if you couldn’t do you wouldn’t or , heaven forbid, can be delegated to others, and stick to it

5. Take the remaining list and go through step two again

6. Look at the remaining list and determine what should be the absolute last thing you need to do

7. Continue doing that until you’ve worked your way up to what is now your number 1 priority

8. Focus on working on Number 1 and when you’ve completed what you need to do on that priority start with number 2 and so on

9. Schedule time for interruptions to return phone calls and to deal with E-mail

10. Ignore your Emails or, better yet, turn the monitor off until your schedule calls for it

Once you get into the habit of doing things this way it will become a way of life.  So, your first priority is to focus on setting up your list of priorities!