Customer Connection for Customer Service

When a Company reviews their customer service, they often review process and systems...that's fine but that is only part of the story. Process reliance is about delivery but it has no emotional connectivity.

You also have to review how people are connecting with the customer, if people are using their energy "sticking to the process" it is removing emotional energy to connect with the customer. I always say to my people "Please the customer not your boss!" Then tell me what you did if it is outside the process...we then review the process, develop the customer service skill if it was needed and think of how we can build this into our future service.

So remember, yes the process needs work....but the people need energy!

How to make learning part of your company

To move forward as a company it is imperative that you grow the people at the same rate as your company. That means making learning part of your organisational DNA.

At GE - even at simple operating meetings - the leaders ask "What are we learning here" They don't just accept success, they want to learn from the success. They want to know what created the success, how the numbers have grown, what changes they could make and even more powerful how could we make it even better.

Sometimes success can lead to complacency....it does not have to do. The key is to build a learning culture that explores, that encourages people to push the boundaries, that loves success and passionately wants to create it.

Talent is all around you

This is a true story. Yesterday I was speaking to a manager who ran a team of 65 people. He was depressed because he had been looking to extend some social media tools to help communication across his team. The trouble was that budget was tight, and IT had different priorities. Then a junior member of his team came in and resigned. He said he was leaving to use more of his IT skills, he had a passion for social media and wanted a role that used his skills that he had developed in his spare time.

The manager was depressed, he had never asked the question to his team, he had never thought that the talent might be in his team. People are paid to excel in their role but never forget that might NOT be the extent of their talent. Get close, be curious, look for that hidden talent....before that talent looks for another manager.

Appreciate to Accumulate!

The number one reason for people leaving their roles is not feeling appreciated. So a test, try and touch this plus sign, try and touch it on the screen....

+

Have you tried to touch it? If so that was not trying, that was doing...you did touch it.

Trying is a word overused in business...try and do this, well I have tried etc By using the word try you confuse people....they have a way out, they don't know whether you really believe that they can do it.

So tomorrow replace the word try with do. You either do something or you don't do something. Show your belief either in yourself or others.

Blog Carnival of Management Tips

Here is this weeks management tips. Sharing our knowledge is a great way for us all to grow, develop and be the best that we can be. Learning is the lifeblood of a leader.

Wilson Ng presents Profits Straight to the Bottom Line posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife, saying, "Understanding better the principles in pricing decisions as well as cost structures is necessary in optimizing your ultimate goal - the bottom line profits."

Walt presents Don’t React, Respond posted at Walt Nation!.

Anna presents 6 Warning Signs of Culture at The Engaging Brand

Rebecca Newburn presents 5 Things You Need to Know Before Using Del.icio.us, a Social�Bookmark posted at Information Age Education. A little time invested before starting will make a huge difference in your productivity.

Travis Sinquefield presents The True Meaning of Value to an Organization posted at Disorganizational Behavior.

brad montgomery presents How You Can FEEL Rich At Work (w/o it costing your a dime!) posted at bradmontgomery

Ironman presents Political Calculations: Office Survival Skills (Part I) posted at Political Calculations, saying, "A dry erase board and a permanent marker often lead to presentation disaster. Political Calculations reveals the secret for wiping out permanent damage to your career!"

David Maister presents Lions, Wolves, Beavers and Humans posted at Passion, People and Principles, saying, "many firms are incapable of firm-wide strategy because the key players have not agreed either to (a) collaborate or (b) invest in their mutual future."

Jane May presents Dating Your Boss posted at Career Ramblings.

Debra Moorhead presents “The Science of Getting Rich” Evaluated, Part One posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Billy Smith presents Growing Exponentially In Experience « The Organic Leadership Blog posted at The Organic Leadership Blog.

Sagar Satapathy presents How to Be a Manager that Your Employees Respect: 73 Surefire Tips posted at Business Intelligence Lowdown.

Sagar Satapathy presents 61 Time Saving Tips: Keeping you, your co-workers, and your family on-time posted at Project Management Source.

annette clancy presents when hiring the wrong consultant is the right idea posted at Interactions - Creative Strategies for Business.

Michelle presents Find business success on your own terms - Aridni posted at Aridni

Christopher J. Brunner presents Customer Reviews Make Business Better posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "Explores the benefits of providing feedback/review forms for customers on your website"

Travis Sinquefield presents Individual vs. Organization Success posted at Disorganizational Behavior

Ybother presents Top Ten Causes of Anger at Work posted at TodaysTen.com: Daily Top Ten List to jumpstart your knowledge, saying, "As a Manager, we have the responsibility to manage emotions in the workplace."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of management tips
using our
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Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Coaching Talent

A prominent college professor announced to his class that they would sit the final exam on their 1st day. The challenge would then be how they could learn together enough material to ensure that when it came to the day they would pass with an A grade.

What this did was first show that people did need to learn, it also gave the students the vision of achieving an A grade. He was showing them what the future was going to be like and stoking their imagination to work hard to achieve success.

At work this is also critical - sit down with your people and ask them what they want to achieve and how you can help them achieve it......give them hope, give them an idea of what success will look like.....motivate them to succeed.

Do you see what you want to see?

When we see only what we expect to see, we may miss what we should see.

An example, a study was undertaken at an airline desk. An agent began checking one traveller's tickets after a while he dropped a ticket and bent down to pick it up. A different agent who had been hidden behind the counter, stood up and continued checking tickets. Many of the travellers didn't notice the change. They were expecting a ticket agent, as long as one was there, their eyes were satisfied.

Think of how this could be affecting your behaviour. Do you see what you want to see? Are we missing a simple answer, or cutting through the complexity because we are used to the complex system. Are you missing a development opportunity in a team member skills?

Open your eyes, see what is there not what you want to see

Podcasts to Inspire the Mind

Podcasting is a fantastic tool and one which I had known about earlier. I have learned so much from listening to some of the great shows out there. Here is my pick of podcasts but feel free to add more

The Engaging Brand (affiliate to me, but still think it is a great listen)

Manager Tools

Harvard Business Review

Daily Thoughts on Business

Motivation on the Run

The great thing is that these are "free resources". Why not look through these as part of your development ideas for your talented team?

The new form of bartering

In the modern world there has almost been a return to the old system of bartering. This time individuals provide their time, services and talent in exchange for the company providing money, learning, purpose and connections. What we barter with and barter for, may have changed but it is still revolves around the idea of exchange. It is a 2 way contract that must be respected by both parties....do you and your team work around providing value to each other?

Meetings as easy as ABC....

If you struggle with meetings and keeping the structure then here is a format that may help.

This tip is as easy as A,B,C,D which gives you an outline to run a team meeting

A= Achievements. Good way to start and give each individual a chance to shine.

B= Benefits. Good way to link achievements to ensure that they are helping the team, company towards their vision.

C= Concerns. This should be 2-way with both the team member and the team leader expresses any concerns that they have, potential issues, strategy gaps etc

D= Direction. Finish with a look forward to what needs to be achieved before the next meeting.

As easy as A,B,C....or and D!

The Role of the Director....lessons from the film industry

Robert Altman says the the role of the film director is

"to create a space where the actor or actress can become more than they've ever been before, more than they've dreamed of being"

Now if you replace actor/actress with employee...isn't that what business is all about? You are a dream creator, a dream coach, a dream maker.....now tell me that you have no power!

The dreams are inside people, they were there as a child but then life has made them give them up - be realistic! Your role is to dig deep, find those dreams, engage them again and relight the fire inside.....are you a dream maker or a dream breaker?

Are you special?

"If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself you won't get noticed, and that increasingly means that you won't get paid much either" Michael Goldhaber, Wired

How true! How do you provide value, how does your personal brand bring value to the company, to the team etc Does your brand demand a premium as it delivers a higher performance? List down what your personal brand is, your values and why someone would want to pay a premium for you compared to someone else? If you can't....then write a development plan for 2007 to create your premium in the talent marketplace.

Do you REALLY understand your business?

I am a believer in understanding all aspects of the business to be a better manager. Here are some ideas on how I increase both my knowledge and that of the team.

1. Invite other managers to come to team briefings and explain their goals, successes and how they work.
2. Attend other team meetings to explain our goals.
3. Visit one department per month to work through their process, to understand the full supply chain.
4. Arrange at least yearly for senior managers and Executives to walk through the full supply chain so they can see for themselves issues, progress and success.
5. Go to lunch with someone from outside your normal peer or team group.

It is important that you work across the organisation, understanding how an idea becomes purchased by a consumer. It also helps you to contribute more fully at meetings.

Managing People - A sentence to remember

Each person has needs and concerns, to be successful in life and at work you need to.......

• You need to answer the first - their needs
• You need to allay the latter - their concerns

Simple but effective personal development.

What is your role as a manager of talent?

We keep hearing that our focus should be to bring out the talent in others - but what does that mean?

Well for me it is not about "creating talent" that is not possible, it is about how to match the person and their talents to a role that will allow them to thrive.

That mean as you get to know people better, you may move them. Every person has strengths - it is your role to find them and match them to a role that will allow them to fill their potential. Talented people need a great manager, talent needs someone who wants to - and finds the time to match the talents to the role.

Lessons from an Elephant trainer on management!

I read this story and thought it was a great metaphor for managers and their teams. Vivek Paul, CEO of Wipro Technologies said that he saw an elephant trainer outside Bangalore.

The trainer had 3 elephants tied to 3 small stakes, and he asked him "How do you keep such large elephants tied to such small stakes?" The trainer looked and said "When they were young and they tried to break free they couldn't pull the stakes over. When they grow older they don't try anymore."

How often has this approach affected us, at work or at home. We need to shake off the shackles of the past and keep our minds pushing new boundaries. We know what we are capable of now so why limit ourselves today on past limitations. We have changed, times have changed. Don't be afraid to try something because it failed in the past - you are now a different person, you have new skills, you have new experiences - this time it may succeed.

Think also about how you may have affected others - have you blocked something in the past, which prevents them from trying in the future or blocked ideas?

Andrew Carnegie - Excellent Advice

Andrew Carnegie says that there are 2 types of people who don't achieve very much

1. One who won't do as they are told
2. One who does no more than they are told to do

If you want to achieve success, then you need to be the third kind - Someone who not only performs the role but then adds a little more....turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Positive feedback and dealing with problems

Over on the Widows Quest there is a carnival on 5 November about how to turn your life around. I love this idea, and can't wait to see the links.

As managers, friends, partners etc we rush to find what is wrong with the reaction, idea, work etc We need to bring some positivity to the world!

So tomorrow (and next week at work) try and respond to any person with a positive comment, find something genuine and positive to say no matter whether you agree or not. I am often accused of seeing the positive in everything - well, guilty as charged! I believe that there is always something that you can learn or take from an interaction. If you do see the positive, just watch how people respond to you and open up...... you attract people because you stand out from the normal negative people

Develop your reaction to problems

Problems happen, things go wrong ....fact. No matter how great you are as a leader, life will throw up issues, home and at work.

It is not the problem that causes issues, it is your reaction to it. Your reaction has a huge effect on those around you, on the ability to resolve the problem, on your own mental welfare!

Do you listen carefully at what is the real issue?

Do your present an optimistic approach?

Do you respond positively?

Do you see this as a challenge rather than a problem?

Do you understand that your reaction will impact on how people approach you in the future?

Bad bosses are great motivators!

Sound a little strange? Well, I firmly believe that I have learned a huge amount from bad bosses, and they have helped me develop my skills. If you are working for a "bad boss" then instead of being demotivated see it as a huge learning curve. I have learned the following

1. What demotivates people.
2. How to not value people.
3. How not to communicate.
4. How not to deal with a problem.
5. How the behaviour of your boss affects your motivation.
6. How to remove clarity from people's work
7. How to ruin work/life balance.
8. How changing priorities on a daily, weekly basis causes confusion.

Now that is great learning. What I did was take time to review how he did it, and how I felt. I then promised myself that when I had the chance to lead I would NEVER do the same things.

You can survive a bad boss in the short term, by using them as a living learning example.