2011 | It's Worth Noting

Leadership

Doing what you can v. Doing what you must

August 11, 2011

What separates mediocre service from service worth telling others about? Isn’t it doing whatever you can for your customers v. doing what you must? A “must” perspective is inherently limiting and restrictive. It’s rooted in rules, checklists and contracts. A “can” perspective is inherently expansive and freeing. It’s rooted in permission, opportunities and the spirit of the agreement. I believe a “must” customer orientation develops out of a culture that manages their people that way. Employees follow rules, are policed with checklists and are routinely told to consult the handbook. I believe a “can” customer orientation develops out of a culture that gives its people permission to exercise good judgement, that pushes its people to take initiative and to act with the overall intent in mind. You agree?

Productivity

Use a sharpie for your weekly planning

June 23, 2011

Every Sunday evening or Monday morning I pause for 5-10 minutes to plan out the week ahead. Over the years I have used a variety of methods, but none have been as easy and effective as a sheet of paper and a sharpie. Today, I replicate that by using a pen on my iPad, but the process and output is the same. The secret is that a single piece of paper combined with the thick lines of a marker keep you from writing too much down. The method forces you to focus on what can actually be accomplished. Spending time planning to complete too many tasks or pursue too many goals is a waste of time and is demotivating. Forced prioritization simply yields better results. How-to: The picture above is my plan for next week. You can use the Weekly Planning Template (pdf) I’ve created or make your own by computer or…

Leadership

Leaders need a hairpin trigger for resolving conflict

February 22, 2011

What happens when conflict emerges around you? Do you avoid or ignore it or do you lean in? Regardless of the source or catalyst, the most effective leaders know that healthy acknowledgement and resolution of conflict is critical for them and their team to keep moving forward. When conflict emerges around you, have a hairpin trigger for acknowledgement and resolution. Lean in to understand the issues and seek to restore genuine peace. Do not let conflict fester or spread. Dealing with it may cost you some time and emotional energy, but both are less costly on the front end than the back.

Leadership

It’s My Pleasure

June 6, 2011

Anyone who has been to Chick-Fil-A and muttered a “thank you” has heard an employee reply, “It’s my pleasure.” Sure, they train and require everyone to say it, but it is a reflection of the company’s heart and soul. The company really believes they are serving you, the customer, and that the thanks is all theirs. This perspective is not uncommon in the restaurant or hospitality industry, though few execute it as genuinely or consistently as Chick-Fil-A. What happens though when you evaluate other industries and companies? Are they known for communicating genuine gratitude after every interaction with their customers? Rack your brain and try to come up with a list. I bet you cannot name five companies outside of the restaurant or hospitality industries. Would your customers put your company on their list? Although there are probably a variety of reasons why so few companies consistently and genuinely communicate gratitude, I…

Leadership

Operating at the speed of trust

May 14, 2011

There is a great book written by Stephen M.R. Covey, son of famed productivity author Stephen Covey, entitled The Speed of Trust. Covey argues that the lack of trust in business is extremely costly. All the due diligence, exhaustive contracts, monitoring and the like slows business down and increases costs. Alternatively, what if you trusted the person on the other side of the table? How much quicker and more easily could you do business? I wholeheartedly agree with Covey’s thesis. I do not suggest being naive, but I do advocate and practice aligning with customers, vendors and employees one can trust and stepping away from those one cannot. My strong conviction wasn’t birthed out of the book though. For me, the seed was planted many years ago when I was a young boy attentively observing my father conduct business. My father manages ranches raising registered cattle. He’s what people have…

Leadership

When conflict erupts, do you reach for a kleenex or see your doctor?

July 23, 2011

Earlier this year I developed a typical sinus infection. The pressure became too much to bear despite all the remedies I tried. In the end, the only thing that would solve the problem was a prescription to treat the root cause of the problem. A few days after getting a prescription from my doctor, all was well. Reflect for a moment on how you resolve conflict in your home, workplace or the like. When someone angers you, do you step back to consider the root cause of the problem or do you treat the symptoms? If you are anything like me, you are tempted to react to the symptoms – the words or actions of the offending party. This may provide some temporary relief, as does blowing your nose when you have a sinus infection. The root cause of the conflict, the infection, goes unaddressed though and is left to…

Productivity

What type of note taker are you?

May 10, 2011

What are your note taking habits when you listen to a speech, sermon, presentation or similar? I find that most people fit into one of three camps. Which one describes you? You take a note or two, whether mental or written, but the content goes in one ear and out the other. You take some written notes, but rarely reference them later. You take written notes, identify how the content applies to you and consistently review your notes to evaluate action taken and catch any items you missed. The problem with habits #1 and #2 is that they have a similar outcome. Hours or days later, only broad themes are remembered. Weeks later, little to nothing is remembered let alone applied. In a relationship, sometimes you need to listen just to listen, but not when you sit in the crowd listening to a speaker. If you listen without purpose, without…

Productivity

What’s the point of being more productive?

March 2, 2011

I’m a productivity junkie. I enjoy finding ways to be more efficient whatever the task. But why? To what end? Think about that question for a moment. Why do you want to be more productive? If you succeed, you’ll gain time, but where will the time go? This is a critical question, whether you lack motivation to be more productive or you’re a slave to productivity. If you just invest the time gained into doing more, you’re stuck in a vicious cycle because there will always be more to do. No wonder so many people could care less about being more productive. The reason I strive to be more productive is to capture time to invest in what’s most important to me, my relationship with Jesus and my family. If you had a similar goal in mind, focused on investing time gained into what’s most important to you, would you…

Productivity

Setting aside a day for that one thing

April 6, 2011

What’s that one thing, whether at work, at home or in a relationship, that you could do that would make all the difference in the world? It lingers and weighs on you, but somehow you never have the time, energy or courage to tackle it. The more you neglect and postpone, the more difficult it becomes to start or complete. Want a simple solution? Grab your calendar and block off a day called “that one thing”. Life won’t pause around you and there will be other demands on your time, energy and attention, but guard the day with vigor. Make your only objective to do the one thing of consequence that has alluded you in the past. The trick here is a dedicated day with a singular focus. That one thing keeps alluding us because we try to squeeze it in when we need to create room for it to…

Leadership

Dear Customer: I don’t want to talk to you

April 26, 2011

Over the past two decades, the internet has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for new companies. In recent years, a weak economy has forced many into the world of entrepreneurship and freelance. The rate of competition is increasing while the previously explosive increase in productivity, quality and efficiency is waning. While this seismic shift is taking place, we still have companies retaining and devising strategies to minimize customer interaction like we hit the pause button in the 90’s and nothing has changed. They view interaction with customers as an annoyance or a cost to minimize. Look no further than your inbox and all those noreply@ email address. Or consider a recent call you made navigating ten auto attendant layers while desperately hitting zero just to get a real person on the line. You can’t get service but you can wear out your keypad and finger tips. These techniques are…