Walking Through Doors
May 28, 2009
By being more aware of your environment, you’ll be able to see new opportunities that will help you bring about meaningful change in both your business and personal life.
We often complain about being trapped in a particular job or about having to work for an incompetent manager. But often we walk right by opportunities to change our situation, even though they almost hit us in the face, as you’ll see below.
We recently had a new storm door installed at the front entrance of our house. On sunny days, leaving the main door open with the storm door closed allows a significant amount of light into the house and makes the downstairs brighter. And since the door is almost entirely glass, it sometimes appears as if there is no door there at all.
Shortly after we installed the new door, a ten-year-old boy from the neighborhood dropped by to play with our son. After about an hour, I heard a very loud crash. I ran downstairs to see what had happened and had found the friend standing in front of the glass door with a startled, dazed look on his face.
He had ridden to our house on his bicycle, and the noise I heard was the sound of his helmet crashing into the glass as he was leaving our house. Since he hadn’t been paying much attention to what he was doing, he didn’t notice the door and attempted to walk right through it. Fortunately, the glass didn’t break, and the helmet protected him from being injured.
Many times, we are presented with opportunities in our business and personal lives, but we’re often too busy to recognize them. With all of life’s distractions and complications, it’s difficult to consciously watch for the signals that an opportunity has presented itself. And unlike the door, there is no instant feedback mechanism to let you know that you’ve bumped right into one.
By being more aware of your environment, you’ll be able to see new opportunities that will help you bring about meaningful change in both your business and personal life.
How About a Cold, Clammy Towel?
May 28, 2009
Having 3-Million Mile status on an airline has its good points and its bad points. On the minus side, earning that many miles means you probably are traveling more than is really healthy for your brain and any personal relationships.
On the plus side, it means you get upgraded to first class a lot. Okay, that’s a really good “plus.”
In the “olden days,” first class was something really special with truly exceptional meals served on white linen, and lots of nice amenities. Nowadays, it’s more a matter of having a comfortable seat in case you get delayed on the ground or have to circle for a while in the air.
Still, there’s one thing they still do that’s one of my favorite parts of sitting up front: the hot towel.
As soon as the airplane hits 10,000 miles, and the flight attendants start preparing the meal, they make their way through the cabin with the tray of hot towels. These are more like miniature washcloths that were rolled up, and then drenched with hot water so when you unroll one and lay it across your face, well, it really feels great.
Unless, of course, the water they poured onto it wasn’t really hot, or if they left it sitting around a bit too long. Then it’s nothing more exciting than draping a cold, clammy napkin over your face – actually more annoying than soothing.
The thing is it’s not really that much of a temperature difference between the hot towel and the lukewarm towel. And yet the difference in the experience is both dramatic and profound.
In most businesses, it’s the little things that end up making a big difference in how customers perceive their experience. If you’re going to offer a figurative “hot towel” to your customers – something you offer that makes the experience of doing business with you extra special – then make sure it’s actually hot – a couple of degrees in either direction can completely and totally ruin the experience.
Conrad Hilton Says…
May 28, 2009
Conrad Hilton founded the Hilton Hotel chain, along with several other businesses. He also has the dubious distinction of being Paris Hilton’s great-grandfather. I think we’ll stick with the hotels – these business strategies are far more interesting than Paris Hilton and her latest antics.
A copy of his autobiography, Be My Guest, published in 1957, is placed in every room of every Hilton hotel, and that’s where I found my copy.
As I was reading it, one quote in particular jumped out at me because it’s especially relevant to these interesting times: “Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
This quote, written over 50 years ago, cuts right to the core of what separates successful people from those who choose to be spectators, letting life happen to them instead of working diligently and tirelessly to create the reality they truly desire.
It’s almost word-for-word the same quote from Lance Armstrong that I shared with you last week. And if I wanted to, I could find enough similar quotes from 50 different people and include in this newsletter one each week for an entire year.
The problem is that people either get it, or they don’t, and no amount of coaxing, coaching, or cajoling will change people’s basic belief systems on how things should work.
In yet another version of a situation that occurs with frightening regularity and frequency, I brought our new car into the dealership for the 5,000-mile service and to fix a wobbly rear-view mirror. We parked in front of the used-car building which was right near the service area. Two “salespeople” (and I use the term loosely) were milling about, leaning on the cars parked in front of the building, and waiting to pounce on us…until they realized we were there to service a car, not buy one.
Big mistake, because if they had even half a brain, they might have struck up a casual conversation with my wife while I was checking in the car. They would have discovered that we were in fact going to be looking for a reliable used car for our daughter to use when she starts college in August.
For that matter, I’ve not heard anything from the salesperson who sold us the new car – no personal newsletter, no three-month follow-up call to see how he might be able to help me – nothing!
And it gets better (it always does, doesn’t it!) – my daughter, who has been scouring the internet looking for her ideal car, actually found the exact model she was looking for at a dealership about 50 minutes away.
Lorie called to find out how we would get the car to our mechanic to look it over; he explained their easy procedure…and then thanked Lorie and ended the call.
Not, “My name’s Bob; can I have your name and we’ll schedule a time for you to come in for a test drive?” Not, “So you live in Raleigh, would it be easier if we brought the vehicle up to you so you didn’t have to drive all the way down here?”
All four of these individuals will go home at the end of the day and complain to their friends and families about how bad business is, and blame the economy, when in fact, they squander opportunities to generate business and choose instead to lean against cars on the lot for a living.
Maybe they should follow Conrad Hilton’s advice: take action, keep moving, and don’t quit.
Team Final Exams
May 26, 2009
The next time your organization is faced with a challenging issue, form a team to attack the problem. You’ll find the outcome rewarding.
When we reflect back on our experiences during our formal education, we can usually identify two or three teachers who had an impact on the way we approach our work. If we’re observant, we can expand upon these lessons to improve our personal effectiveness.
During college, one of my computer science professors, Ken Reek, had unique approaches to teaching. For example, if he assigned a computer lab assignment to the class, he also completed it himself and “turned it in” by the due date. If an assignment was due on Thursday, it would be counted as “on time” if it was under his office door when he arrived on Friday morning. He was creative, knew his stuff, and got along really well with his students, being only a few years older than we were.
Needless to say, I was glad to see that he would be teaching the very last course I would be taking for my undergraduate degree: Operating Systems Lab. This class represented the culmination of four years of work in software engineering and systems software. We had to write an operating system, file handlers, and low-level device drivers. Those of you with computer backgrounds know what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t, suffice it to say that this was probably the single most difficult course in the department.
So what did Ken do to make it interesting? The lab assignments were to be done in teams of three people. So I quickly teamed up with two very smart people, and we got to work. Surrounding yourself with capable people makes any job easier, and we got excellent grades on all our work.
Finally the end of the quarter arrived and with it came final exams. Operating Systems Lab was the last of these tests. It was not just the last test of the quarter; it was the last test of senior year. After this exam I would be done with college!
Ken Reek walked in carrying a stack of blank paper, handed out about ten sheets to each student, and said, “You’ve all done your work in this course in teams; you’ll be working in the real world in teams; and today you’ll take your final exam in teams. Get with the team you’ve been with all quarter and write an electronic mail system. We got down to work and knocked out the assignment in about an hour.
You have similar opportunities in your work, and your life, to develop teams. Things that seem difficult and overwhelming can become easier if you get input from other people. And hiring people with diverse backgrounds brings new perspectives to the table.
Life is full of tests; they’re just not all clearly presented as “final exams.” The next time you’re faced with a challenging problem, follow Ken Reek’s advice and form a team to attack the problem. You’ll find the outcome rewarding.
The “Bag of Tricks”
May 21, 2009
What you have in your own “bag of tricks” can help other people deal more effectively with problem situations.
We have numerous opportunities each day to have a positive impact on the lives of the people we meet. How we act upon these opportunities can completely change a difficult situation into an agreeable one.
Anyone who travels by air knows that from time to time there are bound to be delays, equipment failures, and a whole assortment of other problems that can keep your flight from departing on time. For people traveling with children, the aggravation can be compounded when the children begin to get restless and impatient.
Sometimes, when this happens, I offer to help out with my “bag of tricks.” This bag is a leather case I carry in place of a wallet to hold my credit cards, airline tickets, and cash. But it also has a compartment that holds materials for about two hours of close-up magic.
My daughter jokingly refers to this as my “purse.” In fact, the standard joke in my house is, “Daddy, do you have your PURSE?” and I answer, “It’s not a PURSE…it’s a MAN’S CASE!”
It’s amazing what happens to loud, restless children when you pull a red ball out of their ear, make it vanish, and then reappear in their own hand! Their whole demeanor changes from wired and jumpy to stunned silence. Their vocabulary gets reduced to five words: “How did you do that???”
This is normally followed by, “Can you do another trick? Please?” (The “please” is usually offered by a grateful parent.) At this time I open up my bag of tricks and perform a few effects for whoever is watching. Sometimes it’s just the family I started out with. Sometimes a few other families gather around. Sometimes it seems as if half the people on our flight have come over to watch.
But no matter how many people are observing, the ones who witness the magic end up with big smiles on their faces and usually will have forgotten about their flight being delayed. This is what magic can do.
In your own work environment, and in your personal life, you probably have similar opportunities to impact others favorably. Your customers, co-workers, suppliers, and families all face challenging and stressful situations every day.
What do you have in your own “bag of tricks” that can help other people deal with these situations more effectively? Sometimes it’s just taking a minute to listen. Sometimes it may be offering to help out a bit. It’s different for each individual; each person’s bag of tricks contains its own magic.
As Long As I’m Moving…
May 20, 2009
A good quick read is Lance Armstrong’s autobiography, It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, where he talks about his battle with cancer, his subsequent return to competitive cycling, and his victory in the Tour De France – the first of what would turn out to be an unprecedented seven consecutive victories.
One passage in particular recounts Lance riding his bike while in great pain from the cancer treatments. When people asked him why he was doing such a thing, he replied, “As long as I’m moving, I’m living.”
In a somewhat different but definitely related story, I learned about a research study where volunteers were placed into one of five different groups based on their levels of fitness and activity with “couch potatoes” on one end, and world-class Olympic athletes at the other end.
They were all evaluated, with comparisons made between their chronological age and their “physical” age, based on a variety of lifestyle activities and medical tests. The objective was to predict expected lifespan based on these factors.
The results were interesting: the single biggest increase predicted life span was between the first group – the people who did no exercise at all – and the second group that did minimal exercise like walking for ten minutes a day. The implication being that any activity is better than no activity.
And this really gets us to the heart of the issue. Because so many people are absolutely paralyzed by fear and uncertainty that they’re doing absolutely nothing to help grow or at least reposition their businesses to be stronger and in a better position to compete when the economy ultimately begins its slow road to recovery.
You hear things like, “I’m just going to sit out this economy.” Yeah, good luck with that! You can’t just wait it out like parking under an overpass during a bad rainstorm; you have to develop alternate plans.
You have to become a student of business and marketing. You have to implement. You have to take massive action when others are sitting in the corner, contemplating the universe with “a deer-in-the-headlights” looks in their eyes.
Like Lance said, “As long as I’m moving…I’m living.” The same thing could be said for you and your business: if you’re moving, you’re living. Don’t let yourself become a victim of the economy: take action when others are content to be spectators; be bold when others are timid; and above all, don’t be a “marketing couch potato.”
I Always Wanted to Be Somebody
May 20, 2009
Long flights like this one are great opportunities to get work done. No real distractions, coffee, and a five-hour stretch in a relatively isolated environment. On these flights, I tend to work on the Inner Circle Newsletter, get caught up on a thick stack of “airplane reading,” and relax – just a bit.
I was flipping through the airline’s in-flight magazine, and came across a page of interesting quotes. One in particular caught my attention. It was by the great Lily Tomlin:
I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Aside from the fact that this is pretty funny, it’s also quite relevant. Too many people are far too vague about their goals and aspirations, preferring to let life happen to them instead of working to create the reality they truly want.
As we just saw in the last article, action – and generally massive action – is required to achieve lofty goals in the face of overwhelming odds. But that’s only half the equation. The other half is knowing what those goals are!
There’s an old expression that if you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will get you there. Try to be specific in terms of the outcomes you want from your relationships, from your business, and from life.
If you’re going to be “somebody” then make it somebody really good!
Controlling the Menu
May 19, 2009
A waitress uses creativity in using the scope of her position to influence change in her work environment.
Many times the situations we face at work can be frustrating because we often feel powerless to change them. The following example shows how a bit of creativity in the scope of one’s job can help influence change in the workplace.
Recently, my wife and I had dinner with some friends at a nearby restaurant where we dine regularly. As we were looking over the menu, the waitress who usually serves us approached the table, greeted us warmly, and asked us if we had any questions about the dishes they were offering that evening.
We asked her opinion about two of the dishes we were considering. The first one she said was excellent, and she would highly recommend it. When we asked about the second one, she wrinkled her nose, made a face, and said that she would strongly urge us not to order this dish.
“I won’t serve a dish if I don’t think it’s good…and I have a good reason for this,” she quickly replied as she looked around to see if the owner was anywhere nearby. She leaned closer to the table and continued, “If a dish isn’t selling very well, the chef removes it from the menu. So if I don’t like a dish, I don’t serve it and it gets taken off the menu. This way I can assure that all the dishes I serve my customers will be great and perhaps my tips will be better as well.”
So even though this waitress wasn’t the chef or the owner, she was still able to influence the menu. And since she eats dinner there herself when she comes on duty, she’ll be choosing from dishes she knows are good.
This waitress’s primary job responsibility was to satisfy her customers by serving high-quality food in a timely fashion. By recommending only the best dishes, she helps assure that her customers will be satisfied with their meals and she also keeps the best dishes on the menu.
Are there similar situations at work where you feel you have no say and no influence? Perhaps you can be as creative as our waitress and find a way to use the scope of your position to influence change in your work environment.
Welcome to Costa Rica!
May 14, 2009
Find out how broadening you knowledge, such as learning a second language, can enhance your performance at work, as well as help you become a more well rounded person.
One of the great benefits of traveling is the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people and to be exposed to a wide variety of ideas. On one recent trip I met a person who had his own unique situation for ensuring that he and his family continued to pursue their life-long learning.
Sitting opposite me on a flight back from California was a man studying a Spanish textbook. Since I’m also studying Spanish, I introduced myself and asked him what his motivation was to learn the language.
He said that he and his family had been living in Costa Rica for two years, and he figured that he shouldn’t squander the opportunity to learn a language in a “total immersion” environment.
Naturally, I asked what brought him to Costa Rica, expecting the standard answer that he was on a two-year expatriate assignment with his company. Not even close. What he had done was move his family to Costa Rica so that they could experience another culture and learn the language and customs first hand.
He was an acupuncturist with a practice in Orange County who spent two weeks a month in California and then returned to Costa Rica for the remainder of the month to be with his family. His five children spoke a total of seven different languages. In fact, his 16-year-old son spoke English, Spanish, Hebrew, and two different dialects of Chinese, which he could also read and write.
I was in awe that this family thought so much about providing opportunities for their children to learn that they consciously engineered their own “expatriate assignment” to make the concept a reality.
In our own busy lives, it’s often difficult to find time to enhance our own knowledge base. However, if we don’t make the effort, we end up recycling the same knowledge over and over again.
Try to find an opportunity (any opportunity) to add to your learning. Set aside time to read a magazine from outside of your field. Take up a hobby you’ve been thinking of trying for quite some time. Meet with someone who is a native speaker of a language you would like to learn. Or you may want to attend an evening seminar or class.
You’ll find that by expanding your learning, you will not only enhance your performance at work, but you’ll become a more well-rounded person. And you never know where your learning might take you…maybe even Costa Rica!
Cadillac Care
May 13, 2009
I returned last week from a fantastic full day of private consulting with a client in Illinois, and I have to say it was one of the sharpest groups I’ve worked with in a while. Not that the other groups are somehow mentally deficient, it’s just that this particular group had an almost innate grasp of the high-level marketing strategies I was presenting to help them grow their association.
One participant in particular, the owner of a private-duty nursing company, shared her strategy for placing their nurses in the homes of affluent elderly clients, with a program she called “Cadillac Care.”
These nurses also know how to cook, and provide a level of professional service that makes it possible for the company to charge premium prices for a premium service to people who can afford to pay for it.
Even the name of the service, “Cadillac Care,” shows a fantastic understanding of marketing concepts. It could have been called “Lexus Care” or “Mercedes Care” but this wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. (For extra credit, see if you can guess why – e-mail me your answer and I’ll pick a winner at random who will receive a 20-minute private consulting call!)
Virtually every business has the opportunity to develop a product or service targeted at an affluent market segment that’s not affected by the slow economy. Doing this can add a steady and reliable stream of income that others in your market are missing. Can you find this hidden money?
