Generous Spelling Bee Winner!
July 9, 2009
Sometimes saying “thank you” says as much about you as it does the person to whom you’re saying it. Have you said it to your employees or co-workers recently?
We often spend a great deal of time and effort trying to teach our children the appropriate values that will help them be successful members of society. Every so often, though, it is the child who teaches us a valuable lesson.
In June, George Thampy won the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word “demarche” in the 15th round of the competition. This impressed me since he’s only in the seventh grade, and I certainly didn’t know how to spell “demarche” when I was 12 years old. In fact, I didn’t even know what the word meant until I looked it up. (For the record, it means a course of action, a maneuver.)
His prize for winning? $10,000 in cash!
The most amazing thing about the whole situation was what he planned to do with his prize money. He planned to give it to his parents. You see, George is home schooled, and he credited his parents with his success in the competition.
Since his parents did most of the work in teaching him, he said, they should have the prize money. How many twelve-year-old children do you know who would voluntarily give away a $10,000 prize?
If a child can show this kind of appreciation for the people who have helped him succeed, we as adults should be able to do this as well. Take a minute to identify the people who have helped you succeed at work, at home, and in life. While you may not want to give each of them $10,000, a sincere thank you will make both of you feel great. And fortunately for you, “thank you” is much easier to spell than “demarche.”
Preventing Trouble in Junior High School
July 7, 2009
A junior high school principal has a not-so-unique, but nevertheless ingenious approach to gathering information about her environment.
There are many ways to learn what you need to be successful; perhaps one of the best lessons comes from a junior high school principal.
I grew up in New York City. In the Bronx, actually. My mother was very active in the PTA and worked very closely with the principal of my junior high school, Miss Dennin. Over time, they became very good friends.
Since I was not the model student in junior high school, I would never know if an invitation to the principal’s office was to address some poor behavior on my part or to deliver some PTA material to my mother.
Years later, at my mother’s 65th birthday party, I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Miss Dennin about the changes the school had undergone over the years. The school is located in a very rough area of the city, and during that time there was often a good deal of trouble both in the school and in the surrounding areas.
But looking back, I remember that Miss Dennin always seemed to know what was going on enough in advance to prevent any minor problems from escalating into serious trouble. When I asked her about this, she had a very interesting answer.
“During the ‘changeover’ times when you would go from one class to the next, I would always stand in the central hallway, right outside the main staircase,” she said. When I thought back, I actually did remember this. She was a fixture in that hallway. And then she explained why she chose that spot. It was quite ingenious, actually.
Virtually everyone passed through that hallway several times during the day. They talked to their friends. And they talked loudly enough so that their voices could be overheard. By Miss Dennin.
By placing herself in a strategic location and keeping her ears open, she was able to gather an incredible amount of relevant information to help keep the school running smoothly and safely.
Similarly, there is an incredible amount of information that you can gather about your industry and the customers you serve. Situations on airplanes, in classrooms, or at conventions can provide as much useable information as a formal customer meeting. Try to take advantage of opportunities such as these so that you can help prevent any minor problems with your customers from becoming major issues with your company.
Sorry, We Can’t Pay Your Invoice
July 2, 2009
A company stands behind its processes instead of using the obvious common-sense approach that is more practical and delivers sound business sense.
One of the challenges facing a small business is to maintain a healthy cash flow. Unfortunately, the process of collecting overdue invoices can often turn into a lengthy process; in the instance below, it was even a bit comical.
We had an outstanding invoice from a branch of a major bookstore chain, which had been overdue since February of 1999. They had “special ordered” a copy of my first book for one of their customers, which we had shipped out immediately to the store.
The invoice was sent out the following week with our terms of 30 days payable. We waited for payment. And waited. And waited some more. After several months, we phoned to check on the payment, and they said they had not yet received the invoice. We sent it out again and checked back with them several weeks later. They assured us that the check was in the mail; however, we never received it.
Naturally, this invoice wasn’t our top priority. The amount due was only $19.90 and we had more pressing issues to deal with. However, it soon became a “matter of principle,” and we called the corporate office, sent letters, and generally became a bit more forceful.
Finally, we received an envelope in the mail from the bookstore. Thinking it was our check at last, we opened it only to find a letter. The letter stated that the company had attempted to pay us, but they couldn’t send us the check because they didn’t have our address.
Yes, you read that correctly, the bookstore sent us a letter to tell us that they didn’t have our address. This is similar to a company that pays 33 cents in postage to mail a bill with an amount due of only 15 cents.
In today’s competitive environment, customer loyalty is critical. When your processes allow or even mandate these kinds of mistakes, it can cloud your customers’ opinions of your organization.
Look at your processes, particularly those visible to your customers, and make sure that they are not impacting your ability to service your customers. Being competent and well organized can go a long way to establishing long-term relationships with your customers.
Living the Dream!
July 1, 2009
Some things seem glamorous and exciting at first glance, but can become tedious and old after a while if you let them.
I was on a shuttle bus taking me from the airport to the hotel I was staying at for a conference. At the second pickup stop, the crew from an arriving flight boarded the bus, and sat together in the back: two pilots and three flight attendants.
One of the flight attendants apparently was using the calculator on her phone, and, after a few keystrokes announced to the other flight attendants, and to pretty much everyone else on the bus, “Well, that was a 13-hour day, so that means we made…$12 an hour. “Living the dream, girls, we’re living the dream!” All this was said with more than a healthy dose of sarcasm.
I guess the starry-eyed image of a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle had finally deteriorated into the reality of four flights a day with full planes, impatient adults, and screaming children.
In this month’s Inner Circle newsletter, we talk in depth about the three choices you have in any difficult situation: change the situation, change your perception of the situation, or leave the situation.
I don’t think they’re going to be able to change the scheduling of the flights or the type or number of passengers on the flights on which they’re working. So that leaves #2 or #3: accept what you signed up for, make the best of it, and be cheerful about it, or quit and do something else.
The beauty of this life is that we have the ability to make choices – even in the face of challenging situations. You have the same choices in how you deal with the fallout from the current economic climate. You can complain, or you can take deliberate action to reposition yourself and your marketing to take advantage of unique opportunities and an expected future landscape. Choose wisely…
Jon & Kate Plus 8…Minus 1
July 1, 2009
Focusing on benefits and not features is a critical skill most people still struggle with. You have to understand what’s important to your customers, clients, and members if you’re going to get any brand loyalty at all.
Earlier this week, I was presenting at a conference, and happened to glance at an issue of USA Today. On the front cover of the Life section was this headline: “It’s official: TV’s Jon and Kate have filed for divorce.”
As I was explaining to the group the difference between features and benefits, I pulled out the newspaper and read the headline out loud, and saw puzzled looks on the faces of most of the 200 people in the room. I asked how many of them knew who “Jon & Kate” were, and about 20 hands went up. When I asked how many people cared that they were getting divorced, one hand went up. One person out of 200.
(In case you don’t know who they are – I didn’t before seeing the article – Jon & Kate Gosselin are the parents of eight children: a set of twins and a set of sextuplets who have their own reality TV show.)
This whole story concerns me for two reasons. First that people can become famous and get their own TV show for having six kids in one shot, or for being rich (Paris Hilton’s “The Simple Life”) or for being promiscuous (“A Shot at Love”) – all extremely popular shows, by the way.
The second reason is that many people seem to get caught up in these shows, obsessing on other people’s realities while short changing their own. Don’t get me wrong, I watch TV, and you could question my own choices in programming. But I’ve overheard conversations where people just go on and on and on about what’s happening to the people in their favorite reality show, while completely neglecting the actual work they’re being paid to do, or even worse, underestimating what truly matters: their own lives.
The lessons here are important to achieving success in your own marketing. First, make sure that what you think is important is also important to your market. Don’t make assumptions for other people based on your particular viewpoint on a given issue. Remember, in most cases, you are not your customer.
Second, recognize that people do crave diversion and escape from their own realities. If you can provide this through your own products and services, you can tap into a marketing channel that most people completely miss.
You don’t have to be a reality TV star, but you can position yourself as a “rock star” in your own sphere of influence.
