Listen Carefully
September 29, 2009
A magic conference provides valuable insights into the importance of listening.
Attending conferences and workshops is an excellent way to expand your knowledge base and add more value to your job. What’s more, you can sometimes gain some powerful insights that can have a significant impact on your relationships with others.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a retreat in California hosted by Jeff McBride. Jeff is an outstanding magician who regularly headlines in Las Vegas and other major resort cities. He is also a well-respected authority on the history of magic and has appeared on numerous television specials on the subject.
I attended this retreat expecting to learn some new techniques, polish some existing routines, and establish some contacts with other magicians. In all three of these areas I was successful. The environment was very supportive, and the people were willing to help each other well into the early hours of the morning.
At one point, I was speaking with Jeff about one of his routines. I had some questions about the mechanics of a particular segment of the trick. I noticed as I was explaining my question that Jeff was seated in an unusual posture. He was seated in a manner that most resembled someone who might be meditating, and his hands were cupped in his lap.
When I asked him about this, he had a very interesting answer. ”Most people don’t really listen; they just wait for their turn to talk,” he explained. ”But how can they have anything intelligent to say when they haven’t clearly heard the other person?” ”Whenever I’m listening to someone, I cup my hands like an empty vessel. When this imaginary cup is empty, it has room for whatever the other person is saying. It just serves as a subtle but powerful reminder that I should be focused on what the other person is saying, not on what I have to say in response.
“How many times have disagreements, misunderstandings, and altercations occurred simply because one person was so busy thinking about what they were going to say that they completely failed to hear the other person’s message? The next time you’re having a conversation with a friend or co-worker, try to “fill your cup” with the knowledge and insight you can get by truly listening.
House at Pooh Corner
September 28, 2009
We had a fun time last Wednesday – we went to see Loggins and Messina in concert.
Some of you may be old enough to remember them – there I go, showing my age again – Kenny Loggins had had a long (and still-continuing) solo career which included several movie themes including, “I’m All Right” (from Caddyshack) and “Danger Zone” (from Top Gun), along with his classic hit, “House at Pooh Corner.”
Jim Messina was in the very popular groups Buffalo Springfield and Poco before teaming up with Loggins in the early 70s. – there I go, showing their age!
And age is actually what I want to talk about here. Because as we sat watching the show, we also were watching the crowd. By our estimate, the average age of the people in attendance was “late 50s”, and from 30 seconds of Google research, I determined that the age of Loggins and Messina themselves was 61.
Here’s the cool part. Sometimes when you go and see the aging artists you listened to growing up, you leave a bit disappointed because, well, they don’t sound that great any more. In contrast, Jim Messina’s playing skills and voice were still strong. And Kenny Loggins’s voice, in particular, was still incredible. At age 61 each! (Three others whose voices still remain as strong – if not better – than in their youth: Steve Winwood, James Taylor, and Stevie Wonder.)
And while Loggins and Messina and their fantastic band were rocking it on the stage, the people in the audience were up on their feet dancing throughout the show, reconnecting with the music they grew up listening to, and seeming to regress in age 20, 30, even 40 years right before our eyes – if not physically, then surely in terms of attitude.
So much of what we can accomplish is based on our perception and outlook on a given situation. Instead of sitting at home, bemoaning the rapid approach of their 60th birthdays, these people were out dancing in the aisles to the music of two legendary musicians who were doing exactly the same thing on stage.
Whose music are you dancing to today?
Shoo Fly
September 28, 2009
There was an old song that had the lyrics:
Shoo fly, don’t bother me
Shoo fly, don’t bother me
Shoo fly, don’t bother me
‘Cause I belong to somebody
And this week we’ll be talking about flies for a bit. It always seems to happen – you’re having a nice picnic somewhere, when a fly shows up and lands right on your plate. You shoo it away, but he just keeps coming back, a constant reminder that you’re in his territory.
Well, something similar happened to me, but it wasn’t at a picnic. It actually happened on a bike ride.
We were out on a short mid-week ride – around 20 or so miles on a nice stretch of gently rolling terrain. We were riding in a tight paceline – one bike very close to the one ahead of it to get the same “drafting” effect ducks and geese get when they fly in “V” formation.
So we’re tooling along, around 19 mph and then I spot it out of the corner of my eye: a large deerfly. And I don’t just mean I had to dodge my head to avoid being hit in the face – I mean he was flying right alongside of us, weaving in and out of the different bicyclists’ heads like he was looking for someone in particular.
And the most amazing part was that he kept this up for nearly three miles.
I don’t know if anyone else noticed this or even cared if they did; but I was most spellbound by this spectacle – a deerfly keeping pace with a pack of cyclists going 19 mph for three miles!
Thinking I might have been hallucinating, I checked online when I got back home. Turns out deerflies can actually move that fast. They can’t keep it up indefinitely, but when they decide they need to, they crank it up a notch.
Are you the same way? When you have a great opportunity or an urgent deadline, can you put on a burst of speed that can get you to the finish line? It’s not something you want to do constantly – because you’ll end up burning out if you do – but when you need to, a quick, intense, and focused effort can make the difference between failure and success.
Return It When You’re Done!
September 24, 2009
A company’s policy of loaning out tools helps build relationships with it’s customers.
Many people find ways to “beat the system” and get what they want – even if it means bending the rules a bit. But every once in a while, a company recognizes that this happens and turns it into a competitive advantage.
During a recent visit to our local Home Depot store, I was waiting for help from one of the employees who was speaking with another customer. The customer was asking about a special wrench used to cut PVC pipe.
The employee found the tool the customer was looking for. Upon looking at the price, the customer did a double take; it was significantly more expensive than he had expected. Seeing this, the employee asked, “Are you only going to use this once?” When the customer said yes, the employee said, “Well, why don’t you pay for it now, keep the receipt and return it when you’re done using it?”
This got my attention, and when it was my turn for service, I asked about this conversation. The employee stated that it was their informal policy to “loan out” hand tools to their customers. You could simply buy the tool, use it once, and then return it for a full credit.
I asked if this was his own personal policy or the official Home Depot policy. He said that as far as he knew, it was a corporate policy.
Now, I’m sure people do this all the time, particularly with expensive, special-use tools. But Home Depot has made an interesting policy decision. By allowing this to take place – and even encouraging it – the company has taken a simple, but significant step towards enhancing customer loyalty.
And really, what are the chances that the customer will actually bring back the tool? It would require a special trip back to the store, and they would have to keep track of the receipt. I’ll bet that in most cases, the customer ends up keeping the purchased product anyway.
Home Depot made a competitive advantage out of a potential problem. By “loaning out” tools to customers, the company is building relationships with its customers. When a customer needs a tool for long-term use, what store will they think of first?
Are there any loopholes in your own customer processes that you could somehow sanction to enhance your customer relationships? It could be the start of a new corporate policy!
Don’t Be So Successful!
September 22, 2009
An overachieving employee is told by her manager to not work quite so hard.
One of the big issues facing leaders today is how to motivate employees to perform at their highest levels. So it came as quite a shock to learn of one manager who took just the opposite approach.
We have a friend who works part time as a salesperson at a clothing store in a major mall. She is a confident, funny, and outgoing person who would seem like a natural for any type of sales.
As soon as she became familiar with the merchandise and the store’s commission policy, she began to excel. She had a knack for knowing what looked good on a customer and was able to sell a good deal of clothing at any given time. Customers would wait up to 20 minutes so our friend could wait on them.
Because of this, her sales volume was consistently the highest in the store, and she regularly sold more merchandise as a part-time employee than did any of the store’s regular full-time staff.
Naturally, you would expect the store manager to be delighted. Retail managers typically have a portion of their overall compensation determined by the overall sales of the store. More sales from a top salesperson – part-time or full-time – would translate into more compensation for the manager.
But instead of working closely with this top performer, the manager had a decidedly different and surprising response. Our friend was told to stop working so hard. Her performance was causing discontent among the store’s full-time staff, and she was making them look bad because she regularly outperformed them working only part time.
In a time when all retail businesses are struggling, this kind of attitude is puzzling at best. Anytime you are faced with a new challenge, one of the most intelligent things you can do is to find someone who does it exceedingly well, study what makes them successful, and try to incorporate some of their actions and behaviors into your own approach.
Look at your own reaction to other people’s success. Are you resentful and envious, or do you take the opportunity to study and learn? It’s up to you.
Make New Friends, But Keep the Old
September 17, 2009
You may recognize that title from the Girl Scout song that goes, “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.” I happened to come across these lyrics recently, and they seem to be particularly appropriate now.
This weekend we’re going to do something very special – we’re attending a wedding. But not just any wedding, this is the wedding of someone we’ve known since she was born. Actually since before she was born, if you want to get technical.
When we lived in New Hampshire, years ago, we had a close group of four couples, all about the same age, and all together for just a few years. We knew each other from work, and got together frequently for a gourmet group where we would pick a theme, select and assign dishes, and show up at one couple’s house to cook the meal and have a great time.
Over time, we all started thinking about starting families, and Lorie and I were the first to make the announcement – at a dinner, of course. We told the other couples that they needed to get on board, and – wouldn’t you know it – the two other couples that were trying got pregnant shortly thereafter.
Our son, Jason, was born that December, Meghan was born six weeks later, and Zach was born two weeks after that. It’s Meghan’s wedding that we’re attending this weekend.
After the company we were working for closed the facility, three of the four couples left New Hampshire. We still got together every year to see how the kids had grown and to bring ourselves up to date on what was happening in our lives. But as happens so frequently, time, distance, and the general demands of life made it a bit more challenging to get together, and the annual get-togethers became less frequent, and ultimately stopped.
The good news is this wedding is going to give us an opportunity to reunite (at least three of the couples – the fourth, unfortunately, can’t make it). And these are the kind of friends where you get together after a long gap and it’s as if you had just seen them yesterday. Make new friends, but keep the old…
Time flies by if you let it – one minute three babies are propped up against a couch, and the next minute one of them is getting married. If you can, try not to let everyday demands get in the way of important relationships.
A New Audience
September 17, 2009
If you’re doing a good job serving your customers, they’re going to be looking for the “next big thing” you can offer them. And while you should continually strive to meet these needs, it can become challenging to constantly create new products and services.
Fortunately, you can take a lesson from a talented magician and try a different approach.
Michael Ammar is a fantastic magician, and a great teacher of magic, having written numerous books, and produced over 40 different instructional videos. And if that’s not enough, his lecture tours – teaching advanced strategies to other magicians – are extremely popular, and booked months in advance.
As a child growing up in West Virginia, Ammar took an early interest in magic. He ordered tricks from catalogs, and put together an actual show, which he presented to different groups within his small community.
But as he became successful, and as people invited him back for repeat performences, he always had to develop new material. One of his big breakthroughs was that if he expanded his radius, he could do shows for people who hadn’t seen him before, and this, of course, took considerably less effort.
In other words, it was easier to get a new audience than a new show.
During these challenging economic times, when you might not have the capital available to develop new offerings, you can make a deliberate effort to find new markets for what you already have.
* Who else sells to people who might become customers of yours?
* Is there another use for your products that could open up entirely new markets?
* Can you bundle your products with someone else’s to make something new?
Just because things are slow doesn’t mean there aren’t abundant opportunities for growth. Growing your business isn’t magic; it just takes creative implementation of proven strategies.
When $24,999 Isn’t Enough
September 17, 2009
Make absolutely certain that you don’t become so entrenched in your processes that you fail to achieve the primary goals of your organization. You may lose out on a bountiful opportunity.
Make absolutely certain that you don’t become so entrenched in your processes that you fail to achieve the primary goals of your organization. You may lose out on a bountiful opportunity.
Prior to founding QualityTalk, Inc., I ran the Quality and Technical Training organization of a large telecommunications company. So needless to say, I am a strong advocate of having well defined processes. But sometimes the process can take on a life of its own and end up defeating the purpose for which it was designed.
As many of you know, my company will be launching an important new Web site very soon that will help individuals and companies get the service they deserve. In an effort to give back to the community, we decided to donate a share of the proceeds from all new memberships to a well-known charity, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.
You’d think this would be pretty straightforward. We would make a monthly donation to the organization equal to a percentage of our revenues from new memberships. They would get a steady stream of funds, and we would be able to help children facing difficult life-threatening medical situations.
Unfortunately, it was anything but simple. We left several messages before our calls were returned. Finally, when we got in touch with the responsible person, she informed us that to be a corporate partner we would have to make an initial contribution of $25,000. That’s right, $25,000!
We explained to her that we were not a large Fortune 500 company or a rapidly growing high-tech startup. We were a relatively small consulting firm. Even though we would love to be in a position to donate $25,000, it was simply not feasible for our company.
She said she understood our situation, but that was their process. Without an initial donation of $25,000, they would be unable to accept our new membership donations. She apologized and thanked us for our interest.
So as we rethink our community-service strategy, I ask you to look at your own internal processes. Consider why you have them. Be clear about what they should help you accomplish. And make absolutely certain that you don’t become so entrenched in your processes that you fail to achieve the primary goals of your organization. You may lose out on a bountiful opportunity.
I Can’t Tell a Customer No
September 15, 2009
Processes can’t take into account every possible situation. And in this competitive business environment, a little flexibility can go a long way in securing customer loyalty.
Procedures and policies are an important part of any successful business. But honoring a customer commitment, no matter how small it may seem, is also important.
On her way back from a meeting, Lisa, our office manager, stopped to pick up lunch at the drive-thru window of a Boston Market store.
She was greeted over the speaker by an energetic and friendly voice that asked for her order. She wanted a chicken sandwich meal. She also wanted two side orders instead of one side order and a drink. Since the drink was exactly the same price as a side order, she didn’t think this would present a problem, although past experiences at other restaurants have proven this not to be the case.
To her surprise, the employee thought about this request for a second and then replied, “I can’t tell a customer no!” Then, reconsidering it for a moment, he added, “…but let me check with my manager.”
Well, as you can guess, the manager said no. But when the employee returned to the window he said, “The manager said no. But I already said yes. So I’m going to do it for you this time anyway.”
Was he breaking a rule by disobeying his manager? Probably. Was he doing the right thing in honoring a commitment already made to his customer? Absolutely. The price of the soda was exactly the same as the price of the side order. Had the answer stayed “no,” Lisa would have been a little disappointed. With the answer of “yes,” she was delighted.
Are there times when it makes sense to go out of process? Do your employees and co-workers understand this? Are they empowered to do so? Processes can’t take into account every possible situation. And in this competitive business environment, a little flexibility can go a long way in securing customer loyalty.
Welcome to My Universe!
September 10, 2009
There are times when a company’s ability to accommodate the need of the customer is impressive. However, there are many more times when the process seems to serve just the opposite purpose.
There are times when I’m totally impressed with a company’s ability to accommodate the needs of its customers. Unfortunately, there are many more times when a company’s process seems to serve just the opposite purpose.
Since I’m on the road a lot, the accuracy of my travel arrangements is extremely important. A canceled flight or a problem with my hotel or car reservation can complicate a trip and distract me from my work. Even though Lisa, our Office Manager, double-checks all of my reservations, problems still do occur.
Here’s a portion of a conversation that Lisa had with a hotel:
Lisa: I’d like to confirm a reservation for Ron Rosenberg for October 3, please.
Them: You’ll need to speak with the Reservations department.
Lisa: Okay, can you transfer me?
Them: I’m sorry, they’re out to lunch right now; can Central Reservations help you?
Lisa: Are you saying that the entire Reservations department is out to lunch?
Them: Yes, ma’am, we’ve recently had to cut staff and it has created a shortage in reservations, especially during lunchtime.
Lisa: That’s incredible – in my universe, staff is not allowed to take lunch at the same time because someone needs to be available to speak with customers.
Later that afternoon, Lisa spoke with the general manager of the hotel to suggest that she review the scheduling practices in her Reservations department. Actually, the manager offered to look into the situation and she offered to confirm my reservation.
To provide better service, customer contact groups must be aware of how they are meeting their customers’ needs. For instance, bank tellers typically take lunch late so they can help customers during the standard lunch hour. At airline check-in counters, more staff is available at peak times to ensure faster check-in. On the day of your departure, hotels typically slip your bill under the door to speed the check-out process.
Take a minute and look at your own job. Do the services you provide accommodate the needs of your customers? Let’s make it a goal to create a “universe” of great customer service!
