What makes it hard for employees to deliver great service? Three things: 1) being marginalized and seen as a cost rather than an important part of the business, 2) mistreatment, whether by customers or management, and 3) being tied to scripts and rigid policies that don’t allow them to truly help. But there are ways … Continue reading Working with customers is hard work. You can make it easier.

Obstacles prevent movement. They get in the way. They make things more difficult. Some cannot be helped. Some are out of our control. But some are unnecessary.  Too many steps. Redundant steps. Forms no one uses. Too many people involved. The wrong people involved. Manager approvals. All obstacles. Barriers. Difficulty. And most are preventable. Unnecessary obstacles accelerate … Continue reading Obstacles

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is a day to say thank you. Thank you is kind and kindness feels good for both the giver and the receiver. It scales outward. When you say thank you, the receiver looks for a way to say thank you somewhere else. This is the power … Continue reading Thank you!

“We’re in business to make money,” said the businessman. All I could think was that I would not want to be his customer. His interest is only in himself. How much care would be given to me? However, self-interest is not necessarily bad, we all have a little, we all want to live and be … Continue reading Where’s your interest?

We hear about failing a lot these days.  “Fail fast. Fail often,” they say.  But I don’t like it. Failure suggests finality. It’s pessimistic. When we say a student “failed” a test, it is done. They can’t take that test again. Is there something better? Simon Sinek suggests falling. It is optimistic. Falling assumes getting … Continue reading Don’t fail, fall

Consistency. Why is it so desirable? Because we love our big comfy couch. We love what we know. We love to know what we can expect.  But dark alleys? No. Dark alleys are scary. What’s around the corner? Who knows? It’s scary. When a business is inconsistent, it’s a dark alley. Customers don’t know what … Continue reading Dark alleys are scary. Don’t create them. 

Innovation. We need it. People want it.  Why?  To make things better. To make life more beautiful. To cure ills. To help us do things that need to get done. To help us see what has yet to be seen.  Where does it come from?  From leaders of course. Not those in authority. Leaders. People … Continue reading Dismissing voices won’t make you better.

Cyrano de Bergerac wasn’t a fake, Christian was. Roxane fell in love with a façade. She fell in love with a stand-in.  When companies force employees to communicate mandatory, scripted responses, they’re creating a façade. It’s not real. The person speaking is a marionette, an actor. Relationships don’t work well acted out, they work well … Continue reading Get real, dude. It’s what customers deserve.

Your customer-facing employees should never have to struggle with balancing customer advocacy with company loyalty. If companies and their leaders would be customer advocates, as they should be, there would be no conflict.  It’s when leaders are inwardly focused that it becomes hard for those who look outside. When you see only what you want, … Continue reading You need advocates, but not for you.

I get tired of so much of the “I created this AMAZING sales funnel gizmo super-duper widget package for launching your business to success” emails I often get after attending one of those misleading webinars I initially thought might be interesting or might have a few practical nuggets I could apply. I feel dirty just … Continue reading Push or Pull. It’s your choice.