Is your organization living in the past with an Industrial Age management mindset? If so, you may want to consider some changes. Frederick Winslow Taylor’s early 1900’s thinking on hierarchy where the decision-making thinkers are separated from the laboring doers has been the default system for over one hundred years. It’s a very productive system … Continue reading Industrial Age thinking? Think again.
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Business is about people. Isn’t it time we demanded being the priority?
We’ve recently seen two instances of organizations putting their own interests ahead of their customers, and what’s worse is it’s not just customer interests but customer safety. One is the US airline industry and the Boeing 737 Max plane debacle and the other is Major League Baseball’s (MLB) mishandling of ballpark safety issues. In the … Continue reading Business is about people. Isn’t it time we demanded being the priority?
Why Technical Success Is Not Enough.
I was on a plane recently where the flight attendant never smiled. He had a scowl on his face the entire flight. It’s amazing how this little thing made me feel like I was an inconvenience. It actually had a significant negative impact on me. I really wanted to ask him what his problem was … Continue reading Why Technical Success Is Not Enough.
To compete or collaborate, that is the question.
“Talent perceives differences; genius, unity.” -WB Yeats Yeats highlights a key issue in business, and quite frankly, in our society in general, and that is the belief that we are better on our own or with “our own kind” than we are together with a diverse, multifaceted group. In the case of society, this can … Continue reading To compete or collaborate, that is the question.
Life, well lived.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson These are great words from Emerson and they speak in direct opposition to our society’s obsession with getting and having more than our … Continue reading Life, well lived.
Service Doesn’t Have to Be Complex
Why have so many things in our workplaces gotten so complicated? Maps, gaps, apps, lean, mean, sigma, delta, beta, alpha, adhocracies, holocracies, autocracies, brainstorming, blamestorming, entrepreneur, entre-manure, gatekeeper, fatekeeper, and all things in between, we’ve found a way to overthink just about everything and it doesn’t have to be that way. Business, in my mind … Continue reading Service Doesn’t Have to Be Complex
The 55/05 Rule
“But I’m right.” The misguided rally cry for so many who serve customers. Does it matter? Does it really matter so much that you might be right about some minute point? Customers are often wrong, in fact, more times than they would ever care to admit, BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER! No trophies are being handed … Continue reading The 55/05 Rule
Customer Service versus Serving Customers
Some companies have Customer Service (CS) while others serve customers. What’s the difference? CS tends to be a department or role whereas serving is a cultural norm. CS is something many companies do because they have to, i.e. not doing so might hurt the bottom line. Serving customers, by contrast, is something companies do because … Continue reading Customer Service versus Serving Customers
Thank you, George.
My family just experienced one of the worst things I think people have to go through, euthanizing a pet. The Woodsons are animal people. We love pets. We have had just about everything you can imagine in our house from the typical dogs and cats to snakes, lizards, and a variety of rodents. For a … Continue reading Thank you, George.
Are you really committed to customers?
Your lowest-paid workers are the ones facing the most important people to your company’s survival, no, not your bank, not your shareholders, no, it’s your customers. Does that scaling of pay make sense? When times get a little tough, you start cutting those “unnecessary” things like training and customer service. But those things directly impact … Continue reading Are you really committed to customers?
Neal Woodson 