“The number one priority of our company is to make money." Thus spoke a middle manager while speaking to a group of his direct reports. I was in attendance and bit my tongue. This is just misguided thinking. Making money should never be the number one priority, if it is, you should buy a printing … Continue reading What’s Your First Priority?
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The Process-Experience Loop
Imagine being a fan of a ball team (football, baseball, basketball, whatever) who loses much more than they win. Their game plan is rarely good and the experience of their fans seems to work in tandem with that. Before you know it, you are no longer a fan. This is one example of what I … Continue reading The Process-Experience Loop
The Cost of the Misaligned Rebel
Which attitude do you want your customers to experience? Choice A is Service Focused where employees work with the customers’ best interest in mind, authentically and proactively looking for solutions. Choice B is Self-Focused where employees place the needs of themselves, their department, or their boss ahead of the customers’ needs. If you said A, … Continue reading The Cost of the Misaligned Rebel
Can I Please Speak With a Human?
More and more we read about companies replacing human workers with machines, robots, or computers. While this is troubling, it is, alas, part of our evolution it would seem. However, there is one area where it seems humans are needed and cannot be readily replaced and that area is service. Now I know some people … Continue reading Can I Please Speak With a Human?
Sales is a service … at least it should be.
While teaching a class recently, we were discussing how providing good customer service can sometimes be difficult. One of the attendees made a comment about how salespeople had it very tough because their main job was to separate people from their money. I immediately stopped him and said I totally disagreed. I went into a … Continue reading Sales is a service … at least it should be.
Service Needs G.A.S.
The other day, I was playing golf – or in my case chasing a little white ball - with a friend and we were paired with a couple of guys to make up a foursome. We all got to talking about what we did for a living, and when I told them that I worked … Continue reading Service Needs G.A.S.
It’s Simple!
The image here is from Tom Peters, the iconic management guru and writer. He is one half of the creative force behind the groundbreaking book, In Search of Excellence. When I saw this image on the banner of his website, I immediately thought it to be the most succinct way of making the business case … Continue reading It’s Simple!
Thoughts to ponder.
I saw this in a post recently and thought each line was a good thing to consider and ponder...or maybe even to post on your fridge door so you can keep them in mind as you venture forth each day. The adventure of life is to learn. The goal of life is to grow. The … Continue reading Thoughts to ponder.
Ending the Attitude Death Spiral
I am sure you have seen this; you walk into a place of business and encounter an employee with a bad attitude or just indifference. What causes this, and, more importantly, what can be done about it? The Arbinger Institute tells us in their books about something called the Collusion Model. I like to call … Continue reading Ending the Attitude Death Spiral
A Lesson For the Ages From Millennials
There seems to be a lot of talk these days about Millennials and much of the talk is negative. While we could debate the pros and cons of Millennials until we’re blue in the face, it’s not something I want to explore. What I do want to look at is a lesson we could all … Continue reading A Lesson For the Ages From Millennials
Neal Woodson 