When information isn't shared with employees, they tend to fill the gaps with their own ideas and assumptions, and these are often worst-case scenarios. Likewise, customers who don’t get necessary information like updates on repairs or shipping dates for example will fill the gaps with their assumptions, and, exactly like employees, their assumptions are often … Continue reading Communication and Your Brand, a Vital Connection
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Grace, Every Day.
Grace. It means courteous goodwill and an attractively polite manner of behaving. This holiday season is getting underway and grace seems to always come to the fore at this time. But what about the rest of the year, why can grace not be part of our habitual behavior? What would it take to make gracious … Continue reading Grace, Every Day.
What’s Painted on Your Face?
What’s your face saying? Every day you send a message without saying a word and it’s painted on your face. This face painting comes in many varieties and each sends a subtle message. Think about the different messages that come across between a great big smile, a permanent frown, or a furrowed brow. What’s on … Continue reading What’s Painted on Your Face?
If It’s Not Helpful, Don’t Do It
I got an email from Amazon. It was a reading pick list that was supposed to be for me but I never would have known it given the choices listed. You see, I never, or at least very rarely read novels, yet everything on this reading pick list was a novel. I frankly found the … Continue reading If It’s Not Helpful, Don’t Do It
Two Keys to Great Teamwork
Every business requires a team working well together to reach success. Even if you are a loner in a business with one employee, you still need to work with vendors and customers. But what is essential to teams working well? My son is a lacrosse player and when he first started as a young five-year-old, … Continue reading Two Keys to Great Teamwork
What’s Your First Priority?
“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?
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.
