Improve My Business

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about picking some words as guideposts for the year - if you’re not familiar with the concept, here are some creative posts from Michael Bungay Stanier who chose 11, and Chris Brogan who’s got 3, (and the single word chosen by 300 words a day, as 3 were too many to focus on for them) to give you an idea of the words and why they were selected…

All of which got me thinking - what would my words be?  What guideposts would I benefit from focusing on for 2011?  What would  help me be a better business person, as well as a better human?  And it came down to the old list that we were taught as kids — God, family, others.  If I truly work on being a better person, on making better decisions based on this triage, wouldn’t that make me a better business person also?  Someone you’d delight in working with?  Someone who you know would treat you ethically, and with respect?

Sometimes I think we overthink things.

Sometimes “out with the old, in with the new” has no value.

Here are two timely articles from Inc. magazine:

One on what to do if you lose your computer; and a more generic page on computer security - both with the time to read…

I recently had a very productive call with a client - they wanted to let me know, mid-project, that they would like to see a few things changed.  I was happy to receive the call, and happy to commit to make the changes.  Happy to receive, because the client cared enough about the project and our professional relationship to make it and let me know what was less than perfect to date; and happy to commit to changes because my job, aside from the technical deliverables, is to listen to the client and respond when I can.

When I talked to my team about the changes, one of them took offense that I didn’t defend our actions more strongly, stand up for us more, etc.  He ranted and raved (literally) that the client was [also] in the wrong.  I don’t think he understood the purpose of the call.  The purpose of the call was to let us know how we could serve the client better.  It was NOT to place blame or defend our position.  Let’s look at a restaurant equivalent:

ME:  “Waiter, this soup is a bit cold…”

and the response we want (and what I hope I gave the client) was

WAITER: “Sir/Ma’am, I am so sorry about that - let me fix that right away!”

what my team member seemed to want me to say was

WAITER:  “Sir/Ma’am, you’re mistaken.  Our soup chef monitors the temperature of the soup with a calibrated thermometer and assures me that it was served at the correct temperature per the International Soup Federation’s guidelines.  If you were better educated on the ISF procedures, you’d know that you received it at the correct temperature and adjust your expectations accordingly.”

Now, while the waiter in the second scenario may be technically correct [and our waiter is welcome to privately think these thoughts all they want], his tip is going to be vanishing until he can paste a sincere-looking smile on his face and ’sell’ the first scenario.

Because sometimes, it’s not about being right; it’s about being heard as a customer.

Technorati Tags: customer service

I’ve heard two different stories lately - both of which had me disappointed in the “Top Gun” in the story.

Story 1:  Two departments decide to meet informally to discuss how to deliver a message to their constituents.  Dept #1 invites Dept #2 to “stop by” and have a donut, then discuss the issue.  Dept #2’s new manager, Top Gun, also stops by - and notes who showed up and who didn’t.  TG then confronts an employee who didn’t choose to ’stop by’ in the hallway publicly, literally getting in his face to demand why he didn’t show up for the meeting, and ending with “If I invite you to a meeting, you had BETTER show up next time”.  Employee didn’t even know which meeting TG was referring to, since the invitation was phrased as a ‘drop in’ rather than a mandatory formal meeting…

Story 2:  Top Gun is expecting paperwork from a contractor, and doesn’t get it.  Instead of calling up the contractor and asking where the paperwork is, TG calls the contractor’s head honcho, saying “I’m NOT happy!” and making a huge fuss over the missing paperwork (which had been sent, but not received - email trail shows it had been sent).  Head honcho then reams out contractor, who now has to go work with TG.

In both stories, if the TG had ASKED what is going on, instead of throwing their weight around, the situation would have been SO much better:

#1: “Hey, I noticed  you weren’t at the get together - it was really informative - why did you decide not to attend?”

#2:  “Hey contractor, I haven’t gotten my paperwork - did you send it?  I haven’t received it - could you please resend?”

In both cases, resentment against TG would be non-existent… as opposed to now, when the ‘wronged’ party feels that TG’s reaction was WAY out of proportion, and therefore un-needed, un-wanted, and un-warranted.

Moral of the story?  Ask rather than assume that people are flaunting your authority.  ASK!  Really!  It’ll save a lot of headaches for all concerned…

Technorati Tags: management bully

As business owners or workers, we often are caught up on the “movement” of it all – the movement of ideas, services, products, whatever – from where we are to where it needs to be. As a result, it’s often difficult to find the quiet – to find that place that will allow us to slow down, relax, and reflect on what we are doing.

The quiet that allows us to listen to the soft, almost unintelligible voice inside us – the one that quietly whispers words of wisdom and our most secret thoughts. Things like

“Is this what I really should be doing?”

“Should I be doing this more? Less? Differently?”

“Do I really need to sign up for another webinar, or should I be working on what I’ve already gleaned from the 3 I’ve attended?”

“What makes me happy? Does this?  Could this if I change something?”

and a whole host of personal stuff, which I won’t get into here…

Finding the quiet is often difficult unless you know where to look. One client I had was busy from 7 am to 7 pm every day – and was stressed out as a result. As her consultant, I worked with her to help her streamline and organize her business, including delegation of authority and shared responsibility; but as someone who genuinely respected and cared for her, I also worked on the way she approached work – especially as it negatively affected her level of stress. What did we do?

• Took 30 mins minimum for lunch – every day. This may sound like a simple thing, but she had gotten into the habit of eating at her desk – while she caught up on voicemail, emails, etc. - and so had no break from her day.  By “forcing” her to look up from what she was doing, she quieted her mind enough to take it out of gear - and sometimes found that she got things cleared up easier as a result.

• Took a walk whenever we could. When we had to discuss a matter, and the weather cooperated, we’d take a 10 min walk outside while we had our talk.  We’re not talking 3 mile hikes - just a quick turn around the building perimeter.  This was in an industrial park next to the railroad – not the most scenic of areas – but we both grew to appreciate the flowering weeds that refused to die even though they were regularly run over; the patterns in the gravel after a hard rain; and the bite of the wind or the heat of the sun as we walked and talked. This momentary focus on nature always left us both refreshed, and the brisk walk got our blood flowing again. [I had often envied smokers who got to go outside every 2 hours for a smoke break; and saw no reason why non-smokers should be deprived of seeing outside weather... so had implemented something similar in two previous companies also, which had worked well.]

• Wrote down a task list. Previous posts have talked about the need to write an ‘accomplishment’ list; but for this case, we simply emptied her head of the stuff that was swimming around there, in order to make room for cognitive thinking. Accordingly, we set up a task list that worked for her, and once she finished something, she would cross it off (and get that feeling of accomplishment that we all get when something gets off our task list.)

• Keep a pad/pen next to the bed. One of her problems was that, once she was lying in bed and relaxing, things that she’d forgotten to do would pop into her head. In order to ensure that she didn’t fret about it all night, she started to keep a pad and pen next to her bed so she could jot it down – and then let it go.

While this list is not rocket science, it worked. She started to enjoy her lunch time as a ‘work free’ zone, running errands or (gasp!) taking an hour to meet a friend when she wasn’t in the cafeteria, reconnecting with employees; and as she continued to take her walks, she invited others in the company to walk with her, so everyone started to benefit from the small break; best of all, she started sleeping more soundly once we figured out how to empty her brain from all her worries.

What techniques have worked for you? I’d love to compile a great list!  Please post your ideas here!