Top 10 reasons for poor customer service and their solutions

Customer service, the interaction between the client and the supplier is an integral part of the purchasing and user experience, and as such, is the key to continued success in business.

What are the reasons for poor customer service?

Top 10 Reasons for poor customer service and their solution

1.    People are not trained.  When an organization does not spend the time to fully train their people the consequence is poor service.

Solution:  Dedicate resources (time and money) for training and reinforcement.   Employees should be fully informed about company goals, the products and services.  Emphasis and training should be focused upon the importance of listening and responding to the customer’s requests.  People can only do the job if they are given the right tools and objectives.  It costs money to train people.  It will cost more if you decide not to train them.

2.    People don’t care.  Selecting the correct personality is crucial for your business success.  Apathetic or self centered personality types have no place in a business that requires customer contact.

Solution:  Focus the selection and evaluation process to identify personalities that do not fit the required profile.  Get the wrong people out immediately, it also sends a clear message to everyone.

3.    Sabotage.  Angry or frustrated employees can actively work to sabotage and try to destroy the company.

Solution:  Keep honest and open communications with employees.  Informally and formally review performance, goals, objectives and feelings to stop potential problems before they reach the customers.  Get these people out of the front lines immediately.

4.    Employees don’t believe in the company, product or service.  If the image, marketing and promotion of the company is quite different from the reality, workers will not be able to sustain a positive attitude in the face of problems they know exist.

Solution:  Be honest.  Work closely with customer service, marketing and quality control to identify real problems and fix them.  Don’t let  marketing advertise over problems, solve them.

5.    Personal problems reflected in work.  When an employee’s personal life is in crisis or out of control, they may exercise control, aggression and negativism toward customers in an attempt to put some part of their life in order.

Solution:  Clear communications with employees:  If their personal life is affecting work performance, talk about it.  Time off, access to counseling or just listening may prevent more serious problems.

6.    Burnt out.  Too much negative, too many complaints can lower a person’s level of commitment and move their positive and helpful attitude to an apathetic one.

Solution:  Constant communication helps to identify who is burning out and why.  Get customer service people together to talk of success and how to deal with the frustrations.  Provide recognition or incentives for excellence in dealing with problems.

7.    Not providing the correct solutions to customers, lack of empowerment.    There is nothing worse than dealing with an employee who listens to a problem, then shrugs and says they have to ask someone else in the company to intervene and provide a solution.

Solution:  Give the people on the front lines the authority, power, tools and ability to solve problems.

8.    Don’t see the benefits – don’t understand their role in the company. 

Solution:  Employees project an image of the company.  They are the company.  They should be reminded of their importance and value to the customer and to the company.  Incentives, recognition, training and constant reinforcement are important.

9.    Apathetic from hearing the same problems over and over.  A fundamental role of the customer service division is to provide constant feedback on how customers view the company, the products and the service.  If this feedback is not analyzed and acted upon by upper management a feeling of apathy and frustration is created.

Solution:  Set up a model and procedure for the accumulation, analysis and implementation of solutions for the problems identified by customer service.

10.    Incentives/salary not tied to results.

Solution:  If you insist that the company depends upon people, and that people are the key to success, implement compensation packages, evaluations and incentives that support and reinforce this.

Related Links 

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Summertime and Friday at work

It’s the end of June, summer is in full swing.

For those who live and work in the temperate climates, summer feels different at work.

Summer is different.

Work is not as important or easy to focus on as it was in February with the snow blowing outside.

Work-Life balance becomes a critical issue for many.

All you managers and supervisors, it’s time to loosen things up at the office, especially on Friday.

Everyone enjoys a perk, a freebie or a bit of fun in their life, and this is especially true at work.

Lighten up the summer work environment with the following ideas:

1.  Have a random raffle or give away.  Give away a book(never a business book), a gift certificate to the coffee shop, tickets to a movie, a CD, never more than USD $ 20.  The winner has to be picked by a completely random process (no trivia, or knowledge necessary to win).  Giveaway should occur before lunch, no big ceremony, no speeches.  Don’t do it regularly.  It’s not about you, it’s about everyone else.

2.  Go on a coffee run for everyone.  You do it, don’t send the office person or secretary.

3.  Any big sporting event or local team playing on the weekend?  Have everyone pick a winner and final score, give the winner(s) next Friday afternoon off, or buy them lunch next Friday.

4.  Really furious about something or someone?  Let it wait until Monday.  This is a good thing for everyone involved.

5.  Let everyone go home early, even an hour will be appreciated.

6.  Bring in some summer food and snacks for lunch.  No big catered affair, just plenty of good food, napkins and plates and give everyone plenty of time to enjoy it.  Don’t forget the summer refreshments (skip the alcohol).

7.  In everything you say and do this Friday, try NOT to be the authoritarian boss, be a fellow co-worker.   You might learn something about people and motivation, and yourself.

Related Links 

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Leading your team to mediocrity

“Too many chiefs and not enough indians ”

Slow Leadership has a post entitled Too Much Leadership that reminded me of a key concept required to effectively lead and manage people, and insure success in our organizations.

The willingness to pitch in and do the work along with the team.

There is no miracle formula to sustained success.

It’s about getting the work done.

It’s incredible important that we raise our hands to volunteer and roll up our sleeves, and not just point our fingers and give orders.

It creates a sense of camaraderie, provides an understanding of what are co-workers are dealing with, and shows a spirit of “doing what it takes” in order to make the business work.

The desire to “be the boss” somehow leads people to think that they are exempt from work, or entitled to give orders instead pitching in.

Being the leader involves identifying and eliminating the bottlenecks that affect your people in their work.

Supervision and coordination of work activities is part of that managerial responsibility.

Assuring that everyone gets their job done efficiently is what will make you a successful manager.

Best way to understand what that takes is to jump into the fray once in a while, listen, learn, work and think how to make it better or more efficient.

Do more and supervise less.

Start using your whole hand at work, and not just your index finger.

Related Links

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Slow Leadership:  Too Much Leadership

20 ways to guarantee failure as a manager 

20 ways to guarantee failure as a manager

A guide for the new leader who wants to alienate all employees and fail as quickly as possible in their new management position

1. Immediately purchase new office furniture and redecorate your office.  Spend a lot of money and make your office look very different from any other office in the company.
2. Insist on new computers, cell phones and software for your use only.
3. Spend several days working on your title, the press release announcing it and how your business cards look.
4. Insist and “fight over” small insignificant details and decisions in meetings, leaving big decisions and “big picture” items in limbo.
5. Treat the people in the organization as if they are there for your convenience and well being.  Be as rude as possible in your communications.  Demand, never ask.
6. When in meetings and conversations, always answer the ringing telephone, type and send Blackberry messages, read and respond to all incoming email and instant messages.  Interrupt frequently and ask people to repeat themselves because you were busy.
7. Plan company workshops or events aimed at creating a new atmosphere of “community” at work for weekends or after work hours, and preferable with short notice.
8. Avoid sharing any information about your goals, ideas and strategies about the company with employees.  Always talk about theory, never get specific.  Keep it fuzzy and out of focus.
9. Don’t listen to any ideas, solutions or complaints from employees or managers who report to you, especially if they have been with the company for a long time.
10. Make strong permanent opinions about the company and employees, solely on the basis of discussions with top management and the business owners.
11. Take lots of “business trips”  and attend every professional seminar and conference possible, do not take anyone from the company with you.  This is especially effective if the company is suffering from cash flow problems.
12. Talk about implementing massive changes, re-inventing methods and strategies, promote innovation and tell everyone that money is not an issue for them to worry about, at the same time focus all your energy on cutting costs, and minimizing the organization.
13. Immediately terminate some employees because someone told you to do it.
14. Insist that everyone in the company learns how to work with a new software program that you like.
15. Request reports and analysis from all managers and department heads, then several days later, repeat the request.  Don’t read or respond to any report and never acknowledge that you have received it.
16. Schedule many inter-departmental meetings at odd hours, don’t provide an agenda, then cancel them at the last minute, or just don’t show up.
17. Always refer to customers as if they were something evil and undesirable.
18. Constantly remind employees that before you came to the company they were primitive and uneducated, without a clue as to what business is all about.
19. Hire consultants, lots of consultants, expensive consultants are best.
20. Never make a decision by yourself, always try and find total consensus on all issues.

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Motivation, not the leaders job

Leadership, do you want the job or just the title and benefits 

Can we allow ourselves to work and enjoy it?

 I’d like to work with Tim Smit.

I determined that halfway through an article in the BBC News article by Peter Day entitled  Tim Smit’s Monkey Business

I think it would be quite an experience.

A supportive and demanding environment, requiring the daily application of personal and professional skills.

Optimal results would be demanded, incompetence not tolerated and everyone would be focused on achieving positive and focused results.

Creativity and innovation are sought out and rewarded.

It might even be fun.  In fact I’m sure it would be.

Fun and rewarding in the sense that the people working with Tim are doing what they want do to, have the skills to do it, they work with people they like, and are focused on achieving something, together.

That’s a great definition of my ideal workplace.

Take a look at some of his management “rules” for his current project, The Eden Project

•  Wants to work with people he likes, interviewers must provide a 10 minute performance of something entertaining
•  Seeks extroverts with opinions, not seeking “yes men”
•  Job interviews take two days and include potential subordinates
•  Don’t make important decisions at work, do it over dinner or a glass of wine when you are relaxed and more “human”
• Take responsibility for your job and actions, don’t pass it on to others
• Once a year make dinner for your co-workers, read a book you don’t want to read and report on it, forced activity in order to broaden your horizons

We focus too much on specific business skill sets and abilities in business and management as a “guarantee for success”.

We forget that we are human beings, and work and interact with other human beings.

Business is all about participating in a community.

If you, your product or your service is wanted and desired by the community, they purchase it, a profit is probably generated.

We are successful.

Is there anyone who comes to work and doesn’t think they have to have the skills to do their job, to interact with others as a team, and be productive?

Do we need to hammer this into our people any more?

A little fresh air, creativity and innovation is in order.

Time to create a community and social organization, with the goal of creating a product or service.

Creating an active, open environment where ideas can be developed, forcing ourselves to learn new skills, having a relationship with those around us,  great ideas.

Keep on eye on Mr. Smit, his project and his ideas.

Some sort of financial, social or commercial success for his project will turn his ideas loose upon us and maybe change the world.

I can hardly wait.

Related Links

Tim Smit’s Monkey Business 

The Eden Project 

BBC Four Profile – Tim Smit

Successful Managers should be breaking the rules

Weird ideas that work 

Are you on the right team? 

Give this away

Right now I’d like you to copy, paste, print, and send the following quotation to everyone in your company.

Post it on the front door and in the break room.

Put it on every desk.

“Maybe the reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is…… that you haven’t given them anything else to care about.” Seth Godin Seth’s Blog: Price

Send it to all your suppliers.

Sure to start some discussions, finger pointing and overdue dialogue about the product or service you’re providing.

What do your customers think they are paying for why they buy your product?

What do you want your customers to CARE about, and pay for, when evaluating the purchase of your product?

What are you doing to make this happen?

Related Links

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The power of something extra

The Easy Way

Motivation – not the leader’s job?

“It’s not my job to motivate my people, they should do this by themselves. It’s my job to make sure things get done right and on time.”

“I’m not here to hold hands and baby the employees, I’m here to make them perform and bring me results”

Ever heard that, or said that?

These comments are typically from leaders or managers who don’t believe motivated people are important in their business organization or results.

More than likely, they don’t have the “people skills” required to motivate others.

Sustaining motivation and enthusiasm at the workplace is one of the important factors in assuring business and personal success.

Leaders who tell me that motivating employees is not part of their job description, or not required for success are blind to the reality of working with other human beings.

Which group would you rather lead and work with, Group A, apathetic and unmotivated or Group B, focused and motivated?

A large part of motivation comes from the individual, it has to start here. There is no magic pill to give someone the desire and will to do their job with vigor and energy, striving for the best results possible.

You either have it, or you don’t. Hiring decisions should include an evaluation of an individual motivation potential.

Reinforcement and refocusing of personal motivation comes from the workplace, and workplace leaders.

Superior leaders know how to maintain momentum over time, keep the organization motivated, enthusiastic and focused.

Excellent results come from organizations that are motivated and are able to sustain their enthusiasm over time.

Failure to accept your role as leader and motivator at work is a a sure sign that you are not doing your job, and that your people and organization will not be performing at their best.

Motivating others is difficult and requires important social skills including listening, communicating, applied psychology and the art of negotiating.

All successful leaders share these skills or know how to find the right people in their organizations to keep their people motivated.

On your checklist of important goals and objectives for the organization this year add “maintain employees motivation” if you want to achieve all the other items on the list.

Related Links

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Leadership, do you want the job – or just the title and benefits

Are you on the right team?

 When the focus at work is on providing a great product or service to the customer (maximizing) the perceived value of the product is higher for the customer, and they are willing to pay more.

This translates into more profit for the company.

When our focus is on maximizing profit for the company, management tends to rush toward cost cutting and/or reducing product quality (minimizing) many times resulting in reducing perceived product or service value for the customer.

The customers may not buy your product now, resulting in less profit for the company.

It’s all about providing a product or service that will be appreciated, sought out and embraced by the market.

Creating a product or service that is valuable to the market.

The more people want YOUR product, the more money they will pay for it.

It’s about listening to customers, creating new ideas, innovating, and taking calculated risks based on your expertise and understanding of your business.

It’s not easy.  Creating has never been easy.

Success is not guaranteed.  In fact the higher the risk the higher the potential payoff and profits.

But it sure is more exciting and rewarding than cutting pennies off manufacturing, administration, sales and logistics costs.

It takes a different type of leadership, management and employees to make this happen.

What team do you want to work with, lead or manage?

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Even governments market 

Cheating and advanced business education

The idea of advanced business education is to heighten and magnify understanding of facts and their relationships, develop and evaluate concepts and practices in order to achieve something new or more efficient.

The news from Duke University about a cheating scandal in the business school, brings to mind some very serious questions about MBA programs and continuing business education.

Dukes’s business school punishes 34 graduate students for cheating 

Who is going to business school to learn and who is going to get the title?

How important is it for companies to have employees that are/were first in their class, or in the top 20?

How should an MBA business school react to cheating?

MBA candidates and graduate business students are the “top of the line” future leaders and managers of business in the future. What messages are we sending about morals and ethics in our society when cheating is tolerated, lightly punished or severely punished?

Is this a sign of failure of the school, failure of the students, or the reality that shortcuts and cheating are required in order to get ahead in our current business environment?

Related Links

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How we react to unethical actions and behaviour

There are a number of reasons why individuals and organizations refuse to perform in an ethical manner or raise their voice against unethical behaviour.

6 Reasons why we don’t object to unethical actions or behaviour.

1. Ignored and Ostracized. We will be eliminated from the “group”. Showing opposition to an idea that was created by someone with power or the power of persuasion can result in being ignored and left out of future decision-making.

2. Fear. Not on board with the company philosophy? You might get fired. Fear of unfavorable personal consequences.

3. Demoted. Will lose power, prestige, and income if you speak up or oppose the idea or practice.

4. Insecurity. Perhaps we are not sure if the means justify the ends. Inability to clearly see the situation as unethical or wrong.

5. Reward. We see a payoff (money, power, prestige) that overwhelms our sense of ethics. Justifying wrong in order to receive personal gain.

6. Lazy or uncommitted. Unwilling or unable to challenge the group or idea.

5 Reasons why we should speak up and question unethical actions or behaviour.

1. Be true to yourself. Stand up for your own beliefs.

2. Be a leader. Others in the group might believe the same thing, but are timid or afraid of voicing objections. Create a dialogue and open a discussion of the issues.

3. New point of view. The group might not have thought of the consequences, or not see the situation as an ethics related decision. Open their eyes.

4. Protect the organization. Your intervention might save the organization from scandal, embarrassment, legal and financial problems.

5. Clarify. If you are unsure, voice your concerns and let the group present their case in order to clarify and resolve any doubts that you might have.

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Where do you draw the line

Is your company noble, moral, virtuous or ethical

The terms noble, virtuous, ethical or moral seem out of date.

In fact they seem to be words right out of a fairy tale.   Words and  concepts that have faded away with the modern world and it’s complexity.

Perhaps it’s not cool to be labeled as virtuous, moral or ethical.

Is it because we live in a complicated world that has us making more decisions about the “gray areas”?

We don’t read about organizations being ethical or noble.   In fact we hear about unethical companies and employees much more often.

Business magazines doesn’t write front page articles about virtuous executives and CEO’s (I hope this is because it’s not popular and not because there aren’t any).

Are there any reasons to promote and reinforce these values in your organization?

Are there good reasons to avoid discussion of them?

Perhaps the fact that unethical behaviour is reported, and considered scandalous, is a clear signal that it is outside of “normal” business conditions and draws attention.

Let’s begin with definitions, that should clear up some of the confusion.

Moral – Conforming to a standard of what is right and wrong, correct, trustworthy.  How could anyone want to work with others who don’t know right from wrong and behave?

Ethical – Principles of conduct governing an individual or group, a set of moral values, a guiding philosophy, decent, respectable.   OK, this one sounds like it should be part of the package too.

Noble – Moral eminence and freedom from anything mean, petty or dubious in conduct and character.  In simple terms doing the “right thing” all the time, excellence.  If it looks bad, don’t do it…pretty good advice and words to live by.

Virtuous – Implies moral excellence in character.   Not only knows good from bad, and adheres to it, but is exemplary in their behaviour and practice of their beliefs, honest, good, without reproach.  I can’t find any customer, shareholder or employee who wouldn’t want their company to be virtuous.

Which of the terms can your company live without in their employees?

Are any of these characteristics that should be found and promoted in your management and leadership?

Which of these concepts and behaviours are important to you, your customers and your organization now and in the future?

Do you have a written policy in place to promote, identify, and create noble employees and a virtuous organization?

Do you point out and recognize when a person or organization has done something noble, virtuous or ethical?

Related Links

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Where do you draw the line 

The future of our entry level workforce – gloomy

Don’t find a solution, find a way to make it better

We make a large error in our business and personal lives if we believe that every problem or situation can be solved immediately or in the short term through our decisions and application of resources.

Theoretically it’s possible, but our focus on solution instead of optimizing and making changes to make it better can blindfold us toward evolutionary processes that in the long term provide better, stronger and long lasting solutions.

I’m suggesting that every situation should be initially evaluated based on two basic criteria; can it be solved now, or can it be improved now.

The situations that can be solved now or in the short term, should be. The organization should dedicate the time and resources toward the solution.

An example would be a delivery service that has 3 trucks and cannot cover the current delivery area on-time due to an increase in customers and package volume. A possible swift solution would be the purchase of another vehicle and hiring of a new driver.

A situation that cannot be solved now or ever should be approached by identifying areas where improvement should be made. The time and resources of the company should be focused upon the improvement.

An example would be government’s attempt to eliminate poverty or disease from a population. A perfect solution is not possible or practical, but by focusing on specific areas one can find great opportunities for success or enormous impact (vaccinations for children against polio).

When we look at every situation as a problem that needs to be solved right now we may be missing the best solutions and strategies required to resolve the situation over the long term. Ask yourself:

• Can we solve the problem quickly and efficiently with simply modification of variables or a shift in technology? If the answer is yes, then set the process and resources in motion.

• What if the problem is not able to be solved quickly or has no practical or economically viable solution? This is where the approach of resolving and modifying parts of the problem comes into play.

This evolutionary approach to problem solving is not often requested or expected in business (the quick fix is always applauded and sought after), but often the best long term strategy is optimization and gradual modification.

This evolutionary problem solving process will provide new opportunities for change and solutions to be developed in the future.The identification of areas, processes or resources that are the bottlenecks in your organization become areas of opportunity.

Modifying and improving these bottlenecks will automatically create new bottlenecks, in new areas. The focus on identifying and solving these “new” situations leads to a process of continual improvement and a better, stronger organization.

This is one of the fundamental ideas behind the Theory of Constraints (TOC).

Common sense tells us that in a complex world not all solutions are simple, quick or painless. The “quick fix” is a great idea, but not often found in everyday life.

Observation of science, technology, philosophy and business ideas and strategies show us that change occurs through the rare revolution (paradigm shifts and new discoveries) and through the more common evolution (gradual modifications leading to continual change.

What can be changed, fixed or modified today to make the organization, process, product or service incrementally better?

Related Links

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AGI Institute – Theory of Constraints

Evolution (Disambiguation)

Using positive reinforcement to win customer loyalty

We respond positively to positive feedback, recognition, and reinforcement of our behaviour and activities at work or home.

We get angry or lose interest in an activity, goal or organization if we don’t receive this “pat on the head” or “cheer-leading” on a continual basis.

Our customers also need reinforcement and recognition in order to maintain their motivation and good feelings toward your company or products.

What are you doing to make sure they get it?

Does the customer feel like you are just “going through the motions”?

Does it feel real?

Are you really showing that you care?

What sets you apart from your competitors AFTER the sale?

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The point of no return

The hardest part of decision making is passing the “point of no return“.

While the situation is being analyzed we’re safe.

Wacky, imaginative and wild solutions can be discussed and their impact and effect weighed and discussed. But it’s theoretical, it’s safe.

The minute we have to make the decision, take responsibility for the action and outcome, then we enter into scary territory.

The key to decision making is to get the momentum, confidence, courage and motivation in order to pass the point of no return.

I’m not saying that your decision will always be correct. But what is important is to make a decision and not spend hours, days and weeks agonized and postponing the process and decision.

Picture yourself on a diving board. High above the water. It’s scary to think that you may not perform the dive perfectly. A belly flop would be embarrassing and painful.

There are three options available.

1. Stay where you are, agonizing over the decision to jump.
2. Go back down the ladder, let someone else jump.
3. Jump.  Leave the diving board, cross the point of no return, make the dive.

When we are sure of our abilities and understanding due to good research and experience, we have confidence.

When we are not afraid of making a mistake, we have courage.

When we know the decision is important and necessary in order to keep things moving and get on with other activities, then we are motivated.

Focus on the task and problem, create the solutions and make the decisions on time.

Push yourself to pass the point of no return quickly and with confidence.

Jump.

Related Links

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Why don’t they

How many times have you heard, or said, “why don’t they…….”

In the office it seems that everyone not directly involved with the decision making has the answers.

How many times have you heard:

• Why don’t they just change or modify the process.
• Why don’t they just lower the price.
• Why don’t they give the supplier an ultimatum or find new suppliers.
• Why don’t they give us the power to make decisions.
• Why don’t they simplify the procedure.
• Why don’t they hire an expert.
• Why don’t they fire them.
• Why don’t they do the right thing.
• Why don’t they listen to us.

The next time you start with “why don’t they” stop and do the following.

• Ask yourself what can YOU do to implement or bring your solution to the attention of the decision-makers.
• Do you really understand the problem, it’s causes, consequence and secondary effects?
• Do you have enough information to make an informed decision?
• Have you mapped out the chronological actions (and costs) required to implement the solution?
• What are the risks involved? There are risks associated with failure and with success, how can the organization prepare for those changes?
• Have you told, written or explained your solution to the decision-makers?
• Take action and do something about it.

An organization is strongest when everyone participates, and not necessarily when everyone participates in a linear and orderly manner. Your idea may have been missed in the analysis.

Good ideas and possible solutions are welcome (or should be welcome) at all times.

If your comments, solutions and ideas are limited to informal gripe sessions around the water cooler, it’s time to start writing them down and pushing them forward.

 

Stop waiting for someone else to do it, step up and let your voice be heard.

Related Links

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Perspective

I took 2 weeks off for end of the year holiday and discovered several very important lessons.

1.  I didn’t read, answer or write any emails during the vacation, I did not turn on my cellular phone for 14 days.  Nothing negative occurred, the world did not come to an end  and I spent a great deal more time with my family and my thoughts.

2.  I had written a list of “to do” items that I considered to be of great importance upon my return.  Today I found the list to be 90% irrelevant.

3.   I spent the morning going through my hundreds of emails, and found it effortless to answer, delete and deal with a mountain of work.  It was almost fun.

4.  I have a much more relaxed and patient attitude toward the work that must get done this week/month/year.  Not that I want to do it slowly, but I understand what must be done and am going to do it, without panic and anxiety.

Perspective.   I have a different perspective on my life and work.  That’s what vacations and holidays can provide.

Break up your routine.

Give yourself the opportunity to rest, recharge and refocus.

Get a new perspective on your life, work and problems.

Motivation – heroic moments

Determine which actions during the day, are your “heroic moments“.

Heroic moments might be viewed as simple required actions, obligations by others, but deep inside us, we understand that these actions require us to make a yes or no decision. We have to commit ourselves.

Heroic moments consist of an internal decision to do something for the greater good, to contribute to an idea or organization, to participate in a selfless act. The decision to start, follow-through and finish a project or activity that will benefit others.

It’s a moment when we say to ourselves “I will do this, no matter what”.

Heroic moments occur when we decide and commit to actions that that we know are required, expected or desired by others.

The most important heroic moments happens daily, when we make the decision to leave the comfort of our warm bed, wake our sleeping body and mind, and start the day.

A heroic moment occurs when you make the decision to face the angry customer, and resolve the problem.

A heroic moment occurs when you dig into the pile of paperwork on your desk.

A heroic moment occurs when we pick up the phone and start “cold- calling”.

A heroic moment occurs when we’re having a miserable day and keep smiling and don’t take it out on others.

A heroic moment occurs when we decide to motivate or lead others through inspiration and not fear.

A heroic moment occurs when we start an exercise program.

A heroic moment occurs when we decide not to involve ourselves in an personal argument or conflict.

A heroic moment occurs when we DO involve ourselves in an argument or conflict in order to solve a organization or family problem.

As employees, leaders, managers, parents, children, siblings, co-workers, or even as strangers, we are confronted with many opportunities to make “heroic” decisions.

We don’t do these things because we’ll be recognized. We don’t do them because someone will build a statue. They may not be monumental actions. It’s not the type of heroism that makes it on to the front page of the newspaper.

The only person who might know about it is you.

Finding and identifying the heroic moments in our lives is a simple way to motivate ourselves and feel good about our decisions and how we are interacting with the world around us.

(Thanks to Jesus Sotomayor for the phrase and idea)

Related Links

The power of something extra

What defines an exceptional leader

Are you involved in creating the future?

Facts serve no purpose by themselves, they exist.

We confuse the accumulation of facts with education.

A good education should inspire us to continue to discover and understand more. It should give us the tools and teach us how to think.

Thinking is the abilty to visualize, create and discover relationships between facts.

Intelligence should not only be measured by how much we know, but rather on how we apply our thinking and on much of that knowledge is passed to others for the future.

The future will be in the hands of those learning today.

Are you sharing your intelligence with others and creating that future?

(inspired by the study “Are they really ready to work?”)

Related Links

The future of our entry level workforce – gloomy

Are they really ready to work? (PDF)

The easy way

Despite all the attention on the power of marketing in order to create and maintain a successful product and business, there are still many organizations and people who don’t want to, or don’t know how to market their products.

They want others to buy their product because they are less expensive than the competition.

It’s the easiest way to sell, requires no planning, no marketing, no effort on the part of the salespeople or the organization. Quick short term results.

Everyone is in the market with the same goods, all screaming and shouting for the customers attention. The customer finds the seller by accident or luck, and proceeds to bargain and negotiate for the lowest price in the market. Very colorful.

It shows a lack of responsibility, lack of marketing, and lack of imagination on the part of the seller.

The owners say: “We need more profit, cut costs and sell more”.

The sales managers say: “We can sell more, but the product is a commodity, what can we do, cut the costs and we can corner the market”.

Production says: “We’ll cut costs, get cheaper raw materials and tweak the design”.

Buyers tell suppliers: “We can try your raw materials or products and see if the market accepts that price, but you have to give me a better price if you want me to buy more”.

Salespeople tell the sales manager: “I don’t know if I can meet that sales quota, it’s not up to me, it’s up to the market to decide”.

Salespeople tell the customer: “We’re cheaper than the competition, buy now”.

The competition is doing the same thing you are.

The customer faced with similar products and lack of information says: “Give me the one that costs less”.

Where was the marketer during all this?

What should they have been doing and saying to the organization and the customer?

If your product isn’t distinct, different or better than the competition. If you are not educating your customer about the advantages of your products and services. You will never have to the chance to market your products.

You will only be able to offer them for sale.

Related Links

Seth’s Blog: Cheaper

The power of something extra

Sales and marketing terrorism

The power of something extra

“Here is a simple but powerful rule – always give people more that what they expect to get.” – Nelson Boswell

What defines an exceptional leader, a great manager, a super business, or remarkable experience? Something extra.

There are two words (one French and the other Spanish) that convey and represent the concept of something extra, lagniappe and pilon.

Lagniappe (hear it) is the word commonly used in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi. It’s defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as an extra or unexpected gift or benefit.

Pilon is the Spanish word used in the southern US and Mexico to describe a gratuity given by tradesmen to customers settling their accounts, it’s something extra, and not expected.

Incorporating something extra in our actions, results and as a business philosophy can be incredibly powerful.

Something extra:

• forces creativity and innovation.
• demands clear understanding what is expected of us by others.
• focuses our attention of adding value, and not on cutting costs.
• is positive.
• is rewarded with good will and positive reactions.
• will lead to continual improvement.
• is fundamental to continued success.

Something extra is all about the little things and details.

Something extra is not just something “free”, it must arrive without anticipation, unexpectedly in order for it to be special and make an impact.

Something extra allows you to surprise the customer.

Something extra will make think about your results and expectations. It will make the difference between simple compliance and outstanding results.

Something extra will make you and your results different from all the others.

Embracing something extra and applying it on a daily basis, will make you great.

Giving something extra is not a difficult task. It’s all about applying small acts of innovation and creativity to your results, especially for routine and day-to-day tasks.

The power of something extra can change your life, your products, your processes and how others perceive you.

“If you want to be creative in your company, your career, your life, all it takes is one easy step… the extra one. When you encounter a familiar plan, you just ask one question: What ELSE could we do?” – Dale Dauten

Related Links

Motivation – Heroic moments

What defines an exceptional leader