If you received NO economic benefit from your job. Would you continue to do it?
If you answered “no”, think about what message and attitude you are sending to your clients, co-workers and business network.
If you answered “yes”, think about how this makes you different and unique to your customers, clients, contacts and relationships.
“We are living in an era where there are too many retailers serving too few customers and where there is no longer any brand loyalty or retail loyalty” Kevin Burke, President/CEO. The American Apparel and Footwear Association.
From this comment by Mr. Burke I believe the apparel and footwear industries are in the midst of an important struggle, to move away from their current status of a commodity business.
The winners will be those with strong design, distinct brand, and smart developed distribution systems. The same can be said for almost any current industry.
Too many retailers and points of sale? I doubt it. What I interpret from this comment is that there is intense competition between retailers, and instead of seeking exclusivity or innovation to attract and maintain customers, they are using the oldest,simplest trick known….lowering product prices and with it, the quality of the shopping experience.
It is a classic example of commoditization.
Manufacturers are also to blame. The rush to sell their product to high volume buyers insures loss of control of the marketing and retail channels.
The rush to sell everywhere, to everyone, at the same time allows and promotes price competition and price wars between the various manufacturers and retailers.
Too few customers? The real problem is overproduction. Current manufacturing focuses on high volume production and this encourages the standardization of product. The desire to reduce fixed costs drives manufacturers to seek out cheap world labor, increase productivity through mechanization (which encourages product standardization) and the outcome is a mountain of finished products, created all over the world, that are indistinguishable from one another.
Commodities. Most apparel and footwear companies focus on low cost, high volume manufacturing, they sell to wholesalers or retailers that also focus on volume. So suddenly branded products can be found in department stores, boutiques, grocery stores, flea markets and the Internet. The product is everywhere, consumers have learned that one should just look for it where the price is lowest.
This also makes it easier to pirate and sell a product to a growing network of sales outlets focused on offering a brand name for less.
No brand or retail loyalty?
If there is no customer loyalty (read as no perceived advantage to shopping with you versus the competition), and loyalty is important for continued growth, profit and success, then it’s time for a serious reevaluation of how one is doing business.
How can one stand out from the crowd, do something different and unique, and create a sense of exclusivity and prestige for the consumer?
This is the future.
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10 top reasons for poor customer service and their solutions
Do you read the corporate mission and vision statements on websites or in corporate promotional material?
I don’t.
In fact, I find them to be insincere, ambiguous and completely useless to the customer, and most of the time useless to the company itself.
So why do many corporate websites include them?
Does someone in the sales and marketing department believe that customers find this information important or believable?
Objectives, goals, mission and vision are important in an organization. They define where we are going, and help in making decisions about how to get there.
You don’t need a mission or vision statement to be successful.You will need to make certain everyone in the company knows where they are going and are focused and motivated on getting there.
Customers will see the results.
You don’t have to tell them what you are trying to do.
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.
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We are creatures of habit.
We enjoy and feel comfortable with a routine.
We create routines in our personal and professional lives constantly.
We wake up around the same time, go to work at an appointed hour, drink coffee at a scheduled time.
We tend to focus and concentrate on our specific career area, and in doing so are excluding influences and relationships that matter.
New and different influences and relationships that can dramatically change the way we work, feel and create.
Even our free time is scheduled and programmed.
We read the same papers, watch the same programs, go out at the same time, and surround ourselves with the same people and experiences.
In order to maintain interest and excitement in our professional and personal lives we need to learn, experience or add something New.
Turn the microscopic view of our lives into a telescopic view and look for the New relationships and New elements of influence.
We can’t change, innovate, modify, evolve and grow if we don’t have access to New.
New ideas.
New learning.
New skills.
New methods.
New relationships.
New challenges.
New does not seep into us by accident, it requires active participation on our part.
We must seek it out, experiment, and take chances.
Find it, analyze it, embrace it or reject it.
New does not always make us happy, in fact it can create conflicts and anxiety which ultimately lead to better definition of what we want, or what we are doing.
We can find New in books, magazines, web logs, articles, especially if they are unrelated to our current business.
New can be found by taking a different route to work, shopping in a different area, eating different foods or in different spaces.
New can be found in any person whom we haven’t had a conversation with.
We have to make the conscious decision to break our routines and seek out New.
When was the last time you encountered something New?
When will be the next time?
What can we do today to find New?
When creating our weekly agenda, keeping in mind that we must dedicate time to actively seeking experiences and information that are outside of our comfort zones and areas of expertise.
Find something New today.
Start a list, when you find something New write it down.
Encourage the people around us to discover and share something New.
Watch how New begins to change your life and decisions, enthusiasm and attitude.
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Ever wonder if your leadership style should be less interactive, less personal with your team?
Do you believe that the “cold emotionless leader” approach will bring better results to the organization?
Teresa Amabile in an interview entitled How Team Leaders Show Support-or Not in The Harvard Business School Working Knowledge newsletter, outlines her study published in 2004 in The Leadership Quarterly, and gives insight into leadership characteristics and styles as they impact group performance and creativity in organizations.
She identified 4 key behaviors that will improve the perception of team leader’s support by the team members (and by association improve group attitude and final results).
The groups perception of the leader’s support were positive when:
Sound familiar?
They are fundamental characteristics of any leader or manager.
The groups perception of the leader’s support were negative when the leader:
Becoming a good leader is not all about barking orders or the implementation of revolutionary, new and improved ideas about data management and numbers analysis .
It’s about listening, doing your job and making decisions that affect others on-time.
It’s about dedicating time and applying common sense to create and maintain human relationships.
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A guide for the new leader who wants to alienate all employees and fail as quickly as possible in their new management position
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Motivation, not the leaders job
Leadership, do you want the job or just the title and benefits
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
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.
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How much time is scheduled for thinking in your normal business day?
Do you have a regular time when you take the phone off the hook, avoid interruptions and think about business situations and problems or create plans?
Do you often worry about past, present and future business decisions?
This quotation from Harold B. Walker Think or Worry
might provide some motivation for you to include some time for reflection and thinking into your workday.
“Thinking works its way through problems to conclusions and decisions, worry leaves you in a state of tensely suspended animation” (H.B. Walker)
Get the subject out in the open, describe it, observe it, analyze it, understand it.
Think about it.
Create solutions or action plans to deal with the reality and stop worrying about it.
“You can think about your problems or you can worry about them and there is a vast difference between the two.” (H.B. Walker)
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“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.
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Leadership, do you want the job – or just the title and benefits
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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This is embarrassing.
A Corporate public relations nightmare.
Incompetence at a very high degree.
I suppose it makes it more incredible and shocking that GlaxoSmithKline was caught in a lie about the ingredients of its product by two 14 year old girls in high school chemistry class.
Ribena caught out by schoolgirls
How does a product get approved, manufactured, marketed and sold without someone asking if it really is what it is?
Where are the controls and communication between the production, the executive office and the marketing people?
What responsibility does marketing have to verify information and take responsibility for misleading the consumer?
This is fraud and unethical behaviour at an enormous level or incompetence at ridiculous proportions.
Adding insult to injury is the fine of USD $ 156,000.00 and an apology by GSK as the remedy.
Seems like a very small slap on the wrist for fraudulent advertising, incompetence and deceiving the public.
Perhaps that small risk and penalty is what drove them to take the decision to lie in the first place?
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CNN- Ribena caught out by schoolgirls
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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Corruption, bribes, mordidas and tips – Doing business in Mexico
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:
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?
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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:
The next time you start with “why don’t they” stop and do the following.
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.
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Ever get involved in a project that requires modifications, and then those modifications led to more modifications and more and more?
Before you know it, the project has lost sight of it’s objectives, and the team is working on solving problems unrelated to the original goals.
I’m reminded of Rube Goldberg and his famous machines. We don’t intentionally try to complicate our work, but if we step back and look at the objectives, and the current processes and procedure in order to reach those objectives, we can often find distortions and diversions of comical proportions.
There are two simple actions that will eliminate and control our spiral into complexity and error.
We tend to avoid re-doing and restarting a project or activity because we want to salvage the time, money and effort that has been invested.
This inability to “do over” and start from scratch often prevents us from implementing better and more efficient solutions.
Our initial attempts to solve the problem have educated us about the requirements and environment. There is nothing wrong with starting over, in fact it may be the best and most efficient way to solve the problem.
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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.
Are we killing team performance by over-communicating?
That is the premise of Kevan Hall in Drowning in Co-operation and followed up with additional comments in the Slow Leadership blog The Truth about Communication.
The idea that we must communicate and include everyone in the team in every part of the project, all the time, is a classic example of a good idea that has gotten out of control.
Teams perform well when each team member:
Analyze how a relay race squad works together. Each member has a specific and unique function, each member runs their part of the race alone, they expect their co-worker to hand them the baton at the right time in the right place, they all share the same goal and final outcome.
There is no stopping for meetings and communication between members during the race, there are no meetings with the coach halfway around the track to see how they are doing.
The runners do not stop to explain why they are passing the baton to only one member of the team.
The coach selects the qualified members of the squad and interacts with the team members before (preparation and focus) and after the event (evaluation of results), not during the race.
The focus of each team member is on doing their job efficiently and professionally, in order to reach the shared objective in the shortest time possible.
As a leader your mission is to identify the people with the best skills required for each part of the project, empower them by giving access to the right tools and training, build enthusiasm for the project and the other team members contributions, clearly identify the goal and the expected performance for their part of the project and let them do their jobs.
Encouraging communication between team members and leadership is only important and desired when it is focused and shared with those who really need the information to get the job done.
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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)
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