First and Lasting Impressions
Filed under: Customer Service, Leadership Callling, Personnel Development
I have had two very bad experiences with customer service this week. Not only was I the recipient of this bad “service” I also saw several other people having the exact same horrible experience.
In both situations the people assigned to dealing with the problem made promises they did not keep. For example setting pickup times and assuring you that if they did not call it would be ready, status updates that did not happen and the approach let’s just try this and I am sure it will work when they really did not have a clue about what to do.
Here is the interesting part at least for my situation. With both companies only because of my pushing I was eventually given to a supervisor to help me resolve hour’s worth of wasted time and finally fix the problems.
When I communicated with these new people they had a much better attitude and brought product knowledge that the front line people did not know. They did simple things like returning my calls on time and then committed to do whatever it took to resolve my issues.
Here is my question? Why not set the bar for all of the front line people in your organization at the same level where the supervisors were operating either in technical training, people skills or the authority to make it happen.
You will never convince me that it is cost effective for any company to pay less than qualified people to take hours of their time and your customers offending people that will probably never come back unless they get the slim chance to talk with their boss.
The front lines of your organization where interaction takes place with the people who are experiencing what you have to offer will always be the place where you want to make the best impression. If you’re weakest and newest team members are given these roles thinking they will grow into the job eventually the problem will solve itself because you will not have any more customers to deal with.
The Danger Of Debt
There is wide agreement among most evangelicals that acquiring debt as a principle is not sinful but the accumulation of it can be devastating. The borrower is indeed servant to the lender and when we use debt instead of living within our means then we have crossed a line that can lead to broken homes and failed businesses.
As someone who has counseled many couples with marriage problems a clear majority of the time financial problems are near top of the list. When couples do not take the time to develop budgets that reflect their mutual priorities in life then they eventually grow emotionally distant because they are trying to find happiness in things rather than relationships.
In a very real sense when we consistently have a lifestyle that is supported by debt rather than income we are living a lie. Whether it’s the clothes we wear, the car we drive or the home we live in, the bottom line is we are trying to meet a real need in the wrong way.
The only way we can maintain our integrity as a believer is to make sure when we have to acquire debt that we clearly have the means to pay it back within a reasonable time period. When we fail to pay our bills on time and in full we damage our testimony as a Christian and lost people see absolutely no difference in our values than the rest of the world.
God tells us clearly in His word that if we cannot be trusted with material things then we surely cannot be trusted with the deeper and more important spiritual truths in life. He promised to meet our basic needs but we must all come to the place of answering the question: How much is enough?
The ability to gain wealth according to scripture comes from God. He expects us to use that ability wisely and yes meet our needs but more than that have plenty left over to share with those who do not have enough food or water to make it another day.
How The Mighty Fall
Jim Collins follows up his all time best selling leadership book Good to Great with this incredible new work on why some of these once great companies now have fallen as well. He writes, “Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.”
Based on his thorough teams research there are five major stages that lead to failure:
1. Hubris Born of Success: This stage kicks in when people become arrogant, regarding success virtually as an entitlement, and they lose sight of the true underlying factors that created success in the first place.
2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More: Companies in this stage stray from the disciplined creativity that led them to greatness in the first place, making undisciplined leaps into areas where they cannot be great or growing faster than they can achieve with excellence, or both.
3. Denial of Risk and Peril: At this stage leaders discount negative data, amplify positive data and start to blame external factors for setbacks rather than accept responsibility.
4. Grasping for Salvation: The sharp decline now becomes visible to all and the common saviors include a charismatic visionary leader, a bold but untested strategy, a radical transformation, a dramatic cultural revolution, a hoped-for blockbuster product or maybe game changing acquisition.
5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death: At this stage accumulated setbacks and expensive false starts erode financial strength and individual spirit to such an extent that leaders abandon all hope of building a great future.
All companies go through ups and downs but if you are willing to admit your mistakes and make the necessary changes early then this death spiral cannot only be overcome it can be avoided entirely.
Role Of Short Term Wins
Filed under: Leadership Callling, Leading Change, Vision Casting
One of the major mistakes we make in major change initiatives is that we oversell the long term goal at the expense of dealing with the short term realities. People do want to know where they are going but they want to know even more what does all this mean for me right now?
Once the new change plan has been implemented it is critical for everyone involved to experience the benefits of short term wins so they can stay motivated for the future and the change that is yet to come. John Kotter list several roles that short term wins play:
1. Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it: Wins greatly help justify the short term cost involved.
2. Reward change agents: After a lot of hard work, positive feedback builds morale and motivation.
3. Help fine-tune vision and strategies: Short term wins give the guiding coalition concrete data on the viability of their ideas.
4. Undermine cynics and self-serving resisters: Clear improvements in performance make it difficult for people to block needed change.
5. Keep bosses on board: Provides those higher in the hierarchy with evidence that the transformation is on track.
6. Build momentum: Turns neutrals into supporters, reluctant supporters into active helpers.
Therefore it becomes critical in any change planning to build into the strategy several things that can be done within the first six months that may be small in scale but clear wins that everyone can celebrate.
The Right Job
All of us know the price we pay when we find ourselves working with the wrong people in the wrong place. In all the research Jim Collins has done he has come to the conviction that what we do in our work in not as important as who we do it with.
This does not mean that what we do is not extremely important because it needs to be a good fit with our skills and our passion. I found the following list put together by Jack Welch in Winning to be a great framework to help answer the question about the right fit:
1. People—You like the people a lot and you can relate to them, and you genuinely enjoy their company. In fact, they even think and act like you do.
2. Opportunity—The job gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and a professional, and you get the feeling you will learn things there that you did not know you needed to learn.
3. Options—The job gives you a credential you can take with you, and is in a business and industry with a future.
4. Ownership—You are taking the job for yourself, or you know whom you are taking it for, and feel at peace with the bargain.
5. Work Content—The “stuff” of the job turns your crank—you love the work, it feels fun and meaningful to you, and even touches something primal in your soul.
Every job has its own set of fundamentals planning, projects, meetings, goals and execution. However, there is a big difference between just making a profit and really making a difference. The Why and the Who are more important than the What and the How. Please do not forget its ultimately more about the journey than it is about the destination.
The Role Of Contentment In Simple Living
Filed under: Core Values, Financial Stewardship, Life Balance, Personal Development, Physical Fitness
We are reminded in scripture that we brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can take nothing out when we leave therefore having food and clothing we should be content. This does not mean we should all take a vow of poverty and live in a monastery.
We have all been given gifts and talents and we should with passion and excellence use them to the best of our ability to impact the world for good. The point is that regardless of wealth or poverty we should learn to lead a life that is not driven by things that don’t really matter.
In Richard Swenson great book on Margin he list several characteristics of simple living that are helpful:
1. Voluntary—If the simple life is forced, it ceases to be simple. This is a choice based on core values not something that is demanded.
2. Free—One of the key features of simplicity and at the same time, one of its principal advantages is that it is a life of freedom. It is being controlled by that which is life-giving and refusing to be controlled by that which is destructive.
3. Uncluttered—Emotionally we release our worries, we reconcile our relationships, we forgive our enemies and we begin anew each day.
4. Creative—Life is not boring just because it is simple. Simplicity sets the imagination free to work and to enjoy.
5. Authentic—A simple lifestyle must distinguish between the spiritually authentic and spiritually inauthentic. Biblical authenticity includes those things God has told us to focus on, those things that have eternal, God-assigned value: people, love, service, worship, prayer, self-denial, relationships, contentment, freedom, and rest.
6. Disciplined—Restraint is necessary for successful living, and all the more for simple living. Comfort is not a legitimate primary goal—authenticity is.
All Christians have made peace with God through their faith in Jesus Christ but all Christians do not live on a daily basis with the peace of God. This kind of peace only comes as the fruit of a contented life.
Performance Review Systems
Filed under: Leadership Callling, Personal Development, Personnel Development
All of us at some point in time have waited with anxiety for that wonderful time of the year when we receive our annual performance review. Even if you know that you have had a great year you are never really sure what is going to be said and how pleased management is with your performance.
To a great degree this whole process is a major problem within most organizations. On the one hand poor performers are not dealt with on an ongoing basis and sometimes they are even given good reviews because their direct supervisor does not want to admit that they also have failed. Sometimes employees think things are going great only to have the big bomb dropped with no real explanation as to why they were not told before.
On the other extreme top performers are left in the dark about what they are doing well and they only get the one time a year serious conversation about where they stand and what is next in the area of development. The bottom line there should be ongoing informal times for evaluation and at least twice a year if not quarterly a brief review of exactly where everyone stands in regards to expectations.
I have seen performance reviews that are literally 20 pages in length with a tremendous amount of worthless information. Most in my opinion should not be more than two to three pages that only deal with key objectives and some type of quantitative analysis on success.
I also prefer some type of 360 feedback system in place so that in a non-threatening way immediate supervisors can be told what they need to do to help improve their direct reports performance. This should be a time where an honest exchange of information takes place so that everyone knows what they need to do to improve day to day performance and lay out a clear plan for professional development for all involved.
We really need to change the culture of the performance review process from going to the dentist mentality to meeting with my coach who I know has my best interest in mind and is passionately committed to helping me reach my potential.
The Nostalgia Of The Past
Most of us are over scheduled and have way too much stress in our lives. As a reaction to the pressure of the present we often find ourselves looking back and longing for a time when life was simpler and slower than it is today.
What we selectively seem to forget is that the past had its own set of problems and even though things may have been slower that does not mean they were better. When we live in the past we also are blinded to the blessings of the present and are not able to enjoy what we have that is good in our lives.
In Richard Swenson’s book entitled Margin he deals with this romantic mentality of turning back the clock to a better time. He writes, “The analogy of a clock is not helpful. It is not the question of a clock, but a compass. The issue is not chronology, but direction.”
It is impossible to create more time in any given day. With that reality clearly in mind then we are only left with two options. We must know what is important each and every day and make sure those are the things that get done.
What is not so clear is that this does not mean adding these important things to an already full calendar. The ability to know what to say no to on a moment by moment basis is the only way we will have the emotional, spiritual and physical margin we need to live today without regrets.
Clocks can only tell you what time it is while your personal compass can tell you what to do with your time. Big Difference!!!!!!!
In Search For Silver Bullet
Filed under: Crisis Management, Leadership Callling, Leading Change, Servant Leader
In Jim Collins latest book How The Mighty Fall he talks about companies that start on a systematic downward spiral that leads ultimately to total failure as an organization. One common problem he found is that when they finally realize they are in serious trouble rather than dealing with real problems they search for the quick fix approach of finding the right silver bullet.
When full blown panic sets in there is a frantic search for several silver bullets that can be dramatic big moves such as game changing acquisitions or a risky new strategy or an exciting innovation or new leadership, anything that can save us. The following is list of several silver bullets observed:
1. Grasping for a Leader as Savior: The board responds to threats and setbacks by searching for a charismatic leader and an outside savior.
2. Panic and Haste: Instead of being calm, deliberate, and disciplined, people exhibit hasty, reactive behavior, bordering on panic.
3. Radical Change and Revolution with Fanfare: The language of revolution and radical change characterizes the new era: New Programs! New cultures! New Strategies!
4. Hype Precedes Results: Instead of setting expectations low—underscoring the duration and difficulty of the turnaround—leaders hype their visions initiating a pattern of overpromising and under delivering.
5. Initial Upswing Followed by Disappointments: There is an initial burst of positive results, but they do not last; dashed hope follows dashed hope; the organization achieves no buildup, no cumulative momentum.
6. Confusion and Cynicism: People cannot easily articulate what the organization stands for; core values have eroded to the point of irrelevance; the organization has become just another place to work.
There are no quick fixes or silver bullets for organizations that have complex long term problems that have built up for decades. The new realities of the global economy did not create these problems it merely acted as a catalyst to reveal them.
Credibility The Foundation For Leadership
Filed under: Core Values, Leadership Callling, Personal Development, Servant Leader
There are many leadership qualities that must be present in the leader if people are going to trust them to the point of following. It is very important to be committed, competent and inspiring but without credibility especially today people will see you as a fake and be totally turned off.
The bottom line is regardless of how visionary the message if they cannot believe in the messenger then trust is destroyed. People may show up for work but their heart is not in it and although they seem positive in front of superiors they are constantly critical with their peers in private.
If leaders are to maintain credibility they have to walk the talk and personally practice what they preach. When their actions are inconsistent with their words and they do not follow through on their promises then they are no longer seen as authentic.
When team members work on a project for a long time and produce great results only to see the leader take an inappropriate amount of the credit they feel burned. They want to see leaders who give credit to others and assume personal responsibility when they make mistakes.
If the leader is seen as real when things are not going well people will give them the benefit of the doubt every time. When leaders are hypocritical and things are even going well they will get polite support but in reality they have lost the confidence of their team and sadly don’t even know it.