The difference between mediocrity and greatness can lie in the power of a thought or symbol that has roots in the soul. anon
This morning, Sally Cudrik made the news! Sally is “the one in the white cap.” She is a (Colorado Springs) Memorial Hospital patient care-coordinator with 37 years of nursing experience. Sally is one of very few nurses who wear the starched white cap anymore. For her, the cap represents all that is good about the nursing tradition. And she is not giving it up in spite of the ribbing she gets and minor discomfort in wearing it. She is famous at Memorial Hospital with patients and staff because of her cap.
This got me to thinking of the power of symbols and a conversation I had with a nurse who had her cap in a prominent place in her office to remind her of the dedication and achievement the cap represented for her. The cap inspired her and symbolized her strength and competence─qualities she can call on anytime she needs to.
For reflection, what are important symbols in your life that you want to deliberately re-energize on your path to excellence?
October 6th, 2005
Nothing of worthy or weight can be achieved with half a mind,
with a faint heart, or with a lame endeavor. Isaac Barrow
Peter Drucker, called by BusinessWeek “the most enduring management thinker of our time,” turns 96 this month. In a June 2004 Harvard Business Review article What Makes an Effective Executive?, Drucker said that, as different as effective leaders may be, they all follow 8 practices:
1. Focus on opportunities rather than problems.
2. Run productive meetings.
3. Think “we” rather than “I.”
4. Take responsibility for decisions
5. Develop action plans
6. Ask “what needs to be done?”
7. Ask “What is right for the enterprise?”
8. Take responsibility for communicating – listen first
What a great check list to track effectiveness. I would add to execute action plans.
October 3rd, 2005
The service we render others is the rent we pay for our room on earth. Wilfred Grenfell
Last evening I saw a stand up comic go through his customer service routine. He was very funny and had the audience of about 200 people roaring with laughter. But I found myself thinking of his basic premise as being very different from my research and experience.
He said that, by definition, a customer needs something (I would add, or wants something). And that anyone who needs something is vulnerable. Therefore customers are vulnerable and you (the business or organization) need to treat them with care because of this vulnerability.
Yes, customers may need or want something; but in this day and age, that makes them anything but vulnerable. (Unless you are the only one selling water in the desert.) Customers are actually empowered: they have the power to give or take business from you; to give you a piece of their mind; to go somewhere else for what they want; to bargain for prices; to cost you business with a careless comment; and other forms of customer power.
So, as I see it, the element of customer service is more about surviving in business than it is about acting out of the goodness of your heart for the “vulnerable” customer. Although the paradox is that sincerity and genuine care are critical for the best customer service.
This boils down to identifying customer needs; providing solutions; keeping the focus on the customer; dealing with complaints and bad moods without taking things personally, and most of all – not taking yourself so seriously.
Check later for a related piece on Where to draw the line on customer service.
October 1st, 2005
We are cold to others only when we are dull in ourselves. William Hazlitt
Today (Friday) at 3:00 pm I went to our local (independent contractor) rural post office with an express mail package. The post office lady took one look at my express mail envelope and she said, “I can’t take that.” I’m sure I looked surprised and said, “You can’t?” “Nope” she said, I can’t take any express mail after 11:00 am.” “Well, can it get picked up tomorrow?” I asked. “Nope,” she said; “we can’t do express mail on Saturdays.” Silence. I said, “What can I do to get this package to New Jersey by Monday? Do the other post offices take express mail?” She said yes, I asked her how to get to the nearest other post office and went on my way.
It all felt so negative. And I thought, “Was there another way to do this?” So I played a different conversation out in my mind:
The post office lady saw my express mail envelope and said, “I see you want to get that package someplace in a hurry.” “Yes, I want it to be in New Jersey by Monday.” “Well, our next express mail goes out on Monday, but the Briargate post office can get it out for you today. Do you know where that post office is?”
Same information. Entirely different conversation. Entirely different customer experience.
Bottom line. It isn’t what you can’t do, but what you CAN do that interests me.
September 27th, 2005
When walking, walk. When eating, eat. Zen Maxim
A key differentiator between success and failure is the ability to focus on what is important and be immune to distractions. There are four elements to this differentiator:
1. The ability to discern what is important
2. An action plan that addresses top priorities
2. The discipline and ability to focus
3. Strategic immunity to distractions
Discerning what is important requires a clear mission and vision of success─the basis for decisions about priorities. A comprehensive mission and related vision would include personal as well as business goals; but for purposes here, we are looking at only the organizational mission and vision. If you are not clear on the organizational mission and vision and your related mission and vision, there is little chance you can confidently and accurately discern priorities. (See ENGAGE! Roadmap for Workforce-Driven Change in a Warp Speed world, chapters VII – IX.)
Once you have clear priorities, the next element is to create an action plan that addresses those priorities. The ideal plan would include specific, realistic, and aligned goals, involve appropriate resources, and have deadlines in place.
Your plan directs your focus. The skill involved here is to work your plan in the most effective way, sequencing activities logically, blocking time and protecting that time. The discipline involved is focusing. Focus is the ability to direct the mind; it is a mental muscle that strengthens through discipline and practice. I have a structure for helping me develop the focus muscle. I plan a block of time where I will give undiluted focus for at least an hour. I write on a piece of paper: “For the next hour I will focus on _____________. The output will be____________.” Then I set a timer for an hour. I ignore the phone. If a another responsibility interrupts my focus (like “cancel the 9 am meeting for tomorrow”) I write it on a sheet of paper and just keep a list to look at after the hour is up. I find I can accomplish more quality work in that focused hour than I can in three “normal” hours. I also find that, after a brief break, I can easily continue for longer periods of time on the same project.
The last element is immunity to distractions. I mentioned something of this in the above paragraph, i.e., writing down thoughts that come into my mind that I don’t want to forget. But there is another aspect of immunity to distractions. In fact, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be completely immune to distractions, but you can increase your ability to bypass them. You can be strategic about distractions. Here are some things that will help: designing your work environment for productivity; changing your paradigm about distractions; and taking control of your schedule
Design your work environment to eliminate distractions. E.g., place your desk for minimal visual distraction. Keep the top of your desk clear (I am still working on that one!) Use a soft sound system if it helps to block out background noise.
Take control of your schedule. Block out the times of the day that most suit your own rhythm, e.g., if you can concentrate best on reading technical documents in the early morning, use that time to do so, etc. Have closed door times and let your colleagues and staff know why. (When you discover how much more productive you are this way, let them know about it.) (See blog _____________)
This is a life-long challenge. The more you are up to it, the more you will reap the rewards. Do it.
September 27th, 2005
“The ability to concentrate and use your time well is everything”. Lee Iacocca
Most of the leaders I coach have a challenge with time: how do they get home in time to have a more balanced home life; how do they avoid the overwhelm of today’s chaotic work place. Most of these same people have an open door policy, which has been touted as good leadership practice. The point being that a leader is always accessible to his or her direct reports.
One of the first things I ask these leaders to do is to re-visit the wisdom of this policy. Essentially, with this policy, they are continually “interruptible.” Think about it: how is it to concentrate on a project or task knowing that at any moment you can be interrupted? Isn’t there something in the back of your mind that is always on guard for this interruption?
The challenge of the whitewater workplace─full of chaos and distractions─is focus. While a value in the open door policy is that your people can get help with their issues (or just shoot the breeze) whenever they want, what is absent is the greater discipline of thinking ahead and planning for such meetings.
Most of the leaders I work with have established a period of time when the door is open (a 1 – 1.5 hour period a day). People soon learn to plan their questions and discussions for this period of time. The balance of the time, the leader is doing other key leadership roles such as planning, preparation, trend watching, communicating key business strategies, relationship building, and simple reflection, etc. Obviously, emergencies don’t always fit in a time slot and need to be treated differently.
This gives leaders more control over their schedule and their concentration. The payoff is increased effectiveness─productivity and job satisfaction─all the way around.
September 22nd, 2005
August 12th, 2005
Next Posts
