When I think of leaders and influencers who I admire, I always take note of the way they communicate. Over time I have found that there are four qualities that appear to be consistently present in their approach to communication.
Read MoreWorking with the Chief Customer Officer at Northeast Utilities, Johnny D. Magwood, has been a great experience. We had a stimulating conversation last week about the challenges and opportunities that surround a shift in organizational culture to one that focuses on the customer. He recalled an experience he had early in his career where the organization he was working for had determined to be more customer-focused. He described that the entrance to the company headquarters doubled as a smoking area for employees. The lobby area where customers passed through on a daily basis was a mine-field of ashtrays and cigarette smoke that individuals had to wade through to make it to their appointments. He wondered what kind of impression that environment made on customers. Rightly so, he assumed customers were left with the notion that the company did not value them and were OK with putting obstacles in the the way of them having a positive experience. Recognizing this issue, management removed all the ashtrays and instructed employees to smoke elsewhere. Within a week, the ashtrays were covertly brought back in and old habits resumed. Eventually, through persistent effort, the smoking area in the lobby was permanently shifted to another area – away from customer’s view but it took awhile longer to shift people’s mindset around building an environment that worked for the customer.
Read MoreAttracting and retaining talent is at the top of the priority list for most successful businesses, particularly so in the current economic climate. To drive and sustain business success, you need the right people in the right seats – and you need to keep them. So, how do you accomplish this important goal to attract and retain? Shoeless Joe Jackson’s famous line in the film, Field of Dreams provides the answer: “If you build it, they will come.” If you build an organizational culture where people (and customers) come first, you’ll keep the talent – and attract new talent – that will realize your business objectives.
Read MoreSometimes you want a fresh approach to generating conversation with family, friends and colleagues. My daughter shared with me an idea they used at her summer camp called “Rose, Bud and Thorn.” At the end of every day the campers would gather around in a circle and share what they had experienced during their day.
Read MoreRemember the old Earth, Wind and Fire song whose lyrics contained the memorable lines, “After the love is gone….what used to be right is wrong…can love that’s lost be found?” I can’t get those lyrics out of my head as I continue to see the huge sales that surround us all at every turn. “70% percent off” seems to be the key driver of traffic to most retail stores today. In these difficult economic times, huge sales are what brings customers in the door. You are most often met with robotic greetings and responses, at best, or surly impatience at worse. And we ignore or resign ourselves to “this is the way service is these days” or “it is what it is” because the cost savings somehow make the bad service acceptable.
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