A few recommendations related to business, networking, connectivity, engagement:
Be the most connected,
Hardest working,
Fastest responding,
Proactively communicating,
Actively networking,
Self learning,
Team oriented,
Client focused,
Innovative,
Most engaged,
person in your space.
That’s it today. Do it. see what happens
Communicate back to me
PS: GIVE IT TIME!
It was the jeans that triggered it.
You see, they were the exact same jeans that I had on as I walked into the store. The same jeans I bought there 6 months ago. And I love these jeans.
So the pair I grabbed off the shelf, the exact same color, size, make, model, when I pulled them on, they didn’t fit over my thighs in the dressing room. What? I double checked the size and shape. No difference.
“Perhaps they aren’t marked correctly, I said to myself.”
So I asked the sales attendant if he can help. I ask if I’ve made a mistake.
“Nope, he says. This happens all the time. You see we recommend you grab 3 or 4 pair at a time when you’re trying them on. They’re made in like, 50 or 60 different countries so you never know what you are going to get.”
Great response. Glad you don’t sell for me.
He’s doing a poor job at customer experience management and selling. Plus, he’s saying that they aren’t making jeans with consistent size patterns based on the country where they are assembled. Either way, both the salesperson and the manufacturer are doing a terrible job of designing experience. No thank you. I don’t expect to have to grab 3 or 4 pair of jeans to see if one or more of them, the exact same size, actually fit. I don’t care what country they are made in or what their supply chain logistics look like. Once I find a pair of jeans that works, I expect they will all be close to the same size EVERY TIME. I don’t want to play “roll-the-jeans-dice.”
This company is providing a negative and inconsistent experience when it comes to sales, and product QA/QC.
I quickly placed the jeans back on the shelf and slipped quietly out of the store. I wasn’t in the mood to manage my shopping experience through trial and error.
So what about your company? What about my company? I know different clients can have different experiences even though they all are “shopping” at our place, in different offices, and different ends of the building. How consistent of an experience am I creating? How am I making it easy on the client? How are my colleagues and people representing our services to buyers, prospective clients, and observers? Do our people know what to say and how to say it? Have they been trained in the “why of our business?” Is our product the same EVERY SINGLE TIME?
Even in professional services it’s not uncommon for clients who’ve had a negative experience to quietly slip away; to place the jeans on the shelf and never return. Do everything possible to prevent this from happening.
It was 7 or 8 years ago. I was cranking out decent miles on a trail run. I heard his footsteps approaching while leaning into a hill. He was stride for stride but not passing. I sensed this might be an unusual experience for him, but I didn’t like to get passed on my runs; stupid I know, but it’s a part of me; a throwback to my competitive running days. He finally pulled up next to me and we started to talk. (It’s a “runner thing.”) He had relocated here from Arizona. His wife’s family lived in town and she wanted to be closer to them while raising their kids. He took up running as an adult. He did triathlon’s as well. We cruised through 7:30 miles for the rest of the run and had some fun getting to know each other. We talked throughout. He was in fund-raising, business development, lead generation. I was in the business of engineering and construction. I sensed some connection between us.
Fast forward to present; just a few days ago in fact. My fatigue and the cold air led me to the local Starbucks this particular morning. And there HE was at the front of the line. The same guy. He reached out and said, “Hey do you have time for a visit?” I said, “Yeah for as long as it takes to get my drink.” (I was in a rush.) He rolled his eyes, pulled me to the front of the line, and said “Tell me what you want to drink.” Obviously he meant business. He wanted to talk.
Let’s rewind; two weeks ago.
He had emailed me via LinkedIn asking if I’d ever thought about employing a business development professional to advocate our business, open doors, and build relationships (yes, of course.) I’d asked him why, and questioned if he was still in his present job. He informed me that he was. He was looking to the future and to more possibilities.
Rewind again, this time to a month or two ago. We “randomly” cross paths (again.) This time it was just outside the trail entrance on the road. He was running and I was finishing a power walk. He’d recently started training again. I jumped in with him for a bit. It was totally spontaneous. He talked about his most recent position as a business developer for a General Contracting firm. I knew where he was working through our LinkedIn connection, and through his messaging from time to time. He mentioned how he’d helped to increase the GC’s bid opportunities from $2.5M to $12M.
I’d lost track of him before this, between the initial run on the trail and now, except for an occasional encounter at the grocery store, on social media, or around town at random. Now our paths seemed to be continuing to cross. I know more about his background because every time he changed jobs, he let me know. Every time he changed he got closer and closer to what I do; the business of engineering, design and construction. He’d been in fund-raising for a non-profit, development for a college engineering department, and one prior construction company gig; business development, people stuff, talking, finding a fit, opening doors, designing connectivity; this is what he loves. It’s who he is. It’s a lot of who I am as well, but CEO duties in a growing organization make it harder and harder to build 1-1 relationships myself unless they are very specific and have high potential in scaled opportunities.
My quick encounter at Starbucks turned out to be a 20 minute conversation while I finished my mocha and he drank his coffee. He talked about his goals. We discussed my business. We talked about roles, philosophies, his and my approach to client and business development. Back and forth, back and forth.
I find it more than “random” that I bumped into him at Starbucks. I find it more than random that our paths have gently crossed over the years. I find it not random. People encounters are unique. They aren’t always planned and aren’t typically scripted. It’s important to take notice when recurring themes and people continue to present themselves. This got my attention. I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t plan it. I was just going about my daily business. There’s a message for me in this perhaps, regardless of what it is or what I do with it.
We never know what relationship or interaction may turn out to be something of significance. Something that changes the way we think; the way we view life; how we interact. I am not sure yet what will happen from this. I’m still reflecting.
Sometimes strategy is planned and initiative. Sometimes is spontaneous and reactive; “opportunistic.” It’s important to watch, to listen, to stop for a moment, to reflect on what might really be happening; to decide what we want to do with it.
“That’s our policy sir, I can’t give you access to that information”
“But I have the “information.” I’m giving you the information; line and verse.”
“Right but you are not the person who owns the account so I can not give any more information”
“But I have the information and the money to reconcile the issue associated with the information; right now. I’m trying to pay online and you’ve listed the account as “closed.” I’m trying to get it reconciled. Can you “re-open it” so I can pay? Here’s the balance and the account information.”
“No I’m sorry sir. There’s nothing I can do. I can’t give any more information about the account or balance.”
“BUT I HAVE THE ACCOUNT OPEN AND I AM READING YOU THE BALANCE! How about you make the change on the account website (flip the switch) so I can pay it right this second?”
“I’m sorry sir, that’s against our policy. The account timed out and so it has to be handled another way. I know you want to pay the account balance but I can’t facilitate that. Again, that’s our policy.”
“Ah. So then you don’t want your money. Legalities and bureaucracy is more important.”
Policy. People. Common Sense (or lack thereof)
Policy is good. It’s supposed to safeguard people and companies; create process; manage risk. Mitigate fraud. I get it. Create policy.
But policy can get in the way. It can be counter-productive.
If policy isn’t making sense; if it’s preventing the very thing you are trying to accomplish or facilitate; if it’s getting in the way of something good and productive, then policy needs to be modified. (Isn’t that why there are managers?)
The thing that is sometimes lost in the interaction is that we are working with people, not policy. We shouldn’t be a slave to policy. We should use it as a guide, an important reference, a sensible context, but not as a strict manifesto, unable to be modified regardless of the circumstance.
People, and “doing the right things,” are more important than policy. Remember that in situations that are on the edges or outside the boundaries.
I bought a TRIANGLE for the office. You know, the musical kind. The type you play (ding) in an orchestra. It’s a percussion instrument. This one’s more like a “dinner call Triangle,” but I think you get the picture. Its got that bright sound.
In the office we “ring it” every time we win a new project, or a new phase is added to an existing project. Tami does it at the front desk. Everyone can hear it.
Sure people can check the joblist if they want, and it gives a live report of everything that’s active. But it’s boring. There’s something tangible about the triangle. It’s audible evidence that something good just happened. It reminds people who don’t always get to see the big picture, that cool things are happening; that new business is coming in. Now I’m looking for a GONG to ring. It’ll be for really big projects over a certain dollar value, or for new work with new clients. That’ll get people talking.
The reaction is fun and it creates a festive atmosphere. It gets people talking. It reminds me of being called for dinner when I was a kid.
Isn’t that what new work is like anyway? Like dinner time for the business?
Leadership is many different things. Leadership is exhilarating and excruciating at the same time, because leadership is in the middle of the ebb and flow of life.
One aspect of leadership that isn’t typically discussed is vulnerability. Leadership by its very nature is vulnerable. It’s exposed for everyone to see. The results are visible across a spectrum broader than the leader, good or bad.
Leaders may as well be honest with their struggles or at least with their results. They certainly aren’t hidden from anyone. In fact if shared in an appropriate manner, everyone will benefit. There’s a stronger connection, and shared responsibility.
Technological tools allow us to work remotely while still remaining in sync and in touch with our organizations. It can be terrific. Technology also allows us to generate work rapidly and productively. Working remotely is a gift of the modern age which is facilitated by multiple platforms. It’s a blessing, but it also can disconnect us from our tribe, our people, our work comnunity, the people that we need to connect with the most.
Remote work adds flexibility and permits us to have an outside perspective that we couldn’t have had in the past. It spawns perspective, freedom and creativity for those who need changes of pace and environment.
But we also need to connect in person with the people in our physical offices or locations. Remote work and Technology should enable and facilitate more of that not less. I find myself often spending less time with people and more time serving technology platforms. This is not the correct application and use of tech.
By all means, we should work remotely to gain perspective and be flexible. We should use technology and it’s platforms to work as rapidly and productively as possible. Generate as much value as possible in those spaces.
But then connect with people on a deep level to tie things together and to build a culture that is solid. Technology should serve us, not the opposite.
This is a daily struggle of maintaining balance in our highly digital world.
Our customer has articulated a goal to us. The mission and problem is clearly defined. So we run off in search of a solution. We work like crazy to make it happen. We can feel it coming together. We’re getting excited to share the solution with the client. Then, indeed, the moment comes. We’ve got it. It’s time to share the victory with our client. Our victory. We can’t wait for the moment. The unveiling. We come back with a presentation showing them that we achieved what they wanted….or so we thought…
But it wasn’t their solution. There’s a fail. What’s the fail? We forsake context and parameters. We never really engaged them in the process. We run with what we THOUGHT we heard. Its like we’re working in a box without communicating. What the solution lacks is context. Maybe they didn’t want those boundary conditions. Maybe they couldn’t install it that way. Maybe they didn’t want those items listed as collateral. Whatever the case may be, if we don’t engage our customer to come up with a solution within a proper context, we have not delivered. It’s like we’re working in a box. This happens way too often. And we’d think with modern communication tools it would be better, but that doesn’t make it a guarantee.
Good Solutions require integration and communication. They require collaboration. Keep the lid off the box while you’re working.
Noah lives in Hong Kong. I live in Ohio. Noah is an architect. I am an engineer. Noah graduated from Kent State. I graduated from the University of Akron. Noah Works in Professional Services. I work in Professional Services. Noah is a facade professional. I’m a facade professional. Noah and I met on Twitter a couple of years ago. This week we had lunch together.
A digital connection formed a relationship across continents and time zones. Both of us enjoy each other’s Twitter feeds. We’ve communicated by direct message but never met face-to-face. Noah was traveling to the United States and was going to be in town so he asked me if we could do lunch. Of course I said yes. Meeting him face-to-face was fantastic. I would have never known him, met him or been aware of him had it not been for the connection over social media. We enjoyed lunch and sharing experiences common to the industry. He’s on his way back to Hong Kong and I’m still in Ohio, but our bond is stronger. I look forward to more interactions digitally, and face to face in the future. This is one of the values of social media.
I don’t care what business we are in, we are all in the business of value generation and value creation. Whether we’re baking scones, litigating, engineering, cleaning toilets or whatever it is, it’s all about generating and creating value. What we “do” is to be a given; everyone assumes we know our craft (if you can’t do your craft you’re not even in the conversation.) That craft, our skills and our capabilities, that’s what we practice. But that doesn’t guarantee or define where value lies. Value lies in how the dots are connected in the empty spaces. Value lies were ‘bridges’ are built. Value lies in generating more time, more income, more order, more of something of value to the receiver. If anyone else in the world does what we do that makes us a commodity at some level. So we need to take what we do and figure out how to apply it in a way that will bring meaning and improvement to other people’s lives and businesses. When people start requesting more of us, our service, our enterprise, that’s when we know we may be on the right track.
JOHN L WHEATON BLOG 