Seek First Clarity; to Find Meaning and Commitment

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” Nathaniel Branden

“The world is not a problem; the problem is your unawareness.” Bagwan Shree Rajneesh

"Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Written goals provide clarity. By documenting your dreams, you must think about the process of achieving them." Gary Ryan Blair

Achieving Goals

There was a study done by Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews on Written Goals. She found that when people wrote their goals down, shared them and gave regular updates, people were (on average) 33 % more like to achieve them than those that merely formulated goals. It seems fairly obvious that they were more successful because they spent more time thinking about how to accomplish those goals but the act of sharing their progress was also important in that it affirmed their commitment. No one wants to “publicly” fail. It’s uncomfortable. We’ll take the time to fix a problem (reactive) but we rarely give ourselves permission to do it right the first time around (proactive). Stephen Covey’s (“7 Habits of Highly Effective People”) matrix of Urgent & Important is well known and yet I believe most people can’t bring themselves to move out of the urgent and of low importance quadrant and into the Important but not urgent quadrant. Why? It’s easier. When we lack clarity on how to best move forward we resort to being reactive.

Case in point: in “Switch” written by Chip & Dan Heath. They point out that a surprising thing they found out about change is that what often looks like resistance is simply a lack of clarity. Attaining clarity can be onerous and most people don’t know where to start much less be willing to give themselves permission to take the time.

Meaning

The question is: is formulating and achieving goals important? Yes. People are meaning-seeking and achieving goals is a way of fulfilling purpose.

“What also fuels their passion for work is a larger sense of purpose or passion. Given the opportunity, people gravitate to what gives them meaning, to what engages them to the fullest commitment, talent, energy, and skills.” – Daniel Goleman

Clarity

And where do most business owners lack clarity? Most would say marketing but I think, more importantly, many lack clarity about their business as a whole.

I understand that for most, Marketing is a seemingly impenetrable quagmire but Business Owners should keep in mind that it’s only part of the picture. Although, I will admit a big part; it’s not unusual that 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of a product or service is due to “marketing”.

Marketing Analytics are becoming more and more mainstream. Google Analytics are considered a must by many but Analytics for the small business should probably encompass a wider scope than just the internet. What’s most effective? Direct mail? E-mail? Telemarketing? You need to measure it to know. Measurement can be DIY; other methods could include hiring a school intern or one of the many marketing analytic companies.

Unfortunately, things change so effective marketing strategies are not the sort of thing you measure once and go “Yeah! I’ve found the magic formula”. You have to keep experimenting and testing to understand the impact. . For example, I was surprised when I learnt that Facebook Fan pages get a lot more hits than most company websites. Does that make it more effective? I suppose that depends on whether it results in more revenue.

Other interesting tidbits:

• I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Tipping Point”, where he states that telemarketing’s effectiveness has decreased about 50% in the last 25 years. It should also be noted that’s why phone companies have been able to capitalize on offerings such as call display and call blocking.

• I keep coming across various forms of Multi-Level Marketing that are touted as the wave of future. Buyer beware: Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a network of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include network marketing, pyramid selling, and referral marketing. Critics have complained that MLM-based businesses have few representatives that make much profit which may be due to the recruitment of the general population who have little or no business training or experience. But it may also be because most people do it as a supplement to their “real” job and the necessary focus and commitment is lacking. (Reference Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing)

Does that mean we should stop going to things like Pampered Chef parties? It’s unlikely we will because as Dr. Robert Cialdini mentions in his book “Influence”: “the attraction, the warmth, the security, and the obligation of friendship are brought to bear on the sales setting. The strength of that social bond is twice as likely to determine product purchase as is preference for the product itself.” Which, I suppose, is why companies do it but it begs the question of just how far you should go to get a sale. I’d suggest if you’re all about techniques and not about value that your focus is in the wrong place. It’s been repetitively and consistently reported that companies that focus on profits do not make as much as those that are passionate about, and focus on providing, value. This also seems fairly obvious and yet so many business people can’t get beyond the siren call of profit.

To be fair, profit is crucial in the context of survival. I believe Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” applies almost as well to business (when viewed generically) as it does to the individual.

Commitment

At the end of the day, however, it’s all meaningless without commitment. There’s no moving forward or impetus for action without it. In Dr. Gail Matthew’s study, she includes weekly updates as being important and again this seems fairly obvious. This kind of accountability both forces and renews focus so you’re more likely to resolve challenges given that we all want to appear credible when we tell someone we’re going to do something. And especially if we’re reinforcing it with updates, it makes a significant difference. And if what we’re trying to accomplish has personal meaning, which also fosters commitment, then success is just that more likely again.

Thankfully this is a large part of the Value Proposition of The Alternative Board. It provides a forum to discover clarity, with respect to meaning, and fosters the commitment and accountability that Business Owner’s need to move forward and succeed.

7 Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Many of the characteristics of entrepreneurs interrelate but the following are all worthy of note.

1. Perseverance

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work - Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist

Entrepreneurs aren’t wired to give up. In fact, they so thrive on challenge that when they “succeed”; they generally don’t know what to do with themselves. Are they adrenaline junkies? Perhaps; but I think it more likely that entrepreneurs are more “committed” than most. I read an article that suggested that ongoing commitment is a lot more important than initial motivation. I think most people think commitment is a result of motivation; except you can be motivated one minute and then not so much in a relatively short period of time. Why is that? Doubt can erode even the strongest commitment. It’s important for an entrepreneur to be obstinate and confident and perhaps why so many people frequently see entrepreneurs as difficult to deal with. I remember one entrepreneur telling me that he doesn’t play well with others. To me that is the hallmark of a true entrepreneur; they can be downright willful about getting their own way.

How do you stay committed? You hold yourself accountable. It’s difficult to walk away if you see yourself as responsible even if you have doubts. You could also say that entrepreneurs are resilient and adaptable. Regardless, if you believe you’re responsible for making it happen then you do, even if you’re not very good at it ... yet.

In Chip & Dan Heath’s book, “Switch” they refer to a study that demonstrated that self control/willpower is an exhaustible resource and that what looks like laziness is actually often exhaustion. The “trick” is not to be forcing yourself. It’s only sustainable if you’re doing it because you want to.

Most people would articulate this as having a passion for what they do but what’s the difference between feeling committed versus passionate? According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi author of “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” the more we absorb ourselves in something, the greater our experience. Committed? Passionate? Ability to be in “Flow”? In the end, it probably doesn’t matter much. What matters is that people pursue the activity for the pleasure of it versus it being a means to an end. And what’s really interesting is that Csikzentmihalyi speculates that the difference is a matter of choice.

2. Clarity

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President

People who understand the benefits of planning know that the important component is that 80% of the time needs to be in insight in order to implement a change. If you want to get “unstuck”, start planning. The fact that the plan frequently doesn’t get implemented as initially envisioned is not (IMHO) particularly important. Taking the time to work out a way to move forward is.

And it’s notable that at the root of all planning there is always a well defined purpose which needs to be consistent with a person’s values. Which comes first? I don’t it think it matters much as long as they’re in sync.

Also from Chip & Dan Heath's book, “Switch” they talk about what looks like resistance often being a lack of clarity. It works because clarity erases doubt and facilitates commitment.

Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them. - Henry Steele Commager

3. Confidence

Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make - Donald Trump, real estate and entertainment mogul 

Entrepreneurs are independent which some might perceive as a desire to be in control. My personal belief is that it all goes hand-in-hand with being committed. Entrepreneurs have the confidence to stand alone. Where do they find this confidence? By doing. It’s amazing how confidence improves with practice.

4. Learning Mind Set

An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it - Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries

Another way to say this is that entrepreneurs are “failure-tolerant”. They are not sidelined by the fact that what they tried didn’t work; in their minds it means they’re just that much closer to discovering what will.

5. Proactive

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer - Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's

Entrepreneurs are energetic which again comes back to being committed. When you’re committed it’s amazing how you just want to get it done and before you know it, it is.

I think it’s important not to confuse any of this with being a work-alcoholic. Studies consistently show that productivity goes down after about 48 hours/week and if people get less than 8 hrs of sleep per night. Recently I read that productivity can be optimized (improved by 30-50%) by working in 20 minute segments that are separated by “mini” breaks to “recharge” the brain. I also saw another article that suggested the optimum working time is 90 minutes. The theme of working in segments is consistent even if the time is not. But it doesn’t mean time has to be structured into the classic 9:00 am – 5:00 pm model. Being committed means being both flexible and adaptable and doing what’s necessary to get the job done. If that means some strange hours the truly committed see that as no big deal.

6. Service Orientation

I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent - Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist

People by nature are meaning seeking and entrepreneurs seek meaning in serving their market or customers. The importance of clarity of purpose can’t be understated as it facilitates the necessary sense of commitment.

7. Courage

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover - Mark Twain, author

Many consider entrepreneurs to be risk takers but where does the courage to take those risks come from? I’d suggest both clarity of purpose and commitment. It provides the means to overcome and persevere in the face of fear.  

Life is either a great adventure or nothing. Helen Keller

In Summary

While entrepreneurs share the above characteristics, it is critical that they have a deep sense of purpose and commitment and taking the time to cultivate them is invaluable.

What are you doing to cultivate and clarify your business’ purpose?

The Importance of Identity in Business

“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” Richard R. Grant

"It matters not what a person is born, but who they choose to be." —J. K. Rowling

From Wikipedia; Brand - A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business

How does someone decide what business to be in? Or having decided what business to be in; what niche? I would suggest that before someone can decide what, they must first decide who they and their businesses are. “Who” is an essential prerequisite. For many, the question of “who” they are is done unconsciously but, as with everything else in life, the greater the clarity, the easier it is to move forward.

I recall one business owner telling how he had sold his business and subsequently discovered that the new owner didn’t treat his customers the way he thought they should be treated. He responded by starting a new, competitive business to provide a venue for the service he thought “his” customers deserved. He hadn’t anticipated that selling his business would create that problem or that he’d care as much as he did. But that’s the thing about values; they’re such a part of you that you generally take them for granted. Typically you don’t think about them but they drive your actions and especially if they’re violated. They’re a significant part of “who” and what makes up our identities.

Most consider our identities constant but the reality is they change over time. Initially we’re children and students, who graduate to adults and professionals; where our identity is largely defined by what we do and by the society we live in. Whether we are polite Canadians or astrophysicists, our identities change with time and circumstance.

As most personality assessments include “adaptive” styles; Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book: “Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion”, demonstrates this adaptability with the following example. People were asked to sign a petition to keep California beautiful. Subsequent to that, they and others that hadn’t been asked to sign the petition were asked to put up a large, obtrusive sign on their lawn with “Drive Carefully” printed on it. The result was that people were much more likely to agree to the sign after they had been asked the “identity” question of whether they’d sign the petition. The theory is that by asking the question, people identified themselves as being public-spirited and in support of that, were much more willing to do something they wouldn’t have done before. The conclusion is that by just asking an identity-clarifying question you can shift a person’s identity and actions.

Another compelling example is that people frequently become aware of “callings” at some point in their lives. It might be spiritual or professional but it marks a shift in how people think about themselves and it’s so prevalent that most of us know a number of people that have experienced it.

Interestingly, Dr. Philip Zimbardo notes that good people will do evil things because of their environment, such as abusive treatment by guards towards inmates or prisoners. He did an experiment with volunteer students where some were assigned as prisoners and others guards. He ended up terminating the experiment to avoid what he believed would result in inevitable physical violence. It was only an experiment and the participants knew it but it didn’t stop them from assuming the roles assigned to them and behaving in ways that they wouldn’t have otherwise entertained. I think this demonstrates just how transient identities can be and possibly why thespians can seem so believable.

This concept of changing the environment to change behaviour is also noted in Chip & Dan Heath’s book, “Switch” with Attila the Accountant who was a stickler for procedure and rejected any expense report that missed any detail. But when he spent some time at his clients Not For Profit businesses where they were severely overworked and understaffed he modified his behaviour dramatically. He became fanatical about getting them their money so they wouldn’t face any shortages or delays as he had a new understanding about just how tight their budgets were. This example raises the question: did he simply change his behaviour or did he change his values? I think you could argue that he “valued” the altruism inherent in his client’s business and changed his behaviours to support it. You could also argue that he came to value exactness less and expediency more but maybe they weren’t his “core” values” and hence why he was so willing to change.

I think we’re all a result of our circumstances and environment and when they change so do we. And while I think it’s important not to confuse behaviours with values (Jim Collins warns of this) I still feel values can and do change over time. Case in point, one day some one decides that the pursuit of power is no longer important to them, which for a lot of people coincides with retirement. In this instance, circumstance is powerful and leads to a profound change.

The irksome question is what role does choice play given the apparent high level of predictability of our reactions. I certainly like to believe choice is important. Still we’re limited by our strengths and aptitudes. Some will have an affinity for the physical which might foster being competitive as with a Tennis or Golf Pro while the more academically inclined may value learning more. So choice comes into it but it’s strongly influenced by personal strengths and circumstance.

So we’re adaptable but unfortunately, not always in a good way. But are businesses??? Pundits like Jim Collins say you need to preserve the core ideology (values & purpose) and change the rest. Between writing, “Built to Last” and “Good to Great” he changed his mind about the importance of Leadership, so perhaps, he’ll change his mind about the constancy of values. Jim Collins also suggests that you need to eject people like a virus, if they’re the wrong ones. And while I don’t believe he was very clear about what constitutes the “right” people, I think you could define it as the people that share the company’s values and have the aptitude to achieve the desired outcomes. A business’s values are shaped by its employees and if the employees change, so does the business’s values and culture. The question is: should an organization be shaped with intent from the beginning, i.e., should the criteria for hiring include values?

Jim Collins also asserts that a CEO’s core values should not be confused with the organizations core values. They’re different because the organization has a culture independent of any leader whether they like it or not.

Changing culture is understood by companies like IBM where they’ve made it a point to re-shape the company by bringing in new blood. It was a criterion for their survival. Now instead of being about “Business Machines” they’re about providing innovative business solutions. And maybe IBM will never again achieve their previous glory but you have to give them credit for re-inventing themselves.

When it comes to choosing people everyone wants the equivalent of Wayne Gretzky on their team but the reality is that superstars like Wayne pick and choose who they wish to be aligned with because they can, i.e., they qualify their employers based on their values. Hopefully, any fit works both ways but the chances of stacking the deck with all superstars is unlikely. And there’s really little point in hiring a Wayne Gretzky to play basketball so aptitude is clearly an important criterion relative to suiting the needs of the business. And it’s not all about aptitude - the systems in a business can make a huge difference. Whoever it was that came up with the McDonald’s “system” was obviously very talented (or lucky) but McDonald’s doesn’t need superstars to work in restaurants flipping burgers. In fact, it’d likely be counter productive. Although, I would say they need people that can interpret what people want and achieve a level of customer service that encourages people to want to do business with them. The bottom line is talent needs to be applied strategically, and where it matters.

Small business owners typically want to hire using networking because it provides some comfort around shared values and aptitude but it’s not particularly efficient. Obviously reaching out to a bigger pool is more likely to “net” better prospects but because most business owners aren’t great at qualifying people they avoid doing so. Hiring a HR professional to develop criteria for screening can help.

In the end you can be purposeful about the people and matching their values with the business’s or you can leave it up to chance. Which do you think will work better?

In summary:

• What people “value” will and can be changed
• Values shape culture. Culture shapes identity
• Aptitude influences identity
• Aptitude/talent should fit the business
• Aptitude/talent should be leveraged strategically
• Be purposeful about building the “right” organization

The Great Management by Numbers Debate - Putting Metrics in their Place

"You get what you measure. Measure the wrong thing and you get the wrong behaviors." - John H. Lingle

 "Perhaps what you measure is what you get. More likely, what you measure is all you’ll get. What you don’t (or can’t) measure is lost" - H. Thomas Johnson

 I think the above two quotes really sum up the “management by numbers” debate well in that metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) will drive behaviour but not necessarily the ones you want or the ones that will help sustain your business.

Complexity

The way complex systems interact is often difficult to understand and can be the bane of business. When we don’t understand something we create hypotheses. And when those hypotheses prove to be correct it’s a wondrous thing. Where it gets tricky is when it can’t be or isn’t proven, and the varying opinions become the basis for non-productive conflict or delusion.

There are a couple of ways to react to this. One: You can accept that things are too complex to understand and give up. The problem with that approach is that it’s not productive. Two: You can try to make improvements and to understand what’s going on despite the complexity. I’m a big proponent of putting in effort to improve despite the fact that you may fail. You will at least have been proactive and the odds are, if you do it enough, you’ll at least improve and potentially succeed. The question I struggle with is how many times should you try and at what point should you give up? Obviously you’ll stop when your resources run out but is that the “best” time?

Metrics

I can think of lots of examples where metrics failed. Where specifications were set and met and yet there were problems. One case was a Tier 2 supplier who wanted to maximize their profits and really didn’t understand the application. Their cost cutting measure still met the specifications but not the intended purpose of use, resulting in premature failures. The resulting warranty costs definitely outweighed any cost savings not to mention the cost of damage to everyone’s reputation.

It’s possible that they didn’t care about potentially negative consequences but I seriously doubt it given how poorly it reflected on their competence and credibility. It also reflected badly on the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and Tier 1 supplier since it could be argued that the specification was inadequate.

There are ways to approach complexity to develop understanding but it’s helpful to put metrics into context first.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

Source Merriam Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com

• Key – 3 key adj Definition of KEY: important, fundamental
• Performance - noun 4b: the manner in which a mechanism performs
• Indicator – noun 1b: gauge. Example of INDICATOR: Economic indicators suggest that prices will go up.

In business, the term “Key Performance Indicator’s” provides a better context than “metrics”. Metrics shouldn’t be the-end all, be-all; they’re simply indicators of performance although they should be key ones. For example, as the dashboards in our vehicles demonstrate we need gas in order to drive but we don’t want to confuse the requirement for gas with the purpose of getting us to a destination. Fuel level is a key indicator for vehicle operation but it becomes irrelevant if we decide to use some other method of travel.

Driving Behaviour

Temple Grandin is a fascinating person and author. She’s autistic and has a Doctorate in Animal Science. She’s very passionate about the humane treatment of animals and has developed processes and methods to get cattle (and other animals) to calmly go to slaughter. Her challenge was on the human end; despite significant effort, slaughter house personnel kept relapsing back to old habits of using cattle prods, etc. Undaunted, in typical Temple style, she decided that if she could figure out how to get cattle to quietly go to slaughter, then she could figure out how to get humans to co-operate too. What she discovered was that auditing worked, i.e. when the desired behaviours were measured, they were maintained.

Similarly, providing bio-feedback can lead to amazing changes. Measuring also works effectively in other contexts too although you could certainly argue that it doesn’t always work given America’s struggle with obesity and obsession with weight loss. Clearly some things are harder to change than others. In the context of business however, we rely on metrics to drive quality improvements. Unfortunately, problems can arise in how we tend to think of “measure”. For example, I like the Hauser & Katz saying that, “Being vaguely right is better than being precisely wrong”.1 Their assertion is that measuring something precisely or easily isn’t as important as what you measure. What matters is that the measurement be pertinent. Things like culture, identity and emotion can have a big impact in business and yet it’s unlikely you’ll be able to precisely measure it, although, you might be able to differentiate between a supportive or non- supportive culture.

Other Considerations

I think it’s interesting that in Chip & Dan Heath’s book, “Switch” they don’t mention “metrics” as a change mechanism. Instead they talk about concepts like following the bright spots which I think of as leveraging benchmarks or figuring out how to apply what’s worked previously in new areas.

Their analogy reminded me of Six Sigma and Shainin techniques as the process is similar. Identify the issue, develop a hypothesis on the root cause, prove the root cause using paired comparisons, etc. Then develop strategies to repeat the desired outcome and minimize the variation. Notice that it takes time, analysis and perseverance. These types of improvements are responsible for the great quality we see in automotive vehicles these days but it’s not cheap and maybe that’s the rub. Understanding the complexity is difficult and resolving things that are difficult is typically expensive - but it can be done. Unfortunately, hiring a Six Sigma Engineer may be out reach of many small businesses but there are alternatives. (I recommend reading, “Switch”, to get some good ideas.)

Another thing to consider is that there are frequently conflicting perspectives; and it’s about striking an appropriate balance or finding the sweet spots. My favourite example is balancing between the cost of production and design optimization. It’s always nice to over-deliver but there’s little point in producing a Taj Mahal when a cottage will do, especially if you’re on a limited budget. Using targets to support an appropriate “balance” can help with understanding of what makes sense and can assist in providing context and perspective.

The Heath brothers also make the point that there are times when you don’t want to use measurement because people (being the lemmings we are) will follow the social proof or in their words: they’ll “follow the herd” or whatever the majority are doing. That is, you don’t want to show or reinforce what the majority are doing if it’s the wrong thing.

Metrics prove change. But what comes first: the chicken or egg? You can argue that the methods used to change behaviour can also be used to achieve the metrics. Regardless, you need to be working towards a purpose so if what you were doing isn’t working then you need to change and verify it achieved a positive outcome.

The bottom line? Don’t waste your time (and money) measuring something because it’s easy. Measure it because it supports the purpose of the business and remember, as is the case with vehicle dashboards: “metrics” (in this instance a fuel gauge) can have little to do with the purpose of getting to a destination and yet still be very useful in ensuring the “success” of the journey.

1 From: Metrics: You Are What You Measure! by John R. Hauser (MIT Prof) and Gerald M. Katz (Executive Vice President, Applied Marketing Science, Inc also went to MIT)

April 1998
http://www.mit.edu/~hauser/Papers/Hauser-Katz%20Measure%2004-98.pdf

 

Muses

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muse
3 Muse noun: Definition of Muse: 2: a source of inspiration; especially: a guiding genius

Finding Inspiration

Muses come around unexpectedly but when you discover one you know it.

I belong to a LinkedIn discussion group called: “Ted: Ideas Worth Sharing”. One of the many topics generating what appears to be never-ending traffic is whether Wikileaks is good or bad. I made one of my rare comments - that not all whistle-blowing is good; that sometimes it can have detrimental effects. (That is not to say that whistle-blowing can’t provide positive impetus because it can.) Geoffrey Morton-Haworth noticed my comment and decided that it merited an off- line e-mail. He’s developed an application/program called Yala and thought I might be a good candidate for it. He had obviously scrutinized my LinkedIn profile and decided it was likely that we shared some common interests, and he wasn’t wrong. I was happy to follow up the e-mails with a phone meeting because I was intrigued. Not only is Geoffrey highly intelligent (he has a Masters in Management from MIT) but as his posts on Wikileaks would indicate, he’s also insightful.

In our phone meeting we talked about Yala - how and why he came to develop it; what it does and how it works. What I learned is that Yala is an application/program that provides a framework/forum for insight. (Reference http://www.yalaworld.net ) The premise is that insight naturally and organically leads to innovation and adaption; that open sharing requires the establishment of trust because as a species we’re a suspicious bunch and have a strong propensity to shoot the messenger, bicker and criticize. We also discussed the fact that people have a hard time giving themselves permission to take the time to be insightful because they don’t understand the value. (In order to implement change typically 80% of the time spent needs to be in discovery or insight.) All in all, it was a very enlightening conversation. Geoffrey acted as a muse for me which ironically led me to the conclusion that both he and I are in the business of providing muse forums for others.

Good Listening leads to Hearing Better Stories

Geoffrey and Yala was a particularly unique, wonderful and rich find for me. Yala is a complex mosaic with an alluring premise and Geoffrey himself is like an artist and sage to the extent that you feel you’ll never be able to absorb all he has to offer. And yet, I’d never known that if I hadn’t explored it. I’ve found listening to people’s stories richly rewarding; that I learn the most amazing things. I’ve found, to my great pleasure, that all I have to do is be curious, and ask a few questions.

I remember apologizing during my coaching training when I was being coached by a mentor coach that the conversation was so one-sided and completely focused on me – the coachee. Of course that’s the point, a coach is there to help the coachee accept their current circumstance and adapt in a positive way so it is, by definition, a one-sided conversation. The coach is essentially a tool to help the coachee move forward and can be an amazingly effective way of getting people “unstuck”. There’s a powerful learning component (insight) that drives the coachee to proverbial “aha” moments. What was interesting was my mentor coach’s response, which went something like this: “It’s not one-sided. I’m learning too and get lots of insights from you.” At the time I doubted that I had any pearls of wisdom that she might find useful but no longer. I can absolutely attest to benefiting, learning and finding inspiration during coaching and it is one of the reasons I love it so much. Allow yourself the luxury of listening because not only is it enjoyable, it has the added benefit of facilitating learning and insight.

Nurturing Trust leads to Hearing Better Stories

So given the rich opportunity in listening, how do you get people to tell you their stories? You can “open the door and invite them in” by being genuinely curious and interested. You need to presume it’ll be worthwhile because you have no idea of what you’re going to hear or where it’ll go. You need to establish and maintain trust. Simply listen - like you do when you read a book. Provide no negative feedback that might shut a narrator down. Don’t interrupt with negative judgments, or criticisms. Just follow the story. Trust is a funny thing in that it takes little encouragement to establish and maintain but once it’s been betrayed it’s really difficult to re-establish. Actions speak louder than words and maintaining trust means providing and nurturing a supportive environment.

The caveat is that, of course, we don’t all have the time or energy to listen to every story and need to be discriminating in our choices. But don’t limit your enjoyment by pre-judging the worth or ‘skimming through the pages’. ‘Read’ it slowly. Savour everything the story has to offer; experience (live vicariously) the highs and lows. Understand that the more closely you listen the more you will see and the more interesting it will be.

Good Stories

A good story is always compelling and that is why it has been effectively used throughout history to facilitate learning. It can also be limited to simple entertainment as it is with most modern day fiction. But I think one of the reasons it works as a learning tool is that it can provide a compelling and impersonal way of reframing. It gives the audience an example to follow while not tainting the process with a relationship that inevitably will have some baggage.

Case in point: best-selling author/journalist Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, What the Dog Saw, etc…) credits his success to telling non-fiction stories and if you’ve read any of his books and articles you’ll know what he means. They are compelling and thought provoking. So much so, that you find yourself retelling them. Like (from “Outliers”) how the probability of making it in the NHL is related to being born in the first quarter of the year. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve told that to. Why? Because it’s interesting.

20% Rule for Nurturing Innovation

Whether it be just coaching or The Alternative Board (which includes coaching and peer advisory) or Yala: all are ways of facilitating insight and adaption. The challenge is in getting people to understand and value the benefits of having muses and giving themselves permission (i.e. invest the time) to seek them out. I believe this comes down to valuing innovation and having the insight to cultivate it. 3M so values innovation that it allows its employees 20% of their time to pursue projects of their own choosing as does Google. A business culture needs to support and nurture that type of exploration in a way that is consistent with the overall culture. If an organization is efficiency- and control-focused, then they’re not likely to support people pursuing their own agendas 20% of the time. There also needs to be a high level of trust. For example, one day a week for a person to pursue their own agenda doesn’t mean a day off. There has to be a passion for the pursuit of knowledge and a forum for fostering the type of creativity and learning that comes with supportive interaction and discovery.

It’s no secret that in order for businesses to survive they need to innovate and adapt on an ongoing basis. And yet if this is understood then why do so many businesses fail? Who doesn’t need to figure out how to improve things? But just because I say (or Geoffrey says) I can provide a forum for learning and innovation doesn’t prove it. There is always the need to establish and sustain trust. So how does one develop the confidence to try forums like The Alternative Board or Yala? My suggestion is you won’t know if it’s worth it unless you try it. Experimentation always results in learning what does or doesn’t work but also involves risk. Everything new is risky given its untried but obviously can have a payoff. Can you afford not to experiment in your business?

And for some people I suspect it’s simply a matter of being ready. If you’re not happy with their current condition but don’t know what to do about it, one of two things will happen. You’ll get so frustrated that eventually you’ll give up (a.k.a. ‘burnout’) or you’ll discover a way to become ‘unstuck’ and proceed forward. And what’s wrong with having support to do that?

If a MIT grad thinks he can benefit from fostering insight, then maybe others should too? And the fact that’s he’s figured out how to do it online? How cool is that?

4 Things You Should Know About Customer Satisfaction

From Wikipedia:
According to Jamier L. Scott. (2002), “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation."

From "Star Trek: The Next Generation: Relics (#6.4)" (1992)

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Look, Mr. Scott, I'd love to explain everything to you, but the Captain wants this spectrographic analysis done by 1300 hours.
[La Forge goes back to work; Scotty follows slowly]

Scotty: Do you mind a little advice? Starfleet captains are like children. They want everything right now and they want it their way. But the secret is to give them only what they need, not what they want.

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Yeah, well, I told the Captain I'd have this analysis done in an hour.

Scotty: How long will it really take?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: An hour!

Scotty: Oh, you didn't tell him how long it would *really* take, did ya?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Well, of course I did.

Scotty: Oh, laddie. You've got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.


The concept of under-promising and over-delivering isn’t new; and while we’d all like to be considered miracle workers by our customers and clients, it’s pretty unlikely that we will. Why is that? It’s mainly because it’s hard to be a miracle worker when you don’t have any magic powers. The onus is on us, i.e. as business owners, to develop and manage expectations based on what we can reasonably provide. Because most customers know what they want – based on their ever-evolving experiences - and can get pretty upset when their expectations are not met.

1. Expectations can change.

I remember the first time I encountered a pay-first gas station. It was in Michigan and I was mutely livid (there was no one handy to rant at) that I should have to deal with such a ridiculous condition and vowed never to return. Unfortunately, virtually every other gas station known to man followed suit shortly thereafter. My reaction at the second encounter was, “Oh, so this is how it’s going to be. This is the new norm.” I wasn’t angry, I was resigned. My expectations had changed, at least when it came to fuelling up at gas stations.

2. Policies don’t produce customer satisfaction

And while we all have our favourite customer satisfaction horror stories, one of the most famous was back in July of 2009 when Dave Carroll uploaded his United Breaks Guitar Video to YouTube. It quickly went ‘viral’ (9.7 million hits and counting) and began one of the most effective social media campaigns ever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo For those of you that haven’t seen the videos (there are several), Dave Carroll is a musician that was travelling to a gig and United Airlines broke his guitar during transit. Initially, they refused to offer any compensation but once Dave’s video garnered national media attention, they relented. Dave was compensated for his guitar (almost two years after the fact), and United has changed their policies and procedures thanks to Dave’s genius.

We all know that the squeaky wheel gets the oil but not all the time and frequently not right away. It has to drive us crazy first. What’s interesting is that most businesses have a ton of policies in place to try and dictate customer relations. Instead of enabling people on the front lines to make decisions, it’s generally someone from the back office dictating “policy”. To be fair, in most cases they’re the ones that understand the” big picture” but that doesn’t negate the fact that there are always exceptions to every rule. Businesses are generally predictable in how they react and one could argue they have actually conditioned customers to complain. It’s their policy.

3. Make your customers feel special

So how does a business owner effectively achieve great customer satisfaction while managing customer expectations? The simple answer is to understand and exceed those expectations. You make your customers feel special and there are some really simple and effective ways to do that. The most common and obvious is to address the customer by name. Most people love to hear the sound of their own name (it is more personalized and makes the person feel recognized and important). The first person to think of it probably made a huge impression. In today’s world, where CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems are standard, most people standing in front of a service representative with a computer can be expected to be addressed by their first names. But at the end of the day, it’s still that little something extra. Although, I must admit I find it vaguely annoying when I’ve literally never met the person before and they repeatedly call me by name. Personally, I find it a little too familiar.

For small business owners, the most common method to deliver customer satisfaction is to give a lot of time and attention to their customers. It’s a great strategy when you have time but not sustainable as a company grows and gets busier. There are only so many hours in a day and the busier it gets the less time that can be spent on an individual.

The caveat is that if you built your business based on the time and attention given to your customers and it’s why they do business with you - you need to be careful about how you proceed. Changing or fine- tuning how you offer your product or service can work. Businesses do it all the time. In fact, it can be argued that it’s necessary and that if you don’t, you will be left behind. But you need to clearly identify and understand your customer’s needs and then provide a solution that resonates with them even though the “solution” may vary.

4. It’s all in your perspective.

Here’s my favourite customer satisfaction story. When I was taking my coaching training in Toronto, I would stop at a Tim Hortons near Bloor & Yonge for my morning tea and bagel. An apparently homeless, long haired, middle- aged Ted Nugent look-alike would open the door for me, smile and cheerily say good morning. The first time it happened, I was taken aback and wondered why the Tim Horton’s allowed him to play the part of ‘greeter’. But it didn’t take long for me to start giving him loonies and I doubt I was the only one. I often wanted to ask him about his ‘methodology’ (and life story) but of course I never did. In hindsight, I think his ‘methodology’ was as simple as it was obvious: he did it because it worked. He was consistently respectful and kind and appeared to expect nothing but would graciously accept whatever money was offered. In fact, the first time I gave him a loonie he seemed surprised. And if I didn’t offer him a loonie on a particular day, he didn’t seem to care. It was fascinating! Here was a man who was completely focused on “his customers” to the point of appearing completely selfless. And even though he was apparently homeless and I suspect suffering both physically and mentally, he was still able to consistently treat people with graciousness. It was impressive.

As customers, often we feel ignored or invisible or worse. As a business owner, I know it’s hard to be up all the time but if a down- and- out, homeless man can do it – then the rest of us should be able to follow his fine example.

The Mystery of Marketing

Navigating the deep, murky waters of marketing can be intimidating for small business owners because the majority of them don’t know where to start. Coming up with a winning marketing method/formula is difficult. And help, in the context of a Marketing Agency, can be expensive. The reality is that most small business owners can’t afford to hire a marketing agency. So how do you get the attention of potential customers?

Marketing pundit Seth Godin, advocates the merits of being “remarkable”, i.e. being unique enough to be able to get noticed through the “noise” (noise being what all the other businesses are doing to vie for attention). It reminds me of the cliché stockbroker scene where the brokers are all running around trying to out scream each other: literal pandemonium. It is little wonder that the average consumer just wants to shut out the noise.

The possibility of a marketing “home run” is possible but it seems like winning the lottery versus good management (which I suppose is always true of the truly accomplished; they make the difficult look magically easy). There is also the ongoing threat from the competition – in their attempt to get noticed, they will try for “bigger and better”; endlessly tweaking their marketing strategies in the attempt to optimize their competitive edge. So what’s a small business owner to do?

Here are my observations concerning marketing and small business owners:

Unpopular:

1. Newspaper advertising – There is a minority of small business owners who do this regularly; most often they’re food franchises. I believe the rationale is that you can’t let yourself (i.e. your company) get left behind given that everyone else is doing it. There’s generally nothing “remarkable” or “unique” about it except maybe the sheer repetition of your message to the market. The general consensus from most small business owners is that newspaper advertising doesn’t pay back. This perspective is short term but that’s all some businesses can afford to consider.

2. The Yellow Pages – Most business owners will tell you it’s not worth the cost. For the few that I found still advertising in it, most were “in trouble”. Is there a connection? Maybe; I run across a lot of businesses that are in trouble. Given the numbers that “fail” maybe it’s no surprise.

3. Video – I met a business owner that said he spent $ 70,000 in a year on advertising using video at a local venue. It focused on his target market and he confidently asserted that it paid back. Most people won’t consider it. (Pundits say web video is on the rise in terms of importance.) Unfortunately, most business owners feel they can’t afford “professionally” done video and most of them are right. I don’t think a bad web video helps anyone and I’ve seen some pretty bad web videos. Why would anyone include mute people standing there unmoving, looking stiff, unnatural and uncomfortable???? I don’t believe that helps anyone’s credibility.

Most Common:

1. Word of Mouth (WOM) – I’ve only run across one small business owner who didn’t credit his success to ”word of mouth” which is really about the ability to develop and spread relationships. It’s a marketing strategy that is typically slow to yield results but is almost always effective. I suspect those that excel at customer service find it the most rewarding in terms of results. However, I also suspect it can be limiting/restricting because there’s little impetus to explore what works better. The question is: are you reaching your potential? My opinion is most companies aren’t.

2. Location, Location, Location – My observation is the importance of location correlates inversely with the amount of differentiation. It is most important for retailers who sell commodities where there’s little to no differentiation. It’s somewhat less important for businesses driven by referral (WOM) such as health providers, Spa’s, Salons, Lawyers, and Accountants. Although with these businesses, location can be a method of differentiation. I know a business that’s located close a Go Station where most of their clients are commuters. It’s very high traffic and IMHO, a very smart location choice. The primary benefit in this case is increased traffic but there can be other considerations: proximity to suppliers and/or customers to save on travel and shipping/delivery costs. Logistical efficiency can be important, but it’s more important to attract sales and high traffic is a great way to do it. For specialty businesses such as an artist, location is less important (because their product offering is highly differentiated) and the same can be said for manufacturers who have a limited customer base. The more unique the offering, the further people will go to obtain it. Location is also important for on-line businesses but the context is different. The challenge is not their physical but “on-line” location, and they also have the issue of getting noticed through the “noise”. It is common knowledge that the virtual world is gaining in importance and that it is important to be represented in that context. The problem is that it can be a literal quagmire of options; many of which aren’t well understood. As an example, most businesses are intimidated by security and well they should be. I don’t know of an IT person who isn’t concerned about security (to the extent that they opt out of online social media) which is pretty compelling evidence that the rest of us should be concerned too. Unfortunately, I believe this is one of those things where being a late adapter can be dangerous/harmful but the challenge is in knowing how to make it work effectively and safely. There are lots of companies that feel spending money on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a waste of time. And I’d agree for those that are still getting lost in the noise regardless of their SEO investment. The challenge, as always, is how to get noticed but just because someone doesn’t know how to do it doesn’t mean there isn’t opportunity.

Differentiation – The most frequent response I hear to the question of: “How do you differentiate?” is customer service and speed. The problem is that almost every company claims superiour service and speed. I have no doubt of its critical importance given the poor survival rate of those who don’t do it well but believe doing it well is a prerequisite and thus rarely a true differentiator. A problematic question for most businesses is: How do you uniquely answer your customer’s needs or what is your unique value proposition or Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? Most business owner’s have a hard time answering this question but the sooner and the better they can answer it, the sooner and better they can leverage it. And magic can happen if a company understands it well enough that they can effectively measure customer response to their USP.

Think of it this way: do you want a customer to have to find you in a “crowd” (also defined as “noise”) or would you prefer to stand out so that it is easier to find you?

The Opportunity

Marketing is a very big subject and blogs are small but the one thing most people will agree on is that sales are about relationships. Does marketing include sales? Most would say it does. So why not keep it in perspective? If it helps sales, then it’s worthy of your attention. And if you don’t know exactly how much something impacts sales then: find a way to measure it. What doesn’t make the cut is noise and we could all do with a lot less noise.