Progress in pain – the Barca way!

“It will not affect us because our ambition and desire to win is bigger than any obstacle that can be put before us.”
Sergi Busquets commenting on Barcelona’s imminent travel plans to the Champion League semi final.

A comment worth highlighting.

Is your desire to build a world class company or career stronger than the current obstacles that appear to be in your way?

Do you possess a true entrepreneurial mind that allows you to transcend market conditions?

Do you believe that the only true obstacle on your path is yourself?

Is your focus on inventing the future rather than paying homage to “reality” as declared by the idle majority?

Is inconvenience a cue to throw in the towel or a catalyst for personal growth?

Thoughts to ponder

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Jobseekers – 10 tips to getting that job

This post was motivated by yet another TV programme “Frontline” that managed to add to the general despair and hopelessness that currently exists in the environment.
The reality is there is hope – the world is a small place and people have opportunities to get that job or create one.
The reality is also in the absence of political leadership, we need the media to be presenting pictures of possibility not just continuing to be prophets of doom and gloom.
So what can jobseekers do today to enhance their efforts to finding or creating a job – take 10!
1. Take responsibility – invest in the blame game and dilute the focus and energy required for getting that job – yes we have a complete absence of political leadership – yes we have a media that feeds off doom and gloom – nothing else but they cannot change your life – only you can choose that reality.

2. Realise that all is not lost – the majority of people cannot answer the following question at an interview “why do you want the job?” Mastery at this question will put you in the top ten per cent.

3. Go for a job in your industry of choice – don’t just go for any job energetically interviewers will know that you don’t really want it, and will wait for someone who truly does. Be prepared to work at a junior level to follow your dream – it is easier getting up the ladder than in the door.

4. Build a compelling book of evidence that will prove you truly want the job this should include highlighting past experience and Web presence on the topic.

5. Become an expert in your area – follow the 10,000 hour rule invest three hours a day on researching your passion – open your mind to creating not just finding a job.

6. Leverage power of the net to develop expert status -set up google alerts on your topics of interest- develop your own virtual research team for free.

7. Imagine attending an interview with expert status in your field – opens up subcontract possibilities – at minimum you have differentiated yourself from the competition.

8. Develop interpersonal skills simply open your eyes and be led by interviewer’s body language not your notes – awareness is key – if they are asleep they are asleep! So change strategy or choose to travel the insanity loop where you keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
9. Too often interviewers recruit those that mirror their own inadequacies or brilliance -so talent doesn’t always win the day. Be aware and mirror where they are at.

10. Have faith -true talent will always find a way.

Ten more tips to follow in due course.

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Quote of the week

“I strongly believe that you can’t win in the marketplace unless you win first in the workplace.”
Doug Conant CEO Campbells

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From the brilliant to the ridiculous!

To gain that competitive edge you need to be able to make customers experience memorable for all the right reasons of course.

Last week, I keynoted at an event in New York in the Hotel Jumeriah. When I was booking in, the customer service attendant presented me with a hot towel – just the pick me up after a long transatlantic flight.
Different – definitely; memorable and clearly a great promotional tool for the hotel! (I have blogged and tweeted about what could be described as a great example at how to exceptionalise a moment of truth with your customer.)

Have you spent time thinking about how you could exceptionalise your service?

Clearly the following case study is an example of a company who clearly haven’t even grasped what customer service means!

Just recently my father who still runs a small shop and petrol station asked me to follow up on difficulties he was having with some key deliveries.

In summary, he had been waiting on a significant credit to his account for some months now.

The customer service attendant conceded a refund was the appropriate outcome but didn’t have the power to effect change.

Her direct line manager accepted my father’s account should have been credited, but she hadn’t the power to make the necessary corrective action either! She had referred the account with recommendation up the line. That was August 2009 – two weeks ago my Dad’s account was suspended, the credit still hadn’t been sorted out!

On his instruction, I contacted the company again.

The manager was out on holidays so no one could try to fix the problem in the short term as they had no power. One new customer service attendant had no record of the ongoing communication that was happening between us and this organisation!

Also there was no interaction between accounts and customer service so regardless of what discussions were taking place with customer service, accounts wouldn’t change their position on overdue amounts.

And finally from the bizarre to the ridiculous! On my last call after another frustrating encounter, I hung up the line and decided to call my Dad. When I lifted the receiver, I noticed that the line was still live to this company. It turns out the attendant had failed to disconnect the line! I listened to a long conversation in which, I was branded as a liar as the girl had no email record of past conversations, she wondered who would speak to me the following day as I was demanding action, and she mused whether or not she was suitable for customer service to her colleagues!

So what was happening in this organisation?

Customer service reps and managers with no power to make any type of decision at source – a recipe for PR disaster. ( To put it in context we are talking about an amount of a few hundred euros – very little compared to the brand damage incurred.)
A policy of hoping the problem will go away.
No deadlines on action.
No transparency on accountability.
Bottom line – probably the worse example of poor customer service that I have ever experienced.

It made me realise that to assume that everybody still grasps the need for exceptional customer service in challenging times is a major oversight.
This organisation needed more than a motivational speaker!

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Leadership Wisdom

Five practices of Exemplary Leadership

1. Model the behaviour you expect from other people.

2. Inspire others to share your vision and dreams.

3. Challenge the process by experimenting and taking risks.

4. Help others act by fostering collaboration and building trust.

5. Encourage the hearts of your people to carry on.

Source The Leadership Challenge – James M Kouzes and Barry Z Posner

Great advice – easy to understand, challenging to integrate.

Favourite line – “you are the most important leader in the organisation.”

Successful companies have leaders at all levels thus the relevance of this simple sentence cannot be underestimated.

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