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Month: April 2018

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Leadership Operations Personal Development Sales

Respect your Customers’ Time: Resolve Customer Service Complaints Quickly

Did you ever stop to think about how much time people spend on the phone making calls to complain about bad customer service?

An article in The Street pointed out that, on average, adults in the U.S. spend about 364 minutes every year placing calls to report complaints, waiting and hoping to talk to someone who will make things right. In other words, if you are one of the “average people,” you spend about six and a half hours each year on the phone. In six years’ time you lose almost an entire work week, and over 25 years, an entire month of your life will be dedicated to complaining about bad customer service. Much of that time will likely be spent “on hold” (which could in itself be considered bad customer service).

The author of the article, Brian O’Connell, used data from Populus Research and Kana Software, which refer to the “complaint wait” as the “hidden price of doing business.” Here are some other interesting facts that the study produced:

  • More than 70 percent of consumers in the U.S. have taken the time to voice a customer service complaint in the last three years. The average time spent to lodge a complaint was one hour and four minutes – for just one complaint!
  • In most cases, actually getting problem resolution didn’t just happen in one attempt. Sixty-nine percent of consumers had to repeat their complaint, and on average, it took three attempts to get a problem resolved.
  • Thirty-nine percent of complaints were made by phone call, and 33 percent via e-mail.
  • Despite its growing popularity, social media – such as Facebook, Twitter and Yelp – was the channel for only 7 percent of the complaints.

Personally, I expected the number of social media complaints to be higher. Other surveys show that more consumers are turning to social media to air customer service grievances. Even at 7 percent, however, complaints via social media have to be taken very seriously as they are visible not only to the company receiving the complaint, but also to the customer’s friends and followers, and in some cases (such as Yelp) to the public. Even if the overall percentage is low, customer service complaints via social media are definitely on the rise as consumers realize its effectiveness and companies’ desire to maintain a positive image.

This article should be a wake-up call to all types of businesses, especially those that market to the general consumer. It’s surprising to learn just how much time is spent on the phone dealing with customer service issues. Time is a precious commodity, and if you “steal” it from a customer, you are showing a tremendous amount of disrespect.

Customers have limited time and can’t afford to waste it with repeated calls or long waits on the phone. If you don’t have respect for their time, it won’t be long before they decide to find another company with better service and faster resolution when a problem does occur. Be smart. Respect your customers’ time and always fix problems quickly … and with the right attitude!

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Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

2 Blind Spots Leaders Often Have Regarding Performance Discussions

Have you ever watched a movie where the hero is being chased by predators through the woods? He quickly arrives at a cliff screeching to a halt and nearly falling off into a river far below. He now has a choice, stay to face the predators, which will likely kill him, or take a chance and jump into the river below risking possible severe injury or even death. He reacts and jumps.

In my opinion, this describes the decision many major organizations made when they made major changes to their performance management processes. They were being chased by the poor results of the typical appraisal. These include significant wasted time, complaints by employees (especially millennials) about the quality and frequency of feedback, and the lack of quality skill developmental discussions.

Many of the employees (especially millennials) who are unsatisfied with the typical appraisal process claim the feedback is poor and doesn’t help focus on developmental needs. As high as 65% say it is not relevant to their job  (Meinert, 2015). Only 8% believed their performance management systems made a significant positive contribution in employee performance (David Rock, 2013).  These Performance management “predators” are real.  Even so, reacting and jumping into a “river” you don’t really understand, is not necessarily the best option.  When you have blind spots, you only see the jumping option.

Accenture, GE, Microsoft, Adobe and Deloitte and several others reacted and jumped. Some went into the “river of software” where the hope was to spend less time and remove much of the paperwork angst. Some jumped into the “river of more frequent check-ins” to avoid the annual conversations which managers dread, which waste time, and that upset employees.

Although Accenture, GE, Microsoft, Adobe and Deloitte have “jumped” why are their employees/executives still unsatisfied? There are two reasons in the form of two blind spots.  The first is the lack of appreciation for a system. The is the “appreciation for a system blind spot”. The second is the idea that a manager is the key person who must provide feedback. This the “omniscient manager” blind spot.

Blind Spot #1: Appreciation for a system

Organizations are social systems with interdependent parts. One of the main reasons the typical appraisal process fails to gain support and creates frustration is because it is inconsistent with systems thinking. Systems thinking is a sophisticated way of thinking about performance.  Results are more dependent on the design and functioning of the system than on the actions and decisions of the individual performer.  Yet, most organizations (even those who jumped into one of the rivers) still insist managers provide consistent and frequent feedback to individuals.

In a social system, the focus needs to be on improving the quality of the interactions between the people and avoid evaluating and/or criticizing the individuals.  Any attempt to evaluate and/or measure the performance of the individuals ignores the influence of the system on those individuals and ignores the opportunity to improve the interactions.

The individuals work in the system.  Leaders are responsible for designing and/or working on the system.  If leaders design the system and the system influences individual performance, evaluating individuals is unsophisticated at best and malpractice at worst.  It’s a blind spot.

Blind Spot #2: The Omniscient Manager

Why do organizations continue to insist that managers deliver the frequent feedback? This idea is a holdover from the hierarchical view of organizations. Instead, why not design a performance management process that provides opportunities for everyone to learn from everyone? Why not allow everyone to innovate their service and performance to improve the quality and speed of the system interactions? Why not make it about “internal” customers?

A manager cannot possibly know enough to help employees with all their interactions. The employees’ “internal” customers will know much more about the performance and will know more useful information. The typical performance management approach is based on the false belief that managers must be omniscient and omnipotent simply because they have the big title and the position.  This is the blind spot.

A redesign that offers the option to speak to multiple employees, especially those who are the internal customers, would provide significant opportunity for those who desire frequent quality feedback. This redesign will focus on the quality of the interactions between internal supplier and internal customer.  Some leaders believe “crowd sourcing” software will perform this trick. Perhaps.  In my experience, the crowd sourcing software tends to be designed with blind spot #1. In other words, that type of software still evaluates the employee instead of evaluating and improving the interactions between the employees.

If an organization is ready to replace their appraisal process because the leaders find themselves at the edge of the cliff, it is important to recognize the two blind spots and redesign the process to address the two root causes of dysfunction. If not, you’re just jumping off that cliff because the predators have caught you. That’s not strategic leadership. It’s reactionary and can be deadly for performance and for employee engagement.

Check out the interview on C-Suite Best Seller TV to learn more about how to stop leadership malpractice and replace the typical performance review: https://www.c-suitetv.com/video/best-seller-tv-wally-hauck-stop-the-leadership-malpractice/

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

Bibliography:

David Rock, J. D. (2013). One Simple Idea That Can Transform Performance Management. Retrieved from http://blueroom.neuroleadership.com: http://blueroom.neuroleadership.com/assets/documents/readings/HRPS_PS-36-2_ResearchCorner.pdf

Meinert, D. (2015, April 1). Is It Time to Put the Performance Review on a PIP? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0415-qualitative-performance-reviews.aspx

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Culture Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Hackers are Your Friend

I get a lot of inspiration from reading articles, posts and conversations on LinkedIn about my field, Cybersecurity. Recently, a fellow security professional and friend posted an important correction regarding the use of the term “hackers” and how he is tired of the term being used negatively, since he considers himself a hacker and is by no means a bad guy. That made me realize that the term hacker gets thrown around in a way that paints all hackers with the same brush stroke.

Thanks to the media, news, television, and movies, a hacker is typically depicted as a young man in a hoodie sitting in his basement (or his parents basement) or some dark corner of the globe punching away at a keyboard and effortlessly doing nefarious things like stealing identities, credit cards, intellectual property, and basically wreaking havoc.

The PSA I’m sharing today is that, in reality, that is the picture of a cyber-criminal. Hackers, like my friend and many security professionals I know, are the good guys and gals that walk amongst us every day with no intent to do harm.

These “good” hackers are security professionals hired to secure organizations and government networks by legally and with permission attempting to break in and identify their weaknesses so they can be fixed before an attacker or criminal does the same. These professionals are often known as penetration testers, and in some organizations, especially the government, they are known as the Red Team. They are trained and skilled at doing what is shown on television as something evil. There is even a certification called Certified Ethical Hacker.

On the other hand, people who break into networks and systems without permission, gain unauthorized access, steal information, and in some cases make the data unusable to the organization are criminals. You can call them criminals, cyber-criminals, attackers, or cyber attackers if you want to be accurate but calling them a hacker makes it sound like all hackers are evil when in reality there are so many hackers who are security professionals trying to help protect organizations through their skills of hacking.

The criminal and the security professional use the same techniques, same tools, and same knowledge, but they have different agendas. The intent behind their action is completely different.

The next time you post or talk about hackers, be clear who you are talking about. Are you referring to criminals and if so be clear about that and differentiate between those who are nefarious and out to do harm from those who are there to serve and protect.

If you want to learn a lot from a good hacker that I admire greatly, follow Chris Roberts on LinkedIn.

If you want to talk about having a Certified Ethical Hacker or cybersecurity professional help you ensure you are doing what it takes to keep the cyber attackers out email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com.

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Best Practices Body Language Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

Why Head Nodding Is Really Powerful In A Negotiation

“Head nodding is a psychological way to get people to agree with you. If you know when and how to nod your head others will agree with you more often.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“ … I didn’t realize it at the time, but his head nodding really affected me during the negotiation. I almost felt like I was hypnotized.” That’s the power of head nodding in a #negotiation.

If used right, head nodding can be a really powerful gesture in a negotiation. If used excessively, it can give the appearance of a know-it-all that knows a lot about nothing but thinks he does; that could give the impression that the person doing the nodding is self-centered, egotistical or a BS artist.

Continue reading to discover why, if done right, head nodding in a negotiation is such a powerful ploy to employ in a negotiation.

Head Nodding Implication:

When you’re engaged in a negotiation, nodding your head as you make a pronouncement lends credence to what you’re conveying. The subliminal message that’s conveyed is, I really believe what I’m saying is true, and I’m committed to my statements. Your challenge is to dissect when the real truth is reality, versus the other negotiator attempting to convince you that what he’s saying is reality.

Right Way To Use Head Nodding:

The best way to promote this gesture is to smile and maintain eye contact with the other negotiator as you’re speaking. To enhance the effect, pause for 1 second as your speaking to denote something important is about to be said. Then, as you make that pronouncement, nod your head to emphasize the point. The combination of the head gesture, smiling and maintaining eye contact as you deliver your statement will have a hypnotic effect on the person with whom you’re speaking.

It’s also worth noting that people who are aligned with what you’re saying when you display a head nod will tend to nod back at you. Their gesture not only serves as confirmation that they agree with you, at that moment, they’re also allowing you to lead them. Thus, it behooves you to observe to what degree your negotiation companion nods in return to your head nodding.

Wrong Way To Use Head Nodding:

Nodding excessively will dilute the emphasis that such a gesture has during a negotiation. Therefore, don’t nod too frequently. Doing so could cause the other negotiator to nod off, which means he’ll pay no attention to your nodding gestures. Another thing to consider is what words you choose to emphasize when making this gesture. If the action is synchronized with the wrong word(s), you could end up shifting the perception of what’s important. In that case, you’d have your negotiation counterpart psychologically wondering exactly what you’re attempting to convey and where you’re headed.

A lot of information is conveyed through the gesture of head nodding. Be mindful that good negotiators may attempt to use this gesture as a tactic to assess to what degree, and when, you might follow their lead. Thus, you must be alert to the way you respond to such action; your reaction or lack of will emit a signal that can be used as a gauge by the other negotiator.

If you want to enhance your believability during a negotiation, nod when making statements that you want others to believe in. That simple gesture, accompanied by strong eye contact and a smile while delivering your message, will enhance your negotiation efforts … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free 5-minute video on reading body language or to sign up for the “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#NegotiatingWithABully #Bullying #Bully #negotiations #Negotiator #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology #CombatDisinformation #hardpower

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Personal Development Women In Business

Intention Makes Attention Valuable

Ever thought about the value of paying attention?

Attention sometimes gets a bad rap in today’s society. Perhaps that is because we’ve come to associate the concept of attention with unrelenting selfies that scream “look at me’ and the constant sharing of eery details of one’s life on social media. That is not the type of attention I want to discuss. The type of attention that truly matters and makes a difference in our lives is intentional attention – the kind that helps you show up as the best version of yourself in all roles of your life.

We all want and need attention from the people who are important to us. We want to feel we are the center of somebody’s attention, even if we don’t want to be the center of everybody’s attention.

Attention is critical throughout all aspects of our lives – including our jobs. We need focused attention from our leaders and employees to get work done, to achieve results, and to succeed. our customers and our teams need attention, too. People want to be seen and heard and to know that their concerns are being addressed.

Attention is not optional; it’s vital. It is attention that drives the results we all want and need.

Perhaps this why we always hear the phrase “Pay attention!” Our parents told us to pay attention. Our teachers told us to pay attention. We tell our kids to pay attention. These are all valuable life lessons.

The issue is that most of us are giving distracted, unfocused attention (like texting while driving) to everything and everyone we come in contact with. That kind of attention is worthless. It sends the message that the focus of our attention has little value, meaning, or importance to us.

Intention is what makes attention valuable.

Intentional attention is active. it involves seeing, hearing, and thinking about who is with you and what needs your focus right now. it requires us to choose consciously, act deliberately, and invest transformationally with our attention.

If you are ready to intentionally invest your attention in what matters at the moment; the people you are talking to, the priorities you are acting on, and the passions you are pursuing, it’s time to pick up a copy of Attention Pays and start paying attention to what matters most.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Investing Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

What Frequency Are You On?

“The frequency you’re tuned to determines what you hear and how you act. Be attuned to the frequency that serves you best, when it’s the best that you need to serve you.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“… We just can’t seem to #communicate! I don’t know what’s wrong with you.” Such were the sentiments of one person to the other.

Being on the same frequency as someone that you’re attempting to communicate with, is essential for the transmission of your thoughts and ideas; it’s also pertinent for the assembly of the other person’s thoughts and ideas. If you’re not on the same frequency, at best you’ll misconnect, at worse, you can destroy a relationship.

As my astute friend and thought leader David Dadian, CEO of #Powersolution states when referring to frequency, there’s a commonness to the words one uses when communicating with someone else. That commonness enhances the communications; that, in turn, decreases the incidents of #miscommunications. Thus, when people are on the same frequency, they’re communicating on the same level, they’re tuned to the same station, the same network. One is not at 97.5, while the other is at 107.2.

One way to determine that you’re on the same frequency is by the energy level you experience. A higher energy level of experience denotes a positive flow, while a low level can be the signal of miscommunications. A low level also tends to drain people of their energy.

The next time you’re engaged in what you determine to be a serious conversation, note the level of energy present. Even if you’re discussing something of sorrow or glee, they’ll be a degree of energy that’s locked into the exchange of thoughts and ideas. As long as you can relate that energy to being on the same frequency, you’ll know, at least, that you’re really communicating with the other party. If you observe a whimsical appearance, displays of confusion, or any sign that the person with whom you’re speaking is not getting your message, that will be an indication that there’s a frequency mismatch. That should also serve as a signal to reconnect; you’ve lost your WiFi.

When it comes to frequency, the better you and your partner are attuned to the same station, the greater the chance you’ll communicate at a higher level than otherwise would be the case … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

In every negotiation, the outcome rest on your ability to communicate effectively with your counterpart. Some people don’t communicate as efficiently, because they allow mitigating circumstances to sideline their efforts. That can come in the form of not liking someone appearance, ethnicity, gender, etc.

To enhance your negotiation efforts, be attentive to the distractions that might prevent you from being on the same frequency as your negotiation partner. When both of you reach that plateau, you’ll sense it. It’ll be like the two of you just click when exchanging offers and counteroffers. That’ll also be the time to pursue your negotiation objectives more fervently. That’s the power of being on the same frequency. You and the other negotiator will hear the same things, and you’ll be using common words to speak the same language.

Remember, you’re always negotiating.

What are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free 5-minute video on reading body language or to sign up for the “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #Psychology #Perception #rejection #leadership #HowToImproveYourself #Communication

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

Employee Engagement is the New Safety

Recently, I overheard a business leader referring to “his workers.” For a minute there, I wondered if I’d been transported back to 1920 and he was referring to a sweatshop of some kind. But alas, that is how this leader referred to team members. It seemed like a very outdated way to refer to the people who serve his customers and produce results for his company.

If you see employees as working FOR you or working FOR your company, therein may lie the problem. Employee engagement is not something you do FOR or TO employees, it’s something you do WITH employees.

We’ve ALL got skin in the game. 

If you want to have engaged employees, you’ve got to treat them like they’ve got skin in the game – and they DO have skin in the game.

In my work with clients, whether it’s one-on-one coaching, team coaching, training, or any other of a variety of services, we start out the same way. I remind them that I am responsible TO them, but I am not responsible FOR them. I am responsible TO present information in an engaging and insightful way and to challenge them to think and apply their learning to their work. However, I am not responsible FOR how they participate and whether or not they put the knowledge into practice.

This concept applies to employee engagement. We’ve got to stop thinking of employee engagement as some kind of obligatory HR program, policy, or initiative. Employee engagement is something you do WITH employees. Take responsibility for your behaviors and how you influence others to either be engaged or to be disengaged at work. Urge team members to take ownership of their own engagement. Otherwise, the burden will always be on the leader. Employees will stand there with their arms crossed defiantly saying “Just try to engage me!”

Employee engagement is the new safety.

Do you remember waaay back in the day – like the 80’s, when employee safety was a soft, feel-good catch phrase? The safe “policies and practices” of many organizations went from the admonishment, “Just don’t do anything stupid!” to a carefully crafted HR policy and wordy procedures. It wasn’t until leaders and organizations started making it ABOUT employees and made it everyone’s responsibility, that it became more widely embraced and practiced. To me, that is why employee engagement is the new safety.

The moment employee engagement is no longer a buzzword, but becomes part of the fabric of our organization, a given, if you will, then we know that it’s sustainable. Programs, projects, those things usually have a finite life span. Engaging employees – a verb – should be part of the everyday behaviors of executive leaders and team members.

Focus on relationships and results.

An employee will be more or less engaged and loyal to an organization based on the relationships she has within the organization. The relationship with her manager, boss, supervisor, superior is HUUUGE. As a leader, how well you cultivate positive relationships, build trust, and serve your team members will play a critical role in the results that you achieve.

Don’t commit assumicide. 

All you gots to do is ASK what elements of his job your employee likes, and which elements he dislikes. Find out what challenges he’s facing. You know what happens when we assume. So, don’t do it. Ask learning questions instead of making assumptions. Be genuinely interested and curious.

Ditch the fancy surveys. 

Once upon a time there was a company that invested approximately a guh-zillion dollars on a fancy-schmancy employee engagement survey. Once the results were in, they were filed away and completely ignored. There’s no point in conducting engagement surveys if you’re not going to act on the results. If you’ve got buckets of money that you don’t mind throwing away, then rock on with your bad self and continue to do these surveys. Otherwise, simpler is better.

Engaged employees equals engaged customers.

The former CEO Doug Conant who completely turned the Campbell Soup Company around said, To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace. It’s a pretty weighty statement and a Jeopardy-esque quotable phrase, but it turns out that there’s research to back it up.

Employee engagement is directly linked to customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction is directly related to financial performance. And the knee-bone is connected to the shinbone. Therefore, employee engagement affects your bottom line.

Realize that it’s a moving target. Each time I work with, and coach teams and leaders, we want to continue to advance to get to the next level. It’s about making constant forward motion, but you never really arrive. Professional golfers don’t hire a coach, master one aspect of their game, and then just stop working at it. Team members need to feel that they are making forward momentum in meaningful work to be engaged. It’s all about progress.

Employee engagement is a daily practice, not a program. The sooner we take it from a responsibility of HR and weave into the very fabric of our organizations, the better off we’ll be. As an executive leader, what that means for you is making engaging actions every day.

CHIME IN:

  • How do you build relationships with team members and colleagues in your organization?
  • How are you creating an environment where employees feel that they are making progress in their work?

To receive solutions to your people problems in your inbox every month, and to receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved,” click here.

You might also like:

Leadership Team Accelerated Results Program

12 Powerful Questions to Stash in Your Leadership Toolbox

Leadership Lessons to Push Past Homeostasis

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

The One Big Reason Your Process is the Path to Profit

Everyone loves a process when it produces results. But what about when it doesn’t? What happens then?

I’m a big process guy. I founded my company around them, to the point that the profit-driving selling methodology we teach to our clients is rooted in the process. We believe that when you find and adopt systems that work, you can radically improve your sales using the same baseline methods. You just need to trust the process, follow through and let the results take care of themselves.

In truth, it’s easy to follow processes when they work. They create true workplace cultures by placing value on the same things, generate certainty with your employees, and they drive profit in a way that more spontaneous approaches simply can’t.

The tough part is staying true to the process in the event it doesn’t produce the desired outcome. Those are the true gut-check moments, and if you want to continue growing, it’s key to stick to your guns and trust in the process.

The New England Patriots learned this lesson the hard way in the Super Bowl. Malcolm Butler was the Patriots’ best cornerback for the entire 2017 season, and he played 98 percent of the team’s snaps up to the Super Bowl. Then, suddenly, he was riding the bench. He played just one play in the big game, a meaningless play on special teams. Other than that, he sat and watched from the bench with the rest of us.

The big question: why?

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is also fond of his processes, so much so that it’s become known as the Patriot Way. Whether it was because of a team infraction or just because the matchup favored the backup, Belichick opted to stick to his system and sit Butler. It didn’t work so well. The Philadelphia Eagles racked up 374 passing yards, backup quarterback Nick Foles threw three touchdowns and the Eagles scored 41 points. They also won the game.

It’s all too easy to criticize the Patriots’ system when things don’t go right. Surely they would’ve had a better chance if they started Butler, right? If this was the result, shouldn’t the Patriots overhaul their system so this doesn’t happen again?

This same conversation happens over and over in corporate offices and boardrooms every day. An otherwise successful process doesn’t produce the desired result, and suddenly it’s time to throw it out and start over again. The problem with this thought pattern is that it doesn’t leverage past success and takes a nearsighted look at a farsighted concern.

The Patriots’ system is without a doubt the most successful in the history of the NFL. Under Belichick they’ve won the AFC East 15 of 17 seasons and won five Super Bowls since 2001. But it also hasn’t been perfect. They’ve lost three Super Bowls and even missed the playoffs twice. The temptation during those trough periods is to blow it up and start over. Clearly the process has failed, so it’s time to move on. Or so many of the prevailing theories go.

The truth is that what separates the Patriots from everyone else is that they stick to the process even when they don’t reach their desired outcome frame now and again. Setbacks are inevitable in life. No process is perfect, and even the Patriots undergo some necessary tweaks and maintenance every year. But that relentless and repetitive focus on the process over the results is the reason why the Patriots win so much, not the reason why they lose.

So even if the decision to sit Butler didn’t work out on an individual level, the systematic framework that created that decision is the entire reason why the Patriots were there in the first place. The same adherence to the process produced the Tom Brady draft pick and everything that came after. That’s why Belichick had no regrets about his decision after the game. He trusts his process in all circumstances.

Psychologists call it tunnel vision. In a crisis or a setback, it’s easiest to focus entirely on what’s happened in the moment as opposed to seeing the grand plan you’ve already put in place. Think of a child knocking down an entire Lego village they’ve built because they messed up the placement of a window in one of the houses. You’d teach them to fix the window and keep the rest of village standing, wouldn’t you? It’s vital to view your company’s processes the same way.

This is what separates companies that have long term success over flash-in-the-pan companies that have quick success and then fade away. Companies like Apple and Space X developed processes they trust even when the market dives, or when a product doesn’t work as intended. Companies that hit bankruptcy either didn’t develop a successful process, or they didn’t follow the one they already had.

This is every business’s greatest challenge and greatest reward. Develop a process that works and stick to it through tough times. You’ll be amazed at the results on the other side of the setback.

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development Technology

Social Media Is Dead! Long Live Blockchain Social Media!

Something is rotten in the land of social media.  The current behemoth social networks are tearing our country apart, while making money hand over fist.  Even technology executives won’t allow their kids on social networks.    For the first time since 2012, Facebook just reported a decline in daily visitors in the US and Canada.  Inc. wrote that the big social networks “are centralized in every way, decide what you will see and not see through their algorithms, and completely lack transparency. This sounds like something ripe for disruption.”  Queue the rise of blockchain social networks.

Many have heard of blockchain’s application in crypto-currencies, but the technology is now being applied in a variety of industries from financial services to pharmaceuticals.  It has already been tested in voting applications, and could allay voter fraud concerns while generating higher voter turnout.  Social media is one of those nascent blockchain applications.

Why are these new networks different from Facebook and the other large players?  Users of the traditional networks consist of a few content creators and many lurkers.   With few exceptions, there is little incentive to create great content.    The traditional networks monetize the content created by users and sell advertising against the eyeballs it generates. Stealing a page from Reddit, blockchain social networks reward content creators for creating great content.  Users decide what is great content. There are no algorithms.

Content creators and active participants are rewarded with some form of cryptocurrency and the rewards structures are relatively easy to understand.  And, as of yet, they have no advertising.  Consequently, they create a more engaging environment with active contributions from the people you actually want to hear from.

Numerous blockchain social networks have launched over the last year.  Steemit squarely competes with Facebook and Instagram, and its video platform could take on YouTube.   It is the largest blockchain network and will soon have over a million users.  It rewards creators and active users with Steem Power and its proprietary Steem cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherieum (https://www.ethereum.org).

Twenty-one-year old Sven Lucas earned $4,000 by posting in his free time. While this is nothing compared to professional YouTube contributors, it is a significant incentive for casual users who earn nothing on the big networks.  He writes that he is “sticking around for the great content.”

Indorse is still in Alpha and is aimed squarely at LinkedIn.  It promises an authentic presentation of skills without the fake endorsements that plague LinkedIn.

So how will this impact the big social networks?  Some of the emerging blockchain networks will certainly be swallowed by the big guys, as Facebook acquired Instagram and WhatsApp.    All of the big networks are already experimenting with blockchain applications and will liberally copy successful features of the blockchain networks.   They will experiment with greater rewards for content creators.  But given their advertising model and huge scale, it is doubtful they could reward all contributors and active participants.

But they may not have to, as the blockchain social networks may be forced to meet them in the middle. As the new networks grow, they will have to figure out a revenue model to keep the lights on, reward content creators, and generate a return for their investors.  Brand marketing will likely play a role.  These new networks will have to balance their need for revenue with the needs of users, many of whom could be fleeing traditional networks because of privacy concerns and intrusive marketing.

But the ripple effects of blockchain social media could extend far beyond their initial impact on the big social networks.   Apple’s current business includes an ecosystem of devices, iTunes, applications and more.  It has disrupted several industries.  But Apple’s business started with the Mac, which made computing easier.  Amazon started by disrupting the book business, but has since built an entire ecosystem that is disrupting the grocery and health care businesses.

Successful blockchain social networks will foster similar ecosystems built on cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology are complex and difficult to understand.  The simple rewards of these new networks provide incentives for cryptocurrency adoption beyond cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiasts, which will foster business extensions.  The current plethora of blockchain start-ups, will explode as these networks take off.   Disruption of the big social networks may be an immediate effect of blockchain social networks, but, longer term, disruptions will ripple into other industries as these start-ups gain traction.

As is often the case when new players disrupt the marketplace, the big winner is the consumer.  They will see a more rewarding social media experience. This rewarding experience will ripple out to other industries as well.  Traditional social media may be waning, but blockchain social media is alive and well.

Grisdale Advisors helps current and aspiring C-Suite Executives build a powerful and influential social media presence, which helps their companies, their employees, their communities and themselves.  Contact us here.   If you would like to subscribe to the monthly Grisdale Mail, click here.   

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