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Category: Leadership

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Leadership Marketing Operations Personal Development

When the Sale Hits the Fan

Victoria wanted a new car. Since she had previously bought three cars from the same dealership, and even though she had recently moved several hours away, she chose to drive the extra distance to make yet another annual new car purchase. Her credit was good, and the sale went off without a hitch. After a few hours, she drove off the lot in a brand new year end model.

Two weeks later, the car brakes failed, the engine lights all came and the car stalled in traffic- all in the middle of traffic. To make matters worse, she narrowly missed being hit by an 18 wheeler and her 75-year-old mother (who was in poor health) was also in the car, shaken by the near miss.

She immediately called for roadside assistance. Needless to say, she was less than pleased that her car, with fewer than a thousand miles on it, not only almost got them both killed, but had left them stranded on the side of the road. Roadside assistance arrived after a two hours wait and towed the car to the nearest dealership. (Which was over an hour and a half away from her home.)

Towed with Less than a Thousand Miles on the Odometer

The dealership receiving the car advised her that the car was under warranty. They told her to leave the car and then come back a week later to retrieve it. This upset her and she told them that she wanted the dealership to replace the car. They responded that most dealerships would simply repair it and not replace it. They further stated that upon inspection, they were not able to locate the issue. They went so far as to question her version of events, until she provided photos taken with her cell phone of the lights and warnings lit up on the dash. This made her even angrier.

At which point, Victoria called the original dealership demanding to speak to the manager. Unfortunately, the sales manager was out due to a doctor’s appointment, and her call was not returned to the next day. (More about this later.) The preceding scenario is not only real; it shows how one weak link or product failure can kill a previously profitable long-term sales relationship.

A 2011 study, for example, demonstrated that customers are overwhelmingly responsive to good service, with 9 out of 10 people surveyed stating they would be willing to pay more for a positive customer experience. US companies lose as much as $84 billion dollars each year due to poor customer service, and or product performance failure.

While it can bring an abrupt end to the sales conversation, a flawed product or even poor service does not necessarily mean the end of future sales. Of course, the best solution to poor quality of a product or service is always to prevent it beforehand, rather than trying to fix it later. If and when it does happen though, all is not lost. The same research study mentioned above also concluded that as many as 70% of all customers will continue to do business with a given company following an issue, provided the issue is resolved promptly.

It may not work every time, but a thoughtful retention strategy can rebuild customer and brand loyalty, when issues arise. This kind of responsiveness is not haphazard and must permeate the company culture and mindset. If left unchecked, product and performance issues tend to create a downward spiral that sucks out profitability.

Poor service or product issues can compromise and damage your brand, leading to a sales slump. Even if your you spend more to market the product, the issue will only grow unless you forcefully course correct the way you respond to inevitable failures. This means that you need to anticipate, plan and respond in a way that makes the customer feel both heard and valued.

Back to the Broken Brand New Car 

After arriving at the dealership the next day, the sales manager was informed of the issue. He promptly called her and offered to replace the car, but she would have to drive to the dealership (a trip of several hours due to her relatively remote home location), to pick up her replacement.

Someone would either have to drive her there and then follow her back, or she would need to rent a car and then figure out where it could be returned. In the end, the sales manager made a decision to have two members of his team drive out with an identical replacement, bringing the necessary paperwork and contract with them.

This was outside of the norm, but given the lifetime value of the customer, the specifics of the problem, and the need to rebuild trust, he chose to step up with demonstrably superior service. The manager also made sure to include a few extras, such as adding the window shading at no charge. The issue was resolved within a week. As an aside, the customer later stated that she intends to purchase her next vehicle from the same dealership.

The takeaway is threefold:

  • Develop a responsive plan for restoring client faith
  • Be proactive in making them whole and rebuilding brand trust
  • Listen and respond appropriately based on the situation and client needs

Instead of simply trying to save face, taking responsibility for situations and working towards rebuilding brand trust, can save not just the sale, but the lifetime value of the sales relationship.

Jamie Crosbie is an accomplished senior executive with a proven record of sales leadership success.  Contact Jamie today and find out how to take your business to the next level. Beyond ordinary. Be extraordinary! jcrosbie@proactivate.net

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Entrepreneurship Management Personal Development

How Employee Engagement Can Be Smothered by Compensation, Compliance, and Corporate Structure

Today’s C-Suiters search for ways to enhance empowerment, employee engagement, and entrepreneurial culture. They can say they want a more innovative, entrepreneurial environment, but they need the tools to get there.

Our book, The Entrepreneurial Culture, 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People, is a companion to our New York Times Best Seller, The Barefoot Spirit, which gives you what you need to foster a dynamic, constructive, and progressive corporate culture. The Entrepreneurial Culture speaks to corporations, giving them successful entrepreneurial tools to engage their employees.

Developing a new corporate structure from scratch isn’t necessary—these tools can benefit a company’s present structure. In order for these tools to be successful, changes must start from the top, and tip-top management must be eager to make those changes. But, a common trait of many C-Suiters is that they are terrified of change. A C-Suiter might think that change will result in legal issues, wasted money, or an employee rebellion. What they might not realize is that they can prevent employee empowerment and engagement by praising the three sacred corporate cows.

1. Compensation: Salary is the most popular method of compensation among corporations. But salary does not pay for performance—it pays for attendance. With salaried pay, a raise is not personal. It’s not based on accomplishments, good ideas, or profits; instead, it’s based on tenure. Why should an employee care what they accomplished this week if their paycheck will look the same as it did last week? This teaches employees that they are unappreciated—they are not respectable assets to the company. Two or more employees might be paid the same salary if they do the same work. So, why would either of them put in extra effort when it won’t be acknowledged? These people will leave to find employment that pays in line with production. Who can blame them? How can an employee work to their potential if the company’s compensation plan holds them back?

2. Corporate Structure: Most companies operate in a pyramid shape, functioning from the top down. Within the company pyramid are several smaller pyramids. Each small pyramid ferociously defends itself from the other small pyramids, creating an environment susceptible to turf wars. This jagged structure can prevent great ideas from moving upward, potentially stifling any chance of real breakthrough. It’s tough to expect employee engagement when their ideas will be forgotten, withheld, or altered. How can anyone feel comfortable coming up with resolutions for other departments’ challenges if they are seen as forbidden territory.

3. Compliance: Compliance is designed to mitigate liability. Instead of finding reasons why things should be done, the legal department finds reasons why they shouldn’t be. Compliance is not a quick process—it creates a backlog, and employees know it. This alone can discourage them from proposing new solutions and ideas. Since the legal department is paid by the hour, they have an interest in running everything through compliance. Some legal departments go as far as to discourage public recognition for good work, fearing it could be used against the company in a legal dispute. What these legal departments fail to understand is that public acknowledgement encourages positive production, sets a standard for appreciation, and creates a respectful environment.

Want to discover how to achieve entrepreneurial culture by rounding up the sacred cows and removing the element of fear? Come back soon!

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

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Entrepreneurship Management Women In Business

Putting the R.A.P. in Rapport – Mastering the Art of High Power Communication

Imagine hearing a conversation in a foreign language and immediately being able to understand what is said and communicate effectively in that language. How powerful would that be?  I’ve always had a secret fantasy of being able to do that. One of my favorite fictional characters is Lieutenant Commander Hoshi Sato, the Human Linguist from Star Trek Enterprise whose superpower is her ability to instantly connect with anyone.   I have always wanted to be it just like her.

Granted, speaking Klingon or Vulcan isn’t essential in the business world, or for that matter on planet Earth; yet the gift of being able to communicate effectively with anyone, at any time, in any given situation is extremely valuable.

Whether you have a product or a service, you are in sales. One of the biggest mistakes that people make in offering their products and services is working hard to sell something when there is no need or no perceived value.  When it comes to sales, proper communication is essential and can make all the difference between closing the deal or walking away empty handed.

What if you can look at your sales process in a completely different fashion? What if you were connecting to people and offering them solutions to their pain, suffering, and problems?

Delivering your message is more than just what you say. It is how you say what you say, when you say it, and why you say it and who you are when you deliver your message.

Whether in a one-on-one situation, on a stage or in writing, high power communication is an essential key to High Performance. It is a topic that I review with my clients both in sales and in relationships. Raising the level of your communication will deepen your connection with people and enhance your relationships, leading to higher affinity and increased sales.

Aside from choosing the proper target market, it is essential to make a connection with them. People want to feel valued and appreciated. Who do you do business with? People you like and care about. If you want people to do business with you, wouldn’t it help if they felt that you cared about them?  Show them you care, get to know them a bit, and build rapport.

We all have our own unique way of connecting and building rapport; look at it as your personal “Rap”. Most often it comes naturally and you don’t put much thought behind it. What if you made it intentional in order to uplevel your game and improve your results?

Let’s look at the strategy behind Putting the R.A.P. in Rapport.

R- Relate to Your Audience

A- Active Listening

P- Present Your Solution

R-Relate to Your Audience
 Your physiology and body language can help you make a connection. Keep your body open and your posture nonthreatening, give the other person proper personal space. Help them feel at ease. Remember like attracts like and connects to like.
Pay attention to your voice. Are your tone, volume, and pitch similar to your customer or audience?    How about your energy? Are you excited about making a new connection and the possibility of helping someone without overpowering them?

Are you speaking their language? Are you using terms that they can understand? One of the biggest mistakes is getting too technical by using professional jargon with someone who really doesn’t care.

A- Active Listening
What is behind the words? Are you truly listening to your audience? What are they asking for? Are they hesitant, do they have reservations? Remember, people will buy what they value and what they want, not necessarily what they need. They look for a solution to the problem, a relief for their pain or suffering. Are you listening to them and speaking their language?

Understanding your customers’ primary mode of communication will help you better relate to them. You can figure out their communication mode by listening to the words they use to describe things. People fall into the categories of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. In other words, some are more comfortable with seeing things, some need to hear things, and some need to feel things. Your primary mode of communication is the language in which you process information and connect to others.

Once you have successfully related to your customer or your audience, and actively listened to their problem, you can move to the third and final step by offering and presenting your solution.

P- Present Your Solution

People want solutions.  They want to know what is in it for them. They want to know that things will work and the problems will be resolved. Push a sale on them, and they will walk the other way. By using high power communication, you can connect with them, listen to them, identify their problem, and offer them a solution that will change their life.
Once the need and value have been established by understanding the problem, offering a solution is an easy process. Wouldn’t you give a fresh towel to someone who’s soaking wet? All they need is to dry off. You wouldn’t want to sell them Cologne, would you?

Effective communication in any situation is a combination of several actions. It is always a matter of having a good R.A.P.  Listening alone won’t build a good dialogue. However, when you listen and truly hear the other person, you have the ability to build better rapport with them. We all have the need to know we have a voice and are being heard. Practice all three aspects of communication and challenge yourself to master them. When you do that, you will build trust and a great following, and you will create loyal customers who will come back for more!

 

Categories
Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

5 Steps to Build and Develop Trust

Every good business relationship is built on trust. From creditors to employees, people need to trust that you’ll treat them the right way. Once trust is established and they know they can depend on you, they will extend their support even further, and may even make exceptions for you. This is essential to business success.

The sooner you show that you’re dependable, the quicker you’ll see the benefits, for instance commitment, devotion, priority ranking, extended credit, increased sales, and more opportunities. You must be proactive! Find ways to show your employees, creditors, and clients that you have their best interests at heart.

Here is our short guide for building and developing trust:

 

  1. Communicate. And communicate often. Be transparent when it comes to what you’re doing and why. Don’t leave anyone guessing what you’re up to—keep everyone informed! We suggest having regular meetings with suppliers, outsourced services, creditors, and your team. Share important information with them early and often. This alleviates their fears and allows them to feel valued. The more your team knows ahead of time, the more confident they are working with you.

 

  1. Be honest! If you purposely reserve information or harbor ulterior motives, you will destroy relationships and your reputation in your industry. Voluntarily discuss loopholes to assure the people you depend on that they will not be exploited. Make it clear that you’re a true partner who is looking out for them, not one who’s waiting to stab them in the back! Prevent them from keeping their guard up. Otherwise, you’ll get only the words of your agreements, not the spirit behind them.

 

  1. Create strategic alliances. Identify who gains if you gain, and treat them like partners. Share your ideas for growth and development with those who would prosper from a business relationship with you. Figure out how to advance their business while decreasing your need for money. For example, construct contracts for improved terms and free warehousing in return for longer term commitments.

 

  1. Take care of your customers. Nothing says, “Now that I have your money, you’re stuck with my products” like bad customer service. Customer service takes priority over what you’re selling. When you do your best to make that the sale is made, but can’t be bothered to prevent or fix an issue, you are asking competitors to take your customers. This is detrimental to your long-term business security. Without good customer service, your buyers won’t continue to buy, and they’ll tell others about their negative experience. Customers become devoted supporters when you treat them like a friend.

 

  1. Be responsible. Don’t try to play the blame game or cover up when you make a mistake. It will only worsen the situation, hurt your relationship, and lose you valuable trust. If you realize you’re going to miss a payment, contact your creditors right away. And be prepared! Develop a strategy that will bring your account up-to-date. This shows your empathy for the risk they’ve taken on you. Remember: You are not judged when everything goes smoothly. You’re judged by how you handle mistakes.

Long-term good behavior is the foundation for trust. In the first stages of a business relationship, trust can be lost easily. How you deal with an awkward situation tells your employees, creditors, and clients all they need to know. It could help them justify putting their faith in you, or it could lead them to regret the relationship. Trust is a lot more than saying, “Trust me.” And you can trust us on that!

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development Women In Business

Understand Before Seeking to be Understood

 

In your negotiations, how much attention to you give to really understanding the needs, wants, and desires of the other negotiator? Do you understand why he’s really negotiating with you per the mindset he possesses, his values, his sources of motivation? A lot of negotiators don’t really understand the mindset of the opposing negotiator and thus, they lead themselves down a path that infuses the negotiation with more angst than what otherwise might be the case.

In your future negotiations, be more mindful of the mindset of the other negotiator. Seek to understand him before you seek to be understood by him.

www.TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development Women In Business

The Other Side of Sexual Harassment

A lot of women who are employed outside the home have been sexually harassed at work.  It happens in every industry. Men are inappropriately touching, speaking, or wanting sexual activity from a woman.  Whether he’s her boss or someone she works alongside, women deal with uncomfortable and sleazy advances.  Undoubtedly, the thought of losing her job crosses her mind.

When the advances come from a boss, women have to think what it will do to her career. Will she get passed over for a promotion, receive a poor review, or lose her job. Advances from a co-worker cause a woman to worry that others will hear about it, ruining her reputation, or separating her from the team.

In Hollywood, it’s no surprise this has been happening. We’ve heard stories of couch calls for decades. These auditions are invitations from intimidators to engage in something sexual so the actor will get the part. In the 60’s and 70’s mothers would bring their daughters to these meetings knowing what would happen. Sexual misconduct also happens after the actor receives the role.

Recently, film producer and co-founder of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, has been in the news about his sexual harassment of actors and staff. Women have stated they were afraid to speak out, saying that Weinstein could make or break their career. That’s a ludicrous reason for letting it continue. Without putting a stop to it means you value your career over your body, your dignity. When you don’t shut it down you are allowing it to happen. You make the choice of what is more important to you, your body or your career. Once the choice is made, you must live with it. If you don’t put a stop to it, then you are supporting it.

One of the actors speaking out against Weinstein said that Weinstein raped her twice. How does that transpire. There’s only one way: by putting yourself in the same situation again. Then whose fault is it.

Since then many women have stepped forward, telling about sexual misconduct at work. It covers all industries:

Corporate leaders, politicians, athletes, media people, chefs, photographers, animators, talent agents, singers, doctors, professors, deans.

The list keeps growing.

Choosing to let it happen by reason of valuing your job over your body makes you just as guilty as the oppressor. Giving into the situation doesn’t matter if you are an actor, an executive climbing the ladder, a minimum wage earner or any employee. Women need their jobs and worry about losing them in every industry.

In these situations, women have the power. They can take control or give it up. You take control by saying no. There are numerous stories of actors who told Weinstein no and left unscathed. If you don’t shut it down you are participating.

Men should never put women (and vice versa) in a position where they feel sexually harassed; period. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. There are actions women can do:

  1. Immediately say NO, making it clear that you mean it.
  2. Remove yourself from the location. That means physically move away.
  3. Put a stop to it. Adamantly tell him that you do not accept that behavior and he is never to do that again.

There is no excuse to allow being harassed. If you come up with an excuse you are participating. Excuses are a way to hide your guilt to yourself. You can’t justify letting it happen if you think you will lose your job or for any other reason. You put a stop to it or you are engaging in it.

Imagine what it would be like today if women stood up to their bosses or co-workers a long time ago. We wouldn’t have all these accusations coming out now. We wouldn’t have our daughters subjected to this kind of treatment. Women would have already taught men that the behavior is not allowed. It’s like training a new puppy; sometimes you have to ‘pop him’ in the nose so he will learn.

If you didn’t confront the behavior long ago you have allowed it to continue. You still have the power.  Train him at the time it arises. Remaining silent doesn’t stop sexual harassment; it’s participating in it. Take immediate and assertive action, and shut it down.

 

 

Categories
Accounting Growth Investing Management Personal Development Taxes

How to Get a Charitable Tax Deduction for Remodeling Your Properties

If your home or rental property needs remodeling, consider getting a charitable tax contribution by helping a worthwhile cause. Many charities build and renovate homes for the needy. The tax law allows you to take a charitable deduction for donating used building materials removed from your house or rental property when they are used by a qualified organization.

How much you can deduct depends on the fair market value (FMV) of the materials you donate and when you donate them.

Amount of Your Charitable Deduction

  • For property held for more than 1 year, you will usually get a deduction of the FMV of the materials donated. If the property was used for business or rental purposes, you must reduce the FMV by any gain (if you sold the property) that is considered ordinary income. This is a simple calculation if you ask your tax advisor.
  • For property held less than 1 year, you will usually get a deduction of either the FMV or the cost basis (less any depreciation allowed) of the materials donated, whichever is less.
  • There may be limits depending on how much you contribute and your adjusted gross income, but the good news is, you can carry forward any unused deduction to later years.

Steps Needed to Get a Charitable Deduction

Before you begin your remodeling process:

  1. Get your licensed contractor to give you two bid quotes. One for deconstructing the space that you are remodeling and another one for demolishing it. Deconstructing the space is more expensive than demolition because fixtures, sheetrock, wood studs and more are taken apart slowly and carefully by hand to recycle every last piece as opposed to demolition where they rip out the materials without any consideration for reusing them (e.g. they just go into the dump).

Deconstruction usually is 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than a demolition process. However, since demotion is only a small part of your remodel, it should not add a large cost to your overall remodel.

  1. Find an appraiser that can appraise the reusable materials that result from the “deconstruction” process. Usually they can give you an idea of the FMV per sq. ft. of real property you are remodeling. Appraisal costs range but typically are around $2,000-10,000. They will need to see the materials before they are donated to a charity so they can issue an appraisal report.
  1. Consult with your tax advisor. They usually know a qualified appraiser you can use in your area or one can be recommended by the charity to which, you are going to donate the materials.

Your tax advisor should also be able to determine whether it is cost beneficial to consider getting a charitable deduction. For example, if the appraisal cost is $5,000 and the additional contractor cost of deconstruction is $5,000, the donation you must receive must exceed $35,000 to give you a net tax benefit. Some of our clients have obtained charitable benefits of over $100,000.

  1. Pick a 501(c)(3) US charity in your area that has as their mission to use the materials in their programs such as Habitat for Humanity.

After your remodeling process:

  1. The appraiser will give you a signed appraisal report and an IRS form 8283 signed by both the appraiser and the charity to which, you contributed the material; both must be attached to your tax return.

If these steps are followed correctly, then there is an excellent chance that much of the costs of your next remodel can be claimed as a charitable contribution.

For more information about this and other tax strategies to help you pay only your fair share of taxes email him at ssinger@groco.com

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

Power to the (Customer Service) People!

If you had to describe effective customer service in a single phrase, what would it be? I would define it as the ability and authority to take whatever action is necessary to make a customer happy. I believe mine is a reasonable definition given the nature of customer service itself.

With that said, effective customer service requires that staff members be empowered by their employers to both make decisions and take action. This leads to a question: does each and every employee in your organization, with jobs that involve customer contact, have the ability and authority to make decisions that are in the best interests of customers? If not, they are not empowered to keep customers happy.

You must understand that customers looking for help from your customer service team want immediate answers. They want solutions to their problems, not customer service reps transferring them from one department to the next. They certainly don’t want to be dismissed with a promise that a manager will call back later.

What Does Your Customer Service Department Do?

Modern business has unfortunately evolved into a rigid, top-down organization that is reluctant to give people at the bottom of the organizational chart the freedom and authority to do what they need to do. Modern business is more about micromanagement than actual problem-solving.

To that end, one of the first questions I ask clients in this regard is this: what does your customer service department do? I’m hoping to hear an explanation of customer service reps empowered to do their jobs. That is not always the case. More often than not, customer service reps are merely phone-answering personnel who defer all decisions to supervisors or middle managers.

Maintaining this kind of top-down customer service department leads to unhappy customers. Why? Because customer service reps not empowered to make decisions:

  • Do not present an air of confidence when dealing with customers;
  • Frequently have to put customers on hold in order to talk to supervisors;
  • Don’t tend to make an effort to understand answers and solutions;
  • Often do not have any real answers to give customers; and
  • May not really care about the end result once the customer interaction is complete.

Are You Willing to Empower Your Staff?

I hate to paint such a negative picture of customer service, but that is what customers often encounter. The question for you is whether you are willing to empower your staff to take care of customers. If you are, you will reap the benefits that come with an empowered customer service team. If not, your current level of customer service may never improve.

There are three things you need to do to empower your staff. First is to give them the authority to make decisions without necessarily consulting a supervisor or mid-level manager. It’s true that decision-making authority comes with a certain level of responsibility, but almost every employee will rise to the occasion if given the opportunity.

Second, customer service staff need to be trained to keep up with company standards and solutions. It’s not reasonable for employers to expect staff members to make wise decisions if those staff members are not kept up-to-speed at all times.

Finally, those customer service representatives who take good care of customers should be rewarded for their efforts. Rewards are an excellent incentive for taking ownership of one’s work. And it’s not necessarily money that your employees want. It’s often acknowledgement and validation that motivates them.

So, are you ready to power up your team?

 

Randi Busse, President, Workforce Development Group

www.workdevgroup.com

 

Categories
Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Personal Development

Trust Is Essential for the Health of an Organization – Part 3

In two recent blogs I have attempted to address the serious leadership responsibility of managing the variation in trust to produce desired results.  This is the third part of a 4-part series of blogs to provide a framework for a predictable method for building and maintaining trust.  The method needs to be actionable and predictable.  We can’t just wait for trust to be created. It’s too valuable for organizational performance and when it’s lacking, the damage is fierce.

A predictable method requires two important sets of ideas.   The first is an appreciation of the right definition of trust. We adopted The International Association of Business Communicators definition of trust: “a willingness to be vulnerable because of the presence of integrity, concern, competence and shared objectives.”[1]

Second, we need an effective leadership structure.   THINK – BEHAVE – IMPROVE (TBI) is a set of ideas which help us to appreciate how an optimum leader thinks, how an optimum leader behaves and how an optimum leader acts to improve the system within which they operate.  In this blog we will expand and clarify the BEHAVE portion of the structure.

We have seen organizations achieve incredible success with leaders who exhibit questionable behaviors.  There are numerous stories about the petulance of Steve Jobs.  Some days he was ‘good Steve’ and other days ‘bad Steve’.  Steve Jobs was well known for exaggerated emotional outbursts laced with profanity. Yet still, Apple has been amazingly successful and, as of this writing, is the most valuable company in the Fortune 500 (capitalization).

How does one explain the valuation of Uber in the face of recent leadership issues and the resignation of one of the founders because of sexual harassment and discrimination accusations?  As of this writing, Uber is estimated to be worth $70 billion and is known to have upended how people think about and use personal transportation.

These stories beg the question, “how can a leader(s) achieve such amazing success while behaving so inappropriately?”    It’s frustrating to many, including myself, to know that inappropriate behavior by leaders can still occur concurrently with incredible financial success.  It’s a paradox.  The answers lie in the interaction between strategy and culture and the priorities of the leadership at the time namely, the desire for short-term vs. long-term success.

The famous quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” was originated by Peter Drucker and made famous by Mark Fields, President at Ford.  This thought helps set the stage for us here to help provide some answers and lead us toward how we can manage the variation of trust. The point of Drucker’s quote is both the culture of an organization and its strategy interact to achieve success.  They are interdependent. One will influence the other.  Culture will eventually either undermine the strategy or support it.  Overtime culture wins.

We can look back at our two stories and point to examples.  If it’s true that the leader(s) of an organization influences the culture, then we can point to how Steve Jobs evolved.  It can be shown that Jobs behavior softened over time.  We can make the case that the earlier culture of Apple also evolved to help support their aggressive strategy.

Recent articles about Uber reveal that they changed their core values.  Those closest to the organization describe the how the original core values often led to inappropriate behaviors including competition between colleagues.

The key answer to long-term success is consciously managing culture to support strategy.  This is our purpose with this series of blogs. By providing a structure and method to manage the variation in trust the culture will support strategy.  There is no reason why this can’t happen concurrently with start-ups and/or company transformations.  In an earlier blog (Part 1) the point was made that leaders often don’t focus on managing trust because their theory of trust is incomplete, and therefore their methods of building and maintaining trust are often ineffective.

The key question is, “How can we create a culture of trust which will support long-term success through the positive support of an aligned strategy?”  The answer: “We must develop aligned core operational values and then provide consistent feedback about those values behaviors.”

When the core values of an organization are operationalized, they provide a description of specific and observable behaviors.  For example, our point is it’s not enough to just say, “We behave with integrity” or, “We respect each other”. The leadership needs to define exactly what that looks like.  Otherwise, it is difficult, if not impossible, to provide credible feedback when needed.  The feedback needs to be timely and credible otherwise it is a waste of time.

There are three operationalized values which help leaders and staff to behave with trust.  They are Integrity, Respect, and Customer Focus.  Here are some examples of the observable behaviors that can describe these values.

  • Integrity: making only agreements we are willing and able to keep and communicating immediately if those agreements cannot be kept.
  • Respect: Treat others as we would like to be treated; listening with the intent to understand without interruption; expressing empathy as needed.
  • Customer Focus: Ask clarifying questions to be sure we understand what customers need; proactively making recommendations that will better suit their needs

These are only examples.  The statements above only begin to describe the behaviors which will enable everyone in an organization to manage their own behaviors first and to provide feedback to each other because the behavior is observable. More details are needed and are always created in the planning phase of a “creating a culture of trust” initiative.

When the desired behavior is observable it is relatively easy to express appreciation when its seen.  Furthermore, it’s just as easy to provide feedback when it is not.  Providing of feedback enables everyone to contribute toward managing the variation in trust.

The three operational values of integrity, respect, and customer focus align perfectly with the adopted definition of trust.  The four key elements in our definition of trust are integrity, concern (a demonstration of respect), competence, and shared objectives.  Integrity in the operational values of course, aligns with ‘integrity’ in our trust definition.  Respect aligns with ‘concern’ and customer focus aligns with ‘competence’ and ‘shared objectives’.

The consequence of this alignment is powerful.  Everyone now has the ability (and even the obligation) to observe behavior and either express appreciation or provide feedback for optimum learning.  Now we have the structure and the behavior we need to begin to manage the variation in trust.  Now we are closer to our intended purpose.

Leaders who start businesses and/or who are reinventing their businesses must focus on strategy to achieve results.  If we believe that “culture eats strategy for breakfast”, leaders can now concurrently create a culture of trust along with their new strategy. The results can be achieved more quickly and with less waste because poor behavior does not get in the way and slow them down.  Strategy will be nourished with “breakfast”.

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.

 

[1] International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) by Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, Ph.D., Kathleen Ellis, Ph.D., Ruggero Cesaria

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Protecting Your Organization – How to Have an Engaged Cybersecurity Team 

In the first article of this series I provided an overview of the 5 pillars for creating an EPICC high performance teams. In this article we discuss the first pillar of the EPICC model – engagement.

Gallup continues to report that in the US, employee engagement is  around 30% and worldwide at only 15%. While we know this costs real money and affects the bottom line, it has an even bigger cost when we are talking about cybersecurity. When it comes to your cybersecurity team, 15-30% engagement can actually be dangerous to your organization. This is the team that has to be on their toes 24/7 to keep your network and data secure and you want — no, you need — them engaged.

Engaged employees are motivated and excited to do the work they are assigned to do and don’t have to be convinced to do a good job. They truly want to be at work, and want to do their best to contribute. They are looking for continual ways to improve and innovate and they go above and beyond, take initiative, interact with coworkers and management, produce high quality work products, and take responsibility.

Because that is what you are looking for in your cybersecurity team, let’s get to what it takes to have engaged employees. It takes a leadership team that knows how to create engagement by tapping into the key motivators that people have. As a leader, you can inspire your team to want to do more and be better, but you can only motivate them for the long run if you can tap into their intrinsic motivators. For more information on the following motivators, use the links to take you to a more in-depth article on each one.

Contributing fully through alignment – When you want people to contribute fully they need to align with the work they do in a way that allows them to contribute who they are to a task. When people are not aligned they get bored and find other things to do instead of the work at hand. If you ever feel that people on your team are slackers it could be a sign that they are not aligned with their work and as a result, not fully contributing. That is not a sign of a bad employee; it is a sign that they are doing work that is not aligned with who they are.

The Big Picture – People want to know how they fit into the big picture. How does their work help the organizations goals? Punching a clock or showing up to do a job with no meaning is not going to cut it anymore. Your most loyal, dedicated, and hard working employees will be the ones that understand and believe in the purpose of their role in the organization. As a leader and coach of your team it is your responsibility to ensure your team knows, understands, and is bought into the big picture. It is your job to keep that big picture and shared goals in front of them as part of the on-going conversation.

Continued Growth – As a leader, it is your role to ensure your team is getting continued growth opportunities. They want to learn and grow and they will be more appreciative and harder working when given these opportunities. My experience as an employee in several organizations where there were no growth opportunities lead me to be less motivated and look elsewhere for what I was missing. Plus, when you provide educational opportunities, you are going to have a smarter, more talented workforce, and when has that ever been a bad thing?

Feedback and Recognition – Here is a place where your team needs you more than anywhere else. Do you know that most people go through their days getting no praise, feedback, or recognition, not even at home or from those they love? When people are told they are doing a good job, they will want to do an even better job next time. When they don’t know how they are doing they often make assumptions and think to themselves, “oh well, no need to try harder, no one seems to notice around here.” However, don’t just provide recognition and positive feedback because you are supposed to. Do it from a place of sincerity, like a proud parent would when their child is walking across the stage at graduation or scoring the winning goal of the soccer game. Without proper feedback and recognition you are missing out on one of the greatest motivators of all.

One of your jobs as a leader is to inspire those around you so that they are motivated to contribute fully, which will result in improved engagement and in the case of your cybersecurity team improved protection of your organization’s network and sensitive data. See how you can use these tips to amplify their motivation and help create better results for everyone on your cybersecurity team, and in return, for your organization..

If you have questions or comments email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com and for more resources visit www.c-suiteresults.com and/or listen to C-Suite Success Radio