Interesting article on Zappos in Business insider -
http://www.businessinsider.com/zappos-customer-service-crm-2012-1
with a fantastic little video advert…
Looking forward to the Zappos insights webinar tonight - “Bring your vision to Life”
It’s interesting when you read a couple of articles within a day or so of each other, where the message is linked. As with a lot of these things, the fundamentals are the same but are put across in different ways. I love to read everything, but always find some articles or authors will resonate with you more than others, it’s just a question of finding the right fit.
this article on “the power of positive thinking” from Greg Habstritt sits well alongside “its only table tennis” from Tony Phillips.
I think both are excellent and that you cannot underestimate the power of thinking positively and managing any negativity throughout your day.
Stephen R Covey in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (a highly recommended read), has an interesting take on the saying “the best is the enemy of the good”, the subject of a previous post.
In the context of the advice to “put first things first” and saying no to people in certain circumstances, Covey said that saying yes to something good can keep you from doing what is best.
“Even when the urgent is good, the good can keep you form your best, keep you from your unique contribution, if you let it.”
Good leaders don’t have a permanent open door policy; there isn’t time to get everything done so there will be times, perhaps many, where you will need to say firm, but polite, no.
Whatever business you are in, putting the customer first makes financial sense. According to research, companies which outperform the American Customer Satisfaction Index also outperform the stock market in terms of success. Put your customer first, and profits will follow.
Interesting reading on customer service research from Shep Hyken here.
Each working day we have work to do that differs in its value - admin tasks at $10 an hour to high level creative at $200. Target to increase the $200 work, even a small percentage increase will make a huge difference to your work or business.
And whatever level you are at, write your job description - watch this excellent short video from Paul Lemberg
A couple of ideas I came across, online and from a colleague recently, to start and finish the day.
Creatives often start early, and spend the first 30 minutes of the day writing, often before breakfast. This is a great way to have a positive effect on the day, for momentum and creativity.
And an excellent suggestion for the end of the working days is to spend 5 minutes jotting down what you have learned, and taking time to thank those you have help you or who you have been able to learn from.
Focusing on your core values is a key to success in many business and personal coaching models. I came across this useful exercise from Culturesync - the team behind the excellent book, Tribal Leadership.
http://www.culturesync.net/happiness
Its well worth downloading and completing for yourself, and for your organisation.
Also listen to the audio instructions from Dave Logan - with some excellent insights.
Do no underestimate the importance of investing in yourself. A valuable lesson that I learned from Tony Phillips is that spend some time each day doing what you love and increasing your development - this is not in conflict with you work, but in harmony with it.
One of my colleagues is has always been relentlessly disciplined in the time she devotes each day to research and keeping up to date with key industry news, and that investment pays immense dividends to both her knowledge and success and the success of the business. I think she is an example to us all.
How much better will you feel about yourself and perform in your job if you nurture yourself and spend time on things that you enjoy and have a passion for. A good analogy is with the first rule of first aid, look after yourself first, otherwise there may be two casualties to deal with.
This little story emphases the value of really listening (scroll down to “Thanks for your interest”…).
When someone is speaking to you, are you giving them your full attention, making eye contact and hearing what they say with the correct body language?
It shows respect, and makes a remarkable difference to working relationships.
Delegation is great and a necessary and valuable skill to be embraced. In my experience,more often than not people love to be asked to take on more responsibility. The feeling of letting go and watching them grow is very rewarding and really cannot be underestimated.
Some things, though, might need to be kept closer to home. You may always need to deal with a select group of clients, customers or suppliers that value the relationship with you and your experience, and from a marketing perspective, the voice of your company is something that is very difficult to delegate or subcontract.
