Leadership Caffeine Podcast-Bob Lucas on Customer Service
For managers and executives, customer service is either a golden opportunity or, as some seem to treat it…a cost center. However, perhaps one of the outcomes of this great recession and the on-going economic malaise…is that many organizations and managers are waking up to the reality that they need to try just a little harder to earn and retain our business.
Enter Robert W. Lucas, an expert, and the author of a number of top selling books on customer service, with some valuable guidance for managers, executives and customer service professionals from his latest, Please Every Customer-Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.
I caught up with Bob recently to talk about customer service and to learn more about the importance of culture in customer service delivery. I also spent some time picking his brain on why some organizations just don’t seem to get it when it comes to this service area. Bob was a fascinating and engaging guest and his ideas and perspectives are valuable for all of us. Enjoy!
Leadership Caffeine Podcast Episode 5: Bob Lucas on Customer Service [ 26:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBob is a Managing Partner at Global Performance Strategies and his books are found at Amazon.com and other booksellers.
Show Sound-Bites:
- The importance of cultural awareness when it comes to delivering quality customer service.
- The need for firms to break the mold of cookie-cutter training and delivery of customer service.
- Why some organizations seem to have missed the memo on delivering great customer service.
- What managers should be looking for in hiring and developing today’s customer service professionals.
- Valuable career advice for today’s customer service professionals.
- Why great customer service just might start in the home.
About The Leadership Caffeine Podcast:
The purpose of this show is to connect with leaders, management thinkers, authors, educators, entrepreneurs and anyone else passionate about improving and innovating in leadership and management. If you are interested in being a guest on the show, contact Art Petty.
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About Art Petty:
Art Petty is a Leadership & Career Coach helping motivated professionals of all levels achieve their potential. In addition to working with highly motivated professionals, Art frequently works with project teams in pursuit of high performance. Art’s second book, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development, will be published in September of 2011.
Contact Art via e-mail to discuss a coaching, workshop or speaking engagement.
Towards Your Growth as a Management Innovator
One of the exciting parts of living and working through “these interesting times,” comes from the opportunity to apply the tools of management in new ways and forms to today’s complex problems.
This “management innovation” as Dr. Gary Hamel describes it, is much about the search for approaches to organizing, planning, leading and controlling that better fit the challenges of the 21st century. The implication is that in many cases, we’re still trying to solve new and emerging problems with 20th century management tools. Another implication is that we haven’t yet cracked the code on sustaining high-levels of organizational performance for extended periods of time.
In Search of Management Innovation:
While some position this pursuit of management innovation as something on the scale of an Arthurian quest for the Holy Grail, for those of us who aren’t management researchers and who have teams and organizations to run, we need something a bit more tangible to grab hold of and play with in pursuit of survival and sustained success.
Consider these as idea prompters laced with encouragement!
Six Quick Ideas to Stimulate Your Management Innovation Thinking:
1. Innovation in management approaches occurs like almost all other forms of innovation…through enlightened trial and error backed by a lot of curiosity and a willingness to accept failure on the road to success. Translation…it’s all about environment and leadership attitude. If you aren’t working hard on creating an environment that not only tolerates trial and error, but encourages it, then you are missing the critical first piece.
2. It’s how you use the tools that counts! Our tools…structure, people, leadership approaches, technology, communications, goal-setting and measurement mechanisms are fairly easy to identify…and genuinely finite…however, there are nearly infinite number of ways to apply the tools.
3. The Right Answer…Well, It Depends. What works right in one situation or environment is likely not the right answer for other situations or environments. Recognize that when entering a new business, setting up new teams or taking on new types of projects and problems, you need to view the situation as unique, not cookie cutter.
4. Structure matters…and strategy must beget structure. If you forget or misapply either one of these, you’re likely to generate more problems than answers.
5. Creativity is a commodity however, the application of creativity to solving problems is priceless. And before you skewer me for the “commodity” crack, consider that ideas are all around us…it’s the courage to take an idea and work it until it either proves useful or useless that takes true courage. Translation: the value isn’t in the brainstorming session, although the process of generating, parsing, prioritizing and acting-on ideas is critical.
6. It’s always the people, stupid! Do everything to get the right ones in place and give them the tools they need to fail on the road to success.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
At the wrap-up of a Kellogg Executive program a few years ago, the Organizational Design Professor encouraged all of the V and C level people in the room to “Never quit trying to innovate with our people and our organizations.” Her meaning was clear then and it’s more critical now than ever. How hard are you working to promote, support and reward management innovation in your workplace?
Leadership Caffeine Podcast-Linda Finkle on Partnering
The lure of “partnering” with others is strong in our society, particularly as more and more high quality professionals pursue their own businesses outside of the not-so-cozy confines of corporate walls. Much like marriage, there are some remarkable upsides and unfortunately (according to the numbers), some pretty significant downsides for many.
Enter Linda Finkle, CEO of Incedo Group, and author of the book, “Finding the Fork in the Road-The Art of Maximizing the Potential of Business Partnerships” to share some sage guidance on this important topic.
Aside from delivering a great interview here, Linda’s perspectives on “not forcing a fit,” and planning ahead to the inevitable point in time when the partnership no longer makes sense (the fork in the road!) resonate with me on so many levels.
Enjoy this interesting and highly relevant interview. It might just save you from making some serious partnering missteps of your own!
Show Sound-Bites:
- Why building a successful partnership is more difficult than building a successful business.
- The importance of planning for that point in time where the partnership has hit maximum profitability and utility or, “It doesn’t have to be until death do us part.”
- Why it’s so critical to never force a fit when considering a partnership.
- Plan how you will communicate and work the plan.
- Why so many partnerships end up in divorce.
- Communication, communication , communication.
- Yes, you can celebrate the end of a partnership.
About The Leadership Caffeine Podcast:
The purpose of this show is to connect with leaders, management thinkers, authors, educators, entrepreneurs and anyone else passionate about improving and innovating in leadership and management. If you are interested in being a guest on the show, contact Art Petty.
The Next Episode:
Robert W. Lucas, a widely published author and expert on customer service, shares his expertise on this mission critical topic, including ideas from his latest book: Please Every Customer-Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.
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About Art Petty:
Art Petty is a Leadership & Career Coach helping motivated professionals of all levels achieve their potential. In addition to working with highly motivated professionals, Art frequently works with project teams in pursuit of high performance. Art’s second book, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development, will be published in September of 2011.
Contact Art via e-mail to discuss a coaching, workshop or speaking engagement.
Next! Call for Interviews: Product & Project Managers & Organizational Integrators
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Product Management, Professional Growth, Project Management
When chatting with leadership author and expert, John Baldoni, on the Leadership Caffeine Podcast (published on itunes last week), I asked him which of his books was his favorite. I loved his response…“The one I’m working on now.”
I’m just a few weeks away from the publication of book #2 for me, a collection of essays organized into helpful…self-help sections for professionals striving to survive and succeed (Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development), and try as I might to resist the urge to do this again (right away), I have to have a book in process in my life.
Next! Bring on the Organizational Integrators and Informal Leaders!
(This means you, Product Managers and Project Managers.)
I’ve been hanging around professionals who function as organizational integrators for most of my career. These people are more commonly identified as product managers, project managers, team leaders and any of a number of additional titles and roles where there is heavy responsibility for outcome from cross-boundary activities with little formal authority. I’ve referenced these people as “informal leaders,” and am good with that label regardless of the occasional jibe that comes my way on this particular use of both informal and leader in the same breath.
Regardless of label, these individuals who build coalitions, navigate the stormy seas of crafting successful team environments and think about (and act on) issues from both the big and little picture perspective, are the people making things happen in organizations large and small. Yes, I have a distinctly positive bias on the value, and a distinctly negative view on how organizations are leveraging and cultivating these professionals.
For many of these integrators, the work is hard, the pay mediocre and the grief nearly endless. Oh, and then there’s the respect issue from senior management.
Interestingly, the skills required to lead complex projects and drive change across organizational boundaries are increasingly the skills required to compete in this distributed, always-on world, where complexity is the norm and time compression seemingly inevitable.
The skills employed by the best integrators are increasingly valuable…and those who have them and who work on developing them, represent outstanding pools of talent for bigger, bolder and broader leadership roles over time.
A Big Idea Here Somewhere…and It’s Time to Talk:
Whether I’ve articulated it or not, there’s a big idea here somewhere, and I intend on finding and sharing it. The focus is on the art of leading without authority…in pursuit of driving results across boundaries.
The line of questioning for product managers, project managers and other integrators will focus on the challenges that you face in navigating your role and in developing your career. Consider these three as a great starting point:
1. What’s working?
2. What’s not?
3. What needs to change to better enable you and your colleagues to succeed?
Yes, these are open ended by design. It’s early. And no, the focus is not on project process nor on product management steps or frameworks, but rather on organizational, cultural and leadership issues that either support or hinder the efforts of integrators like you. Along the way, we’ll explore the personal professional development issues for individuals in these roles as well.
Want to Talk?
I have a well-developed network of contacts in these communities and will be reaching out to these professionals. However, I’m curious to hear from people who I don’t know in industries and groups I’ve not encountered.
If you or someone you know might like to participate in a non-invasive, anonymity guaranteed discussion on the challenges and opportunities you see in your work as a product manager, project manager or organizational integrator of any type, I’m all ears.
Drop me a note and we will find a way to connect. For those who prefer a survey approach, I plan on releasing one after the first round of interviews.
Leadership Caffeine: Fun at the Cousin’s Reunion with Luck, Hope and Hard Work
Filed under: Career, Crisis Leadership, Leadership Caffeine
Luck, while nice when she smiles on you, is a fickle and elusive relative. She rarely shows up at family events and when she does, it’s all about her. She raises expectations of ridiculous things to insane levels, and then disappears after disappointing, without a word.
Hope, is much more accessible than Luck, but in some regards, she is even more frustrating to deal with. Hope is comfortable and comforting, providing us with possibilities, but most often leaving us disappointed. What Hope doesn’t tell you is that she relies on her cousin, Luck, and of course we’ve already established that Luck is undependable.
Luck and Hope hang out with a bad crowd. Their latest buddy, Silver Bullet is the one who promises quick, almost magical fixes to the toughest of problems. Unfortunately, as the rest of us have learned, Silver Bullets don’t work any better than Hope or Luck.
The quiet one in the corner at this reunion of cousins is Hard Work. HW for short, is not glamorous, but of all of the cousins, she’s the one that delivers. HW is a stern task master, demanding time, attention and practice. Her price is your time and your sweat and your genius, but the payoff is always there eventually. Yes, HW is the reliable one.
Of course, Hard Work comes from solid stock. Her mother is Dreamer and her father is Common Sense. The combination of the three is nearly unbeatable.
Of Dreams, Hard Work and Common-Sense:
For some reason, Dreams, Hard Work and Common Sense are rudely shoved to the background during times of difficulty. That’s perverse, because these are the only three that are capable of supporting us as we persevere against an endless barrage of bad news and tough choices. Dreams give us something to reach for, Common Sense guides our way and Hard Work…well, she does all of the heavy lifting.
Consider our world today:
- Economic growth is built on the backs and brains of hard working people who aspire to something more and are willing to invest and sacrifice and work to get there. Economic growth is not built on the back of government spending which offers false hopes about a magical multiplier that exists only on the pages of your hopeful and luck-driven, silver-bullet laden Keynesian economist. At best and worst, the government must create rules that incent people and capital providers and businesses to invest and work hard.
- Organizations hoping for a return to normalcy are in for a disappointment. This is the new normal and once again, Hope has disappointed.
- Senior teams looking for a silver bullet fix for their mature and declining business in this ferocious global environment might as well be searching for a mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Alternatively, they can invest in lottery tickets and let Hope and Luck guide their actions. Oh, and the products, customers and markets that helped you make it this far…don’t count on them taking you any further. It’s time for the Hard Work of business reinvention.
- Leaders who expect people and performance problems to simply disappear are bound to be disappointed. Hope strikes again.
- Leaders who expect the presence of just a job to engage and retain the best and brightest have suspended common-sense and are flirting with the rarely spoken of family member, Arrogance. It might work for a few minutes in time, but it’s a bad plan.
- To those struggling in this economy and looking for your next step in your career, working harder on solving your problem is the only way forward. No amount of luck, false hope or magical silver bullet jobs program from your friendly government is going to solve your situation. You will have to work harder than you ever have before…likely at reinventing yourself and your career. After a lifetime of working, it doesn’t seem fair, but Fair is from a different branch of the family, and he almost never shows up at this family reunion.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Right now, grab Luck, Hope and Silver Bullet by the collective collars and throw them out into the street. Stare Hard Work in the eyes, thing long and hard about what her parents, Dreamer and Common Sense would have to say about your situation, and get going.
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