Astonish Your Customer(s)

What Matters Now

Looking to follow relevant and breakthrough thought leaders and people of action? Looking to get inspired?  Looking for ideas to get from point A to B or even Z?  Looking to get moving? Looking to get yourself over the hump? You MUST read this post, then download and read the FREE ebook.

The book as described by Bill Taylor, co-founder Fast Company magazine:

Seth Godin, the innovator, writer, and blogger extraordinaire, has persuaded 70 other innovators, writers, and bloggers to participate in a project he calls What Matters Now. The idea is simple: Each of us suggests one word — literally one word — that all of us should think about in 2010, and then takes one page to explain why and how that word matters. The result is an intriguing, inspiring, and at times downright moving collection of unconventional wisdom that is available free to everyone.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.  

Is the boss broken

Danny Cox  made this challenge - How would you manage differently if you could not replace anyone on your team for at least one year? 365 days is a long time to hope they'll quit or wait until you can pass them on to the next manager. You'd have to make the working realtionship more productive, wouldn't you? 

Marcus Buckingham  provides the "how":  What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom.
2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual.
3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths
and talent.
4. The best managers know they are on stage everyday. They know their people are
watching every move they make.
5. Measuring employee satisfaction is vital information for your investors.
6. People leave their immediate managers, not the companies they work for.
7. The best managers are those that build a work environment where the employees
answer positively to these 12 Questions:

a. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
b. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
c. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
d. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
e. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
f. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
g. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
h. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
i. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
j. Do I have a best friend at work?
k. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
l. This last year, have I had the opportunity at work to learn and grow?

Ask your people these seven questions, see what they say and decide what you must do differently. It goes back to the old adage - if there is a problem, look in the mirror first.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

I know it's hard, but

Dyson just launched the bladeless fan .

It is said that the conventional fan has not changed in 125 years and, no wonder, how bad is a fan anyhow and does it really need to be improved? Why not leave well enough alone?

The Dyson engineers did the gritty hard work to develop a very space-age and elegant product but someone - a customer, marketer, executive, engineer, someone - said, let's give it a shot and stay at it until we solve it. Ideas and resolve seem to be the mantra at Dyson.

My only concern - can you talk into the bladelss fan and have your voice sound like Darth Vader?  

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Be proud of, and believe, in someone else

Mario Vittone, a chief warrant officer with the Coast Guard, lost his father as a child. But before the elder Vittone died, he wrote his young son a letter that made an indelible mark. Here, Vittone explains why we should all put pen to paper for the next generation.

By Mario Vittone from Reader's Digest

My father was 44 and knew he wasn’t going to make it to 45. He wanted to say something of value that would help me for the rest of my life. I’ve read the letter countless times since my mother gave it to me. One part always stands out. “Right now, you are pretending to be a goof-off,” he wrote. “But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best.”

Since the day I was 12 and first read his words, they have lived in my heart. Growing up knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself. “You will do something great.” He didn’t know what that would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I’ve felt proud of myself, I remember my father’s words and wish he were here so I could ask, “Is this what you were talking about, Dad? Should I keep going?”

A long way from 12 now, I realize that my father would have been proud when I graduated from basic training. He would have been proud that I became a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He would have loved to be there when some admiral pinned a medal on my chest. Lately, though, I’ve come to believe he’d want me to move on to what comes next: to be proud of, and believe in, someone else.

It’s time to start writing my own letters to my children. It’s time for all of us to. Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had. “Is this it, Daddy? Am I doing good?” It’s why every child growing up says, “Watch me.” Our kids don’t hold back because they are afraid to fail. They are only afraid of failing us. They do not worry about being disappointed. Their fear—as mine was until my father’s letter—is of being a disappointment.

Give your child permission to succeed. If you don’t have children, then write a letter to someone who looks up to you. You know who they are. They are waiting for you to believe in them. I always knew my parents loved me. But trust me: That belief will be more complete, that love will be more real, and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts: “Don’t worry; you will do something great.” Not having that blessing from someone they love may be the only thing holding them back.

My note: Obviously, this mindset and approach works with friends and co-workers too.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

How does a great boss behave

Astonish your team by reinventing the boss/subordinate relationship.

When people are asked about the most important qualities of a boss/leader, it is common for words like integrity, vision, customer-focused, motivator, decisive, intelligent and such to be used. 

Those terms are too abstract to guide me to be a better boss and leader. So, by observing, practicing and reading, I have defined a list of the most important actions & behaviors for a boss to practice – specific actions & behaviors that make for an enjoyable work environment and high productivity … for the employee, the work team and the overall organization. It's a long list.

Since no one can master a laundry list, here's what I propose. Each December, the boss meets with her team. From the list below, she asks the team to identify 7 behaviors/actions the boss needs to practice in order for the team to succeed in the coming year. In private, each person will also identify 3 more for themselves. At the end of the year, the team grades the boss on her performance against the ones selected. In addition to grading the 10, the team will also grade the boss on the following: a)  Is a better leader than her peers in the organization, b) Overall, sets an example I want to follow, c) I would encourage my best friend to work for my boss.

Each of the selected behaviors will be graded: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Always. 

My boss …

1.    Acts with integrity (honest, practices golden rule)

2.    Spends lots of time with the customer and the people who directly serve them     

3.    Can visualize and clearly describe a better future – tells a convincing story that is easy to share about how the team can make a big difference     

4.    Is a true believer in the “cause” – exudes contagious energy & total commitment

5.    Listens frequently & attentively – seeks & values my input

6.    Spends time to know my individual talents & goals so I can make a difference  

7.    Assigns work that matches my talents & strengths 

8.    Takes specific actions to improve & leverage my strengths (vs. just improve weaknesses)

9.    Inspires me to do my best work (to astonish the customer)

10.  Teaches me new things (directly or indirectly)  

11.  Treats me like an expert when discussing my area of responsibility 

12.  Makes me feel like my work is valued - shows gratitude, especially for smart failures

13.  Cultivates a “one for all & all for one” culture 

14.  Challenges and departs from the status quo/conventional wisdom

15.  Gives consistent & clear direction – defines: core customer, core strength, core score, core actions   

16.  Keeps it simple – focus on a few important things    

17.  Words & actions are consistent 

18.  Delegates smartly – may identify the objective but lets me determine the “how”

19.  Makes decisive & timely decisions

20.  Gives timely & fair feedback – praise or criticism

21.  Punishes inaction, lazy thinking & poor execution   

22.  Does not make excuses & never confuses effort with results 

23.  Pushes recognition to people/the team  

24.  Expects all team members to be leaders -  independently take initiative to drive the business

25.  Is comfortable with debate & challenges to her opinion

26.  Fights for people - e.g. rewards, resources, removes barriers & distractions, gets team’s ideas implemented

27.  Understands her weaknesses and finds productive ways to compensate

28.  Recruits and comfortably leads people who are smarter & more talented

29.  Knows and respects my work/life balance goals 

30.  Is maniacal about completely satisfying the customer – customer first at all times  

31.  Drives team and organization to create products that are absolute best in market

32.  Doesn’t settle on the important issues - a tyrant against same-old, average, mediocre, good enough

33.  Keeps eye toward big picture and future – doesn’t get bogged down in the weeds

34.  Stays the (right) course - not diverted by critics, flavor of the moment, faux crises

35.  Judgment on important issues is right more often than wrong 

36.  Delivers the right results (understands what constitutes performance in the organization)

 

A.    Is a better leader than her peers in the organization

B.    Overall, sets an example that I want to follow

C.    I would encourage my best friend to work for my boss

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.