ClearBlueAndy

The Lollipop Man (and the true value of customer service)

 

On my way to work each morning I wave at a Lollipop Man. Or, to be more accurate, he waves at me.

I don't know him. He doesn't know me, but he waves, every day, without fail with a broad smile on his face.

I'll be honest, it makes me feel good to be waved at and smiled at. In a world where no one smiles and waves enough anymore it seems to me this wave and smile means a lot.

And I'm not the only one he waves at. He waves at all cars that come into his world as he waits for the kids at the local school to cross. On the times I have been early to work he's even waved from his parked car at me.

Yes, he even does it when kids aren't there yet and he's waiting to start his work.

But why does he do it? In my book "Have a Nice Day; Thank You I Won't" I talk about making people feel a certain way being the pillars of great customer service.

So I stopped, and parked, and asked him.

I introduced myself, said what I did and thanked him for what he did.

"I imagine you do this to affect a behavioural change in drivers who go past and may be in a hurry, " I said, "your acknowledgement makes them slow down right?"

And he smiled, and thought about it and he said: "Making people feel better makes them think about others I suppose, but to be honest I just do it because I want to work like that and it makes me feel better to get smiles and waves back. It's cold out here some mornings you know?"

A career path? Nonsense, let chaos reign......

Everybody tells us to have a plan. Plan your career. Plan your education. Plan your future. In fact a whole cottage industry exists around us from early doors shaping us into the people we become as we turn off the cartoons and start watching the news.  

 

I didn't follow a traditional career path. In fact it made no sense at all to anyone (least of all me) as it unfolded.

 

My jobs in chronological order were.

 

Aspiring pop star  (Simon Cowell asked me to leave his office once)

Civil servant/speech writer  (Michael Heseltine was sacked after something I had a hand in)

Supermarket manager  (I was once disciplined for wasting time after opening a door in politeness)

Journalist  (I invented the expression Toongate)

Spin doctor/customer services  guru (I always wore a black suit to give bad news on the TV)

Director of a Housing Company  (I was so often on the dining car to London the staff all knew me by first name)

Consultant ,coach and trainer (my first client said I was great for an hour and a nightmare for a week-she’s still a client by the way)

Business owner (I’ve spent thousands trying to understand the Chinese, unsuccessfully)

 

That short list spans 20 years and doesn't really do justice to the mistakes I made or the successes I've had.

 

The net result is me, today , trying to meet the needs of the customers and clients I have. And that's where you are. Meeting unfulfilled needs.  Whether you work for someone or for several people your life, like mine, consists of trying to keep people happy.

 

For me, this success hinges on four things. If you can do them well you will succeed.

 

1.  What is it you do for customers and clients that others can’t do?

2. Do you play to your strengths? (knowing what your strengths are helps)

3. Be prepared to let the customer guide you

4. Let things happen naturally, don't overplan.

 

Your life may be quite unstructured thus far, that’s good. Long may organised chaos reign. 

 

An invitation to world class coaching training

An invitation to world class coaching training

Perspective Business Centre in Consett, is delighted to welcome world class business coach, trainer, consultant and "Derwentsider" Andy Lee on June 27th and 30th as he hosts his "Coaching for Business Success" two day open course.

Andy is an ILM Level 7 coach, author and business performance trainer. His clients include Gleneagles Hotel, Go Ahead Group, The Home Office, The NHS, HMRC, Aston University, CAPITA and many more UK and global businesses.

The "Coaching for Business Success" Course is available for an amazing £99 per delegate and results in a certificate from ITOL (the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning).

It would be particularly useful for any business owners, managers and staff who have expressed an interest in learning about coaching their teams and boosting performance but cannot afford a full day's training from a world class trainer and coach.

To register please email taketheplunge@cbwss.co.uk

More Information

Places are limited and filling up fast so book now to avoid disappointment.

Taking leadership into your own hands

 

Leaders need a sense of themselves and their strengths and weaknesses in order to develop effectively. This may not always be possible. Ideally we would spend time with our manager in a 360 environment discussing detailed  improvement areas.

Time constraints may not make this possible so  it becomes realistic to conduct an informal 360 from time to time as a sense check of where you are and what you need to focus on.

Ask those around you (bosses, colleagues, friends):

1) What are my strengths?  have the people you ask identify specific traits (showing integrity, problem solving etc)

2)  What are my fatal flaws?   ask people to highlight any traits that could de-rail your career or lead you to fail in your current job

3) Which of my strengths is most important to my company?  Identify which of your leadership abilities if you were truly outstanding would have the biggest impact on your organisation (for example, you may be good at both motivation and innovation but the business requires more inspiring leaders than idea generators

4) Which of my strengths is most important to you?  Have each person tell you what they value most about you.

The key to asking these questions is to be receptive
to the feedback, even when it's negative and don't forget to create a sense of safety around the process, especially if you are the boss.

The benefits will be  two fold. This process shows you a path ahead for your development and also shows your colleagues you are working on your leadership skills. 

Not enough time? Have some of mine....

 

 

 

"There aren't enough hours in the day", "I'm pressed for time", "sorry...too busy". We all say these things and, quite often we actually mean them.

 

That's probably because time is the resource we consider most precious day by day. For many people money is the core driver of course but it is time (or the lack of it) which contributes most to our feelings of well being.

 

How you spend your time and what you focus on has a direct effect therefore on your psychological well being. 

 

Getting it right as the minutes "tick tick" away is critical. A radical thought exists though.

 

Just as it has been proved that when we give money away or donate to others  we feel richer (despite the fact we are lighter in the purse and wallet) it can be argued that giving our time away for free will have the same effects of well being. 

 

You will simply feel that you have more time. You'll feel better.

 

Spend 15 minutes helping someone each day and see how you feel. You'll feel better. You'll also feel you have more time at your disposal.

 

Contrast this with spending 15 minutes circling words in the dictionary and compare it with the above. It feels like a waste of time and you'd be right.  The results are staggering.

 

Spending time on others makes us feel more effective and we can feel we accomplish more day by day as a result.

 

So I make a pledge to you. If you want 15 minutes of my time to help with something (or at least get you started) just email me here and we will make the connection. I'm happy to help, as it'll me good for me and hopefully good for you too. (please don't sue me if it's not!!)

 

We can label it charity or charitable efforts but I would argue it's a selfish act on my part. I simply want to feel better and want you to help me do it.

 

So go on, don't waste time thinking about it....

When business is in your blood what unblocks the arteries?

 

 

 

In 1919 my great grandfather JS Harbottle founded the Federation Brewery in Newcastle. He trudged from village to village after the First World War signing up working men's clubs and pubs to his new product (The Fed) after he and others had become disenchanted with the then Government's exorbitant beer tax. They brewed their own beer and it sold. By the bucket load and tankard and pint.

 

Some might have called it an easy sell. Beer to thirsty working men when the commercial alternative is overpriced but it wasn't without its pitfalls. My great grandfather died well off but not a millionaire after parting company with his company in the thirties and lived to see the invention he created with his comrades grow into a multi- million pound business.

 

However, as it grew so did the distance between the people who created it and its success. Family members dwindled and professional managers honed into view. Henry Ford famously commented while in his later years he wouldn't get a job in the organisation he founded in his youth. I wonder if my great grandfather felt like that. I never got the chance to ask him.

 

So it was with great interest that I attended "New perspectives on the traditional North East family business model" at Newcastle University Business School earlier this week.

 

It was fascinating to hear from James Timpson of Timpsons talk of board room coups and family feuds on the way to success and wealth generation insulating the family as a key driver as well as the realisation from Mark Squires of Benfield Group that despite family firms taking a long term view ensuring their strength their path can sometimes be blocked by old fashioned values.  

 

 

Sitting alongside Newcastle City Chaplain the Rev. Glyn Evans ( a worker in the world's oldest family business) we heard from Sarah Green of the CBI of the search for growth to stimulate the economy and how family run concerns can be key to that process if they refuse to sit still and stagnate.

 

 

This view was encapsulated by James Ramsbotham of the NECC who gave a  great example of flexibility when a family company is faced with stagnation in a market that is moving on. He described a steeple jack company replete with expert climbers who had built up an enviable reputation  but saw their market diminishing. The second generation manager now running this family firm decided that instead of blowing things up they would start to use their skills base to build mobile phone masts for telecoms providers. A shift which saw their lifeblood invigorated and their future protected.

 

I've often felt business was in my blood but sometimes struggle to unblock the arteries which threaten stagnation. Some top tips from the panel...

 

1) stay true to your values and the beliefs which got you there

2) build on your core skills but always look to employ them elsewhere for new opportunities

3) don't just hire people because you share a surname. Challenge them to bring something to the business.

4) be prepared to stop knocking things down and start to build if the market changes.

Have a Nice Day; Thank you I won't!!!!

 

My new book "Have a Nice Day; Thank You I won't!!" which looks at the dos and don'ts of customer service is out in January 2013.

Over the past few years I've worked with dozens of companies and thousands of people who've shared their experiences with me about good (and awful) customer service.

This book takes a funny, light hearted look at all that and also offers some pointers on how to improve customer services.

I've also got an endorsement from Steve Lundin who wrote the 5 million best selling FISH! books... so there, it must be good ;-)

You can order an advance copy from me by emailing taketheplunge@cbwss.co.uk

I will sign your book if you want me to but this will probably devalue it. It's up to you.

Police and Crime Commissioners? Sherlock Holmes? Not a clue sorry

 

 

 

The fight to be Durham's Police Commissioner has reached fever pitch (not). Mike Costello (who he?), Ron Hogg (sorry?), Kingsley Smith (errr? no got me there) and Nick Varley (nope, never heard of him) are duking it out to be the person who oversees the Police in the county.

 

A bit like the Chief Constable but not coppers any of them (sorry, one of them fixed computers for the Police once). Here's a thought which we don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to have.....Suggest we leave the policing in the hands of those who know rather than those who don't but would tell us they do.

 

The interesting thing is that when you visit the website which lists them (and yours if you don't live in Durham) http://www.choosemypcc.org.uk/  every candidate is politically affiliated so you only get one choice for the inept parade of them all. 

 

It's a fantastic list of feather nesters, carpet baggers and failures. Makes me proud to be British, or a criminal, can't decide which one.

 

 

 

 

Hit the bullseye with your strategy

Streamlined strategy, as well as being, a decent piece of alliteration actually makes perfect sense in a world of business where confusion abounds and the background noise makes it difficult to think. With so many people shouting to get your attention do you reach for the headphones?

 

Keeping it simple, in anything, allows us to see the way forward and importantly explain to those with us what's required (even if you're shouting across a crowded meeting room).

 

Complexity makes it difficult , if not impossible, to reach our goals long term. So we focus in on the targets we can see and keep it simple. Imagine strategy as an archer's target with a bullseye at its heart.

 

What's in your bullseye ? Profitable growth? Sustained advantage over competitors? Impress your partner with a superb christmas gift? It differs for all of us. Your outer rings should contain those strategic aims which are important to you but not your bullseye.

 

Once you have the centre target in mind you can create complex plans around how you might achieve that goal but knowing what you're aiming for in the first place is the ultimate key to unlocking success. 

 

There's no problem also with having several bullseye targets running alongside each other at one time. The trick is to get yourself on the right side of the firing range. Who knows? You could win yourself a rubber duck in the process. 

The Music of Leadership

 

 

 

When I'm not training and coaching I write songs. I've been writing songs since my early teens and over those decades have worked with bands to bring them to life both live and in the studio. Sometimes you are John Lennon; sometimes Keith Lemon, it really depends on the band.  My claim to fame is that Simon Cowell once told me to get the "f$$k" out of his office. 

 

I took the hint and working now as I do in leadership training it occurs to me that a great team is like a great band. Members of the team need to feel free to improvise and be creative. They need to solo from time to time and their leader is the person charged with making that happen. Conductor, conduit...call it what you want.

 

In bands , as with teams, the real enemy is the success trap. This is when members of the team don't break the norms and paradigms instead opting to take the safe route and only do what's worked before. The routine and habits of a team can block creativity so if you find yourself in pure problem solving mode then stop rewind and start improvising.

 

Great leaders dislodge routines and let their people improvise. They rarely critique initial ideas and instead choose to let people co act with them through encouragement. There is a place for problem solving in all teams but it shouldn't be the first instrument the team reaches for. 

 

Surround yourself with improvisers and problem solvers. A healthy blend will allow creativity to flow and who knows? You might just create a masterpiece, a symphony of work that it worth celebrating.

 

Ps. If you want to listen to some of my music and see if Simon Cowell was right then check this out. http://www.theree-vahs.co.uk