A young investor stood looking out into the cool Gulf waters on the end of
pier in a small coastal Mexican village. Having spent the last several
months working hard toward gaining his securities license, he left for a few
days of sun-soaked pleasure in Western Mexico. As the sun sank into the pale
horizon, a single fisherman docked his boat along the far side of the
pier. The young Wall Street banker walked over to the boat and saw several
large yellow fin tuna gasping for air. The young executive complimented the
tanned fisherman, a wise-eyed, weathered man, on the quality of his fish and
asked how long it had taken to bring in the catch.
“Not long at all,” the fisherman replied.
“Well, why not stay out longer and catch more fish?” the young New
Yorker asked smiling.
“I have enough for today,” said the fisherman, “this is what I need to
feed my family.”
“What do you do with the rest of your time?” the young man asked
curiously.
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my
wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I enjoy some
wine and laughter with friends. It’s a full and happy life,” the
fisherman replied.
“Well, I'm a Harvard MBA and have just completed my investment securities
training. I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the
proceeds from the larger catch, buy a bigger boat. Then you could catch even
more fish. With those profits you could buy several more boats and hire
captains to fish for you, and eventually you could open your own cannery.
Then you would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would
need to leave this small coastal village and move to Mexico City or LA or
even New York where you could run your expanding enterprise.”
“How long would that all take?” asked the somewhat bewildered fisherman.
“Fifteen, maybe twenty years, max.”
“But then what?”
“Well, when the time was right, you could announce your IPO, sell your
company stock to the public, and become very rich. You could be worth
millions,” retorted the proud young investor.
“Millions? Then what?”
“Then you could retire and move to a small coastal village like this one
where you could sleep late, fish a little in the morning, play with your
grandkids, take a siesta, and enjoy wine and music with your friends in the
evening.”
The fisherman grinned, tipped his hat at the young advisor, and shook his
head as he walked off the pier without a reply.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Two Steps to Simplify Your Workday - Ron Ashkenas
Have you ever gone home at the end of a long day and wondered what you really accomplished?
That's the complaint I hear from many managers these days who feel that they are working harder than ever, but don't have much to show for it. While globalization, innovation and communications technologies have created incredible opportunities, they also have made organizations much more complex, more exhausting, and more overloaded with meetings, emails, and presentations — often without the counterbalancing benefit of more productivity or satisfaction. And to make matters worse during the economic downturn, many organizations have cut their staffs and just expect the remaining people to do the same (or more) work. It's not a pretty picture.
Unfortunately, if you're waiting for someone else to initiate simplification and make your life better, you might as well buy a lottery ticket. Sure there are some enlightened CEO's — like Jeff Kindler at Pfizer, Gary Rodkin at ConAgra Foods, and Annika Falkengren at SEB Bank — who make it their business to streamline processes, reduce the number of products, cut out layers, and make simplicity a business priority. But in most organizations you're on your own. And if that's the case, what can you do?
Here are two simple steps that any manager, at any level, can take to start down the path of simplification:
Start with your own behavior. How many times have you gone to a meeting that lacked an agenda or a clear set of objects — and didn't do anything about it? How often have you received unnecessary email or reports — but didn't let the senders know that they were clogging up your inbox? How often have you sat through a presentation with too many slides, unclear points, and too much data — but didn't provide any feedback to the presenter? And how often have you been the perpetrator of these complexity-causing behaviors without anyone pushing back on you?
We all allow these things to happen. Often, we're guilty of doing them. But since most people dislike confrontation, we let things slide. It's an unspoken conspiracy: "I won't challenge you if you won't challenge me." The net result is that we unwittingly create a culture of complexity.
The first step towards simplification is to break out of this silent collusion. Challenge yourself and challenge others. Put a three-slide limit on presentations; insist that every meeting have an agenda; eliminate "reply all" emails to schedule meetings. Get simplification started in your own day-to-day life.
Enlist others in the cause. Just like you are often unconscious of how you cause complexity, your boss and your colleagues are probably unaware of how they are making life difficult for you and others. So after you've changed some of your own behaviors (and you need to do that first to have credibility), get some discussion started about other sources of complexity in the company. Don't worry at first about making big changes — just get some dialogue going, either physically or virtually.
Encourage other people to experiment along with you, and to share what works and what does not. Look together at processes that cut across your functions, and how you might streamline handoffs and interactions. Talk about issues that you can't tackle alone, but might be opportunities for group problem-solving. At a minimum, you can create a simplicity support group. But who knows, you might create a movement!
What's your experience with making things simpler in your company?
That's the complaint I hear from many managers these days who feel that they are working harder than ever, but don't have much to show for it. While globalization, innovation and communications technologies have created incredible opportunities, they also have made organizations much more complex, more exhausting, and more overloaded with meetings, emails, and presentations — often without the counterbalancing benefit of more productivity or satisfaction. And to make matters worse during the economic downturn, many organizations have cut their staffs and just expect the remaining people to do the same (or more) work. It's not a pretty picture.
Unfortunately, if you're waiting for someone else to initiate simplification and make your life better, you might as well buy a lottery ticket. Sure there are some enlightened CEO's — like Jeff Kindler at Pfizer, Gary Rodkin at ConAgra Foods, and Annika Falkengren at SEB Bank — who make it their business to streamline processes, reduce the number of products, cut out layers, and make simplicity a business priority. But in most organizations you're on your own. And if that's the case, what can you do?
Here are two simple steps that any manager, at any level, can take to start down the path of simplification:
Start with your own behavior. How many times have you gone to a meeting that lacked an agenda or a clear set of objects — and didn't do anything about it? How often have you received unnecessary email or reports — but didn't let the senders know that they were clogging up your inbox? How often have you sat through a presentation with too many slides, unclear points, and too much data — but didn't provide any feedback to the presenter? And how often have you been the perpetrator of these complexity-causing behaviors without anyone pushing back on you?
We all allow these things to happen. Often, we're guilty of doing them. But since most people dislike confrontation, we let things slide. It's an unspoken conspiracy: "I won't challenge you if you won't challenge me." The net result is that we unwittingly create a culture of complexity.
The first step towards simplification is to break out of this silent collusion. Challenge yourself and challenge others. Put a three-slide limit on presentations; insist that every meeting have an agenda; eliminate "reply all" emails to schedule meetings. Get simplification started in your own day-to-day life.
Enlist others in the cause. Just like you are often unconscious of how you cause complexity, your boss and your colleagues are probably unaware of how they are making life difficult for you and others. So after you've changed some of your own behaviors (and you need to do that first to have credibility), get some discussion started about other sources of complexity in the company. Don't worry at first about making big changes — just get some dialogue going, either physically or virtually.
Encourage other people to experiment along with you, and to share what works and what does not. Look together at processes that cut across your functions, and how you might streamline handoffs and interactions. Talk about issues that you can't tackle alone, but might be opportunities for group problem-solving. At a minimum, you can create a simplicity support group. But who knows, you might create a movement!
What's your experience with making things simpler in your company?
Friday, August 7, 2009
Alchemy
Sandpaper was first created in 13th century China where crushed shells, seeds, and sand were glued to parchment paper. This abrasive product is used to remove small amounts of material from surfaces with the intent of making them smoother or to remove a layer. Sandpaper comes in many different grits designed to smooth out even the toughest and most coarse materials.
In life we all need sandpaper, we all need an antagonist, and we all need friction. There isn’t a one of us that is silky smooth and if we plan to get the best out of ourselves we need someone who will oppose us. While motivation is at its best when it is internal, we do need something to rub us the wrong way in order for us to achieve our potential.
The greatest harm we can do in our quest for excellence is to surround ourselves with others who think exactly like us. When we only interact with likeminded individuals we only get the answers we want to hear. When excellence is at stake we need an abrasive individual that will cause us to question our motives and evaluate our reasoning. It is through the roughing up of our ideals that we can find the way to smoothly experience greatness.
The bigger the idea we have the tougher grit we need to surround ourselves with. Big ideas are not materialized without friction, big mistakes are. If we are to minimize the amount of mistakes we make through transitions it is essential that we assess all ideas, especially the ones we don’t agree with. Somewhere between the emotion that is produced from an antagonist and our original idea is the opportunity for excellence. This opportunity is not available when we are not challenged personally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
Excellence is a form of alchemy, the transformation or enchantment of power. Alchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with the aim of achieving ultimate wisdom through change. In order for us to make the necessary change that has the potential to reach ultimate wisdom we must use the old woodworker’s philosophy of “going through the grits” and progressively remove scratches until our surface is perfectly smooth.
It isn’t until we embrace ideas that go against our grain and create scratches that we will be able to see the opportunity that will generate excellence. Without abrasive others we will not create enough thought to achieve alchemy and without alchemy we will not create enough change to achieve wisdom.
In life we all need sandpaper, we all need an antagonist, and we all need friction. There isn’t a one of us that is silky smooth and if we plan to get the best out of ourselves we need someone who will oppose us. While motivation is at its best when it is internal, we do need something to rub us the wrong way in order for us to achieve our potential.
The greatest harm we can do in our quest for excellence is to surround ourselves with others who think exactly like us. When we only interact with likeminded individuals we only get the answers we want to hear. When excellence is at stake we need an abrasive individual that will cause us to question our motives and evaluate our reasoning. It is through the roughing up of our ideals that we can find the way to smoothly experience greatness.
The bigger the idea we have the tougher grit we need to surround ourselves with. Big ideas are not materialized without friction, big mistakes are. If we are to minimize the amount of mistakes we make through transitions it is essential that we assess all ideas, especially the ones we don’t agree with. Somewhere between the emotion that is produced from an antagonist and our original idea is the opportunity for excellence. This opportunity is not available when we are not challenged personally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
Excellence is a form of alchemy, the transformation or enchantment of power. Alchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with the aim of achieving ultimate wisdom through change. In order for us to make the necessary change that has the potential to reach ultimate wisdom we must use the old woodworker’s philosophy of “going through the grits” and progressively remove scratches until our surface is perfectly smooth.
It isn’t until we embrace ideas that go against our grain and create scratches that we will be able to see the opportunity that will generate excellence. Without abrasive others we will not create enough thought to achieve alchemy and without alchemy we will not create enough change to achieve wisdom.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
12 Ways to Thank Your Customers - Client Appreciation Strategies You Can Use Year-Round - Stephanie Chandler
One of the biggest mistakes a business can make is investing the majority of marketing efforts in attracting new customers and forgetting about past customers. Your current and past clients are the foundation of your business because without them, your business would not exist. It also costs far more to acquire a new client than it costs to generate business from an existing client.
Showing appreciation for your clients can set you apart from your competitors, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire sales and even build relationships that last a lifetime. Reaching out to your clients is also an opportunity to remind them that your business exists. Effective marketing relies on repeat exposure and showing appreciation is an affordable and effective way to keep your marketing wheels in motion.
One note of caution: some companies and industries have strict guidelines about accepting gifts. This is especially true of media professionals and government workers. Gifts can be construed as bribes so when in doubt, ask your clients if such policies exist or stick to sending items with no monetary value.
Following are client appreciation strategies that can help you cultivate client retention.
1. Greeting Cards
The Guinness Book of World Records lists Joe Girard, a car salesman from Detroit, as the world's best salesman. Girard earned the honor by selling 18 cars in a single day. One of his secrets to success is sending 12 cards per year to every single customer and prospect. There are dozens of major and minor holidays throughout the year and each provides a great reason to send a card.
2. Personal Notes
Thoughtful and unexpected thank you notes can be sent after client appointments, following a purchase or whenever a client has done anything deserving some appreciation. While sending an e-mail may be quick and easy, you will make a better impression by sending a note in the mail.
3. Invitations
Though it is important to recognize all of your clients, it is just as important to pay extra attention to your top clients. Spending time together outside of the office gives you a chance to cultivate the relationship by getting to know each other better (in the sales world, this is called "face time"). Consider inviting your top contacts to lunch, dinner, sporting events, charity functions or other events where you can spend time together.
4. Small Gifts
Flowers, books, a mug full of candy and other token items can make thoughtful gifts for clients. These can be sent on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays or anniversaries, or can be sent for no reason other than to show your gratitude.
5. Food
Everyone loves food. Consider sending cupcakes from your local bakery, providing a catered lunch at your client's office or dropping off a tray of cookies.
6. Gift Cards
Sending gift cards for items or places your clients will enjoy can have an added benefit: they will think of you when it comes time to redeem the gift! Options include coffee shops, restaurants, movies, bookstores, office supplies or anything else your clients would appreciate. For even more mileage, consider partnering with another business and send each other's gift cards.
7. Referral Rewards
The highest compliment you can receive is a referral to your business. This gesture deserves recognition in the form of a thank you note, discount on services or small gift card. Always acknowledge when a customer sends business your way.
8. Reverse Referrals
If your clients are business owners, look for ways to refer business to them. This is an unexpected gesture that is sure to set you apart.
9. Customer Appreciation Days
Designate one or more days each year to celebrate your clients. You could offer a customer-only secret promotional sale, give away lunch if you have a physical location or provide a special bonus to those on your mailing list.
10. The Gift of Information
Ebooks, reports, workbooks, videos and other types of information products can make great gifts. For example, compile a list of useful tips that your customers will appreciate and either deliver it via e-mail in a PDF document or publish it in booklet format to mail or hand out.
11. Host Events
Host a party or an open house at your office or a restaurant. If your clients are geographically dispersed, you can hold a virtual event by inviting them to participate in complimentary online seminars.
12. Life Events
If you know that your client is getting married, having a baby, being promoted or enjoying another major life event, send an acknowledgement--even if it is a simple card. Your gesture will not be forgotten.
Showing appreciation for your clients can set you apart from your competitors, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire sales and even build relationships that last a lifetime. Reaching out to your clients is also an opportunity to remind them that your business exists. Effective marketing relies on repeat exposure and showing appreciation is an affordable and effective way to keep your marketing wheels in motion.
One note of caution: some companies and industries have strict guidelines about accepting gifts. This is especially true of media professionals and government workers. Gifts can be construed as bribes so when in doubt, ask your clients if such policies exist or stick to sending items with no monetary value.
Following are client appreciation strategies that can help you cultivate client retention.
1. Greeting Cards
The Guinness Book of World Records lists Joe Girard, a car salesman from Detroit, as the world's best salesman. Girard earned the honor by selling 18 cars in a single day. One of his secrets to success is sending 12 cards per year to every single customer and prospect. There are dozens of major and minor holidays throughout the year and each provides a great reason to send a card.
2. Personal Notes
Thoughtful and unexpected thank you notes can be sent after client appointments, following a purchase or whenever a client has done anything deserving some appreciation. While sending an e-mail may be quick and easy, you will make a better impression by sending a note in the mail.
3. Invitations
Though it is important to recognize all of your clients, it is just as important to pay extra attention to your top clients. Spending time together outside of the office gives you a chance to cultivate the relationship by getting to know each other better (in the sales world, this is called "face time"). Consider inviting your top contacts to lunch, dinner, sporting events, charity functions or other events where you can spend time together.
4. Small Gifts
Flowers, books, a mug full of candy and other token items can make thoughtful gifts for clients. These can be sent on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays or anniversaries, or can be sent for no reason other than to show your gratitude.
5. Food
Everyone loves food. Consider sending cupcakes from your local bakery, providing a catered lunch at your client's office or dropping off a tray of cookies.
6. Gift Cards
Sending gift cards for items or places your clients will enjoy can have an added benefit: they will think of you when it comes time to redeem the gift! Options include coffee shops, restaurants, movies, bookstores, office supplies or anything else your clients would appreciate. For even more mileage, consider partnering with another business and send each other's gift cards.
7. Referral Rewards
The highest compliment you can receive is a referral to your business. This gesture deserves recognition in the form of a thank you note, discount on services or small gift card. Always acknowledge when a customer sends business your way.
8. Reverse Referrals
If your clients are business owners, look for ways to refer business to them. This is an unexpected gesture that is sure to set you apart.
9. Customer Appreciation Days
Designate one or more days each year to celebrate your clients. You could offer a customer-only secret promotional sale, give away lunch if you have a physical location or provide a special bonus to those on your mailing list.
10. The Gift of Information
Ebooks, reports, workbooks, videos and other types of information products can make great gifts. For example, compile a list of useful tips that your customers will appreciate and either deliver it via e-mail in a PDF document or publish it in booklet format to mail or hand out.
11. Host Events
Host a party or an open house at your office or a restaurant. If your clients are geographically dispersed, you can hold a virtual event by inviting them to participate in complimentary online seminars.
12. Life Events
If you know that your client is getting married, having a baby, being promoted or enjoying another major life event, send an acknowledgement--even if it is a simple card. Your gesture will not be forgotten.
When to Keep Your Mouth Shut - TAMMY ERICKSON
The pilot on tonight's flight just came on with an important announcement: we have enough fuel to get to Boston.
Hmmm. I probably was assuming that before he mentioned it. Is this something I really want to have brought to my attention? Is this something I need to hear?
I started to imagine all the other situations in which I really would not appreciate an announcement. How about a nurse who assured you that the syringe she's about to stick in your arm has never been used before? Or a waitress who mentioned that she washed her hands before she made your sandwich? Again, really something I prefer you not call to my attention.
A boyfriend who says that he is not going to break up with you today? A boss who is not going to fire you? (Okay, in today's climate, I grant you that one might be nice reassurance to have.)
But we often say too much.
Here are five situations in which saying less would have been more.
1. Describing one more product feature, after the customer's facial expression indicates that she has already decided to buy. By describing an additional feature, the only thing you can possibly do is trigger an objection the customer had never considered.
2. Beginning any meeting or speech by letting your audience know that you are poorly prepared or prepared at the last minute. At a minimum, this demonstrates a lack of respect for the importance of the event or other participants. In most cases, you also decrease the authority of your conclusions.
3. Asking a question that shows you have absolutely no idea about something you really should understand. I know, people often say there's no such thing as a dumb question. But, frankly, that's just . . . well, dumb. Sometimes it's much wiser to do some research (or ask a friend) to get grounded, and then go back with "smart" questions.
4. Trying for a second laugh after your first spontaneous comment proves amusing. (Think of this as the George Costanza rule for any of you who are Seinfeld fans.) It almost never works. Quit while you're ahead.
5. Assuring people things won't happen that people never imaged would. An airplane with enough fuel should be a given.
Shhhhh . . .
Hmmm. I probably was assuming that before he mentioned it. Is this something I really want to have brought to my attention? Is this something I need to hear?
I started to imagine all the other situations in which I really would not appreciate an announcement. How about a nurse who assured you that the syringe she's about to stick in your arm has never been used before? Or a waitress who mentioned that she washed her hands before she made your sandwich? Again, really something I prefer you not call to my attention.
A boyfriend who says that he is not going to break up with you today? A boss who is not going to fire you? (Okay, in today's climate, I grant you that one might be nice reassurance to have.)
But we often say too much.
Here are five situations in which saying less would have been more.
1. Describing one more product feature, after the customer's facial expression indicates that she has already decided to buy. By describing an additional feature, the only thing you can possibly do is trigger an objection the customer had never considered.
2. Beginning any meeting or speech by letting your audience know that you are poorly prepared or prepared at the last minute. At a minimum, this demonstrates a lack of respect for the importance of the event or other participants. In most cases, you also decrease the authority of your conclusions.
3. Asking a question that shows you have absolutely no idea about something you really should understand. I know, people often say there's no such thing as a dumb question. But, frankly, that's just . . . well, dumb. Sometimes it's much wiser to do some research (or ask a friend) to get grounded, and then go back with "smart" questions.
4. Trying for a second laugh after your first spontaneous comment proves amusing. (Think of this as the George Costanza rule for any of you who are Seinfeld fans.) It almost never works. Quit while you're ahead.
5. Assuring people things won't happen that people never imaged would. An airplane with enough fuel should be a given.
Shhhhh . . .
The Best Leadership Advice I Ever Got - MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
This week's question for Ask the Coach:
As a coach, you are asked to give others advice - what is the best coaching advice that you have ever received?
Like many young Ph.D. students, I was deeply impressed with my own intelligence, wisdom and profound insights into the human condition. I consistently amazed myself with my ability to judge others and see what they were doing wrong.
UCLA Professor Fred Case was my advisor and head of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission - where I was doing my dissertation research. At this point in my career, he was clearly the most important person in my professional life. He was also a man that I sincerely respected. He had done an amazing amount to help the city become a better place. He was also doing a lot to help me.
Although he was normally in a very upbeat mood, one day Dr. Case seemed annoyed. He looked at me and growled, "Marshall, what is the problem with you? I am getting feedback from some people at City Hall that you are coming across as negative, angry and judgmental. What's going on?"
"You can't believe how inefficient the city government is!" I ranted. I immediately proceeded to give several examples of how taxpayer's money was not being used in the way that I thought it should be. I was convinced that the city could be a much better place if the leaders just listened to me.
"What a stunning breakthrough!" Dr. Case sarcastically remarked, "You, Marshall Goldsmith, have discovered that our city government is inefficient! I hate to tell you this Marshall, but my barber who is cutting hair down on the corner figured this out several years ago. What else is bothering you?"
Undeterred by this temporary setback, I angrily proceeded to point out several minor examples of behavior that could be classified as favoritism toward rich political benefactors.
Dr. Case was now laughing. "Stunning breakthrough number two!" he chuckled. "Your profound investigative skills have led to the discovery that politicians may give a more attention to their major campaign contributors than to people who support their opponents. I am sorry to report that my barber has also known this for years. I am afraid that we can't give you a Ph.D. for this level of insight."
As he looked at me, his face showed the wisdom that can only come from years of experience. He said, "I know that you think that I may be old and 'behind the times', but I have been working down there at City Hall for years. Did it ever dawn on you that even though I may be slow, perhaps even I have figured some of this stuff out?"
Then he delivered the advice I will never forget. "Marshall," he explained, "you are becoming a 'pain in the butt'. You are not helping the people who are supposed to be your clients. You are not helping me and you are not helping yourself. I am going to give you two options:
"Option A - Continue to be angry, negative and judgmental. If you chose this option, you will be fired, you probably will never graduate and you may have wasted the last four years of your life.
"Option B - Start having some fun. Keep trying to make a constructive difference, but do it in a way that is positive for you and the people around you.
"My advice is this: You are young. Life is short. Start having fun.
"What option are you going to choose, son?"
I finally laughed and replied, "Dr. Case, I think it is time for me to start having some fun!"
He smiled knowingly and said, "You are a wise young man."
Most of my life is spent working with leaders in huge organizations. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that things are not always as efficient as they could be - almost every employee has made this breakthrough discovery. It also doesn't take a genius to learn that occasionally people are more interested in their own advancement than the welfare of the company. Many employees have already figured out this one as well.
Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Almost anyone can do that. Real leaders are people who can make things better.
Dr. Case taught me a great lesson. His coaching didn't just help me get a Ph.D. and become a better consultant. He helped me have a better life.
Think about your own behavior at work. Are you communicating a sense of joy and enthusiasm to the people around you - or are you spending too much time in the role of angry, judgmental critic?
Do you have any co-workers who are acting like I did? Are you just getting annoyed or are you trying to help them - in same way that Dr. Case helped me? If you haven't been trying to help them, why not give it a try. Perhaps they will write a story about you someday!
As a coach, you are asked to give others advice - what is the best coaching advice that you have ever received?
Like many young Ph.D. students, I was deeply impressed with my own intelligence, wisdom and profound insights into the human condition. I consistently amazed myself with my ability to judge others and see what they were doing wrong.
UCLA Professor Fred Case was my advisor and head of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission - where I was doing my dissertation research. At this point in my career, he was clearly the most important person in my professional life. He was also a man that I sincerely respected. He had done an amazing amount to help the city become a better place. He was also doing a lot to help me.
Although he was normally in a very upbeat mood, one day Dr. Case seemed annoyed. He looked at me and growled, "Marshall, what is the problem with you? I am getting feedback from some people at City Hall that you are coming across as negative, angry and judgmental. What's going on?"
"You can't believe how inefficient the city government is!" I ranted. I immediately proceeded to give several examples of how taxpayer's money was not being used in the way that I thought it should be. I was convinced that the city could be a much better place if the leaders just listened to me.
"What a stunning breakthrough!" Dr. Case sarcastically remarked, "You, Marshall Goldsmith, have discovered that our city government is inefficient! I hate to tell you this Marshall, but my barber who is cutting hair down on the corner figured this out several years ago. What else is bothering you?"
Undeterred by this temporary setback, I angrily proceeded to point out several minor examples of behavior that could be classified as favoritism toward rich political benefactors.
Dr. Case was now laughing. "Stunning breakthrough number two!" he chuckled. "Your profound investigative skills have led to the discovery that politicians may give a more attention to their major campaign contributors than to people who support their opponents. I am sorry to report that my barber has also known this for years. I am afraid that we can't give you a Ph.D. for this level of insight."
As he looked at me, his face showed the wisdom that can only come from years of experience. He said, "I know that you think that I may be old and 'behind the times', but I have been working down there at City Hall for years. Did it ever dawn on you that even though I may be slow, perhaps even I have figured some of this stuff out?"
Then he delivered the advice I will never forget. "Marshall," he explained, "you are becoming a 'pain in the butt'. You are not helping the people who are supposed to be your clients. You are not helping me and you are not helping yourself. I am going to give you two options:
"Option A - Continue to be angry, negative and judgmental. If you chose this option, you will be fired, you probably will never graduate and you may have wasted the last four years of your life.
"Option B - Start having some fun. Keep trying to make a constructive difference, but do it in a way that is positive for you and the people around you.
"My advice is this: You are young. Life is short. Start having fun.
"What option are you going to choose, son?"
I finally laughed and replied, "Dr. Case, I think it is time for me to start having some fun!"
He smiled knowingly and said, "You are a wise young man."
Most of my life is spent working with leaders in huge organizations. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that things are not always as efficient as they could be - almost every employee has made this breakthrough discovery. It also doesn't take a genius to learn that occasionally people are more interested in their own advancement than the welfare of the company. Many employees have already figured out this one as well.
Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Almost anyone can do that. Real leaders are people who can make things better.
Dr. Case taught me a great lesson. His coaching didn't just help me get a Ph.D. and become a better consultant. He helped me have a better life.
Think about your own behavior at work. Are you communicating a sense of joy and enthusiasm to the people around you - or are you spending too much time in the role of angry, judgmental critic?
Do you have any co-workers who are acting like I did? Are you just getting annoyed or are you trying to help them - in same way that Dr. Case helped me? If you haven't been trying to help them, why not give it a try. Perhaps they will write a story about you someday!
How to Run a Meeting Like Google - Carmine Gallo
Meetings get a bad rap in business today and for good reason—very little gets accomplished in them. I can recall a Dilbert cartoon in which several people sat around a table while the meeting organizer said, "There is no specific agenda for this meeting. As usual, we'll just make unrelated emotional statements about things which bother us…"
That pretty much sums it up. The majority of meetings are unstructured, uninspiring, and unproductive. But they don't have to be that way.
When I decided to write a column about running effective meetings, I turned to a leader who holds more than anyone I know and who actually credits her meeting structure for leading to some of the most innovative advances in technology today: Marissa Mayer, Google's vice-president of search products (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "Marissa Mayer: The Talent Scout").
Mayer holds an average of 70 meetings a week and serves as the last stop before engineers and project managers get the opportunity to pitch their ideas to Google's co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Eight teams consisting of directors, managers, and engineers—all at various stages of product development—answer to Mayer.
In a shop like Google (GOOG), much of the work takes place in meetings, and her goal is to make sure teams have a firm mandate, strategic direction, and actionable information, while making participants feel motivated and respected. Mayer's six keys to running successful meetings follow:
1. Set a firm agenda.
Mayer requests a meeting agenda ahead of time that outlines what the participants want to discuss and the best way of using the allotted time. Agendas need to have flexibility, of course, but Mayer finds that agendas act as tools that force individuals to think about what they want to accomplish in meetings. It helps all those involved to focus on what they are really trying to achieve and how best to reach that goal.
2. Assign a note-taker.
A Google meeting features a lot of displays. On one wall, a projector displays the presentation, while right next to it, another projector shows the transcription of the meeting. (Yet another displays a 4-foot image of a ticking stopwatch.) Google executives are big believers in capturing an official set of notes, so inaccuracies and inconsistencies can be caught immediately.
Those who missed the meetings receive a copy of the notes. When people are trying to remember what decisions were made, in what direction the team is going, and what actions need to be taken, they can simply review the notes.
3. Carve out micro-meetings.
Mayer sets aside large blocks of time that she slices into smaller, self-contained gatherings on a particular subject or project. For example, during her weekly two-hour confab with the co-founders and CEO Eric Schmidt, she sets aside five- to 10-minute segments—or longer, depending on the subject—devoted to such specific areas as weekly reports on how the site is performing, new product launches, etc.
This method offers enough flexibility to modify the agenda just before the meeting, should anything pressing occur. It also instills discipline that keeps the meeting tightly focused. Mayer does the same with members of her teams who might need only five or 10 minutes of her time instead of 30 minutes—the shortest block of time her calendar permits. By setting aside micro-meetings within a larger block of time, she accomplishes more.
Mayer, who has a background in engineering and computer science, jokingly refers to micro-meetings as "reducing latency in the pipeline." That means if she has an employee with an issue that comes up Tuesday, he or she can schedule a 10-minute micro-meeting during Mayer's large time block, instead of waiting for her next 30-minute opening, which might not be available for two weeks.
4. Hold office hours.
Mayer brought this idea from her experience teaching computer science at Stanford, where she first met the two guys who would go on to revolutionize how the world gets its information. Beginning at 4 p.m., for 90 minutes a day, Mayer holds office hours.
Employees add their name to a board outside her office, and she sees them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sometimes project managers need approval on a marketing campaign; sometimes staffers want a few minutes to pitch a design (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/30/06, "Inside Google's New-Product Process").
Says Mayer: "Many of our most technologically interesting products have shown up during office hours. Google News, Orkut [Google's social networking site], Google Reviews, and Google Desktop all showed up first in office hours." During office hours, Mayer can get through up to 15 meetings, averaging seven minutes per person.
5. Discourage politics, use data.
One of Mayer's "Nine Notions of Innovation" is "Don't politic, use data" (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "9 Notions of Innovation").
This idea can and should apply to meetings in organizations in which people feel as though the boss will give the green light to a design created by the person he or she likes the best, showing favoritism for the individual instead of the idea.
Mayer believes this mindset can demoralize employees, so she goes out of her way to make the approval process a science. Google chooses designs on a clearly defined set of metrics and how well they perform against those metrics. Designs are chosen based on merit and evidence, not personal relationships.
Mayer discourages using the phrase "I like" in design meetings, such as "I like the way the screen looks." Instead, she encourages such comments as "The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better." This works for Google, because it builds a culture driven by customer feedback data, not the internal politics that pervade so many of today's corporations.
6. Stick to the clock.
To add a little pressure to keep meetings focused, Google gatherings often feature a giant timer on the wall, counting down the minutes left for a particular meeting or topic. It's literally a downloadable timer that runs off a computer and is projected 4 feet tall.
Imagine how chaotic it must look to outsiders when the wall shows several displays at once—the presentation, transcription, and a mega-timer! And yet, at Google, it makes sense, imposing structure amidst creative chaos. The timer exerts a subtle pressure to keep meetings running on schedule.
Mayer does have one caveat when it comes to the timer—maintain a healthy sense of humor about it. (The timer was counting down to the end of my interview with Mayer—but she turned it into a fun and friendly reminder instead of an abrupt end to our discussion.)
Please keep in mind that these meeting techniques work well for Google. They may or may not be appropriate for your place of business. But these six keys should give you some new ideas about how to transform your meetings from a waste of time to time well spent.
That pretty much sums it up. The majority of meetings are unstructured, uninspiring, and unproductive. But they don't have to be that way.
When I decided to write a column about running effective meetings, I turned to a leader who holds more than anyone I know and who actually credits her meeting structure for leading to some of the most innovative advances in technology today: Marissa Mayer, Google's vice-president of search products (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "Marissa Mayer: The Talent Scout").
Mayer holds an average of 70 meetings a week and serves as the last stop before engineers and project managers get the opportunity to pitch their ideas to Google's co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Eight teams consisting of directors, managers, and engineers—all at various stages of product development—answer to Mayer.
In a shop like Google (GOOG), much of the work takes place in meetings, and her goal is to make sure teams have a firm mandate, strategic direction, and actionable information, while making participants feel motivated and respected. Mayer's six keys to running successful meetings follow:
1. Set a firm agenda.
Mayer requests a meeting agenda ahead of time that outlines what the participants want to discuss and the best way of using the allotted time. Agendas need to have flexibility, of course, but Mayer finds that agendas act as tools that force individuals to think about what they want to accomplish in meetings. It helps all those involved to focus on what they are really trying to achieve and how best to reach that goal.
2. Assign a note-taker.
A Google meeting features a lot of displays. On one wall, a projector displays the presentation, while right next to it, another projector shows the transcription of the meeting. (Yet another displays a 4-foot image of a ticking stopwatch.) Google executives are big believers in capturing an official set of notes, so inaccuracies and inconsistencies can be caught immediately.
Those who missed the meetings receive a copy of the notes. When people are trying to remember what decisions were made, in what direction the team is going, and what actions need to be taken, they can simply review the notes.
3. Carve out micro-meetings.
Mayer sets aside large blocks of time that she slices into smaller, self-contained gatherings on a particular subject or project. For example, during her weekly two-hour confab with the co-founders and CEO Eric Schmidt, she sets aside five- to 10-minute segments—or longer, depending on the subject—devoted to such specific areas as weekly reports on how the site is performing, new product launches, etc.
This method offers enough flexibility to modify the agenda just before the meeting, should anything pressing occur. It also instills discipline that keeps the meeting tightly focused. Mayer does the same with members of her teams who might need only five or 10 minutes of her time instead of 30 minutes—the shortest block of time her calendar permits. By setting aside micro-meetings within a larger block of time, she accomplishes more.
Mayer, who has a background in engineering and computer science, jokingly refers to micro-meetings as "reducing latency in the pipeline." That means if she has an employee with an issue that comes up Tuesday, he or she can schedule a 10-minute micro-meeting during Mayer's large time block, instead of waiting for her next 30-minute opening, which might not be available for two weeks.
4. Hold office hours.
Mayer brought this idea from her experience teaching computer science at Stanford, where she first met the two guys who would go on to revolutionize how the world gets its information. Beginning at 4 p.m., for 90 minutes a day, Mayer holds office hours.
Employees add their name to a board outside her office, and she sees them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sometimes project managers need approval on a marketing campaign; sometimes staffers want a few minutes to pitch a design (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/30/06, "Inside Google's New-Product Process").
Says Mayer: "Many of our most technologically interesting products have shown up during office hours. Google News, Orkut [Google's social networking site], Google Reviews, and Google Desktop all showed up first in office hours." During office hours, Mayer can get through up to 15 meetings, averaging seven minutes per person.
5. Discourage politics, use data.
One of Mayer's "Nine Notions of Innovation" is "Don't politic, use data" (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "9 Notions of Innovation").
This idea can and should apply to meetings in organizations in which people feel as though the boss will give the green light to a design created by the person he or she likes the best, showing favoritism for the individual instead of the idea.
Mayer believes this mindset can demoralize employees, so she goes out of her way to make the approval process a science. Google chooses designs on a clearly defined set of metrics and how well they perform against those metrics. Designs are chosen based on merit and evidence, not personal relationships.
Mayer discourages using the phrase "I like" in design meetings, such as "I like the way the screen looks." Instead, she encourages such comments as "The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better." This works for Google, because it builds a culture driven by customer feedback data, not the internal politics that pervade so many of today's corporations.
6. Stick to the clock.
To add a little pressure to keep meetings focused, Google gatherings often feature a giant timer on the wall, counting down the minutes left for a particular meeting or topic. It's literally a downloadable timer that runs off a computer and is projected 4 feet tall.
Imagine how chaotic it must look to outsiders when the wall shows several displays at once—the presentation, transcription, and a mega-timer! And yet, at Google, it makes sense, imposing structure amidst creative chaos. The timer exerts a subtle pressure to keep meetings running on schedule.
Mayer does have one caveat when it comes to the timer—maintain a healthy sense of humor about it. (The timer was counting down to the end of my interview with Mayer—but she turned it into a fun and friendly reminder instead of an abrupt end to our discussion.)
Please keep in mind that these meeting techniques work well for Google. They may or may not be appropriate for your place of business. But these six keys should give you some new ideas about how to transform your meetings from a waste of time to time well spent.
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