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Add You - Leadership and Customer Service - is There a Link?
Heads up to business owners. The recent Federal Reserve short-term interest rate hike was the 15th consecutive increase since June 2004 and the first since Ben Bernanke took over as chairman of the central bank in February.The Fed indicated that even more rate hikes may be necessary in the next few months. "Some further policy firming may be needed to keep the risks to the attainment of both sustainable economic growth and price stability roughly in balance," the Fed said in its statement.Translation: more rate hikes ahead, let’s hope it doesn’t hurt the economy and your business.The target for the federal funds rate is now 4.75 percent,
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that yo
The biggest mistake job seekers generally make when it comes to networking is simply failing to recognize the true breadth of the network they have at their disposal. In contrast, some other job seekers have started to appreciate the network they have cultivated, and have started to work it, but aren’t getting the kind of results a lot of experts promise when they sing the praises of networking.No big surprise — there are some unwritten rules for optimal networking. How well you work your network will determine how fruitful your efforts are, how well you are received when you call to setup meetings, and how easily you expand your network.Let’s
This is the job that you really wanted. The one that you saw advertised and immediately knew was for you. The one that you spent hours crafting an application letter for. The one that required you to beat all the other applicants at interview. The one where you anxiously awaited the postman to see if you’d been successful.
New suit. Clean shirt and your favourite tie. Shoes freshly polished. Hair cut just the way your Mum would like it.
You’re keen. You arrive early. You greet each new person with a warm smile. Trying hard to build rapport without seeming to be over confident. You go out of your way for customers. There’s a spring in your step and a friendly ring to your voice.
Now look around. No matter what job you’re in and no matter how long you’ve been there. Does everyone around you have the energy and enthusiasm of new starters? Or has their energy and enthusiasm dwindled? Are they still there because they love what they do or are they simply there because they haven’t been able to escape yet?
Is there a link between leadership, customer service and business success? Absolutely! Research by the Strategic Planning Institute found that businesses which gave good service grew twice as fast as those with poor service. And, in all my years of researching customer service, I’ve yet to find a business with weak leadership giving great service.
So what are the qualities that I’ve observed?
Leaders need to have a vision of what they want to achieve. How will anyone ever sign up to a cause if there is no cause to sign up to?
The vision needs to be communicated. Let everyone share in it. Let them see what is in it for them by becoming a follower.
Great leaders have passion. The strength and the energy to work against the odds to achieve their vision.
Great leaders delegate and empower. That doesn’t mean that they simply dump on their people. But they create structure, they allocate responsibility, they help to create systems, they provide support and training and resources. And they empower their people to make decisions. This is part of what makes people feel significant.
There’s respect. Great leaders sometimes have to take tough decisions but there’s always respect for their people. They treat their employees as customers – internal customers.
More communication. How are we doing? What are we doing? What new is happening? Successful business leaders are masters at keeping their people informed. Notice boards are up to date and informative. Key performance indicators are understood and displayed. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is how leaders create a sense of community.
People are motivated to do what’s important. If you believe that customer service is important to your business what are you doing to motivate your people to deliver great service? Bonuses based purely on profits are not the answer.
Great leaders stick to principles. In my previous article I told the story of Pret A Manger and what great service they give their customers. I once wrote to their Chief Executive, Julian Metcalfe, and asked if I could spend time in his business researching what they do and how they do it. I promised that I was only looking to report a positive view and that Julian would have the final say on anything that I wanted to publish.
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that you
Without question, the self-storage industry is still the most profitable real-estate investment around. Start-up and overhead costs are low allowing you to recoup initial expenses start making money sooner. Factor in the special tax breaks available, appreciation of your self-storage facility, and the expandability of quality steel buildings and you have a winning enterprise nearly every time.There is room for you in the self-storage industryOnly 6% of the population is currently utilizing self-storage and the trend is growing. Baby-boomers are retiring, down-sizing, and finding they have more things than space. In fact, as a nation we continue
Is there a link between leadership, customer service and business success? Absolutely! Research by the Strategic Planning Institute found that businesses which gave good service grew twice as fast as those with poor service. And, in all my years of researching customer service, I’ve yet to find a business with weak leadership giving great service.
So what are the qualities that I’ve observed?
Leaders need to have a vision of what they want to achieve. How will anyone ever sign up to a cause if there is no cause to sign up to?
The vision needs to be communicated. Let everyone share in it. Let them see what is in it for them by becoming a follower.
Great leaders have passion. The strength and the energy to work against the odds to achieve their vision.
Great leaders delegate and empower. That doesn’t mean that they simply dump on their people. But they create structure, they allocate responsibility, they help to create systems, they provide support and training and resources. And they empower their people to make decisions. This is part of what makes people feel significant.
There’s respect. Great leaders sometimes have to take tough decisions but there’s always respect for their people. They treat their employees as customers – internal customers.
More communication. How are we doing? What are we doing? What new is happening? Successful business leaders are masters at keeping their people informed. Notice boards are up to date and informative. Key performance indicators are understood and displayed. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is how leaders create a sense of community.
People are motivated to do what’s important. If you believe that customer service is important to your business what are you doing to motivate your people to deliver great service? Bonuses based purely on profits are not the answer.
Great leaders stick to principles. In my previous article I told the story of Pret A Manger and what great service they give their customers. I once wrote to their Chief Executive, Julian Metcalfe, and asked if I could spend time in his business researching what they do and how they do it. I promised that I was only looking to report a positive view and that Julian would have the final say on anything that I wanted to publish.
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that yo
Think ‘shared office space’.No, this doesn't mean you have to actually share office space with another company. It is simply a generic name for a type of office space that doesn’t require a long-term lease.Shared office space is available in almost any city in the world. Why should you consider it when you need either temporary or permanent expansion room? Here are just a few reasons. There is never a long-term complicated lease involved. You sign a simple rental agreement in the morning and can move into the office space that afternoon.Almost all shared office space is centrally located within the heart of a city. what they want to achieve. How will anyone ever sign up to a cause if there is no cause to sign up to?
The vision needs to be communicated. Let everyone share in it. Let them see what is in it for them by becoming a follower.
Great leaders have passion. The strength and the energy to work against the odds to achieve their vision.
Great leaders delegate and empower. That doesn’t mean that they simply dump on their people. But they create structure, they allocate responsibility, they help to create systems, they provide support and training and resources. And they empower their people to make decisions. This is part of what makes people feel significant.
There’s respect. Great leaders sometimes have to take tough decisions but there’s always respect for their people. They treat their employees as customers – internal customers.
More communication. How are we doing? What are we doing? What new is happening? Successful business leaders are masters at keeping their people informed. Notice boards are up to date and informative. Key performance indicators are understood and displayed. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is how leaders create a sense of community.
People are motivated to do what’s important. If you believe that customer service is important to your business what are you doing to motivate your people to deliver great service? Bonuses based purely on profits are not the answer.
Great leaders stick to principles. In my previous article I told the story of Pret A Manger and what great service they give their customers. I once wrote to their Chief Executive, Julian Metcalfe, and asked if I could spend time in his business researching what they do and how they do it. I promised that I was only looking to report a positive view and that Julian would have the final say on anything that I wanted to publish.
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that yo
Charities are those organizations that provide a unique or set of unique programs within the community that they serve. Often these services are provided to their clients at no charge or are based on a fee in accordance with their level of income. Examples of some of these services provided by charities include the provision of clothing and food to the homeless, delivery of meals to the senior population, youth building programs, energy assistance, hospice care, etc.In addition, to provide the services needed in any given community, the charity is comprised of minimal staff that is paid less, the extensive use of volunteers, governance by volunteer le
More communication. How are we doing? What are we doing? What new is happening? Successful business leaders are masters at keeping their people informed. Notice boards are up to date and informative. Key performance indicators are understood and displayed. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is how leaders create a sense of community.
People are motivated to do what’s important. If you believe that customer service is important to your business what are you doing to motivate your people to deliver great service? Bonuses based purely on profits are not the answer.
Great leaders stick to principles. In my previous article I told the story of Pret A Manger and what great service they give their customers. I once wrote to their Chief Executive, Julian Metcalfe, and asked if I could spend time in his business researching what they do and how they do it. I promised that I was only looking to report a positive view and that Julian would have the final say on anything that I wanted to publish.
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that yo
Everything in nature has been endowed with what it needs to survive. There is no living thing that isn't inherently equipped with the skills and abilities it needs to secure its continued existence. Whether through instinct, size, camouflage or speed, no gazelle, lion or giraffe has to go to trade school to learn how to survive. That’s the beauty of the divine plan. We, as humans, are part of this plan and each one of us is given something that sets us apart from everyone else; something that we can use to ensure our own survival.Before industrialization sent hoards of us to the cities to work on assembly lines in factories, we all used something we
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese proverb – “The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more that you can see of it’s backside”. I understood what he meant and admired his principle.
Great leaders walk the walk and talk the talk.
There’s a famous story about a group of visitors to Disney. They were walking in the Magic Kingdom when they saw a grey haired man walk out of his way to pick up a piece of litter. One of the group approached the man and asked, “How many custodians are there here?” The man replied, “45,000”. The guest was surprised at so many.
The next day the group attended a Traditions meeting and the same grey haired man was there. His name was Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of Disney.
And great leaders keep the energy going.
I have been fortunate enough to spend some time at Richer Sounds. Richer Sounds is a hi-fi store that has been in the Guinness Book of Records six years running for the highest retail sales per square foot of any retail business anywhere in the world.
Throughout my day at Richer Sounds, members of the Team were regularly checking their performance against target. They kept reminding each other about hitting target and getting together for a drink at the end of the week. There was a buzz and the Team was loving it.
How would I sum up leadership in one sentence? It’s simply creating a Team of people with the skills and experience of older employees but the energy and enthusiasm of new employees. If you’re the boss, does this describe the people who work in your business?
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