StrategyDriven Leadership Conversations focus on the values and behaviors characteristic of highly effective leaders. Complimenting the StrategyDriven Management & Leadership articles, these conversations examine the real world challenges managers face every day that are not easily solved with a new or redesigned process and instead demand the application of soft leadership skills to achieve a positive outcome.
Episode 7 – Sixteen Sources of Leadership examines the sixteen leadership practices and how these help individuals at all levels become more effective leaders.
Additional Information
Complimenting the tremendous insights Robert shares in The Offsite and this leadership conversation podcast, are the additional Leadership Challenge materials and resources found on his website, Leader Inside Out.
Robert has generously made available a document listing the sixteen sources of leadership that can be downloaded by clicking here.
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About the Author
Robert Thompson, author of The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, is the founder of Applied Performance, a leadership and personal communications services company for entry-level through chief executive officers. For the past 25 years, he has worked with a distinguished group of clients that include AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Sony, and Sun Microsystems. To read Robert’s full biography, click here.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
Last week I promised the answers to why lousy service occurs and how to fix it. If you didn’t read part one, stop now, and go here.
The answer revolves around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride.
Let’s start with a little background…
Here are the reasons or feelings that negatively affect your attitude, and reduce or eliminate the power of your ability to serve at a superior level:
My boss is a jerk.
I hate my job.
I hate my coworkers.
I’m too good for this.
They don’t pay me enough.
They don’t understand me.
Benefits suck here.
I have my resume in five other places.
I can’t wait to get out of here.
ANSWER ONE: There’s a two-word secret to service response: positive attitude.
Positive attitude, defined as the way you dedicated yourself to the way you think, is the beginning point of service.
Positive attitude is not what happens to you. It’s what you do, and how you respond to what happens to you. That is the essence of service.
Positive attitude must be the first part of any training program, or the rest of training will fall on deaf ears – or worse – existing negative attitudes.
ANSWER TWO: There’s a two-word secret to the service process: personal pride.
It’s not how you feel about the customer, it’s not how do you feel about the circumstance. It’s all about how you feel about yourself. Your personal pride.
Personal pride should give you the incentive to be at your best, respond at your best, and serve at your best at all times.
You’re not doing this for other people, you’re doing it for yourself. Once you understand that, great service not only becomes easy, it actually becomes fun.
Here are a few guidelines to make personal pride more easily understood:
Personal pride must be more powerful than feelings about boss or company
Personal pride must be more powerful than pay
Personal pride must be more powerful than existing job
REALITY: If positive attitude and personal pride are present, then service, even great service, is possible. And vice versa.
MAJOR POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: It’s not a job, it’s an opportunity. And your attitude, combined with your personal pride, will determine your short-term and long-term fate.
Yes, I realize there may be extenuating, outside circumstances that affect attitude, pride, and even performance. There are too many possible issues to deal with in this short piece, but I do want to acknowledge it’s not always work related.
KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: It’s likely that most people reading this will not be in the same job five years from today. But between now and then, the thoughts you have, the personal pride you build and display, and your level of performance will dictate the quality of job, or advancement, you’re likely to secure.
Why would you risk lousy performance at your present job, thinking you’re going to get a better job based on resume or desire? It doesn’t make sense. And it’s a fantasy with an unhappy ending.
KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Once you understand that you’re serving for yourself, once you understand that your attitude will determine your communication excellence, and once you understand your personal pride will dictate your actions – at once you see your possibilities, and will have the ability to better improve your performance.
Don’t be mad at the world, don’t be mad at your customers, don’t be mad at your boss, don’t be mad at your coworkers – be happy about yourself.
NOTE WELL: If you’re the boss, or you’re in HR, or you’re the trainer, stop training a bunch a crap about your company and how to fill out the silly papers, stop telling me all about how great the company is, how you have a great reputation, and that I should be happy to work here. That’s a bunch of baloney! You can email me that.
START YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS LIKE THIS: Here are two things most people don’t know about themselves AND their success.
HR REALITY: Train me about me. My attitude, my personal pride, my happiness, my opportunity. Information I can use NOW and LATER. Information that applies to ME.
BIGGER HR REALITY: Most employees disdain training, they just want a paycheck.
BIGGEST HR REALITY: The more you help the employee succeed, the more they will set the standard you’re hoping for. They will have a better attitude and serve with pride because you helped them.
That’s not just a challenge, HR – that’s YOUR opportunity.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-03-11 06:46:202016-08-07 21:56:06The Secret of Lousy Service and How to Fix It
StrategyDriven Professional Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques business professionals can use to accelerate their careers and personal goals achievement. These podcasts elaborate on the principle, best practice, and warning flag articles found on the StrategyDriven Professional website.
Wendy Powell is the author of Management Experience Acquired. With more than twenty-five years of human resource and management consulting experience, Wendy has spent most of her career at the University of Michigan. She is currently on the business faculty at both Palm Beach State College and the University of Phoenix. A member of the Society of Human Resource Management, she received a leadership award in 2002 from the Midwest College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. She is routinely featured on The Huffington Post and has appeared on Fox Business’s The Strategy Room. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a Master of Arts degree in organizational management.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/Base3000x3000-SDPP.jpg30003000Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-03-07 06:38:502016-06-11 16:03:39StrategyDriven Professional Podcast Episode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3
Contemporary business leaders embrace the mantra of continually doing more with less. Each and every day, managers and employees are challenged to produce ever-increasing quantities of goods and services at higher and higher quality levels. All other things remaining equal, there are limits to what any individual or workgroup can do. Beyond these limits, output declines and quality suffers.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/TooManyInitiatives.jpg288416Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-03-05 06:01:232018-09-30 15:01:49Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives
QUESTION: Why does lousy service occur?
ANSWER: Lousy service happens because (big) companies don’t understand people OR training.
I am amazed at how many times someone in a service environment delivers lousy service. And it’s often not just lousy – add rude, offensive, abrasive, defensive, maddening, and most of all disappointing.
GREAT NEWS: It doesn’t have to be like that.
If I take the time to complain, which I rarely do anymore, the manager will always ask, “Did you get the name of the person?” Somehow getting the name of the person is important to the manager. But it is unimportant to me. I never get their name.
The manager is looking to blame someone. I’m looking for someone to accept responsibility. The manager is NEVER the one who takes it.
I have found poor service is a reflection of the company and its leaders, not just the person who delivered it.
MY REALITY: When a manager asks me for the person’s name who delivered lousy service, I reply, “Don’t yell at the person who gave me lousy service. Yell at the person who trained them.” The person delivering poor service is most likely to have been poorly trained or ill trained, or both. They’re doing what they were trained to do, and say what they were trained to say.
Or the employee will ‘modify training’ and make statements based on their ‘at the moment’ feelings:
Sorry about that…
That’s our policy…
I’m just doing my job…
They don’t pay me to think…
I’m just a peon…
Or worse, they become defensive, even rude, when a customer expresses frustration or anger as a reaction to what happened. Employees do that because someone TAUGHT THEM they don’t have to take gruff from a customer. (REALITY: The customer provides the money for their paycheck).
Ever get poor service at an airline? Of course you have, EVERYONE HAS. It happens because the people who work at the airlines are undertrained, poorly managed, feel put upon by their management and their leadership, underpaid, rarely if ever praised, and are exposed to constant customer complaints. They don’t like their job, they don’t like or respect their leader, they don’t like their company, and they don’t like the people they serve. Not good.
Now granted, this is a generalization, but I’m in the air enough to make the comment based on 20 years of flying experience. I get an occasional nice person. I have an occasional pleasant experience. But they are so rare that I actually go up to the person and thank them for being nice, for being happy, and for being friendly.
So let’s get back to the question at hand. Why does lousy service exist?
Who is responsible to make great service possible?
Who is responsible to make great service happen?
I always ask people in service positions, “How’s it going?” Most people respond in some negative fashion. Statements like, “Well, tomorrow is Friday!” or “I’ll let you know in two hours when I get off.” or “You’re kidding, right?”
These are losing, self-defeating statements. Statements made by people who fail to understand that doing their best, having a great attitude, and having a high sense of personal pride have nothing to do with the job. They have everything to do with who you are as a person.
Most of the front-line servers are in low-paying positions. When you combine that with our “feeling of entitlement” workforce and with training that’s all about the company, with a smattering of, “smile, greet the customer, thank the customer,” you have a perfect setting for mediocre or lousy service to occur most of the time.
About now, you want answers to this dilemma. I have them. They revolve around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride. But there is way more to these four words than your known definition.
Positive attitude and personal pride hold the key to your success, and they will be discussed in-depth next week.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-03-04 06:50:512016-08-07 22:22:56The Secret of Lousy Service and Why it Happens
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StrategyDriven Leadership Conversation Episode 7 – Sixteen Sources of Leadership
/in Management & Leadership, StrategyDriven Leadership Conversation/by Robert Thompson and Nathan IvesEpisode 7 – Sixteen Sources of Leadership examines the sixteen leadership practices and how these help individuals at all levels become more effective leaders.
Additional Information
Robert has generously made available a document listing the sixteen sources of leadership that can be downloaded by clicking here.
Final Request…
Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Leadership Conversation!
About the Author
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:12 — 47.1MB)
Subscribe: RSS
The Secret of Lousy Service and How to Fix It
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerLast week I promised the answers to why lousy service occurs and how to fix it. If you didn’t read part one, stop now, and go here.
The answer revolves around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride.
Let’s start with a little background…
Here are the reasons or feelings that negatively affect your attitude, and reduce or eliminate the power of your ability to serve at a superior level:
ANSWER ONE: There’s a two-word secret to service response: positive attitude.
ANSWER TWO: There’s a two-word secret to the service process: personal pride.
Here are a few guidelines to make personal pride more easily understood:
REALITY: If positive attitude and personal pride are present, then service, even great service, is possible. And vice versa.
MAJOR POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: It’s not a job, it’s an opportunity. And your attitude, combined with your personal pride, will determine your short-term and long-term fate.
Yes, I realize there may be extenuating, outside circumstances that affect attitude, pride, and even performance. There are too many possible issues to deal with in this short piece, but I do want to acknowledge it’s not always work related.
KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: It’s likely that most people reading this will not be in the same job five years from today. But between now and then, the thoughts you have, the personal pride you build and display, and your level of performance will dictate the quality of job, or advancement, you’re likely to secure.
Why would you risk lousy performance at your present job, thinking you’re going to get a better job based on resume or desire? It doesn’t make sense. And it’s a fantasy with an unhappy ending.
KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Once you understand that you’re serving for yourself, once you understand that your attitude will determine your communication excellence, and once you understand your personal pride will dictate your actions – at once you see your possibilities, and will have the ability to better improve your performance.
Don’t be mad at the world, don’t be mad at your customers, don’t be mad at your boss, don’t be mad at your coworkers – be happy about yourself.
NOTE WELL: If you’re the boss, or you’re in HR, or you’re the trainer, stop training a bunch a crap about your company and how to fill out the silly papers, stop telling me all about how great the company is, how you have a great reputation, and that I should be happy to work here. That’s a bunch of baloney! You can email me that.
START YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS LIKE THIS: Here are two things most people don’t know about themselves AND their success.
HR REALITY: Train me about me. My attitude, my personal pride, my happiness, my opportunity. Information I can use NOW and LATER. Information that applies to ME.
BIGGER HR REALITY: Most employees disdain training, they just want a paycheck.
BIGGEST HR REALITY: The more you help the employee succeed, the more they will set the standard you’re hoping for. They will have a better attitude and serve with pride because you helped them.
That’s not just a challenge, HR – that’s YOUR opportunity.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
StrategyDriven Professional Podcast Episode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3
/in Practices for Professionals, Professional Development, StrategyDriven Professional Podcast/by Wendy Powell and Nathan IvesEpisode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3 focuses on the need to stand out among professional peers and challengers both within your organization and when applying for external positions. During our discussion, Wendy Powell, author of Management Experience Acquired: Necessary Skills for Successfully Managing Any Employee
, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:
In addition to the incredible insights Wendy shares in Management Experience Acquired
and this podcast are the resources accessible from her website, www.ManagementExperienceAcquired.com. Wendy’s book, Management Experience Acquired
, can be purchased by clicking here
.
About the Author
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:20 — 23.9MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives
/in Alternative Selection, Premium/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives for just $2!
About the Author
The Secret of Lousy Service and Why it Happens
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerQUESTION: Why does lousy service occur?
ANSWER: Lousy service happens because (big) companies don’t understand people OR training.
I am amazed at how many times someone in a service environment delivers lousy service. And it’s often not just lousy – add rude, offensive, abrasive, defensive, maddening, and most of all disappointing.
GREAT NEWS: It doesn’t have to be like that.
If I take the time to complain, which I rarely do anymore, the manager will always ask, “Did you get the name of the person?” Somehow getting the name of the person is important to the manager. But it is unimportant to me. I never get their name.
The manager is looking to blame someone. I’m looking for someone to accept responsibility. The manager is NEVER the one who takes it.
I have found poor service is a reflection of the company and its leaders, not just the person who delivered it.
MY REALITY: When a manager asks me for the person’s name who delivered lousy service, I reply, “Don’t yell at the person who gave me lousy service. Yell at the person who trained them.” The person delivering poor service is most likely to have been poorly trained or ill trained, or both. They’re doing what they were trained to do, and say what they were trained to say.
Or the employee will ‘modify training’ and make statements based on their ‘at the moment’ feelings:
Or worse, they become defensive, even rude, when a customer expresses frustration or anger as a reaction to what happened. Employees do that because someone TAUGHT THEM they don’t have to take gruff from a customer. (REALITY: The customer provides the money for their paycheck).
Ever get poor service at an airline? Of course you have, EVERYONE HAS. It happens because the people who work at the airlines are undertrained, poorly managed, feel put upon by their management and their leadership, underpaid, rarely if ever praised, and are exposed to constant customer complaints. They don’t like their job, they don’t like or respect their leader, they don’t like their company, and they don’t like the people they serve. Not good.
Now granted, this is a generalization, but I’m in the air enough to make the comment based on 20 years of flying experience. I get an occasional nice person. I have an occasional pleasant experience. But they are so rare that I actually go up to the person and thank them for being nice, for being happy, and for being friendly.
So let’s get back to the question at hand. Why does lousy service exist?
Who is responsible to make great service possible?
Who is responsible to make great service happen?
I always ask people in service positions, “How’s it going?” Most people respond in some negative fashion. Statements like, “Well, tomorrow is Friday!” or “I’ll let you know in two hours when I get off.” or “You’re kidding, right?”
These are losing, self-defeating statements. Statements made by people who fail to understand that doing their best, having a great attitude, and having a high sense of personal pride have nothing to do with the job. They have everything to do with who you are as a person.
Most of the front-line servers are in low-paying positions. When you combine that with our “feeling of entitlement” workforce and with training that’s all about the company, with a smattering of, “smile, greet the customer, thank the customer,” you have a perfect setting for mediocre or lousy service to occur most of the time.
About now, you want answers to this dilemma. I have them. They revolve around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride. But there is way more to these four words than your known definition.
Positive attitude and personal pride hold the key to your success, and they will be discussed in-depth next week.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author