Archive for May, 2010
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Attitudes determine the way we treat people. They affect the way we perceive change. They influence our ability to set and reach goals. Attitudes affect our ability to realize and progress through Maslow’s levels of need satisfaction (http://www.abraham-maslow.com/). The following sequence may help you see the significance of attitudes.
Results: Each of us as goal seekers want to achieve certain results from our lives.
Behavior: The results we get depend upon our behavior, how we react to situations.
Attitude: The results we get depend upon our behavior and attitudes toward the people or events involved, and toward ourselves.
If attitudes are basically negative, goals will be set low, and it will be difficult to progress. Growth and promotion will be all but impossible until a positive mindset is developed.
You can identify people with negative attitudes by their actions and by their reactions. When presented with a challenge their focus will be on problems: what can’t be done, and why things won’t work. Their discussions will often revolve around negative issues and blame. They do not respond well to compliments and will even discount them. However, they remember every one of their failures and mistakes, and this memory stifles much of their activity. They are usually part of the problem not part of the solution.
If attitudes are basically positive, individuals will focus on possibilities and ideas for improvement. This will be evident in the way they treat people. They will be very comfortable giving others credit, and their transactions will be directed at making others feel better about themselves. They accept both constructive criticism and compliments with open consideration and appreciation. They are regularly part of the solution and rarely part of the problem.
It is important to understand that attitudes are developed very early in life. Years and years of early conditioning helped to develop the attitudes that many people carry with them throughout life. Much of early conditioning was negative, what you can’t do, where not to go, etc. For the most part, negative attitudes are far more prevalent than positive attitudes. Too many people think more often of what’s wrong, how they might fail, and why it won’t work rather than what’s good, what’s right, and how it can work.
On the positive side, since attitudes are developed, they can be changed. In fact, as a leader, you will frequently find yourself in a position to help people develop positive attitudes. The first step is understanding that what took years to develop will also require some time and effort to change. Daily encouragement is important. Positive input on a daily basis will help to replace some of the negative attitudes with positive ones. Audio books, articles, brainstorming sessions, affirmations, and seminars are some techniques you can employ to create positive input.
There are many ways and opportunities to create a learning organization with a focus on positive attitudes and possibility thinkers. Recognition programs, leadership opportunities, personal mentoring, and corporate coaching (http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/whatwedo/lifebuscoach) are but a few ways to help your team develop the appropriate attitudes focused on goal achievement. One of the vital contributions a leader can make is instilling the desire and creating the opportunity for continuous improvement.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Attitudes, Behavior, Coaching, goal achievement, Leadership, Maslow, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, results, Success
Posted in Attitudes | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
In his book, The Ultimate Question, Fred Reichfield (www.theultimatequestion.com) suggests a simple measurement to determine customer loyalty. His contention is that you have three types or levels of customers resulting from their experience with your organization. Determining which category each one of your customers falls into can be measured by asking one question, “How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend?” If the responses were sorted on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being ‘not at all likely’ to 10 being ‘extremely likely’, the responses of 9-10 are your loyal customers and provide you with the best word of mouth advertising; 7-8’s are generally not excited about their experience but found their experience to be okay or average; while anyone rating their experience as a 6 or lower is clearly not happy with their experience and may even be angry.
Here is how it ties directly to your revenues and potential profits.
Your Loyal Customers (9-10) are those who are absolutely delighted with your products or services and their experience during the entire purchasing process and follow up. These customers will promote your organization through word of mouth (referrals) and will repeatedly purchase your goods or services. They are your loyal customers.
Your Neutralizers (7-8) are those who are unenthusiastic about their experience with your organization, not totally turned off, but not enthusiastic about it either. They are open to buying from your competitors or perhaps you if the right promotion or situation arises. They are your Neutralizers.
Your Diminishers (0-6) are those customers who are unhappy enough with their experience and with your organization to actively look for an alternative source for your products or services which immediately costs you a revenue opportunity. Your diminishers will raise expenses because now you need to spend more on marketing or advertising. They are Diminishers because they not only will not come back, but they will also actively try to take others with them.
Identifying the percentage of your customers who fall into each category: Loyal, Neutralizers, and Diminishers provide you with metric that will indicate future strength and direction for your organization. We call this metric the Customer Loyalty Score or CLS (http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/blog/category/customer-loyalty/)
This one simple metric can provide you with an indication of your long-term future because this formula is an absolute predictor of your customers’ future purchasing behavior as opposed to their opinions which are collected through a traditional satisfaction survey. If your customer loyalty metric is going down, your future is not strong and proactive decisions may be needed. If this metric is going up, so will your profits and long-term growth. This metric can be to customer relationships, as an organization’s net profit is to financial performance. This single metric can for the first time provide a target for management and the entire organization to focus upon as an indicator of your business’ growth. No longer should it be the goal of business to only satisfy a customer, but rather it needs to focus on how to make loyal customers for your business!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve high levels of excellence and success by adopting customer loyalty strategies as a critical success factor of organizational success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: advertising, Customer Loyalty, diminishers, marketing, neutralizer, RAC, Reichfield, Resource Associates Corporation, The Ultimate Question, word of mouth
Posted in Customer Loyalty | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
“The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Former President of The University of Notre Dame
A powerful vision provides inspiration, challenge, and purpose. It gives meaning to your work and purpose to your business. Your business gives you a place where you can satisfy your need to achieve. Everyone’s life needs a purpose, something important to strive for. One way to add both meaning and context to your vision is to establish values. Clearly defined values simplify decision making. They also help ensure consistency as well as ethical and behavioral congruency.
Value is a word that describes what each of us searches for in many different places. We look for value in what we purchase. We look for value in what we do, and for value in our relationships. Most of us would like to believe that there would have been some value to our life and to our accomplishments. In today’s global and ever-changing business environment, values should play an important role in structuring, planning, and operating your business. Direction is provided in part by vision, which creates excitement, commitment, and purpose. Achievement and excitement must be tempered, however, by values lest people pursue goals without consideration for the ethics of other people. Values represent the core priorities in the organization’s culture including what drives individuals and how they truly act in an organization. Therefore, another key element of a successful planning process is the organization’s value statement. Throughout the life of the business, decisions must be made. Core values of the organization will lay the foundation and provide the framework for all decisions.
An organization’s values create a foundation for integrity and they define the important truths that guide your actions. They will serve as a guidepost for all those in the organization who through their individual efforts will collectively achieve the organizational goals. Values are principles or standards by which we do business and are to be non-negotiable. As you think about crystallizing your values, consider what you know to be right as well as how you want to be known by others.
If the primary function of your business is to attract and maintain customers in order to generate long-term profits or financial viability, then issues such as meeting client or customer expectations, delivering quality service, etc., must be included in the values statement. Your values should take into consideration the importance you place upon each stakeholder in your business. By definition, a stakeholder is anyone who has the power to exert influence on your organization. It may be an individual, a group, or another organization. For example, your stakeholders could include your customers, your employees and their families, your stockholders, the community, licensing and regulatory agencies, or suppliers.
Some examples of value statements are:
- Improving the quality of life through technology and innovation.
- The company exists to alleviate pain and disease.
- To be regarded by our customers as easy to deal with and as a provider of high-quality, reliable products and services.
- Our first concern is for our customer, our second concern is for our employees, our third concern is for our management, our fourth concern is for our community, and our fifth concern is for our stockholders.
There are many companies in the media over the last several years that clearly operated and made decisions with no values and we are all aware of how it impacted people’s lives. However, there are a lot of companies who have well defined values and make decisions with those values ever present. Go to http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#closedonsundays and learn why Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday and why they believe it is part of their recipe for success. Check out http://www.tylenol.com/page2.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subp_tylenol_recall_1.inc and learn why McNeil Consumer Healthcare initiated the recent voluntary recall of all their children and infant liquid products.
What value statement is your business defined by?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Chick-fil-A, customers, ethics, Healthcare, integrity, McNeil Consumer, Notre Dame, Purpose, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, stakeholders, stockholders, suppliers, Values, Vision
Posted in Vision | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Sometimes people confuse coaches with traditional consultants. Unconsciously, people ask coaches to give advice. The role of a coach is not to provide answers or solutions. It is to help you develop the potential that lies within yourself, so that you increase your capability to overcome all obstacles and achieve all of your goals.
Sometimes people expect coaches to serve as mentors. They want their coach to go before them and show them the way. However, the coach’s role is not to lead you. Rather it is to help you discover for yourself where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Once you chart your own course, your coach will accompany you on the journey and provide ongoing support, guidance, and encouragement.
Coaching relationships vary considerably. One of the advantages of individual coaching is that it can be tailored to the needs of the personality and the person being coached. Nevertheless, all effective coaching relationships have some common characteristics.
Effective coaching is focused. The coach will be focused on you and your goals. The spotlight will be on results not on extraneous issues. Coaching is not therapy. Your past will only be relevant when it affects your future goals. The coach will be committed to helping you get where you want to go, rather than helping you understand where you’ve been.
The purpose of coaching is not to create potential, as you possess all of the potential you need, but rather to reveal and release it. In the safety and confidentiality of the coaching environment, you will uncover your deepest desires, identify your strengths, and unmask constraints that prevent you from moving forward. Only then will you be better able to take the right actions necessary to achieve your goals.
The coaching relationship creates a safe space for you to mentally expand. Because safety and trust are established, creativity is unlocked, possibilities are discovered, and momentum is initiated. The coach will transparently offer you the benefits of their unique style, skills, life experiences, intuitive sense, and other strengths. Because the coaching sessions will be authentic, they will flow effortlessly and create great value.
Coaching will address and impact your whole life. You will achieve the greatest satisfaction when your personal life and your professional life are in balance and in harmony. The coaching relationship is about listening and responding, not advising or fixing. When you immerse yourself in the coaching experience, creative energy is released and transformation is the results. The pace may seem slow at first, but results come fast. And the results last because they are created on a strong foundation. Coaching will not simply help you solve challenges and accomplish goals, it will transform the way you solve and accomplish them. It will not simply improve your life—it will transform the way you live.
Success is the continual achievement of your own predetermined goals, stabilized by balance, and purified by belief. With a coach’s support, you will set goals in harmony with your values and beliefs and in alignment with your purpose. There is no quick and easy way to learn how to ride a bike. Similarly, coaching is not a quick fix—it’s a process. As you move ahead with your life, testing and measuring, trying and failing, and trying and succeeding, perhaps a coach should be in your corner offering encouragement and support as you discover on your own the solutions to any challenges that confront you.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping professional business coaches build stronger and more successful practices. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Posted in Coaching | No Comments »
|
