AchieveGlobal's blog

Questions

By Andrew Calvert

How often have you heard, “This might be a dumb question...”? With that one statement speakers devalue their own question, of course, before they ask it!

The more I look around the business world – through the perspective of clients, colleagues, contacts, and the media, I am continually struck by how the best ideas came from someone asking a “dumb” question. Einstein, in a famous example, asked what would happen if he turned on his bicycle lights if he were travelling at the speed of light. And from that question the whole theory of relativity was born.

Asking the “dumb” question opens new doors: It forces people to rethink what they already know, and it is exactly that kind of challenge that sparks new thinking, new ideas. As someone explains the thinking behind the current situation, the opportunity arises to re-evaluate the original decision or process, to ask, “Why?”

So the next time you have a question, instead of devaluing your question, remember – if there is more than one possible answer, then it can't be a dumb question.

Service (Emotional) Intelligence

By Andrew Calvert

I recently had the honour of being a judge in a national experience award competition. I was invited to attend five attractions and grade them in several areas: Business Excellence, Service Quality, and Mystery Shopping to name three.

Every attraction had a good-to-excellent workflow upon entering the attraction, where to pay, where to get information about what to do. Signs were generally clear, queues well managed, routes clearly signed (in more than one language). Once I had my tickets I knew where I wanted to go, what I needed to do to get there. And this was generally consistent for all the attractions. But I observed a few things that really stood out: the people at the point of purchase were without exception totally indifferent to the interactions with their customers. No one asked a question, no one tried to engage me (remember your parents telling you that you only get one chance to make a first impression?) - a missed opportunity for them.

Once into the customer "flow" there were several more opportunities to connect with me (and my kids) to create memorable moments that I would later recall and tell people about (as I am now):

• An usher ignored me and my son (her back to me, staring into the distance) as we waited for a ride to arrive.
• Another usher (with no verbal interaction and no smile) pointed to the "tourist shop" as we disembarked from a ride.
• A man feeding turtles ignored me and my 3-year-old while he was less than 3 feet from us.

Even when there was interaction, the service was essentially passive - I had to ask for help. Very few service providers attempted to understand what I wanted or needed. Ironically, when I asked for help almost all were very knowledgeable.

One attraction, however, did stand out. Their cashiers were as numb to the customers as everywhere else, but that is where the similarities with the other attractions ended. Every staff member in the attraction had a smile or a word or two for me or my son. They asked questions about what areas of the attraction we had been to and mentioned their favourite areas or recommendations. In fact, they were so friendly that my (other) son asked me if somehow they knew I was a judge and were therefore extra nice.

And that was the difference that won my vote. Not the product: Every attraction was world-class. Not the process: They had all managed the journey through their space. It was the emotional connection their staff made to me and my family.

As a judge, I voted. As consumers, we vote all the time - by going back again and again because of how the staff and the attraction make us feel, and by telling those we know (and those, who, for example, read my blog) how much fun we had.  

Gardening

By Andrew Calvert In writing my most recent blog post I was searching around for something pithy and clever to use as a theme. In vain (as we all know working to a deadline is a killer to creativity...). But then I saw this gem:

If you want to be prosperous for a year, grow grain. If you want to be prosperous for ten years, grow trees. If you want to be prosperous for a lifetime, grow people. –CHINESE PROVERB

Too often in the hectic pace of today’s just-in-time, make-it-now, instant-return world we forget that the development of our people – at all levels of the organization – is a long term investment in the future.

When you grow anything (and I have several years experience as an organic farmer to back me up here) you start by preparing the soil. You create a fertile environment where the all the prerequisites for growth and development are abundant. As plants respond to warmth, light and nutrition so employees respond to respect, collaboration and support. Once the soil is ready, you choose the right seeds to get the plants you want when you want them. So managers need to get the right people into the right positions so as to take advantage of the available conditions. Just as weeds (i.e. a plant in the wrong place) can consume vital resources, so employees in the wrong job can take away from the environment you strive to create. As a gardener prunes and weeds, and manager coaches and develops. Harvesting in the garden is a time of plenty, in the workplace it is a time where matured employees move onto the next suitable role for them in the organization.

Managing by Wandering About (MBWA)

By Andrew Calvert In one of my roles at a large US-based manufacturing company, I spent a portion of my week wandering around the office and plant. There were over 300 people in my building – tech support, finance, marketing, purchasing, material handlers, DTP operators and customer service. Quite a mix: Baby boomers, Nation builders, Gen X, Gen Y ... As I wandered around I would stop and chat to people. Often I would have a joke to tell, a story to share, or a question to ask. And that last point is most important ... a question to ask. You see, by wandering about I learned about the people I worked with, their challenges, victories, hopes, and fears. I found out whose daughter just got into medical school, whose parents were visiting (or driving them mad). I also found out who had a proposal into a ministry or was dealing with a troublesome vendor. And it is this information that allowed me to ask questions the next time I saw the person, to build a relationship that I could leverage into meaningful results when I needed to. There were many managers in the building – more than a dozen I can recall. But only two of us used the principal of MBWA. The other managers were ill-informed about employee morale and opinion. People didn’t share ideas with them – even when they were encouraged to. The reason was that speaking to those managers was strange and unusual. By MBWA, my colleague and I were making it normal and safe to speak with us. Fast forward to this economy, where fewer have to do more than ever before. Engaging EVERY employee as fully is possible is critical to getting results. So the next time you have the chance, get out of your seat and take a walk.

Prisoners, Vacationers, or Learners?

By Andrew Calvert In this economy, efficiency and ROI are critical – even in training. So you may want to ask, “When they go to training, are our associates prisoners, vacationers, or learners?” You know what I mean. Some associates go because they need a minimum number of classroom days, or they’re part of an implementation they neither understand nor care about; They are prisoners. Another group are – Woo Hoo! – out of the office, ready to kick back, chat, eat, drink, be merry, and relax for a few days. Ahhhhh vacation! And some are there to learn. They know why they’re there, what they need to learn, how to apply it, and how they’ll be measured and supported on the job. How do you make learners of prisoners and vacationers? Define Goals and Expectations. Ensure that managers with staff in training know its purpose and benefits, as well as their role after training. Ensure that managers discuss the goals of training with their direct reports, linking training outcomes to organizational goals. Clarify and Discuss. Managers also need to clarify behavioral expectations during training: on time, attentive, no texting or email, etc. Debrief and Evaluate. After training, managers need to meet with staff to debrief the session: what they liked, what could be better, and how they will use the skills on the job. Follow up. Managers must give recognition to staff who do the right things and give regular feedback for further development. Repeat as necessary. Do these things and associates will learn, ROI will increase, and those who rely on you for your services will notice the difference!

Learning When the Score is Nil-Nil

By Andrew Calvert Manchester United played Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final a few weeks ago. The match was 0-0 at full time and remained scoreless after an overtime period. At that point, the match referee called the managers and team together to prepare a list – a detailed sequence in which all 11 players on each team would take a penalty kick. The team with the highest score would win (and get 12 months of bragging rights). During the eight minutes or so that it took to compile the list, the Manchester United goalkeeping coach took his goalkeeper aside and showed him a iPod video of Tottenham players taking penalties. A few minutes later, Ben saved one penalty and unsettled the Spurs’ other penalty kicks. Manchester went on to win 4-1. Click here to read an article about the event. What an excellent example of just-in-time, mission-critical, workflow learning mediated through technology! But if you think about it, the video and immediate coaching (valuable as they were) were only the tip of the process. This goalkeeper works out many times a week, conditioning his reflexes, and gets coaching in every aspect of his profession – penalty-saving just a part of it. So, a lot of thought, practice, and dedication – and then at the critical moment, the iPod video... Technology is good. It helps. But without practice and dedication, would this goalkeeper have saved the game? What are the lessons here for blended workflow learning in a corporate environment? I'd welcome your thoughts...