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The Only Thing We Have to Fear
by Steve Vaught
 Fear, in the business world, manifests itself in a variety of ways:
- Human Resource professionals only consider applicants who exactly match every requirement for a posted position - even when a job seeker's breadth of experience and maturity could bring more value to the organization.
- Extremely capable employees wait to ask the boss for a decision/permission to do what they already know is in the best interest of the customer/organization.
- People rigidly, and mindlessly, follow company policy even when it doesn't make sense.
Fear in the workplace slows down your business - sometimes to the point of complete paralysis. This requires more time which cuts into your bottom line. Employees working in an atmosphere of fear are not happy or productive. Another "ding" to that bottom line. Ultimately that fear directly affects the customer experience...
Read complete article >
Leadership Challenge:
Is your leadership team getting complacent?
Don't let your six-month-old strategic plan dictate your leadership team if you're not seeing the changes you anticipated. Good ideas six months ago may need to be updated, tweaked or even scrapped due to changes in the market. At your next leadership meeting try this with your team:
- Make a T-chart on a flip chart or white board.
- Label the first column "Plus". In this column, write down everything that's working/successful and should continue.
- Label the second column "Delta". In this column, write down everything that needs to improve/change to make your organization better.
- Discuss as a group and reset your priorities based on what's working and what needs to be changed.
You can't afford to wait for next year's planning session to evaluate how things are going. You need to be consistently evaluating and adjusting your organization's performance to keep moving forward.
Ask the Rabbit
Q: Business is finally starting to get back to normal after a tough couple of years. Why would I subject everyone to more change with talk of Right Customer and Promises?
A: Change can be stressful and after the economic times we've been through, I can understand your reluctance to throw something else at your team. However, our experience has proven adding focus, alignment, and the authority to make solid business decisions is a change your Right Employees will welcome.
Sales and Marketing will be re-energized by knowing the Right Customer to call on and target their efforts. The Operations and Finance will gain better understanding of the type of customer you must have to grow the company. This allows them to grow in their "relationship" with the customer and keep them in mind when improving/changing work in their departments.
Knowing what the organization promises your Right Customer empowers them to make good business decision without always checking with "the boss". Promises act as a litmus test for new ideas and decision making. Everyone can act as adults instead of children waiting to be told what to do.
Implementing this mind-set now equips your organization to better weather future economic downturns.
Contact us for more information>
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Organizations and people both love right answers. The mistake is believing there is only one right answer. This either stifles the creative process by too much self editing or limiting the number of correct answers when people stop "looking" when they hit the "first" right answer.
Here's a story from White Rabbit Group CEO, Mike Wagner that addresses this topic and the long-term effects it can have.
Watch the video >
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6/3: ICE Technologies
6/6 & 7: Independent Professional Seed Assn. - St. Louis
6/6-8: ABI Taking Care of Business Conference
6/14: Kreg Tool
6/15: Central Iowa APICS
6/16: IT Leadership Forum
6/16: Ankeny Leadership Institute
6/21: Communications Engineering Company
6/22: State Farm - Phoenix
6/24: American Advertising Federation
6/26: TEDx Des Moines
6/28 & 29: Saxton, Inc.
7/12: Vistage in Mobile, AL
7/14: Country Maid in Orange, CA
7/21: IT Leadership Forum
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"White iPhone Debacle Shows Why Apple is Winning"
by Jason Hiner
 In this article from the Editor- in-Chief of the online resource for IT professionals, TechRepublic, Jason Hiner explains how Apple is staying true to delivering an exceptional Customer Experience. Instead of caving in to public demand for a white iPhone and shipping an inferior product, Apple deviated from its traditional release schedule to make sure the phone lived up to the high standards its customers expect.
The hard part is knowing when to say "no" for the good of your organization, its brand, and ultimately for the customer.
Read the Article >
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