Tag: books

Categories
Musings

What a Decade!

All the media’s Best/Worst lists of the previous decade prompted my own look back at 2000-2009. It was a great decade for me professionally and a mixed one personally.

Professional Highlights

  • My book on internal marketing, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care, was published in 2007 by WME Books.
  • My business, Quality Service Marketing, reached a milestone in 2008 – 20 years in business!
  • I met wonderful people who attended my speaking engagements & training workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. This travel also enabled me to reconnect with many dear friends and colleagues.
  • I started this business blog in 2005 as my first foray into social media, and it allowed me to establish new relationships around the globe.
  • I expanded my learning and expertise from my work with terrific clients and support from colleagues.

Personal Highlights

  • The profound loss of my beloved parents, brother, and father-in-law (April 2006 through December 2007)
  • Celebrating 35 years of marriage with my husband Michael in 2009, and I’m looking forward to the next 35 years with him!
  • Son Jason’s college graduation in 2004 (even with his moving back home) and his recent engagement to Ashley (which means we’ll return to empty-nest status sometime soon?!)
Categories
Engagement Marketing

A Gift to Improve Employee Engagement

This holiday, give the gift of employee engagement … and it’s free!  Employee Engagement Advice Book is a new e-book written by members of the Employee Engagement Network (EEN) and compiled by network host David Zinger.  EEN members (including me) share advice – limited to one sentence each – on how an organization can improve employee engagement.

The book contains over 200 contributions from people who are passionate about employee engagement, including several featured in this blog: Terry Seamon (see his advice on page 6); Kevin Burns (page 9); Paul Hebert (page 28); and Richard Parkes Cordock (page 35). (My contribution is also on page 35.)

Recurrent themes include communication (especially listening), valuing employees, empowering them, recognizing their efforts, and leadership involvement. It’s worth scrolling through to find the quotes that resonate with you. Pass it along and share it among your colleagues … to inspire them and/or reinforce their employee engagement efforts.

Happy Giving!

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Zappos Culture Book: Best Ever Business Reading


Zappos.com’s 2009 Culture Book is here (!) and I’m thrilled to add it to my business library – next to the previous edition that I got on my visit to Zappos last year.

The book is written by Zappos employees who share what the company culture means to them. It’s a beautifully designed and produced book, supplemented with color photos and captions that capture the true spirit of Zappos. The book includes Zappos core values, a brief time line of the company’s 10 year history, and, most important, what the people who live the Zappos culture have to say about it.

Regardless of where they work in the company (customer loyalty center, merchandising, finance, technology & project management, Kentucky warehouse, marketing, etc.), Zappos employees share how valued they feel as members of the Zappos family … how they engage in “serious fun” … how they’re empowered to do and be their best … how they live the company’s values … and how truly happy they are to work at Zappos everyday. (Would your employees say the same? Honestly, I don’t know that many companies whose employees love their workplace.)

Zappos Culture Book should be mandatory reading in every undergraduate business class, MBA, and leadership program.

Read this book to your kids at night, and I swear they’ll tell people “When I grow up, I want to work at Zappos!” This is no fairy tale – Zappos is for real.

Categories
Marketing

New Book Integrates Marketing, PR and Social Media

Just released – Marketing Public Relations: A Marketer’s Approach to Public Relations and Social Media by Gaetan Giannini, a new textbook that covers a truly integrated approach to promotion using both new and traditional media.

Wait – a textbook? Why would I be excited about a textbook? Two reasons:

  1. While the subject of public relations (PR) is usually taught in schools from either a communications or journalism perspective, this book covers PR from a marketing perspective. Gaetan, a former marketing exec who is now an assistant professor and department chair at Cedar Crest College, wrote the book because he was unable to find a suitable text that integrated current PR and marketing practice in the new media landscape.
  2. It’s a great reference for business practitioners – those new to marketing and marketing generalists who know the value of PR but don’t apply it everyday.
    According to Gaetan, this book “recognizes the similarities between PR, word-of-mouth, and social networking media and creates a framework for constructing marketing strategies that incorporate these highly credible and cost-effective tools.”

The book explains current PR applications (“Non-Media Connectors and Word-of-Mouth”) and updates traditional PR practices (“The Press Kit and Press Release,” “Selling the Story,” and “Crisis Management”). It also features a full glossary (in addition to defining key terms throughout each chapter) and index.

The book is reasonably priced for a textbook – around $90. Quite a bargain for a business reference book considering the price of a costly PR mistake.

To learn more, check out Gaetan’s book-related blog on Marketing Public Relations.

Categories
Musings

Just in Time for Boss’s Day: How to Be a Better Boss

In honor of National Boss Day (Oct. 16, 2009), I’m delighted to feature this interview with Allison O’Neill, author of The Boss Benchmark and blog about how to be a better boss.

QSM: It’s unlikely a person in management aspires to be a bad boss (at least I hope that’s the case for most managers!). So why do you think there are so many bad bosses out there?

Allison: I think it’s because they kind of get swallowed up by the role – they are so busy doing, they don’t see the bigger picture. They don’t get to see themselves from the perspective their staff do. Often there are things staff feel left out of/want to know more about but the boss doesn’t pick up on this, so the team are excluded. Some bosses have a bad attitude and refuse to believe they could ever be wrong about anything (!) and that doesn’t sit well with the team! Others might be quite unapproachable, so the workers are not comfortable discussing things with them, so communication is very lacking.

Overall I think it’s the inability to step back and evaluate themselves really truthfully. It’s also not realizing that they need to be continuously growing and learning (many times a day) and not being afraid to say “I was wrong” – workers trust you when you are that humble and unafraid of honesty.

QSM: Other than learning from examples in the workplace (what to do + what NOT to do when in a supervisory position), what advice do you give most often to someone who’s a first-time boss?

Allison: Your #1 key responsibility is to see the big picture of yourself as a boss – evaluate everything you do as if you are a third party who is watching and see if you find yourself thinking “that guy is acting like a prat!”. Ask yourself EVERYDAY how you could have been a better boss today – keeping a notebook of your thoughts on this would be good.

QSM:  What do you advise someone who’s been around for a while and wants to become a better boss?

Allison: Don’t be fooled into thinking that because you are the boss (and may have been one for quite some time) that ‘you have made it’ and that you have all the skills required. You need to keep your eyes open constantly for opportunities to learn, change and develop – especially if you’ve been a boss for ages as the workplace is constantly changing – bosses need to be aware of different things/have different skills than they did even 5 yrs ago.

QSM: What are your suggestions for observing National Boss’s Day for employees fortunate to work for a great boss?

Allison: Tell them you think they do a good job – and explain why – be specific!

QSM: And for employees whose current boss is in need of serious help?

Allison: Buy them a copy of my book!

QSM: LOL … Anything that will help develop a better boss is appreciated. Thanks, Allison!

Categories
Engagement

Re-energize Employees and Organizations

As a follow up to my recent series Re-Charging Employee Morale, here’s an approach that helps employees re-energize themselves and their organizations.

 

“To effectively re-energize their workforces, organizations need to shift their emphasis from getting more out of people to investing more in them, so they are motivated-and able-to bring more of themselves to work everyday. To recharge themselves, individuals need to recognize the costs of energy-depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them, regardless of the circumstances they’re facing.”

The excerpt is from the article:  Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy of The Energy Project, a consulting firm focused on building “sustainable high performance cultures by teaching people to manage their energy rather than their time” — the latter being a finite resource. Their approach helps employees better understand and better manage four energy sources:

  • physical – involving nutrition, fitness, and sleep/rest
  • emotional – the ability to cultivate positive emotions
  • mental – being mindful and maintaining focus, including dealing with multiple distractions
  • “human spirit” – a clear sense of purpose and meaning in one’s work and life.

Check out The Energy Project’s blog: Changing the Way the World Works to learn more.

Judging by their client list, The Energy Project has helped many organizations and their employees. If it’s unlikely that your company will find itself on that list, don’t wait … start by exploring how you can better manage your energy.

Categories
Engagement

Re-Charging Employee Morale: Organizational Tips

This wraps up my series of posts in which I feature coaching tips from business consultant-coach-authors Dawn Lennon, Phil Gerbyshak, and Michelle Gall, who graciously shared their suggestions for coping in this chaotic climate.

Leadership and Performance Improvement Coach, Dawn Lennon, who is the author of Business Fitness: The Power to Succeed – Your Way, gives us an organizational perspective in her response to my question:

In organizations where employees are experiencing low morale, low motivation, general malaise, etc. – due to workplace pressures and current economic conditions – what do you suggest to help people re-energize themselves and their co-workers? 

“Relentless negative messages are suffocating. When people hear or read nothing but discouraging news day after day in the media, at staff meetings, in company e-mails, and at the water cooler, they develop a feeling of powerlessness that can sap even the strongest spirit. The truth is that the glass is always half full and half empty at the same time. How we see the contents of the glass determines how we proceed. When the spirit of our employees flags, management needs to look at the messages it’s sending.

“Employees get energy, motivation, and optimism from a clear understanding of the state of the business (how it’s doing financially, what the market needs, how costs impact operations) and what the business needs them to do to make a difference.

“People want to feel in control of their work life. They don’t want to feel like they are sitting in wait for something awful to happen. They don’t want to live in dread of unseen inevitabilities. Employers owe their employees the information they need to make good choices each day about what they do, how they work, and what their options are.

“Businesses that see a pall falling over their employees need to do three things:

“Deliver a balanced (upside and downside) state of the business message face to face to employees—Use the existing leadership (executives, managers, and first line supervisors) to communicate these messages in ways that connect with employees and allow for candid questions and answers.

“Develop specific performance initiatives with each employee that aligns his/her work with the needs of the business—Give employees a clear understanding of how their contributions are helping to drive the success of the business by having each person meet with his/her supervisor to set priorities.

“Meet with work group employees together each week to review progress—Build a sense of team camaraderie where each person’s efforts are applauded in the context of the broader needs of the business. Reinforce the state of the business messages, showcasing how the positives are beginning to impact the negatives.

“The engagement of team effort around a central challenge is a strong antidote to malaise. It brings fresh air into the workplace, builds optimism through shared involvement, and helps people to focus less on their individual concerns and more on the power of the team. Together we generally feel stronger and safer than we do alone.”

 

Thanks, Dawn!

Categories
Engagement

Re-charging Employee Morale: Team Tips

This is the second in a series of three posts in which I feature coaching tips from business consultant-coach-authors Michelle Gall, Dawn Lennon, and Phil Gerbyshak on how to cope in this chaotic climate.

Today I feature Michelle Gall, executive coach and the author of Keep Your WITS About You: Work Smart, Be Happy, Feel Great. Here’s what Michelle had to say in response to the question:

In organizations where employees are experiencing low morale, low motivation, general malaise, etc. – due to workplace pressures and current economic conditions – what do you suggest to help people re-energize themselves and their co-workers? 

“You’ve heard it all. The market value of everyone’s retirement savings has plummeted while insomnia has soared to new heights. The economic meltdown has ridden roughshod over college funds, nest eggs, and employee morale. Just a year ago, employees had their sights set on upward mobility and corner offices, but now they’re hanging on by their fingernails just to keep what they have. Everyone knows someone who has been fired or laid-off in the last year; if you don’t, you either travel in rarefied circles or you’re out-of-touch with the American workplace.

“It’s easy to have a good attitude when things are going well, but it takes someone special to stay positive during trying times. Not just anyone can turn lemons into lemonade. That’s why bad times call for good people. You don’t need a lot of money to have fun –– just the right people. Here are a few of my favorite tips for building camaraderie and improving workplace morale:

  • Cookie Exchange: Everyone brings in a plate of one dozen homemade cookies and a paper bag. Employees then fill their paper bags with one dozen different cookies (each cookie from a different plate). In this way, employees arrive with their own cookies, but they leave with an assortment of different cookies baked by their colleagues. Everyone gives and receives. The only rule: everyone leaves with a full bag so that there are no leftover cookies.
  • Thank You Notes: This team-building exercise is a more meaningful version of “Secret Santa,” where everyone ends up with positive feedback. Each employee writes his/her name on a piece of paper and drops it into a large manila envelope. Each person then reaches into the manila envelope and picks out a colleague’s name at random. The employee then has 24 hours to write a thank you note to the colleague for behaviors and actions that s/he appreciates in that person. It’s extra convenient and fun if a variety of blank note cards are available to employees for this exercise. The notes can be unsigned and typed if desired to preserve anonymity. The next day, all the thank you cards are placed in a large manila envelope, retrieved randomly, and distributed to each employee by name for their reading pleasure.
  • Catch ‘Em Doing Something Good: The two exercises described above reward everyone, but perhaps you prefer to reward only those employees who demonstrate a particular desired behavior. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center faced this challenge when it wanted to increase hand-washing among its doctors. Their solution? The hospital empowered a posse of nurses to award a $10 Starbucks card to every physician they caught in the act of hand-washing. It may be hard to believe, but this low-cost incentive increased hand-hygiene compliance from 65% to 80%. If a $10 Starbucks card can reinforce good behavior in high-paid doctors, just think how effective it could be with lesser-paid employees at your organization for whom a stop at Starbucks is now a rare treat. [Here’s more info about the Cedars-Sinai case.]

“There are lots of variations on the above team-building exercises, and you can adjust or tailor them easily to fit your particular industry or workplace norms. These morale-boosters deliver a big bang for the buck. They cost little or nothing, and they’re easy to implement. What’s more, they also offer employees the opportunity to be creative and have fun, which helps reduce stress and enhance morale. Bad times call for good people. Be one of the good guys.”

Thanks, Michelle!

I’ll have more tips in next week’s post …

 

Categories
Engagement

Re-charging Employee Morale: Individual Tips

How can employees stay motivated in today’s chaotic business climate? I asked business consultant-coach-authors Phil Gerbyshak, Michelle Gall, and Dawn Lennon to share their suggestions for coping strategies in the workplace.

I’ll start with Phil Gerbyshak, management and identity consultant, who is also the author of 10 Ways to Make it Great! and the Slacker Manager blog. Following is his response to my question:

In organizations where employees are experiencing low morale, low motivation, general malaise, etc. – due to workplace pressures and current economic conditions – what do you suggest to help people re-energize themselves and their co-workers? 

“First, avoid commiserating with co-workers who are not energized. Negative people will suck the absolute life out of you. Instead, invest your time on the folks who lift you up, who breath life into you, and who are willing to lend a hand when you need it.

“Second, focus on what you can control and not what you can’t, and encourage others to do the same. You can’t fix the economy by yourself, you can’t make your 401(k) suddenly go up the 40% you lost last year, and you can’t make the news broadcast positive stuff instead of always focusing on the negative. What you can do is bring a lunch to work one more day a week to save a few dollars, you can bring coffee from home, you can contact a financial planner to make sure you are still investing the right way, and you can turn off the TV and stop buying the newspaper.

“Last but not least, find something new that you’ve always wanted to learn about and check out a book from the library about it. Dedicate one hour a week to learning more about this new thing, and at the end of the year, you’ll be 52 hours closer to being an expert in whatever you chose to study.

“Things may stink right now, but remember: it’s always darkest before the dawn. If you make a few small changes now, to your thinking, and to your life, when things get better, you’ll be well positioned to make your life GREAT!”

Thanks, Phil!

Stay tuned for more great advice in my next two posts …

 

 

Categories
Customer service

“Take Their Breath Away” New Customer Service Guide

Want to develop devoted customers? There’s a new book out that can help you.

Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers, by Chip Bell and John R. Patterson, describes twelve strategies and tactics to enhance your service delivery and extend customer loyalty to customer devotion. These strategies – including “Camouflage” (seamlessly inserting magic into the customer experience) … “Decoration” (engaging customers with thematic and sensory embellishments) … “Air” and “Air Defense” (critical reminders that service fundamentals can’t be taken for granted) – are packaged and presented informatively and entertainingly.

In addition to detailed descriptions and examples of each Take Their Breath Away strategy, the authors provide suggestions on how to execute these strategies to maximize competitive advantage. I particularly like their segmentation model of companies with customer service levels ranging from “customer centric” to “customer indifference.” (Too many of us have had the misfortune of dealing with companies on the lower end of this spectrum.)

While Bell and Patterson mention the importance of engaging employees in creating devoted customers (such as instilling a service vision, listening to employees, and recognizing outstanding service providers), I would have liked to have seen more depth on this topic. Nonetheless, this book is a solid guide for new customer service providers; it’s also a great reference that offers new insight for more experienced service providers.