Lawrence Fine

What makes your organization special? Is it the facilities? The infrastructure?

Think of some of the billion dollar casino’s that have been built over the last decade. Each one is grander than the last. Each one is the “best ever”. Each one has been surpassed by the next one.

If the thing that makes your organization special is facility related or can be duplicated or surpassed by someone with more money, then your organization is always vulnerable.

On the other hand, if the thing that makes your organization special is education, knowledge, superior customer service, interpersonal relationships and caring, no amount of money will surpass you.

When people try to place a value on an organization, they tend to spend too much time looking at physical assets and not enough time looking at the intangibles that truly make a difference

So, what makes your organization special?

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Most people are familiar with the saying “you only get one chance to make a first impression” so it amazes me how little time and thought is put into an organizations first impression.

If I call an organization the way the phone is answered is frequently my first impression of this organization. Personally, I want to speak with a real, live human being. If I get an automated system my first thought is they don’t value me or my time. While they might feel it’s more efficient to use an automated system, the question that comes to my mind is are they really saving money? I called an attorney’s office recently and the phone was answered with an automated system that forced me to listed to an entire menu before figuring out what button to push. While this might have saved the firm some money on hiring a receptionist (or a second receptionist), just one new client that results from a better first impression would pay for that receptionist many times over.

If I walk into a restaurant and have to wait a few minutes for someone to recognize I’m there before being seated, it tells me they don’t value my business. How much more business does a restaurant need in order to hire another person to make that quality first impression?

If I send an email to a company with a question, if I have to wait a few days before receiving a response, do you think this is the type of business I want to do business with? (In my case, if I’m purchasing something online and it’s not from a large, well known company such as Amazon.com, I’m going to email them or call them because I want to know there is a real person behind the company before I place an online order).

If I walk into a store and have to wait for help while the employee is on the phone, what message do you think this is sending me?

If I go to check into a hotel and while going through the registration process, the front desk clerk answers the phone and then proceeds to take a reservation while making me wait, what message does that send to me?

I’m intentionally having each of these examples start with issues about “me” or “I” because when your organization is making it’s first impression, it’s important to understand, as far as the customer is concerned, it’s NOT about you, it’s all about me. If you want their first impression of your organization to be a positive one, make it about them and not you.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Having friendly, helpful customer service can be one of the things that separates good organizations from great organizations. There is a local restaurant that has wonderful employees and customer service. I frequent this restaurant enough that when I went to meet a friend there for lunch the other day, as we were being seated by the hostess, the server was already bringing Diet Pespi to the table because he knew that is what we drink. It’s a small thing and if we had decided we didn’t want those drinks, it wouldn’t have been a problem. This is a restaurant where the servers know what many of their customers tend to order, the bar tenders know what drinks most of the customers want and it’s very rare to ever wait for something as the servers tend to anticipate peoples needs whenever possible. Most people leave this restaurant knowing that the employees truly care about the customers (and that the food is excellent).

However, there is a risk in having such personal service. The thing that makes their service so special could also create an uncomfortable situation. The same day I went there to meet a friend for lunch, some other friends were coming through town and suggested I meet them at this same restaurant for dinner. As soon as we were seated, the server (a different server from the afternoon but one who had been there earlier and seen me there) made a comment about me returning after only having been there a few hours earlier. This was a completely innocent comment made simply as a conversation piece but potentially it could cause problems. As an example, what if the person I had been there with earlier was being interviewed to be hired to replace the people I was with later on? What if the person I was having lunch with was a girlfriend and the person in the evening was my wife? There are many possibilities that could have proven to be uncomfortable (in my case, it wasn’t a problem at all but the point is it could have been).

Other examples would be at the front desk of a hotel. If the front desk clerk welcomes the customer and indicates it’s nice to see this person again there is always the possibility that this customer is with someone who doesn’t know they have ever been to the hotel before.

Or, a Realtor might casually mention the name of another person interested in a house. This person might not want others to know he is looking to buy (for any number of reasons).

There is a very fine line between being providing friendly, effective customer service and overstepping ones right to privacy. This is something an organization needs to discuss on a regular basis to make sure people aren’t crossing the line

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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I get a lot of emails every day (600-700 on a typical work day not counting spam) and can tell you that while I read all emails, those people who waste my time with their emails, tend to get future emails delayed or ignored.

As an example, the people who copy me unnecessarily on emails (they think it’s better to copy everyone than to take the time to really think who should be copied) end up sending me emails that I have no need to see. When I receive a few like that from an individual, future emails from this individual would tend to not be read right away because I just assume they aren’t going to apply to me anyway. Those people who are careful and only send me emails that apply to me, don’t have this happen so I read and address those as soon as possible.

Needless to say, this would also apply to people who forward jokes and other “funny” emails.

If someone sends me an incomplete email (for example, wanting something but not giving specific explanations of what they want) end up wasting my time and theirs. Rather than sending one complete and specific email, they send an email, I have to reply asking for more information then they have to reply with the requested additional information that was requested. If the initial email had been specific, much time and effort could be saved. As an example, if someone wants some content changed on a web site I have created, they should send the specific URL of the page that needs to be changed (just because they know where they are referring to doesn’t mean I do) and also send the specific content. In this particular case, sending too much information is better than sending too little. If there is a specific spot on a page that needs to be changed, sending a graphic pointing out the spot is extremely helpful (Snag It is great for this).

Since email is easy to send and inexpensive (for most people, free) people tend to take it for granted. However, if it’s used in a business setting, it should be treated just as professionally as all other forms of communication.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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So often, I hear people talk about how companies such as Wal-Mart are destroying small businesses. The question I have is whether this is true for all small businesses or just the bad ones?

Wal-Mart carries soccer balls. However, if there is a local soccer store that sells quality soccer balls for a reasonable price and which has employees who understand the right ball for the right customer, they will continue to sell products because a good number of customers want expertise and for the most part, Wal-Mart doesn’t provide this type of expertise.

Wal-Mart carries hardware but if a local hardware store can provide the expertise needed for the do it yourselfer, they will continue to make sales because Wal-Mart employees typically doesn’t have the expertise that can be provided by good hardware stores.

Wal-Mart might carry rugs but they can’t provide the expertise of installation that a specialist can.

There are many things Wal-Mart can provide but if you are really good in what you do, even if you sell a commodity they also sell, you can continue to survive and prosper if you can also provide some expertise in your field.

The alternative is to complain and struggle.

You can substitute many other companies for Wal-Mart in these examples. Many people complain about these big companies but those companies providing excellent customer service and providing an expertise not currently offered by the bigger companies will continue to flourish

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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A writer without an outline usually is just wasting time

A programmer who doesn’t use flowcharts usually is just wasting time.

A scientist who doesn’t plan ahead usually is just wasting time.

A football coach without a playbook usually is just wasting time.

A person running a meeting without an agenda usually is just wasting time.

The sad thing is, few writers work without an outline, few programmers work without a flowchart, few scientists work without a plan, few football coaches work without a playbook but many people running meetings work without an agenda.

The person running a meeting without an agenda is wasting peoples time. The person running a meeting with an agenda but who isn’t sharing the agenda is being both a time waster as well as being selfish.

When running a meeting, do the right thing. Set an agenda, distribute it as soon as possible and get the most out of your meetings. The alternatives simply aren’t worth it.

Personally, I always want there to be an agenda in any meeting I’m involved in. However, if you give me a choice between being involved in a meeting with no agenda at all, or one where there is an agenda but it hasn’t been shared, I’ll choose the one with no meeting at all. It will be a complete waste of time but usually because the people running the meeting didn’t know any better. The meetings where the leader has an agenda but doesn’t share it ahead of time usually is because they have some ulterior motive and by controlling the agenda they try to control the information and the outcome. I can accept people not knowing better but the selfish manipulative meetings are the ones that are completely unacceptable.

Set an agenda, share it and good things will come from your meetings

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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If you own your own business, do you have an exit plan so you don’t have to run your business forever? Many people start businesses without any idea how to exit them and because of this, they become a slave to the business. They can’t afford to retire because they have been using the proceeds from their business to pay their day to day bills and while the business is doing well, if they don’t have a plan to exit, the value of the business is negligible.

You should be planning on how to exit as soon as you start your business. Plan how to sell the business or how to shut it down or how to merge with someone. Don’t wait till you are wanting out, make the preparations early and things will go much better.

If you work some someone else, the same thing applies. Figure out your exit strategy, whether it means retiring, a promotion, finding a different job etc. If you wait till you have to exit, it’s most likely too late. Whenever possible, you want to leave when it’s your choice, not when it’s someone elses.

Like most things, this is all about control. Know your options for exit and you have much more control than if you are being exited and don’t have any options.

The thing most people don’t understand is that in most cases, you do have a choice. Sadly, too many people wait till it’s too late and at that point, they don’t have a choice.

Keep in mind, when you have a choice, you have power. When you don’t have a choice, you have no power.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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People typically flourish when around like minded people. This is why many cities will have small pockets within them. These pockets might be based on nationality (there might be an Italian community and a Polish community and a Mexican community etc), interests (it’s common for there to be an artists area in cities) as well as industry (automobile dealerships tend to be in the same area as well as technology parks being clustered together).

So what does this mean for you?

First, when you hit a roadblock (and let’s be honest here, at some point, we all hit some roadblocks when it comes to work), being around people with common issues is frequently a great way to overcome these roadblocks. Being around people who have encountered these same problems will allow you access to information you might not have on your own. Also, being in a community of like minded people will allow you to collaborate on things that you might be able to do on your own.

Secondly, if you want to think really big, look around the area you live and see what community might need a location. Then look to see if there is an area that would work for them. Is there not an artist community around you but there are random artists in the area? Why not look at opening a combination gallery/studio? Is there a need for international fresh foods? Look at creating one. In other words, look for a community in need of space and space in need of a community and combine the two for a true win/win/win

Most people will be more successful within a community and many aren’t even aware of the communities they are part of. Understanding communities can open up some great opportunities.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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What I’m going to write is going to sound contra to what most of us have been taught.

“If you wait for the research to be done in order to make your decisions, you will always be behind the times.”

The common belief is to make sure all of the research supports your beliefs before you put them into action. In theory, this helps to insure success and if there isn’t success, it’s a good way to cya because even if things don’t work well, research will back you.

The problem is, if you always wait for the research to justify something, you will also always be behind the true leaders.

Google didn’t wait for the research to show that pay per click advertising would work on on a large scale (they weren’t the first to use PPC but were the first to do it at that magnitude).

Apple didn’t wait for the research to say selling songs the way they do would work (the research didn’t exist for selling using that model at that scale).

Alexander Graham Bell didn’t wait for the research to say that the telephone would change the way we communicate.

Rinus Michels didn’t wait to see how successful others would be with “Total Soccer”, instead he developed the belief and revolutionized the way soccer was played.

It is possible to not be first to market and still succeed. Microsoft was not first to market with Internet Explorer but not many of us have their resources to overtake a market leader such as the Netscape browser.

Those who wait for all research to be in before taking action are those who will always be behind the curve. Those in the forefront are those who will be the true leaders (and many times, the true successes!)

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Many of the start up companies that end up being successful do so because they are willing to take chances. The reason they are willing to take these chances is they have little, if anything, to lose.

Many of the truly outstanding large companies stay that way because they are willing to take chances . The reason they are willing to take these chances is they have a large enough organization that if their risk taking fails, they can survive (or in some of their cases, if they are large enough and still fail, the government will step in to make sure they survive).

The start up can usually only afford one risk at a time they know they are frequently betting the whole organization on this one risk so they throw everything they have into (resources, thought, passion etc).

The truly outstanding large organizations can afford to take more chances because if they take 10 chances (or in some cases 100 chances) and 1 works, it proves to be extremely profitable and more than offsets the other chances that didn’t work out.

It’s the middle type organizations that frequently have a fear from success. While many will say they would like to one of the outstanding organizations, they aren’t willing to take the chances necessary to get to that level. The start up is willing to go “all in” because they don’t have much to risk. The outstanding large organizations are willing to take big chances (but usually not go “all in”) because they have the backing to withstand mistakes. The middle group is too afraid of going back to where they once were that they aren’t willing to take the big risk to get them to the next level. They have too much to start over and not enough to offset a big loss.

The few organizations that have made the transition from this middle group to the outstanding group did so because they were able to think more like an entrepreneur and less like management.

Is it worth it to take the chance to become one of the outstanding organizations? That is a decision that must be made by each organization and each person.

Please understand, I’m not saying that the bigger the organization the better. Some start ups begin bigger than much more successful organizations. A small organization certainly can be a great one and a big organization certainly can be just another failure. This discussion is about success not size.

If you are satisfied being in this middle group, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if your aim is to be in the top group, be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to pull it off.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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