Moore Insights on Memorial Day

This week's lessons in leadership come from one of my most influential mentors, my wife Beth. She is a Community Team Captain at The Home Depot where she works, leading teams of Home Depot volunteers to care for their communities on their day's off. News of the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma was less than hour old when she received a call from her store asking for her time and energy to serve on the Team Home Depot first response team. A total of five teams were formed representing the greater Dallas metroplex. 

The following is a re-post of her Facebook column she started called Moore Memories, where she shares some of her stories of the team's experiences there.

"Moore Memories, May 27, 2013

I know today is set aside for those who have served and died in the guarding of our freedom, and for what makes this land amazing, and to all those that I know who have given their time and lives to do that...gratitude will never be enough. On this day, this year, I wish to include some folks that wish they could be doing their daily lives, but have answered the call instead, to do what needs to be done today and going forward.....

Moore memories....
I saw heroes of every branch of law enforcement, state police entities and security hunker down and worked 20 hr days. They worked and checked and guarded areas that used to be neighborhoods and places of business, now just bits of property being sieved by those who owned them. The firefighters who found folks hurt but alive, and those who hadn't made it, working day after day. There were so many of them from different places, they moved from our Home Depot parking lot to the Target next door, so that all the brethren could be together.
I saw vets and techs work in cold and rain and endless hrs a day, taking care of hurt and frightened animals, in hopes that their owners would be able to reunite with them.
I saw National Guard and Rangers, and Land and AG Deputies coming back from doing jobs most of us could never think of doing...killing animals to put them out of their misery. They showed up day after day and never flinched.

I saw folks in Orange aprons from many other places, stand along side those from Moore, work 12 and more hrs, and strain to take care of a community that needed them to be open 24/7, and they did it with a smile on their faces, and genuine desire to be there.

To all of these and more without titles...you are heroes for this time and event...blessings and honor as well. You are being the best that Americans can be when the call comes to serve...those who have fought for this country would be thrilled.  :-)"

Question: Do you have Moore memories? I would like to hear them if you do. 

Is Your Attitude Showing?

Have you ever known something to be true, but didn't realize it until someone else wrote a book and clearly defined for you what you have instinctively known all along? That’s what happened to me when my mentor and leadership expert John C. Maxwell released his book “The Difference Maker” back in 2006.

John uses his classic insights to clearly identify, categorize, and clarify the subject of one’s attitude, and the role it plays in one’s leadership ability and personal success. In The Difference Maker John C. Maxwell deconstructs the notion that attitude, by itself, determines a person’s success or failure. However, a positive attitude does make a tremendous difference, and John lauds it as a leader’s greatest asset. Although attitude isn't everything, it can help you to do anything better.

While the book has been published for some seven years now, and I find it as relevant today as when he first published it. Admittedly, I discovered a few new ah-ha moments among the truths I already knew, and I found a long list of takeaways to apply for myself. From that list, here are my big three:

Attitude always has an impact on your team. Talent is not enough. These five truths clarify how attitudes affect teamwork and a leader’s team: 

• Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team
• An attitude compounds when exposed to others
• Bad attitudes compound faster than good ones
• Attitudes are subjective. Identifying a wrong one can at times be difficult
• Rotten attitudes, left alone, can ruin everything

Attitudes are really about how a person is. That overflows into how he or she acts. Attitude is an inward feeling expressed by behavior. (Any parent of a toddler instinctively understands this one!)

Your attitude and your potential go hand in hand. When your attitude is positive and conducive to growth the mind expands and the progress begins. Attitude determines success or failure.

For me, probably the best point John drives throughout the book is that attitude is a choice. Your attitude isn't set in stone; you shape it through the choices you make each day. That means you can decide, intentionally, what attitude you will take to work with you each day.

Question: How are your customers and co-workers affected by your attitude?

Are You a Good Customer?

Much has been written about delivering great customer service, which companies deliver the best, and how customer service can differentiate a company in the market place from its competitor.

Earning a profit is the purpose of every business, and providing a service is the purpose for every nonprofit or not for profit enterprise. Customers are the reason they exist. But some businesses and enterprises place a premium on their customer service, and put their money where their mouth is and empowering those who deliver the customer service. You know who they are – Apple computer stores, CVS Pharmacy,  Zappos.com, Amazon.com, L.L. Bean, and the Salvation Army to name a few.

Some companies, such as the Ritz-Carlton, define what world-class customer service looks like by how they treat their guests. Other companies like Zappos.com and Nordstrom’s demonstrate that sometimes they might even need to break their own rules to deliver high-end customer satisfaction.

But what about you?  Are you doing your part in the customer service experience? Did you even know you have a part to play? People tend to forget that it takes both the service provider and the customer to make a great experience. Great customer service begins with you, the customer. It starts with your attitude, your communication, your approach, and your desire for a great experience.

To receive excellent customer service, be willing to be a great customer, one worthy of receiving such service. Here are 5 ways to ensure great customer service from every engagement you have as a customer:

1. Be intentional about being a great customer. It’s not complicated, but it is easy to forget when we are flustered, in a hurry, or preoccupied with something else.
   
2. Take care of those who are taking care of you. In particular, the ‘unseen” persons who contribute to your overall care and experience. These are the folks who clean your hotel room, bus your table, carry your luggage, or clean the restrooms at Walmart.  Acknowledge these people and show appreciation for what they do. Don't treat them as unseen. Tip if appropriate. Show the person respect and place a value on what they do, and they will serve you all day if needed.
   
3. If you are going to be the first to complain, then be the first to praise. Make the effort to engage the duty manager and explain how pleased you were with the overall service. Name those who helped you and be specific about what they did that pleased you so much. Make the effort to go on-line and fill out the customer survey from your receipt – even if you don’t win the $5,000.00 shopping spree.
   
4. Act like you have all the time in the world, even when you don’t. Give the customer service representative, cashier, waiter, or whomever is serving your needs time to catch their breath and devote all of their attention to you. You’re not a number, so don’t act like one. (This works great at the US Post Office!)
   
5. It starts with your attitude. Set the bar high for being the best customer that agent will have all day. Then let them know that’s your intention. Demonstrate understanding and care that their job of serving you is not easy. Perhaps even complement them on their customer service skills (unless it is totally unwarranted). Treat them as if they were your customer instead of you being theirs!

The practice is simple: To get world-class customer service from Taco Bell during the lunch rush, be prepared to be a world-class customer. It all starts with you, the customer.

Question: How do you get total satisfaction from every customer experience?

4 Keys to Add Value to Your Role

I wrote a paper in 2011 called “Dynamic Value – The Art and Science of Providing Added Value”, whereby I explain that in today’s business, competing on price and service offerings isn't enough. Customers expect more for the same dollar spent. Organizations are constantly challenged to offer more, spend less, and maintain – if not increase – its quality outputs. Likewise, employees must perform more than the basic expectations of their role.

Here are some hard truths to consider:

• Employees are company resources
• Your skills and knowledge are company assets
• Your role consumes company resources

These are true regardless of the role or position, and regardless of the company. However, there is another, more positive way of seeing this too:

• Employees are valuable company resources
• Your skills and knowledge are valuable company assets
• Your role consumes valuable company resources

Knowing where the value actually lies, it becomes easier to see where to add the value from a company's perspective. This can be expressed in the simple equation Knowing Value = Adding Value. As an employee, Knowing Value = Adding Value can help you connect the dots between you and how you contribute to the company’s bottom line. Knowing what the company values, and where that value is enables you to act on that knowledge. If you can’t connect the dots, no one else will either. You need to map it out.

If there is a secret to succeeding at work, it is to make sure your work is highly valued. Here are four key elements that increase your value:

1. Understand the business strategy. What does the business need? And what does the business think is important to get done right now? That stuff = “the value”.
   
   
2. Change how you work. Make sure the work you do is impacting those things. It’s easy to lose sight of the company’s vision and mission when in the midst of daily tasks and routines.
   
   
3. Get recognized for it by connecting the dots for people. You have the responsibility to show how your work is impacting what the business cares about. You need to show how you are adding value. Don’t wait for others to figure it out or to discover how valuable you are. This isn’t about blowing your own horn – it’s about creating awareness to those who need to know.
   
   
4. Impact Profit. One way to specifically add value is to make the business more efficient or productive. That way you impact the bottom line. Profit is always something that is important to the business!

One of the best ways to ensure you are on track with adding value to your role is to incorporate these four keys into your performance review. By highlighting the facts and the results of connecting the dots between what the company values and what you deliver towards profitability, you show your own value.

Question: What are some other keys that help add value to your role?

Why Vision Matters

In his June 2012 leadership blog, Michael Hyatt addresses the topic of vision and why it matters. In it he states, “When times are tough, vision is the first casualty.”

I hate to admit it, but I proved him correct. This is not only true for companies and organizations, but in one’s personal life too. It’s not intentional – it just sort of happens as a reaction to current events.

As a freelance Project Manager in the telecommunications industry, my contract ended in January of 2013. That was expected and planned for, but what was not expected is that my contract was not renewed. As a cost reduction move, the client decided to pull the services I provided back in-house and source them internally. Now, I am in a tough time, and sure enough – my vision took a back seat to “survival”.

I had forgotten the basic principle of what a vision is and its importance. “Vision is the lifeblood of any organization. It is what keeps it moving forward. It provides meaning to the day-to-day challenges and setbacks that make up the rumble and tumble of real life. Decisions become pragmatic” Michael states.

He’s right. Once I regained this perspective, I found new energy and purpose in drumming up new work. I went from survival mode to intentional mode in seeking out new opportunities. A vision serves as a compass, and I failed to take a bearing at the first sign of trouble. It’s always good to pause for a moment and assess your direction, then move forward. The vision tells you where and in what direction.

My vision is simple: “to be the difference that makes a difference in the lives of others”. This vision is an excellent compass for me; it qualifies and filters opportunities and makes decision-making easier when selecting the right contract. I might have all the skills in the world for a particular company, but if I do not believe I can be a difference that will make a difference to them, then it’s not for me. This significantly raises the bar above survival mode where the temptation to accept the first thing that comes along is at its greatest.

Staying true to my vision also keeps me authentic and consistent in my actions, which are also important leadership traits. As the leader of my family, its my job to remind them of what it is we are trying to build – and why it matters.  I echo Michael Hyatt’s words, “Before conditions can improve, [vision] is the first thing we must recover.”

Question: How important do you think vision is as we move through the rest of this year?