In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek provides clear definitions for repeat and loyal customers: . There is a big difference between repeat business and loyalty. Repeat business is when people do business with you multiple times. Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to […]
Category: Leadership
The Shelf Life of Objectivity
An interesting thing about house guests…they always see the smallest details. You may have lived someplace for years without noticing that crack in the corner, spot on the carpet, or dent in the door. But a guest walks in and sees them all at first glance. (When I was in college, it didn”t matter how […]
The Little Things
It’s easy to ignore them. A typo that most people won’t notice. One sign that is slightly confusing. A camera operator who is always just a bit out of focus. None of them make that much of a difference…by themselves. There are two reasons why the little things should be dealt with like big things: […]
Paradigm > Policy
The common organizational reaction to any mishap is simple… “We need a rule to keep that from happening again.” And while this may seem reasonable in the moment, the culmination of this type of decision-making results in a spider web of red tape that is cumbersome for even the most tenured employee to navigate. . […]
Why the ropes course didn’t work.
No one can deny the value of unity to a team. There is a level of excellence and productivity that just cannot be achieved without it. When everyone is on the same page sharing the same objectives, coordination and collaboration reach their peaks. And so understandably, many leaders work to create unity among team members. We […]
Break it up.
In team meetings, passionate debate is an often necessary catalyst for productivity. It creates a sense of urgency and seriousness regarding the issue being discussed and drives a team to make decisions. But there is a point at which a passionate debate can turn into a passionate dogfight. No longer catalyzing productivity, it becomes more […]
Dream.
I love daydreaming of future goals. It keeps them near to the heart despite their distance from the present. Often mistaken for procrastination, dreams provide energy that can be refocused onto current projects. How often do you break from doing to spend time dreaming? A slow Saturday is a great time to rediscover vision.
The message in your measurements.
Your measurements communicate what matters. And no matter how much you believe in the values you state, misaligned metrics will relentlessly scream others. A business call center may value quality customer service. But when management only measures wait time and call durations, efficiency is the only value heard by employees. “Transparency” may be the value stated […]
Limits
The moment you identify your organization’s limits is the moment they begin to exist. They were never a reality until you saw them. And the sooner you deny them, the sooner you will break them. Saying, “that could never work here”, will make sure it doesn’t. What are your organization’s limits? Now start drafting the […]
Open to Change: Barriers to Perceived Feasibility
Monday’s post focused on the barriers that prevent individuals from recognizing the need for change within their organization. And while the inability to perceive need is the primary reason many individuals are closed to change, it is not the only reason. It is quite possible for an individual to have a full recognition of the […]