July 28, 2010

Strategic is “Pounding on the Basics”

Here are some BE DiFFERENT Strategic Acts to think about in addition to the Helium-filled Plans that are often Brave Notions that don’t find their way to the trenches where winning really occurs. In no particular order…

> recruit people who genuinely love human beings. YES, it is Strategic!
> take notes. It’s an expression of the fact that someone cares enough about what you are sating to record it for further deliberation and ACTION.
> do stuff. ACTION gets results, thinking doesn’t.
> apologize when things are screwed up. Recovery depends on assuming responsibility for what has happened. “I am truly sorry” starts off the loyalty building process the right way.
> cut the CRAP in the organization that is no longer relevant AND that clogs the wheels of progress (Tom Peters’ call it the GRUNGE - awesome word!).
> over-react when a customer is screwed over. Again, successful Recovery demands SPEED to get things right.
> problem solve. Things NEVER go right the first time. SH*T Happen. Solutions are needed.
> form cross-functional teams. Results are produced ACROSS the organization demanding people working together harmoniously.
> tell stories. It’s a vital element of strategy. The best way of explaining to someone what the strategy means is to tell a story about it in action.
> use Internal Report Cards to measure service quality on the inside of the organization. If internal customers aren’t dazzled it is highly unlikely (no, IMPOSSIBLE) that external ones are
> recognize Service Heroes constantly.
> encourage employees to successfully fail. A Successful Failure results in learning which advances the organization. An unacceptable failure has no learning element and simply destroys value.
> practice Leadership by Serving Around is rampant across the organization.
> gather Customer Secrets. They are the fuel that powers your marketing and service machine.
> change your business vocabulary to be more customer-centric. Wash your mouth out with Customers!
> get feedback on your performance from your boss, peers and “subordinates” by using 360 degree feedback.

Are you practising these? If not, start the journey…

Cheers, Roy
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Posted 7.28.10 at 08:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 26, 2010

Wanted: Chief Serving Officer

The importance of SERVANT LEADERSHIP, by Tom Peters…

It seems that the ‘Chief’ designation is well used in organizations these days: Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer are but a few positions that carry this prestigious Tag.
The Serving side of a business (some call it the Service side) gets short shrift however. Very few companies have established a Chief of this side of the business. The CSO, Chief Serving Officer, must in my view be established in any organization who has a strategy to acquire and retain loyal customers. This is a huge mistake! If Serving is a critical component of your strategy you need single finger accountability to a senior executive for the flawless delivery of Core Service and the creation of Dazzling Customer Experiences.

Diluting the responsibility across the organization will simply not work. It won’t get the attention required. Nor the Focus. It requires a Champion who can sit in Executive Team Meetings and hammer the table when actions in the organization are preventing Raving Customer Fans from being secured.

Here’s the CSO Position Description:
> Create a Service Strategy for the organization.
> EXECUTE the Service Strategy.
> Be accountable for the results of the Service Strategy.
> Define Core Service for the firm and put in place the necessary tactics and program to deliver it at a satisfactory level 24X7.
> Re-engineer customer serving processes from the customer’s point of view.
> Strike the Dazzling Serving Recovery Strategy for your company. Recovering from your Serving Blunders builds loyalty. Its a critical piece of Strategy.
> Develop the ABSOLUTELY-MUST-HAVE-WILL-TAKE-NOTHING-LESS competencies of Frontline positions.
> Define the recruitment process to be used in bringing on Customer Servers.
> Empower the Frontline to bed the rules on the customer’s behalf.
> Insist that all leaders in the Serving Organization participate in 360 Degree Performance Feedback.
> Get the value of the Frontline Leader position re-valued in the organization to be THE MOST STRATEGIC POSITION EVER.
> Be the ultimate guardian of MOMENTS OF TRUTH with customers. Watch them. Evaluate them. Improve them. Coach. Coach. Coach.
> KILL DUMB RULES. The internal rules and policies that infuriate customers.
> Set up Dumb Rules Committees throughout the organization to seek out and cleanse the internal environment of stuff that makes no sense to customers.
> Be THE Advocate for the Frontline. Protect them. Nurture them. Celebrate with them. Help them. Be the Do-whatever-it-takes person to make sure they can delight customers.
> Set up Customer Feedback Panels to hear the truth about how you serve them. Get the CEO involved as well. The entire Executive Team. Leaders need to hear how your Serving is perceived.
> MEASURE. MEASURE. MEASURE. Analyze service results monthly. Take improvement action on shortfalls from objectives. Celebrate success. Honor people.
> Post Serving Results all over the place.
> Assume the role of Chief Storytelling Officer. Get out in front of people with stories that breathe life in the Service Strategy.
> Pay homage to Service Heroes. Know who they are and the names of their kids.
> Establish an Internal Serving Measurement System. Measure the quality of Serving provided among internal suppliers and customers.

These are STRATEGIC Acts that must be performed to BE DiFFERENT in Serving Customers and dominating your competition. Put a CSO in place to make it happen.

Cheers, Roy

Remember to follow me on Twitter

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Posted 7.26.10 at 07:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 21, 2010

(Still Another) Six Competencies to Covet

This is the final Six until I learn more personal traits that lead organizations to BE DiFFERENT...

> REACTION MANIAC —a HUGE aspect of surviving a major (or minor for that matter) screw-up is responding to what has occurred in the right (read as “Loyalty Building”) way. The truth is, a successful Recovery actually builds Customer Loyalty MORE than if the mistake never happened. Counter-intuitive I know, but true. Remember the BE DiFFERENT formula: Service Recovery = FIX it + Do the UNEXPECTED (the Dazzle Factor).

> MELLOW YELLOW —you really do need folks that react well under extreme pressure. See Competency above. STOP—PAUSE—THINK—RESPOND THOUGHTFULLY. This is tough to train people in (sometimes I think it is impossible). Covet the Competency.

> “I’LL REMEMBER YOU”—Memories….. the fact is a good memory will go a long way to dazzling a customer. It shows you paid attention the last time you connected with the person. It shows you care enough to remember. True story: this year’s vacation at the Maui Ocean Club in Kaanapali Maui. Mellisa greets us as we check in. First thing she says “Welcome home Mr. and Mrs. Osing. How are the book sales going? Have you written your second book yet?”. Impressive. Dazzling. A Memorable Moment for me. A story to tell.

> CONSTRUCTIVE EMULATOR—tough to come up with an original idea these days. Go find someone else’s idea that excites you. Morph it to work in your organization. Execute it with passion. Infect others with the Desire. A BE DiFFERENT copying skill is worth its weight in gold…. and survivability.

> NANO-INCH SEEKER—there’s no such thing as a Silver Bullet. Progress is made by having a distinguishing Strategic Game Plan and executing it flawlessly…. inch-by-inch-by-inch. Get an inch of progress FAST. Look for people who have demonstrated this capability.

> CUSTOMER EMPATHY—can you look at yourself through the customer’s eyes? No, I mean REALLY look. Objectively. Compassionately. Solution-mindedly. It’s not about your organization; it’s about the Customer Moment and you need Practising Empathizers if you want raving lunatic fans as customers (which we all do).

How are you doing? Out of the eighteen Competencies I have discussed so far, what percentage does your organization Covet? 100%—you’re dreaming! Over 50%—you’re on the right track and have the RIGHT momentum going. Less than 50%—you need a Competencies to Covet Plan (probably a renewed Strategic Game Plan to provide a new context for your organization should precede this).

As usual you comments would be appreciated. Your stories as well.

Cheers, Roy
Remember to follow me on Twitter

Other Competencies to Covet Blog Articles
Six Competencies to Covet
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Posted 7.21.10 at 07:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 18, 2010

BE DiFFERENT YOU! Covet the Fox

The Fox in any organization is the key manager or executive that has the greatest amount of influence on a particular decision to be made. In the Sales application, it would be the key individual in the customer’s organization that will make the buy decision on the solution they are seeking; if your solution is to be successful, you need to figure out a way to make it stand out above your competitor’s in the eyes of the Fox.
Your Be Different YOU challenge is exactly the same as in the sales example. You represent a solution to a hiring manager’s problem and you must clearly differentiate YOU from your competition so that he or she concludes that YOU are the only person who should be afforded the opportunity. Here are some Practices to consider:

> Identify the leaders in the organization who are making the key business and people decisions today and are likely to be doing so over the next year or so. In Chapter Ten of BE DiFFERENT or be dead, I suggested that a critical component of building a strategic game plan for an organization is to answer the ‘WHO do you want to SERVE?’ question. This is the customer group - the worthy - that represents the best economic opportunity for the organization and as a result is given the highest priority in resources allocated to it. Treat Foxes in the same way. The Foxes in an organization need to be carefully identified and targeted just as you would any other customer group that held the potential for your success. You will be allocating a significant amount of your time and energy on them and you need to be sure that they have the potential to deliver significant benefits to you. If you choose incorrectly you will not receive the expected return on your personal investment.

> Discover their expectations and secrets. In Chapter Twenty-Five of BE DiFFERENT or be dead I discussed the need for organizations to discover customer secrets as a critical component of customerizing their marketing function through customer learning. If you have a deep intimate understanding of your customer, you are in a position to delight them in a way none other can hope to do. The same goes for marketing YOU to a Fox. The value proposition you present for yourself is much more powerful if it is based on what you understand to be the intimate profile of the person you are targeting. Google them and get as much information as you can on them. Also leverage your social media networks to get the information you are looking for.

Here are a few secret gathering questions to answer on the Fox:
— What history do they have in hiring people? What do they typically look for?
— What do they typically look for in a candidate to fill a particular position?
— What questions do they ask? What has their career path been? What positions have they held?
— What are they famous for? What strengths do they possess that have made them successful?
— What do they do outside of their job?
— Are they married? Do they have a family? Do you know their names?

> Don’t flog YOU as a product with a narrow set of competencies. Success comes by marketing yourself with as broad a range of skills and expertise that the organization values in progressing to its desired future. This is a key point. In Section Three of BE DiFFERENT or be dead, I discussed the practice of creating value-based Holistic Offers for the customers you choose to serve rather than flogging products with a narrow range of benefits to mass markets. This discipline works for YOU just as well as it does for an organization looking to take its marketing efforts to a new level. Think about yourself as a Holistic Offer with a broad range of value attributes. The challenge is to select and focus on the value elements - or develop them if you don’t have them - that address the key issues facing the organization. Value elements could include: MBA in Marketing and Finance, demonstrated achievement in building business strategy, changing a marketing culture from a product focus to be more customer focussed, building market share in competitive markets, improving customer service 25% over a 12 month period, external speaking engagements on competitive strategy and marketing, building strong teams and consultative selling skills.

> Be proactive in discovering the opportunities that will be coming up in the organization. If you have a good relationship with the foxes this will aid the process. In addition, stay tuned into the informal communications network in your organization as it is often very effective in knowing when change is in the wind. With an informed outlook of the possibilities, you can take whatever action you feel appropriate to take advantage of them should they arise.

Stay tuned for more YOU Articles…

Cheers, Roy
Remember to follow me on Twitter

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Posted 7.18.10 at 07:00 am by Roy Osing | Permalink | Comments (0)