Be Different or be dead

December 27, 2021

6 important things we need to teach kids for success

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6 important things we need to teach kids for success.

How well are we preparing our kids to be successful?

Are we teaching them the abilities necessary to enable them to solve the unique challenges of today’s complicated world, or are we merely promulgating the facts, figures and methods of learning that have been practiced for hundreds of years?

I believe our kids need more than what they get from school; they need an extra shove toward these 6 skills and competencies that are more critical for success today than ever before.

#1. Look beyond the classroom

Kids are super focused on learning what their teachers have to offer; mastering the curriculum is their prime objective. But, while this is essential, it shouldn’t be all consuming.

Like sports and other recreational activities, there needs to be room for kids to engage more with the world around them; to explore the problems, opportunities and challenges that are integral to the context within which they live.
And to think about how what they are learning could apply to making things better.

At a very young age, kids need to be challenged to apply what they’ve learned. They need to understand that success is more than learning what’s in textbooks; it’s more about how knowledge is used to achieve something useful and amazing.

#2. Question what you see

It’s important to cultivate curiosity in young people; to encourage them to not automatically accept what they are told — even from teachers.
They need to ‘ask to understand’ and to be able to see the broader implications of the information being presented to them.

Successful people don’t blindly accept what is given to them. They look, listen, probe, inspect and examine what they see and then decide whether to accept or not.

‘Ya, but…’ should be encouraged in kids because it represents a thinking process that is stretching information to another dimension. It shows they are wanting to understand more than what they’ve heard; that the facts presented to them don’t go far enough to satisfy their curiosity.

#3. Think outside the lines

Our children need to be encouraged to be uncomfortable with compliance; to view rules not as limitations on what they can achieve, but as guidelines to enable them to seek rich solutions to difficult problems.

Schools make this difficult because they insist students conform to the rule-set being taught, with success measured by how well someone follows them. An ‘A’ student is better at following the rules, for example than an ‘C’ student.

Successful people constantly look for opportunities to break away from the way the crowd sees things because they realize that being different is the source of high performance.

#4. Help your friends

A successful career is not a solo effort; it is built on a platform of support from many people. Unless someone has the respect and trust of fellow professionals and peers, they are likely to travel a bumpy road as they try to advance in any organization.

At an early age kids need to be taught to be team players and be encouraged to help their friends. This enables them to learn the skills required to build support and respect the unique capabilities of other people.

#5. Keep learning

The school curriculum should be viewed as entry level learning; the lowest level of knowledge that should be mastered in any given grade.

Kids should be encouraged to learn more than what they are being asked at an early age in order to develop the continuous learning competency.

Long term career success requires an ability to adapt to the changing circumstances around us, and the ability to be constantly in the learning mode is the critical ingredient to allow this to happen.

#6. Be different

It’s essential.

Schools and parents are uncomfortable with kids who are not like their friends and others in their peer group.

When Roy stands out and attracts attention, teachers often notice through a negative lens — ‘that’s not what I taught you’ — and parents criticize because of their discomfort — ‘why can’t you do what you’re told like your classmates?’

This reticence to allow our kids to stand apart and separate themselves from the herd has long term consequences.

All the successful people I know are not herd members; they don’t spend their life trying to be like everyone else — they don’t believe that copying what others do is relevant and useful to adding value in the world.

Let’s give our kids an early start on what I consider to be the most critical element of success: the capability to exploit differences rather than the mentality of replicating what the crowd thinks.

How about a class topic once a month on ‘What one thing could I do that is different from what we have been taught?’ Have fun with the topic. Teach kids that it’s ok to step out and be special.

Reading — writing — arithmetic competency is the baseline for developing our kids, without which they will likely never reach their full potential.

Helping others — continuous learning — being different — questioning — thinking outside the lines, on the other hand, represents the capabilities they need to standout from others and be successful.

Cheers
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 12.27.21 at 05:17 am by Roy Osing
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December 26, 2021

7 proven ways to make your marketing stunning and unbeatable

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7 proven ways to make your marketing stunning and unbeatable.

Marketing is practiced in the same way by most organizations; typically marketers adopt efficiency tools to perform the detailed tasks of their profession. They are infatuated with the minutiae of their world.

There are, for example, keyword research tools such as Ubersuggest,  site usage tools such as Hotjar, email marketing tools like Active Campaign and many many more.

Today, there are so many tools available that overwhelmed marketers have a difficult time choosing one that best fits their particular circumstances.

But the real problem is that with everyone searching for the toolset that will make them more efficient at performing marketing tasks, the specific strategic actions that will enable them to stand out in the crowd are often overlooked and given a low priority. In some organizations they are ignored.

Efficiency is a laudable goal, but what organizations need from marketing are strategic tools; tools that will make them different from every else and give them a strategic advantage in the marketplace.

Marketing is not a tactical resource, it’s a strategic one.

These are the actions that different marketers take to add strategic value to their organization and make their marketing efforts stunning and unbeatable.

#1. They don’t care about new customers

They treat existing loyal customers as the lifeline of the business. They choose to reward loyalty with special deals and promotions before offering them as an incentive for people to leave their current supplier.

‘Deals for loyalty’ is the mantra that drives the offer development process and additional revenue is generated by creating programs for current customers as opposed to adding new customers.

#2. They bring service in

They introduce service elements into the marketing value proposition mix, realizing that if the right service umbrella doesn’t overshadow the specific product being offered, there is no positive outcome.
If someone can’t easily get their solution with care and attention, they won’t buy or stay.

And they differentiate various levels of service to reflect the value of various customer groups. For example, a dedicated ‘Chairman’s Club’ 1-800 line is provided exclusively for those customers who are top spenders.

#3. They ignore technology

They are agnostic to technology; they focus on the value and benefits the technology delivers rather than on the technology itself.

Current marketing is infatuated with gee-wiz technology and uses it to declare a competitive advantage.
So, for example, a communications company mistakenly assumes it is unique among their competitors if they use 5G technology yet the technology is available (and eventually will be used by) everyone in the business.

Unmatchable marketing, on the other hand, positions their organization as unique in how they employ technology to solve customer problems or enhance their quality of life.

#4. They covet ‘The ONLY’

They ask the question,’Why should I do business with you and not your competitors?’ guide them in developing the competitive strategy of their organization.

They avoid using ‘better’, ‘the best’  and ‘number 1’ to declare their competitive position; rather they use the ONLY statement — ‘We are the ONLY ones that…’ — to express their uniqueness and state why they should be chosen over their competition.

#5. They are ‘always on’

They are constantly learning what customers desire every time they touch the organization, whether it’s a personal contact or a visit to a website.
 


They are not enamored with traditional market research studies as the way to discover what people want and desire; they use a learning streaming approach that gathers relevant information on the customer every time they engage with the organization.

The smallest detail may be the most important in terms of providing the right solution, and unmatchable marketers don’t want to miss the opportunity to get it.

#6. They love ‘secrets’

They are obsessed with discovering the innermost secrets that customers hide: they aren’t really all that interested in the needs they give up freely.

Most organizations try to determine what their customers NEED and use their data to drive the marketing process. Unmatchable marketing, on the other hand, tries to get ‘under the covers’ and discover what their customers crave and lust for as the engine for what is offered to them.

If every marketing team is looking for needs, no one will stand out; they all have the same information. If they have secrets though, they will be unique and will have the opportunity to stand out from all others.

#7. They like trying

Experimentation through market trials is the beacon they use for what will really work; studies and rigorous analysis take a second seat to real market experience.

Old school marketers do exhaustive studies on the potential for a product or service and if the results are positive they go to market.

Unmatchable marketers, on the other hand, do abbreviated studies and conduct extensive trials with real customers and then move to a full market launch based on trial results and customer feedback.

The unbeatable marketers’ scorecard has ‘the number of tries’  as a key performance measure; the more tries, the better the performance. They trust what they learn from the customer experience not from what study and analysis concludes.

Unbeatable marketing is needed for organizations to win in these unpredictable and pandemic times; staying with old school ways unfortunately guarantees mediocrity, herd membership and anonymity.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 12.26.21 at 07:33 am by Roy Osing
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December 13, 2021

How employees can be perfectly aligned with business goals

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How employees can be perfectly aligned with business goals.

A very common business problem is that employees don’t act in accordance with the strategy of the organization. The strategy says one thing, and employees do another. Strategic reviews show that the strategic intent of the organization is not working and dysfunction weaves its way among team members.

Generally there are two reasons for the dysfunction: one, you don’t have the skills need expertise necessary in people to execute your strategy, and two, even if people are skilled, they don’t know what should be doing specifically in their job to implement the strategy.

So, how do you develop employee teams to take the actions that the strategy requires?

It all starts with strategic context.

Without clarity around the strategy of the organization, it’s virtually impossible to define what behaviours are necessary for people to exhibit on a daily basis, as well as the skills and competencies required to consistently execute it.

Your strategic intent must be dissected and exposed so employee skills and competencies can be define and employees know how to behave.

There is no such thing as ‘good’ alignment or ‘close’ alignment.

Alignment either exists or it doesn’t and therefore the due diligence that must be applied to the process must be extremely disciplined and precise — ‘close enuf’ doesn’t work.

The following process worked for me. It produced a succinct People Plan for the business that was directly linked to business objectives, and had people all marching in step.

#1. Create a People Plan

First, the strategic game plan of the organization must contain a detailed ‘people plan’ with people objectives that define what talent is required to successfully execute the game plan.

Most strategies contain some precision on marketing, sales and finance objectives; the same must be done for the human element of the organization.

#2. Engage the CPO

The CPO— Chief People Officer— must be at the executive planning table.

A game plan that is developed without the fingerprints of the chief people leader will not produce the detailed direction required to align the human component of the organization to the desired strategic outcomes.

The primary role of the CPO is to decompose the strategic intent of the organization into what human elements are critical to achieving it.

The CPO is the translator that bridges the gap between the hill to be taken and the warriors needed to make it happen.

#3. Develop the People Plan in excruciating detail

It must be developed with sufficient granularity to answer these types of questions:

▪️What new competencies are required to achieve the new strategic goals defined in the game plan?

▪️What does the training and recruitment plan look like to acquire these new competencies? The timing of these actions must precisely parallel the strategy’s need for the new skills critical to deliver results within a specific timeframe.

▪️What existing competencies are no longer required?

▪️What training is needed to equip these people with the new skills required?

▪️What is the exit plan to move people out of the organization who are either incapable or unwilling to acquire new expertise?

This piece is extremely important. You can’t have people hanging out with yesterday’s competencies and expect that you will be able to meet the new realities of the business. Only two options are available: train the new or exit the old.

▪️How do the elements of the People Plan line up with strategic objectives? To get alignment.  you have to demonstrate precisely how the outcome of each element of the plan serves a corresponding component of the business strategy.

For example which critical objectives of the business are satisfied by which of the new skills targeted to acquire? You need to be able to ‘see’ the link directly, otherwise you can’t claim there is alignment.

#4. Hold the CPO accountable

The CPO must be held accountable to present the People Plan back to the executive team that developed the organization’s game plan, and must PROVE that it is in alignment with the priorities of the strategy.

This must be treated as an inquisition of sorts, as the consequences of mis-alignment are serious — squandered resources and a dysfunctional culture.

Most organizations don’t apply this type of rigor to ensuring alignment, but complain of dysfunction.

You can’t have it both ways.

You will never have talent management in alignment with business objectives if you don’t put in the discipline and hard work necessary to achieve it.

Cheers
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 12.13.21 at 04:08 am by Roy Osing
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December 6, 2021

Why customers should be allowed to make your rules and policies

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Why customers should be allowed to make your rules and policies.

Most organizations have, as part of their business plan. a customer service strategy to create delightful experiences for their customers.

But unfortunately the bold declaration of intent to blow customers away with exemplary service is as far as it goes because organizations quickly move away from their great service aspiration and design a rule system with policies and procedures intended to impose order and control on the customer engagement process.

Credit policies. Accounting procedures. Collections rules. Sales processes. Complaint policies. Order procedures.

Customer Service manuals generally are replete with instructions on how to deal with virtually anything to do with a customer.

In fact most rules in an organization one way or another impact the customer.

And for the most part they are meant to control them. To make them behave a certain way that produces a favorable outcome for the company usually in terms of keeping costs down and imposing a standard way of doing business that applies to everyone.

Rules are meant to control the customer transaction.

What if we took a different perspective and created rules to enable the transaction; to allow the customer to engage with the organization the way they want?

Terms that make their experience with us enjoyable and stress free?

There is a huge contradiction when organizations say they are in the business of creating memorable experiences for customers yet construct rules and policies that do exactly the opposite.

It’s time for leadership to be bold and let the customer provide input to the process of architecting the rules. Let the customer control their own destiny with you.

Enable them; serve them.

How about asking a group of your fans to critique your policies and suggest changes?

What not? Are we afraid what they will say? Afraid they will point out the stupidity of some of them?

Open up.

Allow your fans to control you. They do anyway, so why not make it official?

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 12.6.21 at 05:26 am by Roy Osing
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