Be Different or be dead

July 30, 2011

What important habit does a great leader practice every day?

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What important habit does a great leader practice every day?

“...any regularly repeated behavior that requires little or no thought and is learned” — a habit

Leaders should always be looking for something that will step up their game, that will continue to make them relevant and standout from the crowd of other leaders who are content to led from a textbook.

There are bad habits. And there are good habits.

You acquire a habit. You do it and you can’t help it. You do it without thinking. A habit tends to be an involuntary response. It becomes part of who we are — integral to our DNA.

If leadership in organizations were to mandate that this habit be acquired, our consumer lives would eventually be a whole lot more satisfying.

The Habit?

Call a customer every day.

It’s rather easy to learn. Easy to do. And the rewards are unlimited for any organization wanting to separate themselves from the faceless competitive herd.

One phone call — no, not an email — to someone who is loyal to you and does business with you regularly.

A 15 minute conversation or longer if you are lucky enough to have the other person actually want to talk to you and will accept your call.

A connection at the same time everyday. Calendarize it so it becomes a part of what you naturally so each day. 1232

The call content is pretty straightforward. Ask a question - Listen - Make notes - Ask a question - Listen - Make notes - Ask - Listen - Take notes…..

After the call, do something with what you’ve learned. If you don’t take action you have wasted the customer’s time. And make this habit matter to others in your organization.

Get others in your organization making the call as well. Spread the habit. Infect your colleagues with it.

The call is not a run-of-the-mill habit.

It actually has a multiple ROI for your 15 minute investment:

▪️ The customer is flattered you called and continues to be loyal and give you their business;
▪️ They tell their close contacts you called them which draws then to you and you censure more business;
▪️ You learn a secret or two during the conversation which not only allows you to serve them better, it also provides you with insights on how you can better serve others and attract new business;
▪️ By getting others in your organization to ‘make the call’, you take a giant step to creating a customer-centric culture which will increase your chances of success and survival in the long term;
▪️ You learn a fact or two about your competition (if you ask the right questions) which allows you to stay one step ahead of them.

You imprint the habit on others to scale the benefits. Wow! A scaled habit. Who would have thought? You improve something in your organization that serves the customer. You earn the continued loyalty of a fan.

Not bad for a habit.

This is one habit you never want to kick.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 7.30.11 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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