Posted on September 8, 2010
It was a painful conversation to witness. I was meeting with Jennifer and Patrick. They are partners in a small professional service firm. We were discussing things that the business needed and trying to prioritize those needs.
Patrick was quite adamant that the accounting system needed to be overhauled. Now.
Jennifer was concerned that the firm needed to be developing its junior staff. Then she started thinking about more concerns.
“In addition to accounting and training, I’ve been concerned that we may be behind on our policies and procedures manuals,” Jennifer said.
Then she added: “What about that new product line we’ve planned? And then there’s . . .”
Patrick blew up. “You’re doing it again. You’re throwing more issues on the table than we can possibly deal with. We agreed to focus on one. And it’s the accounting system. And it needs to be done NOW.”
That’s when I had to step in.
Patrick is one of those folks who can focus intensely on one topic and deal with it right away. He wants closure. Jennifer is one of those folks who needs to explore lots of options before she decides anything.
What do you do when you find yourself in their situation?
You first, before you even start the conversation, state what outcome you want from the discussion.
Then you set a timeframe for the discussion. Patrick could do it in 2 minutes. Jennifer might want to take 2 hours. You agree on a compromise that gives Jennifer her “and another thing” time. And you agree that you will make a decision at the end of that compromise time.
It’s not perfect but Jennifer gets to do her thing and Patrick knows he will get a decision when they’re done.
Posted on August 16, 2010
Talk about changing customers’ expectations. . .
I recently spent some time at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Piedmont is a great facility and is always ranked among the top hospitals in the country.
The staff is exceptional. They always have a good attitude and are focused on helping their patients get well. I’ve been at Piedmont before, so I expected such high caliber service.
And, since I’ve been there before, I also expected the usual crappy, flavorless hospital food that I’ve experienced in the past.
But not this time.
Piedmont offers room service for all meals, where you get to pick what you want and when you want it. The menu has great variety, from peanut butter sandwiches to chicken kiev. If you want three desserts, you can have those, too.
You call your order in and, within a reasonable time, a room service waiter, in full room service dress, delivers your food to your bedside table.
And it actually has some flavor.
Talk about creating new expectations for your customers. What new expectations are you creating for your customers?
Posted on August 2, 2010
Last week I had lunch with a former client/still a friend who complained that I wasn’t delivering on what I had promised for my blog. That’s a nice way to start a conversation.
I had promised readers that I would post weekly mini case studies on how to manage people and on communications. I was very good at sticking to that schedule for more than a year.
Then the economy tanked, and my engineering buddies were hurting. And I became less rigorous about delivering those case studies.
But I’m back. After that friendly kick in the pants, I recommitted to posting something weekly. As we all know, one should “underpromise and overdeliver.”
I will close with this quick communication tip: Put yourself in the mind of your reader/listener. The other day, my husband was going to take a pill in our bathroom. I was in my office and asked him to bring me the yellow tablet next to my computer in the bedroom.
Sure enough, he did. Only he brought the yellow vitamin tablet I had left there. I was asking for the yellow writing tablet. He was thinking pills, I was thinking pens. So much for clear communication.
Posted on March 9, 2010
Talk about a communication conundrum. . .
Yesterday I was coaching a young woman (read “half my age”), and we were brainstorming ways to get her staff to take ownership of their work. We were exploring how to create a sense of urgency for them. (I hear this a lot from owners.)
We talked about playing some game with a timer—this is for an off-site retreat. We thought of Pictionary or maybe Charades. These didn’t excite me, but I know my kids liked Pictionary.
I thought back to games where I felt most pressured to win before time ran out. My mind went back to video games like Pac Man and Centipede.
They created that adrenalin rush that you had to move fast and smart or you would get eaten or whatever. (I was always an observer.)
She was aware of Pac Man, but had never heard of some of the others. She did not grow up in this country. Score 1 for “cultural differences.”
Then I got excited, remembering playing pre-video games, sometimes in drinking establishments. “We need a pinball machine!”
She looked at me with that “what are you talking about” look.
“Pinball, you know,” I said, reliving old memories, pantomiming pulling back the launcher and working the flippers. Still a blank look.
“Certainly you know of the rock opera ‘Tommy?’ Blind kid who’s a pinball wizard. . .”
Still a blank look. I was struggling here. Score 2 for “cultural differences.”
“Well, you do know who The Who is, don’t you?” I asked, looking for some shred of a way to relate.
“The Who. Yes, I know them.” Thank heavens!
Needless to say, my case for a pinball machine didn’t land on this young woman. They didn’t have pinball machines in her country. And she hadn’t taken a college course on great rock operas from the 1970s.
Posted on February 26, 2010
Here’s another simple communication tip that’s a lot harder than it seems.
Ban the use of the word “but.”
For example, you’re in a team meeting and people are evaluating whether to open another office location. Paul says, “We’ve got a client in the area. It makes sense to set up an office there to give us a local presence.”
Natalie replies: “But that’s going to cost us for office space and all that.”
The “but” immediately discredits Paul’s idea. What if Natalie had just dropped the “but” and said, “That’s going to cost us for office space and all that.”
See what happens? The critical tone is gone. She is just stating a fact, rather than implying an opinion.
That leaves room for the conversation to continue.
Some people suggest using the word “and” where you would typically say “but.”
For example, “I would really like to see that movie, but tonight isn’t going to work for me.” What happens when you change it to “I would really like to see that movie, and tonight isn’t going to work for me.”
It’s weird and it’s awkward. But (I know) the awkwardness of it will make you realize how often you use the word “but.” Give it a try.
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