Month: July 2015

#1135 flip the switch

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Many times we say that we want to provide good service, but we don’t always take the next step and make it easy to let people know when we fall short of that goal.

One common place where people passively monitor service is in a public restroom.  Often there is a chart on the back of the door indicating when it was last checked, and then a line in fine print that says something to the effect of “if this restroom needs servicing, please let the manager know.”

I have been in places that needed attention, but it has to be really bad before I will share my concerns.  More times than not, I let it go.

Recently I was in a restroom that has this:

What a great way to show that they are serious about keeping the restroom clean.  It’s simple, immediate and anonymous.

How can you take steps to make it easy for customers give you feedback, especially about service that needs attention now?

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


#1134 what’s next

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Training new staff is somewhat like preparing for some of those SAT questions that ask “what’s next in the sequence?”  

You can only study so much for the SAT, just as you can only share so much information with your new staff.  Neither can have the goal of knowing all of the answers.  

What you’re really after with employees is for them to understand the context enough that they can pick the behavior you’d want them to choose based on your mission and values.  Help them understand the “why” of the initial information you share so that they can correctly choose what is next in the sequence.  

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com



#1133 it’s ready

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Around here, the first day of Fincels’ sweet corn is like a holiday.  The corn is grown fresh, and, as I have written about before*, once you have tasted picked-today sweet corn, you look with disdain on any other kind.

But unlike holidays that appear on the calendar on a set date, the first day of corn season has fickle timing, dependent upon the whims of Mother Nature.  This uncertainty only serves to heighten the anticipation and ‘sweeten’ the demand.

I am sure the fine folks at Fincels tire of answering the question: “When will the corn be ready?” so they have devised an ingenious way of letting customers determine that for themselves.  From the first day at Farmers’ Market they display corn in a pot:


People can see for themselves that the corn is nowhere near ready in May, or June, or even by Fourth of July.  (Today is the anticipated day, and sweet corn sales began this morning.) 

Think about how you can take a lesson from the farmers and devise a clever way to answer the often-asked questions your customers have.  Can you share the evolving progress of a project of great interest to others or find a way to help people understand the length of time it takes for something to be completed?  There are much more creative ways than a thermometer to keep people apprised of the information they want to know.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


*see Blog #25, June 26, 2012


#1132 by hand

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During the last academic year, nearly 20,000 high schools administered Advanced Placement exams and over 2 million students took at least one of them in an attempt to earn college credit through examination.  In total, there were 4.2 million AP exams given.

Since it is 2015, you may think that these tests are all multiple choice or so they can be graded by computer, but in reality they consist of essays and short answers…that are written in long-hand (not typed) and graded by people (by hand).  It is a massive undertaking to get them scored.

High school AP teachers and college professors gather in a hotel for a week and do nothing but grade one subject of AP tests.  This goes on all summer for each different exam.  Graders are broken into teams and given one question to score — over and over and over again.  One reader said she read 4500 answers to the same question throughout the week.  And the hardest part?  Reading the handwriting.  

I asked why the essays weren’t at least allowed to be typed, and the answer was “to allow for better monitoring.” Apparently it is easier to watch a room full of students taking a test with the traditional paper and pencil than to track whether or not they are straying from the appointed task when on computers.  

It seems ironic to me that respected schools are offering on-line degrees and yet the College Board would rather incur the expense and time to bring droves of professionals together in person to score essays that are written by hand.  I am glad they take the granting of credit seriously, but AP may signify antiquated processing.

Is there a method or procedure you are using that may be due for some re-thinking?  

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Source:  AP Open Forum




#1131 pop, pop, pop

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Those of you who love the “pop, pop, pop” of Bubble Wrap may want to stockpile a few rolls.  Sealed Air Corp., the predominant manufacturer of the packing material, is introducing a new product that will have the same protection, but not their signature sound.

The compressed air that makes the addictive noise has a down side: it takes up space.  A lot of space actually.  And space equates to money, both to ship it in giant rolls and then to store it in warehouses before it is used.  So the company is introducing iBubble, inflated on-site with a special pump.  The result:  one truckload of the new wrap equals 47 truckloads of Bubble Wrap.  You don’t have to be a math genius to calculate that there would be substantial savings.

Bubble Wrap may have been innovative when it hit the scene in 1960, but with today’s technology and cost-consciousness, it is becoming a relic.  I think it’s good for business that they are redesigning their products, even if it is sad for the end users.

It reminds me of my blog last week when I wondered about the fine line between tradition and becoming a rut.  The same is true with products. When is something a classic vs. outdated?  I think you can tell by the price; the value of classics goes up while the outdated is given away.  I predict that you may want to save up a few rolls of the noisy stuff before you have to pay a premium to get it from a vintage store!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Source:  Bubble Wrap Loses Its Pop by Loretta Chao, Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2015, p. B1


#1130 stop

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Many people experience a gradual accumulation of unwanted things.  One incident or action seems innocent enough, but after a repeated pattern a person is left with consequences that they wish they didn’t have.  


Examples include: weight, possessions, debt or flirtations.  Eating one donut or buying one thing on your credit card does not a dilemma make, but doing so frequently can add up to trouble.

If something isn’t positive or moving you toward a place you want to be, the quicker you realize it and take action the better.  Especially when it comes to unwanted behaviors, it is much easier to apply the brake than to shift into reverse.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1129 time lapse

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On Saturday, I saw a puppy at the Farmers Market that appeared to have doubled in size since I saw him only a few weeks ago.  Come to find out, he actually did!  The chocolate lab has gone from 10# to 18# in barely a month; he gained 5# last week alone.

I think it is part of the allure of puppies — not only that they are so dang cute, but that they are so rare.  People own dogs for close to a decade and you only get that little puppy stage for a month or two.  No wonder people fawn all over them — it is a magical and elusive time.

This video captures the speed at which two retrievers grow up and you can see what I mean:  http://youtu.be/niLxhiywXqw

That level of newness is only present in your employees and clients for a fleeting moment as well.  They may come to you as grown ups, but they only have the wonder and perspective for about as long as dogs remain puppies.

Take steps to capitalize on what they see while you can.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1128 let freedom ring

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Today at 2pm Eastern Time, bells across the United States will “let freedom ring” by playing their chimes at the appointed hour.  When you hear them, take a minute to stop and give thanks for all the freedoms you enjoy.

Think about our country 239 years ago.  Congress sat in rooms without air-conditioning or computers; where they arrived via horseback on little more than dirt paths, and spent months at a time away from their families because they believed in the promise of democracy.

This Fourth of July, play your role as an active citizen and say a prayer that our current members of Congress will model the lesson of compromise and diplomacy that was exhibited on this date in 1776.

Happy Independence Day!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1127 fly by

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There is something new in conjunction with fireworks this year: warnings to leave your drones at home.  It’s serious business, with the FAA threatening to confiscate any drone within a radius of the pyrotechnic displays.

Drones have come into their own this year; they reached a tipping point where they have become more of a commodity than a novelty.  Amateurs are using them as expensive toys. Photographers are capitalizing on the ability to do aerial videos and overhead photos.  Amazon is experimenting with them for same-day delivery in major cities.  Even farmers are using them to survey the fields and alert them to weeds or standing water.

If a new world view and overhead pathway has suddenly become so accessible, how can you capitalize on it.  OK, not to get an eye-level shot of the fireworks or to follow the Golden Knights parachuters as they descend into the festivities!  But there are many other uses for seeing things from above: a campus tour or real estate website that puts the property into the context of the surrounding neighborhood; a new way to monitor traffic or possibly a method to search for escaped felons.  Or maybe you can use a drone to move things in the air space:  supplies to an accident victim, food to hikers or urgent legal briefs to the courthouse.

Leave yours at home during the Fourth celebrations, but don’t plan on leaving it in the closet for long.  “Drone” used to mean dull or monotonous.  Today “drone” means “hot”, as in one of the hottest new technologies around.  Don’t let it the opportunities fly by you.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


#1126 stay or go

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I recently had a conversation about our recruitment strategies for next year.  We were trying to determine whether we should switch something around, or whether to leave it the same for another cycle.  “Sometimes I think we experiment too much,” said one of my staff. “It makes it hard to compare.”

It is a fine line between something that is solid and something that is a rut.  In this fast moving environment, it becomes difficult to know if keeping something the same is a good thing, or whether it is a symbol of being stagnant.

If something doesn’t work right away, do you change it or give it a chance?  Is leaving a strategy alone for a few years empirically smart? The answer can make for great conversations.

Outside of business tactics, is having a ritual become a tradition a welcome thing or boring?  Some people may be comforted by having the holiday party at the same place every year, while others may be tired of it.  Some may like knowing that for registration we wear “the” polo, while some may long to change things up.

It is a matter of judgment as to when to stay with the path you’re on and when to veer from it.  Taking too many turns will likely impede progress, but staying the course too long could result in a dead end.  

Make your changes or stick to your plans with intentionality.  Changing for change sake is insanity, but so is never making adjustments.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com