July 2024 – Page 3 – leadership dots

leadership dot #4334: petty

July 11, 2024July 10, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My mail is delivered to a community box at the corner, but I had the delivery person come to my door to collect 68 cents in postage due. To make it even more ridiculous, there wasn’t any postage due — it was just marked that way — because someone at the Post Office did not recognize one of their own stamps! It was a 2-ounce stamp and the delivery person thought it was “not a real stamp,” but she wouldn’t believe me and took the letter back to verify and re-deliver tomorrow. OMG.

How much organizational time is wasted on such petty matters — not just at the Post Office but in your organization as well? Consider whether you have policies or procedures that cost you more in staff time than they produce in return, not to mention how they aggravate your customers in the process. I’ll bet every organization can come up with at least one process to discontinue or modify.

People would pay more attention to how time is wasted — when collecting 68 cents, sitting in meetings, or preparing unread reports — if there was a direct and instantaneous cash outlay for payroll. Just because there isn’t doesn’t mean the cost isn’t incurred. Time really is money.

Yes, Virginia, this IS a legitimate stamp!

leadership dot #4333: diplomacy

July 10, 2024July 9, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’m watching the Franklin miniseries which centers around Benjamin Franklin’s role in securing the support of France in the American Revolution. It was a daunting task that Franklin had, going to France as an unofficial emissary to seek funds, ammunition, ships, and troops to assist a fledgling nation.

“My years have taught me that diplomacy must never be a siege, but rather a seduction,” Franklin says as he patiently waits for a relationship to develop or another friend-of-a-friend contact to be made.

His advice applies far beyond revolutionary pursuits and reminds us that building trust takes time. You need to show up in person, even if it means crossing an ocean, and cultivate connections that may lead to other beneficial outcomes. In this hyper-fast world where everything is instantaneously at our fingertips, you’d be wise to take a lesson from Franklin and seduce your next partner rather than overwhelming them.

Source: Franklin on Apple TV+

leadership dot #4332: newbie

July 9, 2024July 8, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Summer is the season when many in education and other fields begin a new job. It’s easy for those in that situation to get caught up in the excitement of starting and to focus on all they have yet to learn.

Whether a seasoned professional or a recent college graduate, I would encourage all the newbies to take some time to reflect before diving right into the new position. What lessons were learned in the last role — things to continue learning and those to forego? What skill would be most beneficial to learn in this job? Thinking about the relationship with your supervisor — what do you need from that person and what do you want them to know about you? If you had to start your past job over again, what would you do differently, and can you make that adjustment now?

Those who recently hired or promoted you obviously saw your strengths, but only you know your flaws and insecurities. Before the opportunity to change your behavior is lost in the whirlwind of newness, be intentional about a deep self-assessment to set yourself up for success.

leadership dot #4331: blueberries

July 8, 2024July 3, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

There is a business in Holland, Michigan that is focused on all things blueberry. They serve a full menu of blueberry pies, omelets, and salads. They have blueberry ice cream, blueberry donuts, and fresh berries. In addition to food, they sell books about blueberries and all kinds of gifts with the blueberry theme.

It reminded me of marketer Seth Godin’s adage: focus on your smallest viable market. This place has created a niche that sustains it in a small, tourist town. They don’t need to sell everything — not even all kinds of berries or fruits — just the one thing that works for them.

Is your offering too broad? Maybe you could benefit by narrowing the scope of what you provide. Developing a successful niche will make you anything but blue.

leadership dot #4330: pinned

July 7, 2024July 3, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A boutique featured a map of the United States and push pins for customers to mark their hometowns. Granted, it was in a tourist area, but the map was full of pins from across the United States and beyond. I may have felt like the first person from Iowa to visit this little place but the map showed otherwise.

It was a simple thing and a very small investment, but the map drew attention and participation from almost everyone who entered. What can you do to engage your clientele — even in seemingly irrelevant ways? Making your place fun and distinctive may put you on the map.

leadership dot #4329: comeback

July 6, 2024July 3, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Have you noticed the trend of “crossbody” purses — the small pouches that many women are wearing to be hands-free yet still have the essentials with them? There is even a “baby bag” version that is a “canvas belt bag” with a fold-out changing pad. These crossbodies are all the rage everywhere.

Those of us of a certain age will find them remarkably similar to fanny packs, the maligned “canvas belt bag” that was the subject of many jokes and parodies. Often worn by tourists, the practical carry-all faded into oblivion for decades but seems to have had a reincarnation in the trendiest stores. Suddenly, it’s fashionable to wear a fanny pack, as long as it crosses your chest instead of rides around your waist. Go figure.

It is a reminder that timing matters. If you have a good idea that isn’t accepted, perhaps put it on the shelf for a while (or a decade) but return to it later. What is ridiculed one day may become sought after the next.

leadership dot #4328: cream puff

July 5, 2024July 3, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The Wisconsin State Fair’s signature product is the cream puff. It’s more of an experience than a dessert — they have an entire building dedicated to making them, and the lines to purchase are literally out the door. They sell special “cream puff carriers” so you can get your delicacy home safely or you can pre-order a pre-packaged dozen to make it even easier. I’ll bet everyone at the Fair has had at least one.

The cream puff isn’t the first thing you would associate with Wisconsin, but it’s what you remember from the fair. It’s a great enhancement to the expected cheese curds and beer and helps make the State Fair distinctive from the county fairs that provide the staples.

What makes your organization special? You don’t have to be great or provide fanfare for everything. Pick your “something” and leverage it for all it’s worth. Something unusual may be the cream of your crop.

leadership dot #4327: celebrations

July 4, 2024July 3, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The most common national celebration on Earth is actually a holiday shared by 65 different countries, on different days in each country, on an annual basis averaging out to being celebrated somewhere on the planet every six days. What is that celebration?

Independence from the British.

As you commemorate the United States’ version of this event, remember that the British are now one of our most faithful allies. Today, celebrate enduring friendship as well as independence. Happy Fourth!

Source: Bret Lehne

leadership dot #4326: freak

July 3, 2024July 2, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In an episode of the television show Royal Pains, socially awkward Dr. Jeremiah Sacani is returning to see patients after a sabbatical working in the lab. When his colleague asks if he is nervous about his in-person encounter, he replies that he is not because his therapist taught him to FREAK.

FREAK is an acronym for:

F = Face the person
R = React
E = Empathize
A = Affirm
K = Kill it to the best of your ability

FREAK may be a catchy moniker for a hypothetical physician, and it can also be a good reminder for real-life in-person interactions. There’s no need to freak out in social situations if you deploy this type of FREAK to your advantage.

leadership dot #4325: every last mile

July 2, 2024July 1, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I watched the “Every Last Mile” documentary about connecting rural America to broadband internet. Those laying the fiber face multitudes of challenges: extreme cold, extreme heat, floods, multiple permitting requirements from local, federal, state, and railroads, untraceable/unknown utility locations that pose safety hazards, sites with fossils or artifacts that need to be documented by archeologists, scorpions and rattlesnakes, trees that must be cut down, unstable topography, and rock — and all these in addition to labor shortages and rising prices that challenge every business.

Those homes or businesses in the most remote locations could benefit greatly (the most?) from reliable internet, allowing them to use it for telehealth, education, employment, and commerce versus doing any of those functions in person, which involves an arduous journey, maybe even via boat or plane. Yet, those sites are obviously the most expensive and least profitable to connect — requiring thousands of dollars to lay miles of fiber between houses (compared to urban areas where one mile of fiber nets dozens of subscribers).

It’s a great illustration of the importance of “starting with why” as Simon Sinek urges. If you are an internet company and your “why” is to earn revenue, the remote sites would be last on the list. If you are the government or a school district and your “why” is wanting to provide access to citizens with the fewest alternatives and the most difficulty conducting business without it, you may begin by connecting the remote sites.

Even when something is difficult, challenges can be overcome if it is important enough. Intentionally define the priority you assign to any project you undertake.

Source: Washington Post Connecting America Series: “Every Last Mile: The Untold Story of Connecting Rural America. www.everylastmile.film