The headlines from last year stated - British psychologist calculates "most depressing day" and his calculations came determined that day to be January 24.
Quoting from the article,
The equation is broken down into seven variables: (W) weather, (D) debt, (d) monthly salary, (T) time since Christmas, (Q) time since failed quit attempt, (M) low motivational levels and (NA) the need to take action.
Wonderful, just wonderful.
Do I share this to give us license to feel badly, walk around moping or looking like we just ate a lemon today?
Hardly.
I share this to help us all prove the good doctors wrong today. I'm sure there is some validity in the equation - each of the factors listed could seem to have some impact on a person's mental state - but none of them have to.
Here is my challenge to you.
Make it a great day. Make it a day where your heart and mind and spirit soar.
If the weather is gray and foggy, so what. Are you going to let water droplets influence your day?
If you have already back slid on your New Year's Resolution, that trend can be reversed... starting today.
If you have more bills than you wish you did, don't spend any money today.
When you see someone smile, smile back.
When you are in your car, let the person merge.
When you think someone is being mean, look for a different explanation.
When you feel blue, think yellow.
Read a book you love.
Watch something that makes you laugh.
Serve your Customers with cheer, knowing you can positiviely influence their day by your interaction.
While I could type all day, you get the picture. What am I really saying?
Make a choice.
Make a choice to create a great day today.
Make a choice to make January 24 your best day of the year so far.
It is off to a good start.
Use today as a test case for yourself. After all, if you can make it a great day on the "most depressing day of the year" you can do it anytime!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
InBubbleWrap
Ok... one more quick post.
If you haven't ever been to InBubbleWrap, today is the day.
Read my November post about the site and then go to my post on the Vantagepoints blog learn more about the site and why today is the day to check it out!
If you haven't ever been to InBubbleWrap, today is the day.
Read my November post about the site and then go to my post on the Vantagepoints blog learn more about the site and why today is the day to check it out!
8 Days...
... is the longest I've gone without posting one this blog in a very long time. If you are a long time, regualr reader, I'm sorry.
Actually, I'm sorry for myself, because I get joy and learning from posting here and when I don't, I miss it.
Along with the two keynotes and one workshop I've given since my last post I have been busy finishing up and readying myself for our best seller promotion for my book Vantagepoints on Learning and Life. You can learn more about it on the Vantagepoints blog, or read here later when I tell you more about it.
For now though, I'm back to it.
Don't worry, I've got lots of things I've been thinking aobut and soI hope to be back to "regular blogging service" soon.
Actually, I'm sorry for myself, because I get joy and learning from posting here and when I don't, I miss it.
Along with the two keynotes and one workshop I've given since my last post I have been busy finishing up and readying myself for our best seller promotion for my book Vantagepoints on Learning and Life. You can learn more about it on the Vantagepoints blog, or read here later when I tell you more about it.
For now though, I'm back to it.
Don't worry, I've got lots of things I've been thinking aobut and soI hope to be back to "regular blogging service" soon.
Monday, January 2, 2006
The Go Gratitude Experiment
I believe that gratitude is one of the most powerful of emotions and mindsets we possess. It can help us change our attitude, serve others better and open our minds and hearts to even greater things.
Beyond the value of gratitude in our personal lives, greater gratitude can make us a more effective leader, a better teammate and more compassionate when serving Customers.
Both my personal feelings and the business realities of gratitude is probably why I was drawn to the Go Gratitude Experiment.
I encourage you to check it out. If you sign up as I did, you'll only be one day behind me as I received my first lesson in email this morning.
Beyond the value of gratitude in our personal lives, greater gratitude can make us a more effective leader, a better teammate and more compassionate when serving Customers.
Both my personal feelings and the business realities of gratitude is probably why I was drawn to the Go Gratitude Experiment.
I encourage you to check it out. If you sign up as I did, you'll only be one day behind me as I received my first lesson in email this morning.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Creating (Customer) Evangelists
I've read Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba's Church of the Customer Blog for a long time. Last night I had the chance to talk to and hear Ben speak. As expected his comments were very thought provoking. He was also a genuinely a nice guy!
He talked about a number of things regarding creating Customer evangelists, and while I took copious notes, one thing hit me the hardest - create Customer Advisory Boards.
My mind clicked - "Of course!" People don't think twice about have boards of advisors who are peers or colleagues, but to turn to Customers is much less common. While it may not be common, it sure does make sense!
- Who better to give you feedback about future direction?
- Who better to help you find your blind spots?
And to Ben's point,
- What better way to turn Customer's into true fans (evangelists) than to value them enough to truly ask them for more than feedback, but for advice?
I'm already thinking about how I am going to do that and what it will look like for me, with Customers spread all over.
Thanks Ben. If you haven't visited their blog, signed up for their newsletter, or bought their book, I urge you to do one.. or all three.
He talked about a number of things regarding creating Customer evangelists, and while I took copious notes, one thing hit me the hardest - create Customer Advisory Boards.
My mind clicked - "Of course!" People don't think twice about have boards of advisors who are peers or colleagues, but to turn to Customers is much less common. While it may not be common, it sure does make sense!
- Who better to give you feedback about future direction?
- Who better to help you find your blind spots?
And to Ben's point,
- What better way to turn Customer's into true fans (evangelists) than to value them enough to truly ask them for more than feedback, but for advice?
I'm already thinking about how I am going to do that and what it will look like for me, with Customers spread all over.
Thanks Ben. If you haven't visited their blog, signed up for their newsletter, or bought their book, I urge you to do one.. or all three.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Next Logical Step
I've been flying regularly for a long time - long enough to remember the hub-bub caused by the introduction of e-tickets. Remember? You felt naked without your ticket and itinerary to hand to the person at the ticket counter. Slowly, starting in the 90's, e-tickets started to appear, and slowly people got used to them (when was the last time you had a paper ticket?)
Next we had terminals to check us in - we swipe a card and the machine checks us in and prints our boarding pass. This is becoming so prevalent that the new mid-field terminal being designed in Indianapolis is being redesigned before construction to take these ticketing machines into account in the terminal layout. My guess is that the by the time my son flies regularly on his own (he's 13) he'll rarely interact with a ticket agent, unless he's checking bags. By then though, the next trend of checking in over the internet will even reduce the value of these machines.
Why am I writing about this today? Because I flew Alaska Airlines yesterday for the first time in several years. And when I checked in at San Francisco airport, I got one boarding pass, for two flights. Just one.
This struck me as a nice improvement, seemingly small, but actually quite important.
Our paradigm has always been one event one ticket - whether for a movie, sporting event or a flight. And in all of these cases, you handed your ticket to someone and they ripped part of it off, returning to you the rest so you could still find your seat. But this isn't the way it is on a plane anymore.
Increasingly, you keep the ticket, as your boarding is confirmed when your ticket is scanned at the gate - and the airline doesn't need the paper (and I'm sure gate agents are thrilled that they don't have to deal with that paper anymore).
This change allows the paradigm to change. 1 boarding pass, 2 flights. Alaska saves paper and costs and I only have to carry one piece of paper. Everyone wins.
More important than these advantages though is the lesson it illustrates. We can look for new improvement opportunities and new ideas anytime, but when the system or circumstances have changed is an exceptionally good time to look.
Ask yourself what has changed, and what other advances can happen because of those changes.
Next we had terminals to check us in - we swipe a card and the machine checks us in and prints our boarding pass. This is becoming so prevalent that the new mid-field terminal being designed in Indianapolis is being redesigned before construction to take these ticketing machines into account in the terminal layout. My guess is that the by the time my son flies regularly on his own (he's 13) he'll rarely interact with a ticket agent, unless he's checking bags. By then though, the next trend of checking in over the internet will even reduce the value of these machines.
Why am I writing about this today? Because I flew Alaska Airlines yesterday for the first time in several years. And when I checked in at San Francisco airport, I got one boarding pass, for two flights. Just one.
This struck me as a nice improvement, seemingly small, but actually quite important.
Our paradigm has always been one event one ticket - whether for a movie, sporting event or a flight. And in all of these cases, you handed your ticket to someone and they ripped part of it off, returning to you the rest so you could still find your seat. But this isn't the way it is on a plane anymore.
Increasingly, you keep the ticket, as your boarding is confirmed when your ticket is scanned at the gate - and the airline doesn't need the paper (and I'm sure gate agents are thrilled that they don't have to deal with that paper anymore).
This change allows the paradigm to change. 1 boarding pass, 2 flights. Alaska saves paper and costs and I only have to carry one piece of paper. Everyone wins.
More important than these advantages though is the lesson it illustrates. We can look for new improvement opportunities and new ideas anytime, but when the system or circumstances have changed is an exceptionally good time to look.
Ask yourself what has changed, and what other advances can happen because of those changes.
Monday, November 7, 2005
Making Customers Feel Important
Here is the article from this week's Unleash Your Potential newsletter...
Two important pre-reading notes: Before you chose to read or not read this article, let make two things clear. Everyone has Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a large firm, you have Customers. They are the people you provide work to. And second, don't be put off by the term Customer. Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read that word every time you read Customer. Now that I have eliminated your reasons for not reading, please continue . . .
We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important.
Customers are people first.
This means that each of your Customers, like everyone else, wants to feel important. It a universal truth - we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way.
Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing.
Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more important, written from the Customer's perspective:
Read seven ways you can make your Customers feel important.
Two important pre-reading notes: Before you chose to read or not read this article, let make two things clear. Everyone has Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a large firm, you have Customers. They are the people you provide work to. And second, don't be put off by the term Customer. Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read that word every time you read Customer. Now that I have eliminated your reasons for not reading, please continue . . .
We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important.
Customers are people first.
This means that each of your Customers, like everyone else, wants to feel important. It a universal truth - we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way.
Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing.
Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more important, written from the Customer's perspective:
Read seven ways you can make your Customers feel important.
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