Posts

Showing posts from November, 2010

WHAT IS WORKING WELL?

Image
I would see that it is part of our cultural heritage that we focus on things, which are wrong, things, which are not working. This already starts in your upbringing and is strengthened in school. The teacher says: “you made 3 mistakes” and he didn’t tell you “ 7 answers were right” ! This attitude extrapolates into the workplace. The focus is on what is broken, defect and not working appropriately. This all creates a culture of fear and employees will be afraid to make any mistakes. Let’s start one day a week in which you focus on what is working well. On your successes, on what the customer really appreciates. That will have two benefits. it will make you aware of opportunities to multiply successful services and it will boost the morale of your people. It easy to implement, so what day of the week is your day of positive focus?? GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS! www.theproperway.com

Most Important: The Ability To Learn, Fast

Image
In these times of rapid changes it is crucial to look in front of you (instead of in the rearview mirror), to digest the relevant info, to learn and to (re)act. FAST! However, many large corporations are still managing with a focus on data from the past. That is why they have installed all these huge ERP-systems. It is a management-style, which is dominated by control and an inward focus. This is also the way they look at their (prospective) employees. The main driver whether you qualify for a job is your resume/cv. And this provides a view of and in the past. This approach is no longer working. The market is changing so fast that ‘results from the past are no guarantee for the future’ anymore. This notification is even a legal requirement for financial services. Market savviness and the ability to learn – fast - is much more crucial now . With respect to learning there is a difference between the willingness to learn and the ‘should’ learning. Again the practice in most compa

PERSONAL SERVICE PAYS

Image
Last Saturday I did visit an optician (Bellavista in Baarn). I was curious as they offered a design service for glasses. I am interested in design and I am wearing glasses since I was a young child, so that is why I did go. I had never seen this ‘bespoke’ service from Tom Davies (the manufacturer) before. I wanted to find out how it works. As I made no appointment I had to wait some time until the female owner approached me. She took all the time I needed and explained the concept very well. She even had me try on some of the glasses, even while there were other customers waiting. Her partner overheard the conversation and told me about his experience with this bespoke service. What struck me was his honesty. He told me that most customers are hesitant because you don’t know the end result as you order. It will be a bit of a surprise, although you have defined the specifications yourself. He said that this ‘fear’ prohibits a large interest in the service. Isn’t this great when you

A ME-TOO STRATEGY NEVER DIFFERENTIATES

Image
The autumn has started and especially car dealers and tire providers are very active. The car dealers are offering ‘free’ winter check-ups. You can come and they will check whether your car is winter-ready. And of course they hope to find something, which needs to be taken care of. Well, it could be beneficial for you, but mainly it is for them. There are two ‘buts’: Most of the car dealers are offering the same type of winter check. So, customers perceive it as nothing special. This me-too strategy has as a consequence that customers just expect this service and don’t value it all. If I let my car have its regular, planned maintenance then why should I go to the garage an extra time? Did they miss something? Is there something, which they did not check there? This is confusing. The tire providers are now offering to put some winter tires under your car. This means that you as a customer are supposed to have two sets of tires, one for the winter and one