We live in trying times. People feel pressure. Everyone has seen the effects of the economic downturn over the past two years, and few are left feeling secure. Many worry about job security and the sustainability of their businesses. This pressure makes many become self focused. They cannot see what others do, want, need, or desire.... and it can be troublesome to recognize the value that other bring to the table. Thus they wear blinders and miss (or misinterpret) the solutions you may be providing.
When it is known you provide solutions, you are always in demand. Your products and services need not be complex, they just need to help other people easily solve problems. But if they do not know what you do, you are screwed.
If people do not see you as fixing the issue at hand then nothing you can do for them matters. It is easy for decision makers to pass over your offering when they do not understand. How you communicate your value is just as important as the value you provide.
This is equally true for vendors and employees:
One company I know laid off several of their best employees (for the long run) to solve short term needs. Those who would have provided ongoing success were let go because of what were the owners immediate problems. The boss did not realize the dysfunctional employees he kept would be the core of tomorrow's short end of the stick.
A mutual understanding of the situation at hand would have lead to different decisions by the employees in their actions, and of the boss in his downsizing decisions. Years later he confided that he made a mistake in his choice of whom to continue to employ. By that time the damage was done. He had to retool his whole company strategy. The employees whom had been laid off had gone onto new jobs and did not want to return. I hope they learned to better communicate their value to their future employers.
Entrepreneurs often have a lot of passion for the businesses they build, but that passion can often cloud how they inform prospects about their products and services. Too often prospective clients will pre-judge a solution and categorize it with other offerings they have seen. When your product is uniquely qualified to help a customer, you must find a way to ensure they understand the offering.
All businesses struggle with being viewed as a commodity. No true entrepreneur thinks his company is just run-of-the-mill, and the same as the competitor.... but many fail to help their potential customers see the differences. If you are just on of many.... you will not win the long-term business.
Communication is more important today than ever before. Everyone is bombarded with information, and they are listening less. Just tweeting something (literally and figuratively) does not mean you communicated the information.
Focus your message on the solutions you provide and over communicate. Never assume that someone understands or even heard you. Craft and re-craft your message to impact your audience in a variety of ways, and then ask them questions to determine how they perceived what you are trying to imply.
Finally, never stop. You cannot just look at communicating your solutions as a "campaign". Those days are gone. Constant messaging is key (without being obnoxious... yes, it is a fine line!). Out of sight is out of mind.
Have A Great Day.
thom singer
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label communication. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Conflict AND Why Email Can Be A Bad Way To Communicate
We have to be careful. A quickly written email can easily take on a life of its own and offend another person. It is hard to come back from a bad first impression.
It happens to everyone. Innuendo and meaning of the written word can easily get off track, and not come across the same as if you were speaking. This can cause the other person to jump to conclusions and become upset. At the very least it can harm their opinion of you. Maybe forever.
I had it happen to me today. I sent an email to someone I met recently, and it caused a conflict. Upon re-reading what I wrote, I can see exactly how it got off track. My intended meaning of the email, and the way it read were not in sync. Not good. But a life lesson.
The details of the story or with whom I was in conflict are not relevant to this blog post. Lets just say I made an assumption about how someone "felt" about a situation, and coupled that with an interpretation of how they acted. I injected my own "feelings" and sent an email.
Granted, I was not calling the person out or trying to be rude... in fact, I was trying to build a bridge for future interactions, but I came off as a bit arrogant, and maybe dismissive. It made the other person mad and they called me out on it.
If one is seeking to grow in life, such happenings are not simply random occurrences, but instead they are sign-posts to help us learn about ourselves. People come into our lives with all different types of experiences, expectations, personality types, etc.... We cannot assume that we all have the same goals and desires or that we are at the same stages along our paths.
I embrace when I make a mistake and I ponder the whole event so that I can come out the other side with more knowledge, maturity and smarts for the next time (because Lord knows, it is not the last time I will screw up!).
It is easy to miss the right ways to communicate with each person we encounter. It is easy to judge. It is easy to not like someone for how they behave. We all see situations from our own point of view.
We live in a day when email is pervasive, but it is not always the best tool to being true understanding between human beings. I think if I had made a phone call the whole thing would have been a positive experience.
In the end, this person may not forgive me. They may forever view me in a negative light. That I cannot control, but I can make sure I am more careful in the future.
How about you? Have you ever gotten off on the wrong foot with someone? Share your story with me.
Have A Great Day.
thom
It happens to everyone. Innuendo and meaning of the written word can easily get off track, and not come across the same as if you were speaking. This can cause the other person to jump to conclusions and become upset. At the very least it can harm their opinion of you. Maybe forever.
I had it happen to me today. I sent an email to someone I met recently, and it caused a conflict. Upon re-reading what I wrote, I can see exactly how it got off track. My intended meaning of the email, and the way it read were not in sync. Not good. But a life lesson.
The details of the story or with whom I was in conflict are not relevant to this blog post. Lets just say I made an assumption about how someone "felt" about a situation, and coupled that with an interpretation of how they acted. I injected my own "feelings" and sent an email.
Granted, I was not calling the person out or trying to be rude... in fact, I was trying to build a bridge for future interactions, but I came off as a bit arrogant, and maybe dismissive. It made the other person mad and they called me out on it.
If one is seeking to grow in life, such happenings are not simply random occurrences, but instead they are sign-posts to help us learn about ourselves. People come into our lives with all different types of experiences, expectations, personality types, etc.... We cannot assume that we all have the same goals and desires or that we are at the same stages along our paths.
I embrace when I make a mistake and I ponder the whole event so that I can come out the other side with more knowledge, maturity and smarts for the next time (because Lord knows, it is not the last time I will screw up!).
It is easy to miss the right ways to communicate with each person we encounter. It is easy to judge. It is easy to not like someone for how they behave. We all see situations from our own point of view.
We live in a day when email is pervasive, but it is not always the best tool to being true understanding between human beings. I think if I had made a phone call the whole thing would have been a positive experience.
In the end, this person may not forgive me. They may forever view me in a negative light. That I cannot control, but I can make sure I am more careful in the future.
How about you? Have you ever gotten off on the wrong foot with someone? Share your story with me.
Have A Great Day.
thom
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Managing Corporate Culture During Hard Times
Austin's most dynamic technology companies should all be attending TEXCHANGE!
Last night over 140 local professionals were in the audience to listen to Southwest Airlines legend Colleen Barrett talk about managing corporate culture during hard times.
Ms. Barrett had a very relaxed speaking style. She had no prepared remarks, but instead just allowed her mind to free-flow a stream of consciousness. She talked to the crowd like a next door neighbor, sharing her anecdotes and passion about corporate culture. Clearly sage advice.
To Southwest Airlines culture is their difference. While a company needs a good business model and strong business thinkers, good people in at all levels and a passion for customer service can propel a business ahead of the competition.
The company is fanatical (almost arrogant) in their hiring process. It would not be uncommon to interview thirty people for one baggage handler position. Why? Because the right person can help the company succeed, but also a bad hire can sour the whole department. From the beginning of the company in 1967 they have looked for employees who viewed the airline as not a "career", but a "cause".
When Herb Kelleher began the company, but before they were flying passengers, the bigger airlines (the bad guys) filed law suits to block them. This move by the large carriers (who lost the cases) directly made a difference for the success of Southwest Airlines. It gave the employees a "spirit" - a fighting spirit! Had they not had this battle to forge their dedication and culture, they may have never made it into the 1970s. But instead they became scrappy warriors who fell in love with their cause.
The company requires those who work there to exhibit three traits everyday: Spirit, A Servants Heart, and A Fun Loving Attitude. They take business seriously, but do not take themselves seriously - from the top down.
They are proud of the fact that they changed the face of the airline business. In 1967 only 13% of adults flew commercial airlines. Now it is up near 90% of adults, but also people of all ages fly on planes regularly. They made air travel affordable and accessible. They have cherished their passengers and they hear back from them that they make a difference in their business and personal lives. (Brian Krpec of Performix who was sitting at my table at the dinner met his wife on a Southwest Airlines flight...and now they have four kids. Hey, that's not just a bag of peanuts!).
In hard times the corporate executive's commitment to culture is even more important. Your company's culture builds a bond with people (employees and customers), and it makes them WANT to see you get through the rough times and continue to thrive. Employees will look for ways to help you save money, and clients will look for ways to buy from you in the tough economic climate if they have loyalty and trust. They are all pulling for the company's success when you have the right culture.
It is easier to build a good culture from the start of the business. Changing a culture is hard (not impossible with the right leader, but difficult no matter what).
Finally, Ms. Barrett closed the evening by hitting the point that communication is the key. She feels that email has hurt corporate culture and has made interactions impersonal. She encouraged companies to communicate, communicate, communicate with their employees (and customers) using a variety of mediums, including in person communications. A leader cannot lead via email, so you have to look for many, many ways to ensure your message is being delivered and recieved.
Colleen Barrett was one of the most "real" presenters I have witnessed (and I study the style and poise of anyone who takes the stage). I think it is her genuine quality that has lead her and Southwest Airlines to reach the top.
Have A Great Day.
thom
Last night over 140 local professionals were in the audience to listen to Southwest Airlines legend Colleen Barrett talk about managing corporate culture during hard times.
Ms. Barrett had a very relaxed speaking style. She had no prepared remarks, but instead just allowed her mind to free-flow a stream of consciousness. She talked to the crowd like a next door neighbor, sharing her anecdotes and passion about corporate culture. Clearly sage advice.
To Southwest Airlines culture is their difference. While a company needs a good business model and strong business thinkers, good people in at all levels and a passion for customer service can propel a business ahead of the competition.
The company is fanatical (almost arrogant) in their hiring process. It would not be uncommon to interview thirty people for one baggage handler position. Why? Because the right person can help the company succeed, but also a bad hire can sour the whole department. From the beginning of the company in 1967 they have looked for employees who viewed the airline as not a "career", but a "cause".
When Herb Kelleher began the company, but before they were flying passengers, the bigger airlines (the bad guys) filed law suits to block them. This move by the large carriers (who lost the cases) directly made a difference for the success of Southwest Airlines. It gave the employees a "spirit" - a fighting spirit! Had they not had this battle to forge their dedication and culture, they may have never made it into the 1970s. But instead they became scrappy warriors who fell in love with their cause.
The company requires those who work there to exhibit three traits everyday: Spirit, A Servants Heart, and A Fun Loving Attitude. They take business seriously, but do not take themselves seriously - from the top down.
They are proud of the fact that they changed the face of the airline business. In 1967 only 13% of adults flew commercial airlines. Now it is up near 90% of adults, but also people of all ages fly on planes regularly. They made air travel affordable and accessible. They have cherished their passengers and they hear back from them that they make a difference in their business and personal lives. (Brian Krpec of Performix who was sitting at my table at the dinner met his wife on a Southwest Airlines flight...and now they have four kids. Hey, that's not just a bag of peanuts!).
In hard times the corporate executive's commitment to culture is even more important. Your company's culture builds a bond with people (employees and customers), and it makes them WANT to see you get through the rough times and continue to thrive. Employees will look for ways to help you save money, and clients will look for ways to buy from you in the tough economic climate if they have loyalty and trust. They are all pulling for the company's success when you have the right culture.
It is easier to build a good culture from the start of the business. Changing a culture is hard (not impossible with the right leader, but difficult no matter what).
Finally, Ms. Barrett closed the evening by hitting the point that communication is the key. She feels that email has hurt corporate culture and has made interactions impersonal. She encouraged companies to communicate, communicate, communicate with their employees (and customers) using a variety of mediums, including in person communications. A leader cannot lead via email, so you have to look for many, many ways to ensure your message is being delivered and recieved.
Colleen Barrett was one of the most "real" presenters I have witnessed (and I study the style and poise of anyone who takes the stage). I think it is her genuine quality that has lead her and Southwest Airlines to reach the top.
Have A Great Day.
thom
Friday, January 16, 2009
Pre-Judging Other People - Never A Good Idea
Do not kid yourself, people are making rash generalizations about you all the time.
Today I was eating lunch, alone, (sorry Keith Ferrazzi, sometimes you should eat alone!) at my favorite cool Austin Restaurant. Casa De Luz is an out-of-the-way vegan restaurant that I have come to enjoy over the past several years. The food and the atmosphere are both great - and when my planned lunch meeting cancelled I decided to go there anyway and continue reading Thomas Friedman's "Flat, Hot and Crowded". (good book, by the way -- but very technical and takes some effort).
A woman I do not know approached me and we had the following exchange:
Her: Are you Thom Singer?
Me: Yes, I am.
Her: I saw you speak a couple of times at The Chamber of Commerce. I enjoyed your presentation on networking skills and would like to read your book sometime [etc....].
Me: Thank you.
Her: What are you reading?
Me: "Flat, Hot, and Crowded" [I held up the book].
Her: [After a pause and a funny look on her face] Hmmmmm, I would have never imagined you the type to be eating in a vegan restaurant reading a book on global warming. [shrugging her shoulders]. I guess you never know.
Me: [smiling] I am not sure that was a compliment.
Her: [not smiling] You just struck me as more of a steak or BBQ kinda guy. Very corporate.
Me: [still smiling] Oh don't worry, I eat lots of dead cows!
I do not think she found my response funny and politely ended our breif conversation. I went back to reading my book.
As I left the restaurant she was sitting on a bench in the meditation garden. I smiled and waved as I walked past her. She called out after me "Oh, and do not wear a fancy leather jacket the next time you eat here". This time she was smiling and she waved a nice wave. I think we parted on good terms.
Doh! Had never considered I was wearing leather in the vegan restaurant. It is cold outside today in Austin and my coat is nice and warm. I am not sure if this was really a faux pas or not to the rest of the patrons, my being clad in dead animal skin. There was no sign asking for leather goods to be left outside!
And for the record, my jacket is not fancy.
I spent some time contemplating her judgement that I was not someone who would frequent vegan cuisine and educate myself about our world wide ecological crisis. If I came across as "corporate" when I spoke at a business setting (ummm, The Chamber of Commerce...hello!), is that enough information to understand anything about me personally?
Yet we all pre-judge people. We look at their clothes, online photos, haircuts, manners, cars, houses, job titles, etc... and lump each other into easy buckets. But human beings are complicated creatures. If we try to assume too much about those around us we will be wrong more often than right.
Thus, don't guess about people. Ask questions of them and you will learn a lot more about their hearts and souls than if you simply categorize.
Have A Great Day.
thom
Today I was eating lunch, alone, (sorry Keith Ferrazzi, sometimes you should eat alone!) at my favorite cool Austin Restaurant. Casa De Luz is an out-of-the-way vegan restaurant that I have come to enjoy over the past several years. The food and the atmosphere are both great - and when my planned lunch meeting cancelled I decided to go there anyway and continue reading Thomas Friedman's "Flat, Hot and Crowded". (good book, by the way -- but very technical and takes some effort).
A woman I do not know approached me and we had the following exchange:
Her: Are you Thom Singer?
Me: Yes, I am.
Her: I saw you speak a couple of times at The Chamber of Commerce. I enjoyed your presentation on networking skills and would like to read your book sometime [etc....].
Me: Thank you.
Her: What are you reading?
Me: "Flat, Hot, and Crowded" [I held up the book].
Her: [After a pause and a funny look on her face] Hmmmmm, I would have never imagined you the type to be eating in a vegan restaurant reading a book on global warming. [shrugging her shoulders]. I guess you never know.
Me: [smiling] I am not sure that was a compliment.
Her: [not smiling] You just struck me as more of a steak or BBQ kinda guy. Very corporate.
Me: [still smiling] Oh don't worry, I eat lots of dead cows!
I do not think she found my response funny and politely ended our breif conversation. I went back to reading my book.
As I left the restaurant she was sitting on a bench in the meditation garden. I smiled and waved as I walked past her. She called out after me "Oh, and do not wear a fancy leather jacket the next time you eat here". This time she was smiling and she waved a nice wave. I think we parted on good terms.
Doh! Had never considered I was wearing leather in the vegan restaurant. It is cold outside today in Austin and my coat is nice and warm. I am not sure if this was really a faux pas or not to the rest of the patrons, my being clad in dead animal skin. There was no sign asking for leather goods to be left outside!
And for the record, my jacket is not fancy.
I spent some time contemplating her judgement that I was not someone who would frequent vegan cuisine and educate myself about our world wide ecological crisis. If I came across as "corporate" when I spoke at a business setting (ummm, The Chamber of Commerce...hello!), is that enough information to understand anything about me personally?
Yet we all pre-judge people. We look at their clothes, online photos, haircuts, manners, cars, houses, job titles, etc... and lump each other into easy buckets. But human beings are complicated creatures. If we try to assume too much about those around us we will be wrong more often than right.
Thus, don't guess about people. Ask questions of them and you will learn a lot more about their hearts and souls than if you simply categorize.
Have A Great Day.
thom
I Don't Know You, But We Are Friends
Communicating with other people is not getting easier.
The addition of email, texting, IM, blogging, Twitter, social networking, social media, video, and all the rest of the stuff does not always make our lives easier. The reality is new communication tools have complicated the whole arena of interacting with others.
It used to be we would talk with someone face to face, on the telephone, or write them a letter. In any case there was higher levels of participation put into the communication (by both parties), and while misunderstandings still took place, everyone seemed to know where the other person was at the end of the correspondence. There were socially understood ground rules and the "non-verbal" communication was easier to interpret.
Today there are no rules. So many of the communication vehicles we use are new and people have a variety of expectations of how other should utilize them. If one party has a mis-interpretation, then it is often unknown and hard to fix.
I sometimes find it hard to always understand people in a digital world whom I have never met in person. Their sarcasm or direct approach is lost on me in print if they are a stranger.
Because I write a blog and participate in several social media communities, I have expanded my network to include many more people than I have had in the past. But the speed at which these communities bring people together can also minimize the long established mutual understanding that comes about in other venues.
When someone offends me it is easy to just "un-follow" them. In more traditional relationships with people I find I am less likely to be offended in the first place by sarcasm and much quicker to give them the benefit of the doubt. Real friends have built up credit.
I had an experience recently where I am fairly sure I mis-understood someone's email and thus my answer, which was fast, fair, utilitarian and too the point, was instead off target - and not at all what they were expecting from my response. The problem is that I don't know this person at all (Just someone I follow on Twitter, but have never met in person), and thus I am left unsure how to best approach a "do-over" and try my answer again. I have no clue as to their personality (since we have never met), thus I am not sure they would even welcome a clean slate approach. They may just assume me to be off base or simply a jerk.
It bums me out when I screw up. I hate to make communication mistakes (Heck, I teach business relationships and how to establish meaningful and mutually beneficial networks), but such hiccups are becoming more common for people with the new platforms over which we interact online. It is not just me, I hear this from others all the time.
This is one reason why I never connect in LinkedIn or on Facebook with people I do not know personally. In most cases I require that the person and I have had a cup of coffee, a meal, or a beer (or the digital equivalent) before I welcome them into my network. Doing this allow us to know each other at the level of personality.
But Twitter is a different animal, and as I get to "know" more and more people through this community, I think I need to develop a new way to correspond fellow "Tweets" who are actually strangers (yet we know each other, kind of). It is cool when paths cross, but it can be tricky.
The issue of how we interact with people whom we do not know on a personality level really does make communicating different. Social media is here to stay and growing at a fast pace. The world is changing and getting smaller, but people are still people. We need to invest in the personal side to create powerful connections.
This topic interests me. Has anyone read books, papers or studies on this topic? If yes, please share them with me.
Have A Great Day.
thom
The addition of email, texting, IM, blogging, Twitter, social networking, social media, video, and all the rest of the stuff does not always make our lives easier. The reality is new communication tools have complicated the whole arena of interacting with others.
It used to be we would talk with someone face to face, on the telephone, or write them a letter. In any case there was higher levels of participation put into the communication (by both parties), and while misunderstandings still took place, everyone seemed to know where the other person was at the end of the correspondence. There were socially understood ground rules and the "non-verbal" communication was easier to interpret.
Today there are no rules. So many of the communication vehicles we use are new and people have a variety of expectations of how other should utilize them. If one party has a mis-interpretation, then it is often unknown and hard to fix.
I sometimes find it hard to always understand people in a digital world whom I have never met in person. Their sarcasm or direct approach is lost on me in print if they are a stranger.
Because I write a blog and participate in several social media communities, I have expanded my network to include many more people than I have had in the past. But the speed at which these communities bring people together can also minimize the long established mutual understanding that comes about in other venues.
When someone offends me it is easy to just "un-follow" them. In more traditional relationships with people I find I am less likely to be offended in the first place by sarcasm and much quicker to give them the benefit of the doubt. Real friends have built up credit.
I had an experience recently where I am fairly sure I mis-understood someone's email and thus my answer, which was fast, fair, utilitarian and too the point, was instead off target - and not at all what they were expecting from my response. The problem is that I don't know this person at all (Just someone I follow on Twitter, but have never met in person), and thus I am left unsure how to best approach a "do-over" and try my answer again. I have no clue as to their personality (since we have never met), thus I am not sure they would even welcome a clean slate approach. They may just assume me to be off base or simply a jerk.
It bums me out when I screw up. I hate to make communication mistakes (Heck, I teach business relationships and how to establish meaningful and mutually beneficial networks), but such hiccups are becoming more common for people with the new platforms over which we interact online. It is not just me, I hear this from others all the time.
This is one reason why I never connect in LinkedIn or on Facebook with people I do not know personally. In most cases I require that the person and I have had a cup of coffee, a meal, or a beer (or the digital equivalent) before I welcome them into my network. Doing this allow us to know each other at the level of personality.
But Twitter is a different animal, and as I get to "know" more and more people through this community, I think I need to develop a new way to correspond fellow "Tweets" who are actually strangers (yet we know each other, kind of). It is cool when paths cross, but it can be tricky.
The issue of how we interact with people whom we do not know on a personality level really does make communicating different. Social media is here to stay and growing at a fast pace. The world is changing and getting smaller, but people are still people. We need to invest in the personal side to create powerful connections.
This topic interests me. Has anyone read books, papers or studies on this topic? If yes, please share them with me.
Have A Great Day.
thom
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