I have created a new corporate website for my consulting company, Prime Meridian Consulting Services, LLC. This site has its own section for Blog Posts.
Please follow me to www.primemcs.com for new adventures.
Sincerely,
Peter Russell
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Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Are you living up to your own Mission Statement?
A friend, employed on a part-time basis at a local service company with operations in multiple states, recently learned how his employer had issues living up to his own mission statement.
Prominently posted for employees and customers to see is a mission statement that proudly proclaims the value of both the company's customers and its employees, and how the company strives to treat each in the best manner possible.
Working a recent 8-hour holiday shift as required by the company, my friend was happy to learn from the others working with him that, because they were all working during a company designated holiday, they would be earning 2.5 times their regular hourly pay, divided into overtime and holiday pay. As such, the increase in pay took some of the sting out of working when everyone else was home celebrating with their families and friends.
Upon checking his pay check, my friend was surprised to see that he had only received overtime pay, equaling 1.5 times his hourly wage, but not the 2.5 times the others received. He contacted his supervisor who told him that since he was a part-time employee, he was not eligible for the Company's holiday pay, as that was reserved for full-time employees only.
Thinking his employer had made a mistake, he contacted the CEO, eventually receiving a short thank you for bringing this to his attention.
Perhaps the CEO thought a part-time employee's time was less valuable to the company than that of a full-time employee, but would he have been equally satisfied with the part-time employee delivering sub-par customer service? Somehow, I don't think so.
What do you think?
A friend, employed on a part-time basis at a local service company with operations in multiple states, recently learned how his employer had issues living up to his own mission statement.
Prominently posted for employees and customers to see is a mission statement that proudly proclaims the value of both the company's customers and its employees, and how the company strives to treat each in the best manner possible.
Working a recent 8-hour holiday shift as required by the company, my friend was happy to learn from the others working with him that, because they were all working during a company designated holiday, they would be earning 2.5 times their regular hourly pay, divided into overtime and holiday pay. As such, the increase in pay took some of the sting out of working when everyone else was home celebrating with their families and friends.
Upon checking his pay check, my friend was surprised to see that he had only received overtime pay, equaling 1.5 times his hourly wage, but not the 2.5 times the others received. He contacted his supervisor who told him that since he was a part-time employee, he was not eligible for the Company's holiday pay, as that was reserved for full-time employees only.
Thinking his employer had made a mistake, he contacted the CEO, eventually receiving a short thank you for bringing this to his attention.
Perhaps the CEO thought a part-time employee's time was less valuable to the company than that of a full-time employee, but would he have been equally satisfied with the part-time employee delivering sub-par customer service? Somehow, I don't think so.
What do you think?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Does complaining work better than praise?
An issue recently surfaced in an online professional group I belong to.
A member was complaining that there were no responses to a discussion he had started. He felt that, due to the nature of the group in general and his topic in particular, there should have been no shortages of replies. Once the complaint had been posted, the replies started coming in fast and furiously, mine included. It made me wonder if a complaint generates more interest, empathy, and ultimately results than simple praise.
Organizations are frequently geared towards handling problematic issues, and customer complaints are key among these. We know that one unhappy customer will tell all their acquaintances about their poor experience, and they again will tell their friend. A failure chain of gigantic proportions has just been created. As such, we want our customers happy and satisfied with the ultimate goal of creating repeat customers.
How then do we treat customers who sing our praises? Do we reply to a message of good service or a great product, or do we simply file it away with a self satisfied smile of our face? Do we reward the happy customer with a complimentary product or a discount coupon, and do we communicate the customer's insights to the rest of the organization?
We know what we are learning from a complaint and can often take concrete steps towards resolving the issue. When praise is received, are we geared to view it as an equally valuable learning experience?
Who then, do we value the most, the complaining customer or the satisfied one? Who should we take the greatest effort in satisfying? Are we rewarding the right customer?
What are your thoughts?
A member was complaining that there were no responses to a discussion he had started. He felt that, due to the nature of the group in general and his topic in particular, there should have been no shortages of replies. Once the complaint had been posted, the replies started coming in fast and furiously, mine included. It made me wonder if a complaint generates more interest, empathy, and ultimately results than simple praise.
Organizations are frequently geared towards handling problematic issues, and customer complaints are key among these. We know that one unhappy customer will tell all their acquaintances about their poor experience, and they again will tell their friend. A failure chain of gigantic proportions has just been created. As such, we want our customers happy and satisfied with the ultimate goal of creating repeat customers.
How then do we treat customers who sing our praises? Do we reply to a message of good service or a great product, or do we simply file it away with a self satisfied smile of our face? Do we reward the happy customer with a complimentary product or a discount coupon, and do we communicate the customer's insights to the rest of the organization?
We know what we are learning from a complaint and can often take concrete steps towards resolving the issue. When praise is received, are we geared to view it as an equally valuable learning experience?
Who then, do we value the most, the complaining customer or the satisfied one? Who should we take the greatest effort in satisfying? Are we rewarding the right customer?
What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Do you believe the hype?
What happens to us, and the companies we lead, when we start believing what people are saying about us. Does it matter if we are constantly being told how great we are, or how terrible?
This topic was raised in a Norwegian discussion forum I recently participated in, and it made me start to think a bit about how easy it is for us to start believing the hype.
What then, does constant praise and incessant messaging about one's individual or collective superiority do to a person's or organization's psyche? Does there come a timet when we actually start believing the hype, and what happens then?
As we help guide our organizations along, we constantly seek objective assessments of our performance; what we do well, and where we can improve. We praise our employees when they do well, and reassess when things don't go as we planned. We spend millions on customer satisfaction data, and sometimes we actually utilize this data in productive ways.
But what happens, when we are constantly reminded by outside sources that we are infallible? What happens when we launch a product line that truly captures our customers' imagination and the hype around the product, and our organization, reaches such a fever pitch that it seems we can do no wrong? Have we then attained the ultimate corporate state of being? Have we received the compliment of compliments? Can we now rest on our laurels?
Although I am a firm believer in praising good results and accomplishments, I also believe that constant praise, especially when unwarranted, does more damage than good. I believe that when organizations are constantly reminded, from internal or external sources, that they can do no wrong, then disaster may already have struck.
I think constant praise prevents clear judgement and objective assessment, because who among us doesn't like to be told how great we are. However, when praise becomes a constant, it also becomes insincere, and once we start to place significant belief in our infallibility, then we become more prone to failure than at any other time.
This topic was raised in a Norwegian discussion forum I recently participated in, and it made me start to think a bit about how easy it is for us to start believing the hype.
What then, does constant praise and incessant messaging about one's individual or collective superiority do to a person's or organization's psyche? Does there come a timet when we actually start believing the hype, and what happens then?
As we help guide our organizations along, we constantly seek objective assessments of our performance; what we do well, and where we can improve. We praise our employees when they do well, and reassess when things don't go as we planned. We spend millions on customer satisfaction data, and sometimes we actually utilize this data in productive ways.
But what happens, when we are constantly reminded by outside sources that we are infallible? What happens when we launch a product line that truly captures our customers' imagination and the hype around the product, and our organization, reaches such a fever pitch that it seems we can do no wrong? Have we then attained the ultimate corporate state of being? Have we received the compliment of compliments? Can we now rest on our laurels?
Although I am a firm believer in praising good results and accomplishments, I also believe that constant praise, especially when unwarranted, does more damage than good. I believe that when organizations are constantly reminded, from internal or external sources, that they can do no wrong, then disaster may already have struck.
I think constant praise prevents clear judgement and objective assessment, because who among us doesn't like to be told how great we are. However, when praise becomes a constant, it also becomes insincere, and once we start to place significant belief in our infallibility, then we become more prone to failure than at any other time.
Friday, October 29, 2010
We want more - Who wins the fight between company performance and Wall Street analysts?
I have over the years wondered why U.S. companies are so focused on short-term results vs. long-term success, and have never been satisfied with the answers I have found. Over time, however, one thing has become abundantly clear; businesses are not the only ones controlling their financial success, financial analysts play a large part too.
Over the past several months, two companies that I have some peripheral ties to, Best Buy and 3M, have both posted record year-over-year earnings results. Yet in both cases, despite achieving and surpassing their own financial goals, financial analysts on Wall Street have viewed this as an overall negative, telling people that the companies did not meet their expectations, thus resulting in substantial per-share losses for share holders.
Although this is just one example, it is pervasive and ongoing and has lead me to question if industry analysts wield a disproportionate amount of power over both companies and their share holders. Do the analysts' short-term expectations force a business to focus nearly exclusively on next quarter's financial results, and does this again make it impossible for an organization to plan and execute strategically?
When I was in graduate school about 20 years ago, we marveled at ( and envied, I suspect) the Japanese car industry's ability to plan 20 - 30 years into the future to gain a foothold and eventually dominate the U.S. marketplace. In my own experience, I have spent a considerable amount of time working with others to plan strategies spanning years, only to have them unravel because corporate demands for more immediate, short-term results took precedence. We became so obsessed with these short-term results that any type of planning beyond a 3-month window fell by the wayside. Having this happen at one company might be an aberration, but when it becomes as commonplace as I have experienced, it becomes frightening.
I understand that public companies are closely tied to their analysts for a whole slew of reasons, but as shareholders, we should have the right to question these corporations about how beholden they have become to these same analysts. Posting record earnings is an achievement to be celebrated, not something to be dreaded.
What are your thoughts?
Over the past several months, two companies that I have some peripheral ties to, Best Buy and 3M, have both posted record year-over-year earnings results. Yet in both cases, despite achieving and surpassing their own financial goals, financial analysts on Wall Street have viewed this as an overall negative, telling people that the companies did not meet their expectations, thus resulting in substantial per-share losses for share holders.
Although this is just one example, it is pervasive and ongoing and has lead me to question if industry analysts wield a disproportionate amount of power over both companies and their share holders. Do the analysts' short-term expectations force a business to focus nearly exclusively on next quarter's financial results, and does this again make it impossible for an organization to plan and execute strategically?
When I was in graduate school about 20 years ago, we marveled at ( and envied, I suspect) the Japanese car industry's ability to plan 20 - 30 years into the future to gain a foothold and eventually dominate the U.S. marketplace. In my own experience, I have spent a considerable amount of time working with others to plan strategies spanning years, only to have them unravel because corporate demands for more immediate, short-term results took precedence. We became so obsessed with these short-term results that any type of planning beyond a 3-month window fell by the wayside. Having this happen at one company might be an aberration, but when it becomes as commonplace as I have experienced, it becomes frightening.
I understand that public companies are closely tied to their analysts for a whole slew of reasons, but as shareholders, we should have the right to question these corporations about how beholden they have become to these same analysts. Posting record earnings is an achievement to be celebrated, not something to be dreaded.
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Are Your Ethics for Sale?
Does your company have an ethics policy? Do you know what it is, and perhaps more importantly, does your company and its employees understand and follow it?
Recently, I became aware of a situation at a company who prides themselves on having a very strict policy about receiving gifts, at least on paper, and it played out pretty much like this:
A Sales Rep with Company A calls a Buyer at company B and invites him to attend a trade show in New York over the weekend. "It will be fun, and we'll get to know each other better" says the Rep; my wife will be there and we'll do the town after the trade show. We'll pick up all of your expenses so it will just be a huge benefit for your company says the Sales Rep.
The Buyer asks to think about the offer for a bit. "Yes" he says to himself, "this could be a fun trip, spending the weekend in NY with this guy and his wife, and it's not like my company is out any money". "The trade show, however, will be a drag. No one here was planning to attend it in the first place, but if I show up, the trip is business, right?" "Maybe I can bring my wife since he is bringing his?"
The Buyer is getting more and more excited about the upcoming trip, convincing himself that this is a good idea, and the more excited he gets, the more he starts talking about it at work, until, of course, his boss finds out and asks how this trip stands up to Company B's ethics policy.
After a bit of thought, the Buyer says, "well, you know, it is a trade show and it's not like our company is out any money". "True" says the boss, "but don't you think our company would have made arrangements to attend this trade show if we had thought is was worth attending, and why are your wives attending?". In a few short words, the trip fell apart.
Conducting business in an ethical vacuum is easy because one can always find excuses for why you are doing the right thing. Conducting business ethically, with no outside influences impacting decision making is much harder.
Where along the ethical line does your company find itself?
Recently, I became aware of a situation at a company who prides themselves on having a very strict policy about receiving gifts, at least on paper, and it played out pretty much like this:
A Sales Rep with Company A calls a Buyer at company B and invites him to attend a trade show in New York over the weekend. "It will be fun, and we'll get to know each other better" says the Rep; my wife will be there and we'll do the town after the trade show. We'll pick up all of your expenses so it will just be a huge benefit for your company says the Sales Rep.
The Buyer asks to think about the offer for a bit. "Yes" he says to himself, "this could be a fun trip, spending the weekend in NY with this guy and his wife, and it's not like my company is out any money". "The trade show, however, will be a drag. No one here was planning to attend it in the first place, but if I show up, the trip is business, right?" "Maybe I can bring my wife since he is bringing his?"
The Buyer is getting more and more excited about the upcoming trip, convincing himself that this is a good idea, and the more excited he gets, the more he starts talking about it at work, until, of course, his boss finds out and asks how this trip stands up to Company B's ethics policy.
After a bit of thought, the Buyer says, "well, you know, it is a trade show and it's not like our company is out any money". "True" says the boss, "but don't you think our company would have made arrangements to attend this trade show if we had thought is was worth attending, and why are your wives attending?". In a few short words, the trip fell apart.
Conducting business in an ethical vacuum is easy because one can always find excuses for why you are doing the right thing. Conducting business ethically, with no outside influences impacting decision making is much harder.
Where along the ethical line does your company find itself?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The View from the Prime Meridian: Why "Why" is Important
The View from the Prime Meridian: Why "Why" is Important: "The other day, I was sitting in a coffee shop reading my newspaper when I happened to overhear a conversation at the next table. One gentl..."
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