When discussing leadership, you often hear the term vision, or dreams bandied about. "They have the vision", "They have a dream", and especially "They are such a visionary!". We all have dreams. You can argue that we all have a vision or visions (even without the use of hallucinogenic drugs). That makes us dreamers. What makes a leader is the ability to bring people along for the ride, to get them involved, to inspire them to want to "buy in" to your dream.
We often conflate the terms leader and manager. This is unfortunate, because it confuses the ability to organize a group that has little or no choice to be where they are (as long as they want to be part of a particular organization), and the ability to inspire a group so that they want to be an active participant in your group for reasons other than power, prestige, or money. When you have a manager who is truly also a leader, you have an amazingly powerful combination.
We seem to have a shortage of these kind of leaders these days, people with powerful dreams (besides becoming rich on the Internet), that can not only inspire others to join them, but organize and guide them. A lofty goal to shoot for.
24 December, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 3
dreamers, managers, and leaders
The most valuable gifts
The Christmas season would not be complete with out some discussion about gifts. I am a huge believer in the concept of giving without any expectation of return, and Christmas, no matter what faith you follow (if any), seems to truly bring out the best in people in that regard. Yet, I sometimes reflect on how a sense of obligation to deliver bigger and better presents, or at least something tangible seems to grow with each year and we miss out on or fail to appreciate two of the most precious gifts we have to give to each other; gifts that are suitable for any time of the year and carry value far greater than any material gift: friendship and time.
Friendship is something that can only be given by choice, you cannot demand or coerce it. It can be given on a purely personal level, but I believe it can also be given on a business level as well. How many of you have customers that you enjoy having lunch with or actually look forward to speaking with on the phone? The warmth one feels when spending time or talking with someone you feel is a friend, no matter the intensity of the relationship, is something we should all treasure.
We can be forced to give our time unwillingly, and thus time is perhaps an even greater gift when given freely. We can always acquire more "things" - money, possessions, but we are only granted so much time, and once it passes, it is gone forever. So to willingly give it shows a respect that can transcend friendship. It shows a belief that we are worthwhile to the person spending their time with us.
So as the new year approaches, think about time and friendship. Consider not only who you will choose to give these amazing gifts to, but how you can show real appreciation to those who share these gifts with you.
20 December, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Friendship is something that can only be given by choice, you cannot demand or coerce it. It can be given on a purely personal level, but I believe it can also be given on a business level as well. How many of you have customers that you enjoy having lunch with or actually look forward to speaking with on the phone? The warmth one feels when spending time or talking with someone you feel is a friend, no matter the intensity of the relationship, is something we should all treasure.
We can be forced to give our time unwillingly, and thus time is perhaps an even greater gift when given freely. We can always acquire more "things" - money, possessions, but we are only granted so much time, and once it passes, it is gone forever. So to willingly give it shows a respect that can transcend friendship. It shows a belief that we are worthwhile to the person spending their time with us.
So as the new year approaches, think about time and friendship. Consider not only who you will choose to give these amazing gifts to, but how you can show real appreciation to those who share these gifts with you.
20 December, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Changing the rules of the game
At James Malinchak's speakers bootcamp this past week, he held a contest for Marketer of the Year among his coaching program members. Each contestant was given 12 minutes to tell us, the audience - who doubled as judges, how they had applied certain things they had learned as a coaching member to excel in marketing the past year. All of the contestants had impressive stories, and equally impressive bottom lines.
One of the contestants did not spend a huge amount of time describing what techniques she had learned and how she had applied them though. Rather she concentrated on talking about her sister who was having some hard times, and how, by winning the contest, she could help her sister by giving her a much needed vacation in Vegas.
Would you care to guess who won?
This was a fantastic example of "changing the rules of the game". Rather than compete with the others based on the exact criteria of the contest, she worked the heartstrings of the audience, and walked away with the prize. Comparing her results to the others might have been a vulnerability for her. Rather than soldiering ahead and hoping for the best, she took a strength: her feelings for her sister and a heartwarming story (which even the coldest among us enjoy), changed the rules of the game and avoided competing head-on with the others in straight numerical or measurable results. Brilliant!
14 December, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 2
One of the contestants did not spend a huge amount of time describing what techniques she had learned and how she had applied them though. Rather she concentrated on talking about her sister who was having some hard times, and how, by winning the contest, she could help her sister by giving her a much needed vacation in Vegas.
Would you care to guess who won?
This was a fantastic example of "changing the rules of the game". Rather than compete with the others based on the exact criteria of the contest, she worked the heartstrings of the audience, and walked away with the prize. Comparing her results to the others might have been a vulnerability for her. Rather than soldiering ahead and hoping for the best, she took a strength: her feelings for her sister and a heartwarming story (which even the coldest among us enjoy), changed the rules of the game and avoided competing head-on with the others in straight numerical or measurable results. Brilliant!
14 December, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 2
pretending to be big
There are a slew of products out there designed to make your one man operation seem like a big professional operation. Off-site phone systems that allow you to have multiple extensions and professional sounding voice-mail messages, and maybe even official sounding menu picks, virtual offices where a receptionist actually answers the phone with your company name (and the 20 others she is handling).
Which leads me to two questions:
1. If the point is trying to convince potential clients that you are a bigger company, is it a good idea to start out a relationship with a lie?
2. Do these products actually help you provide better service?
Actually it is one question: What are your trying to accomplish? Having an office where you can meet with a client comfortably may very well enhance your service. Trying to make someone believe you are bigger than you are almost definitely does not.
I like being direct. I am who I am, and I am who you are going to get if you retain me. No window dressing, maybe just some technological aids to make sure you are satisfied with your interaction with me.
29 November, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 1
Which leads me to two questions:
1. If the point is trying to convince potential clients that you are a bigger company, is it a good idea to start out a relationship with a lie?
2. Do these products actually help you provide better service?
Actually it is one question: What are your trying to accomplish? Having an office where you can meet with a client comfortably may very well enhance your service. Trying to make someone believe you are bigger than you are almost definitely does not.
I like being direct. I am who I am, and I am who you are going to get if you retain me. No window dressing, maybe just some technological aids to make sure you are satisfied with your interaction with me.
29 November, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 1
Three keys to service
To provide really great service, you need three things:
1. Leadership - someone has to steer the ship!
2. Team Building - you cannot do it alone!
3. Systems - make it repeatable!
19 October, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
1. Leadership - someone has to steer the ship!
2. Team Building - you cannot do it alone!
3. Systems - make it repeatable!
19 October, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
easy step towards better customer service
Alan Weiss recently made an excellent suggestion for a cheap and easy way to immediately improve a company's customer service: Start addressing all of your customers by name. He added start by addressing them as Mr., Ms., Dr., etc. until you have been given permission to address them otherwise.
Allow me to add that the key part of that is the second part: addressing them as Mr., Ms., etc. FIRST. By addressing people you don't know with some respect, you gain permission to continue the relationship.
This is different than networking, where everyone you are introduced to is most likely comfortable with, and expect, being called by their first name. The one word difference here is "expect". I do not expect to be addressed by my first name by a clerk or a server I have never met before in my life, and am probably not thinking about starting a business relationship with. However, if they make the effort to discover my name (looking at my credit card, or maybe a simple, "How can I help you Mr?..."), and start by being respectful, I will quickly get comfortable and appreciate that this business "knows me".
Not treating your customers like objects or numbers ("ahh, sale #5 today!") is always a good thing, but you need to do it right. Be respectful, they are interesting in doing business with you, not being your best friend.
18 October, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Allow me to add that the key part of that is the second part: addressing them as Mr., Ms., etc. FIRST. By addressing people you don't know with some respect, you gain permission to continue the relationship.
This is different than networking, where everyone you are introduced to is most likely comfortable with, and expect, being called by their first name. The one word difference here is "expect". I do not expect to be addressed by my first name by a clerk or a server I have never met before in my life, and am probably not thinking about starting a business relationship with. However, if they make the effort to discover my name (looking at my credit card, or maybe a simple, "How can I help you Mr?..."), and start by being respectful, I will quickly get comfortable and appreciate that this business "knows me".
Not treating your customers like objects or numbers ("ahh, sale #5 today!") is always a good thing, but you need to do it right. Be respectful, they are interesting in doing business with you, not being your best friend.
18 October, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
