The 8020Info Water Cooler

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The 8020Info Water Cooler
Issue #98 - Vol. 7 No. 01
22 January, 2007

1. The Best Ways To Request -- And Receive
-- Constructive Criticism

As we move into the New Year, and the improvement we should want it to bring, you may decide to be brave and invite constructive criticism from colleagues to help you perform better. On Coachville.com, Beth Mendy Conny suggests:

Since criticism, however constructive, can be hard to take, don't ask unless you are willing to receive it with grace. "Remember always, it ain't personal. It's about how you can improve," she says.

Choose your audience carefully. Don't request feedback from negative or small thinkers -- individuals with hidden agendas, difficulty accepting the success of others, or a limited agenda. By the same token, don't choose people who love or respect you so much they would prefer to placate or protect you than give you the honest goods.

Choose an audience of three or more individuals for feedback. One person's opinion, after all, is just one person's viewpoint, and while two people are better, it's only when you get to three or more that you can start to identify recurring themes.

Choose your audience the way you would a team, seeking distinct experiences, areas of expertise, and tastes.

Provide instructions rather than leaving it free form. Let them know if there is anything in particular to focus on.

Take two steps back after receiving the criticism. Give yourself time to sort through it, and let the comments of others evolve, take new shape, and open new doors. Consult your most important critic -- yourself -- before deciding how to proceed.

2. Low-Cost Perks You Can Offer Employees Top

January may also be the time to rethink what perks you can offer employees in the next 12 months to keep them committed. On Entrepreneur.com, business author Rich Mintzer says even if you don't have a lot of money you can still creatively come up with something special:

Work from home days: Most employees will enjoy the chance to skip their daily commute and work from their house from time to time.

Yoga classes: Bring in a yoga instructor twice a week to run an afternoon class. It will help relax employees and lower stress levels.

Family days: Allow them the chance to take a day or two off, without eating into vacation -- perhaps when a child is sick or there's a snow day.

Pizza Fridays: Bring in some lunch -- it doesn't have to be pizza -- on Fridays.

Movie days: A group movie or theatre outing, or free passes to the movies, will be appreciated.

Health club discounts: By promising the participation of a certain number of members, you might be able to get a discount for your staff at a health club and -- going one step further -- could offer to pay a portion of the fees.

Community service days: Give employees a few paid days each year to take part in community or charitable activities they are passionate about but don't have the time for.

3. Mastering the Elevator Speech    Top

Everyone needs an elevator speech -- a short, punchy sentence or two that, in the time it takes to ride an elevator, will help you tell somebody you encounter why they might be interested in doing business with you. But marketing professional Felipe Agular, on RainToday.com, says most elevator speeches fail because they are too concerned with talking in telemarketing style about what the speaker does and not focused on hooking the listener, who tunes out.

When people ask what you do, they are really asking, "How can you help me to do my job better and make my life easier?" And that's the bait you must use to hook their interest. So begin with the name of your company, and then state who your clients are and the benefits that the company offers. That's all. "If the person riding in that elevator with you has anything to do with the industry you work in, then they will want your business card," he says.

4. Helping The Distracted Employee    Top

If an employee tends to get distracted and not complete work on time, consultant Shaun Belding in his Winning At Work newsletter says there are two steps you can take to get the individual back on track.

First, set staged deadlines. Break down projects into smaller, bite-sized stages, with deadlines for each, and follow up at the appropriate stage.

Second, since the distracted employee may not be aware of how much time is being wasted talking to people about his appendectomy or bowling night, let him know in a private conservation what you have observed. Be specific, and remind him of the importance of meeting deadlines.

5. Zingers    Top

Your company's tagline must differentiate you from your competitors. Collect the taglines of three of your closest competitors and compare them to yours. If your tagline is interchangeable with the others, you still have work to do.
(Source: Smart Marketing blog)

Business and marketing guru Seth Godin marvels at the ability of pilots to follow instructions and attend to the details, and cherishes those values when he's on a plane. But he cautions against hiring such people for your business: "We don't need pilots. We need instigators and navigators, rabble-rousers and innovators. People who can't follow a checklist to save their life, but invent the future every day."
(Source: Seth's blog)

At tradeshows, staple business cards from leads into a notebook along with a reminder of what you talked about and necessary follow-up.
(Source: Planning Shop newsletter)

In telling people by e-mail when you are available for meetings, avoid listing exceptions since all too often people skip over that warning and seize on those days or times to meet. Tell them when you are available -- without the exceptions.
(Source: Business Writing blog)

It can be frustrating when a one-page document spills over and actually prints on two pages. Go to print preview in Microsoft Word, and click on the shrink-to-fit icon on the toolbar, which will reduce the number of pages in a document by one.
(Source: Allen Wyatt's Word Tips)

6. Q & A with 8020Info    Top

Question: How can we improve implementation this year?

8020Info Consultant Harvey Schachter responds:

Implementation requires focus from you and your staff. You need to whittle your priorities down to a sensible few, and then make sure everyone knows those priorities, and the role they play in achieving them. That will take some time -- to talk to people, as a group and individually.

Since people don't necessarily learn the first time a leader explains priorities, and since we all forget, you need to build in reminders and accountabilities. A large poster with a list of the priorities, for example, may be hokey, but it does emphasize what is important and may be a visible reminder if placed in a prominent location.

Each priority needs some measure to track progress. That requires thought, to ensure what you are measuring is truly connected to the priority, without tying you in knots developing and maintaining tracking systems. And then, at reasonable intervals, you need to remind everyone how you are faring.

For example, you might want to consider carving time out in your staff meetings every second month for a discussion of progress -- but with two special meetings in April and September solely on the topic. Perhaps at the start of every month, as well, you can mark progress on that poster or beside it in an eye-catching way.

Beyond those big priorities, routinely through the year make sure any time you ask somebody to do something that you record a follow-up date somewhere. This could be in your calendar, catching your attention on the appropriate day, or in a folder -- paper or e-mail -- that you review once a week, without fail. Everything you ask people to do should have a follow-up date associated with it in your mind, even if it wasn't explicitly assigned to be completed by a specific time. Sometimes, your only action on the follow-up date will be to move it further ahead, but at least you are keeping track.

Those practical tips -- and discipline -- should help you to implement more successfully in 2007.

7. News From Our Water Cooler:
Roundtable on "First-Timers"    Top

It's always a pleasure to trade ideas, as we did this past week at an open workshop we presented with St. Lawrence College. The subject was: "It's All About Meaning: Brand Strategy in an Over-Communicated World." And this coming Wednesday, at the first luncheon meeting of the year for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, we'll be speaking on pivotal keys to success, top pitfalls, and some intriguing new developments in marketing strategy.

In February, watch for our next 8020Info Roundtable Luncheon, a small-group discussion series we host regularly at the Rivermill Restaurant in Kingston. This time the topic will be marketing to "first-timers" -- those customers who are making a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, clients who have never dealt with your type of operation before, or first-generation pioneers (such as college or university students coming from families where no one has experienced a post secondary education nor is able explain how the system works). If you cater to "first-timers" who are usually unfamiliar with your type of service, your marketing plan probably needs important adjustments. Let us know if you'd like us to hold a seat for you: contactus@8020info.com.

8. Closing Thought    Top

"Only those who are extremely pliable and soft can be extremely hard and strong."
-- Zen proverb