Blog Post

Do You Have A Listening Culture?

  • By Sandra Wilson
  • 04 Jun, 2018

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Listening is one of the easiest ways to show respect to customers, employees or family members. It says that you care, are interested in the other person, and value their opinion and relationship. Does your business have a listening culture?

A culture of listening creates strong and trusting relationships, and if done well, will encourage creativity and more thoughtful and empowered ideas. The best way to create a culture of listening is to start at the top, letting it cascade down through your organization and out to your customers. In short, employees who are listened to will listen to others, including colleagues and customers. Businesses that listen to their customers are more energized, agile, successful, and profitable. Collaboration and team synergies are also part of a listening organization.

Here are a few ways to instill a listening culture within your business:

1.   Listen to Understand, Not to Respond:

When we focus on listening alone, we truly process, engage and embrace others’ ideas. This makes people feel more trusted and affirmed and will encourage more open and transparent communication. On the other hand, when we listen only with the intent of responding, we stop listening part way through and begin to formulate our next comment. This destroys the trust and inhibits the stream of communication. A good tip is to vocalize that you intend to just listen and ask questions but not to respond or formulate any comments until later. This puts both people into a good communication mode.

2.   Ask Your Employees for Feedback:

One way to encourage good and healthy feedback and communication is to ask for it. As Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said, “We run this company on questions, not answers.” Ask your teams and employees what they think; support them in speaking up about things and reward those who challenge your ideas or debate your thoughts, not least by engaging their ideas meaningfully. Refer to a colleague’s ideas publicly so others can see that you are being honest about your desire to have feedback and that you are sincerely interested in listening to what they say.

3.   Encourage Employees to Listen to Each Other:

One way to encourage listening is to ask people what they just heard and what they think. It will sharpen their listening skills while also encouraging thoughtful response. Furthermore, asking employees to tell you their thoughts about what they just heard also signals that you value their input and ideas, demonstrating how this can be done among the employees themselves.

4.   Ask Your Customers for Feedback:

When your employees know that feedback from customers is important and encouraged, they will become more willing to ask for it. Mutual communication is accelerated and deepened when people work in a supportive and listening culture and can feel secure in asking for and receiving feedback from all sources. “How can we make your work easier?” or “How might we serve you better?” is music to most customers’ ears. Also, strengthen employees’ listening skills by observing who seems to listen to others and openly complimenting those skills so others can see that they are valued.

Having a listening culture is one of the most important things for any business. Without it, the business is limited only by the thoughts and skills of the leadership. Encourage listening, practice it often, and reward it throughout your organization. If you have read this far…thank you for listening!

By Sandra Wilson 12 Aug, 2018

Are you disruptive? Not the ‘you come to meetings late and then interrupt everyone’ type of disruptive. I mean the positive disruption that comes from thinking about the future of your products and anticipating how to drive cutting-edge change. When you disrupt your business, you improve your chances of long-term survival.  

I remember working for an organization where I was asked to start a new business based on a cordless construction nail gun that would disrupt the pneumatic tools sold by the business. The pneumatic nail guns, and the consumables which run through them, were the only way this business made its money. I was asked to start a new business that would basically cannibalize some, or maybe even most, of the original product. Needless to say, this was a risky – even scary – endeavor. However, we learned a few lessons and made some great decisions along the way:

1. Remove the New Venture from the Original Business:

The first two things that I asked for in setting up this new business were to locate it away from the original business and to account for it separately. I wanted every employee who walked through the front door to have only one product master, without conflict of where to focus their attention and to be free of comments from others that they were traitors for working on this venture. We liked to describe this as the oak tree that drops an acorn to the ground. When the acorn turns into a small sapling located under the branches of the mighty oak tree, it can’t get enough water or sun to grow strong. You have to transplant the sapling out and away from the original tree to survive. The same is true of your new business venture.

In addition, making it a separate venture allows you to see the results clearly and to make uncluttered decisions. It needs separate budgets, financials and investment decisions. When it is not accounted for separately, it is hard to see whether proper investment decisions are being made. The more the lines get blurred, the less clear your vision of your venture will be. Good measurement and tracking is essential for understanding what you are doing.

2. Keep the Employees Separate:

As much as possible, keep the employees working on it separate from those working in the original business. If you have critical employees split between the venture and the original business, they will also be split in terms of their attention and decision making. In our case, the engineers were not working on both products. If we had done that, then the first time the original products had a crisis, we would have taken the engineers off of the new venture and put them on the fires facing the original products. Short-term fires take precedence over long-term ventures in most businesses. This splitting of effort only slows you down and makes progress harder to see.

3. Don’t Let Tradition Get in the Way:

How many times have you heard the old saying, “but we have always done it that way”? The problem with that type of mentality is that it kills the creative thinking needed to start your venture. If you wanted to keep things the way they were, you wouldn’t be starting something new. Starting something new means you have to think in a new way.  

You can almost guarantee that your competition is not hampered by your standard ways of thinking. We had a rule that every time someone started a sentence with “but that is how we have always done it,” we stopped the person and had a discussion around why we were afraid to try something new. In some cases, the fear was justified, but not often. Trying something new takes courage and monitoring to prevent slipping back into old ways.

4. Have an Inspirational Leader Who Believes:

People need to know that the leader at the top believes in this venture and will see it through to success. The strong leader needs to be confident, act with a sense of urgency and criticality, and lead in an inspirational and team-building sort of way. The latter is important because ideas will come from everywhere, so the environment is most successful if it embraces an empowered and creative culture.

Not only that, an inspirational leader is the only kind that will attract top talent. Start-ups often have to hire a lot of new people; however, people are naturally attracted to success. Start-ups or new ventures don’t have a track record to show anyone, so the confidence and track record are often based upon the leader at the top. And people can sense the talent of the leader because they can feel it and hear it in the voices of the people working for that leader. Bottom line, talent attracts talent.

5. Know When to Go from Start-up to Growth Mode:

One of the most important pivot points in your disruptive venture is knowing when you are about to become successful and moving the business into high-growth mode. The leadership needs to be watching this carefully and planning for capacity and growth in terms of manufacturing capabilities and people. A successful start-up that doesn’t have the resources to grow, is still a start-up without much to show for itself. Prepare for your success by talking about what will be needed. Set big goals when you dream about the business and if you are really lucky, you will need to use these plans far sooner than you ever thought possible. In our business, we blew past our 7-year goal in the second year and then doubled again over the next two years. Without clear plans of how we would address huge volume, we would not have been prepared to support that growth in year two. Dream! It’s one of the most critical aspects of running a start-up.


Conclusion:

Our disruptive venture quickly became a huge success and today is a product that you see on almost every do-it-yourself show and is sold in every big box and hardware store in America. We would not have had the success that we had without considering the principles described above. Disruptive ventures are hard work but some of the most exciting and rewarding work possible. They can be both scary and confidence-building simultaneously. Good luck with your disruptive venture and feel free to reach out if I can help answer any questions!

By Sandra Wilson 15 Jul, 2018

Countless books and articles have been written about how to shatter your customers’ expectations. People keep writing about it because, although it is a simple concept, it is harder to do than we think. Or is it?

Once, I was stranded in the Baltimore area due to weather. I waited in long lines with the airline only to find out that my flight had been cancelled and that there were no other flights available. One of the agents behind the deck must have taken pity on me, because she said that she would try and help me. We moved down to the end of the desk to an open computer station and she was amazing. She got me booked on a flight out of Dulles airport, called me a cab and gave me a coupon for the cab ride. When I arrived at Dulles, my seat was in first class and the airline held the flight for about five minutes for my arrival.

Now that would be an amazing story on its own, but there is more. After I arrived home, the following day, she called to let me know that she had followed my progress and that she was glad that I had made it home that evening. This woman not only surpassed my expectations, she shattered them. Guess which airline I flew after that? Guess how many times I have told this story?

The amazing part is that the final simple act of showing that she really cared cost her organization nothing. And yet, that simple act of picking up that phone was priceless. She took time and personal interest in meeting my needs and then ensuring they had been met and exceeded.

I believe that offering service that shatters your customers’ expectations requires at least three things:

Hire the Right Attitude:

First, you need to hire for the right attitude and style. I like to ask candidates to describe world class service and to tell me about a time when they personally experienced having their expectations shattered. If a candidate can’t describe even one situation, or their example doesn’t really capture world class service, then you might want be cautious about whether they truly understand what it looks like. Another way to determine style in this area is to have a candidate talk about how they have interacted in team settings and how they felt they were treated or to give examples of how they treated others. Being able to treat a customer in a certain world class style usually starts closer to home.

Empower Employees to Make a Difference:

An essential part of having employees who can shatter expectations is giving them the means to do something about it. How many times have you experienced an employee who wants to make something right, but they have to ask their supervisor first to make sure it is okay for them to do whatever it is that they feel is needed? A world class service environment never starts with someone having to ask permission to do the right thing. Give your employees permission to use their discretion, and when they use it, applaud what they have done.

Show Your Employees How It Feels:

One of the most important parts of creating a world class service culture is making sure that employees are treated well. This is critical because employees need to see what caring and service oriented cultures look like first-hand and because they need to know how it feels. It is when they get in touch with these feelings that they understand what to do to make their customers feel this same feeling of overwhelming thankfulness. Make your employees feel thankful for being a part of your organization and they will make your customers feel thankful, too. Start the employee process with saying thank you when it is least expected, publicly complimenting their performance, or celebrating their successes with a meal. It is the little things that we do that make a difference, and that attitude and feeling will transfer to your clients.

Bottom line, creating a culture that offers world class, expectation shattering service, is really about hiring people who know what it looks like and empowering them to make it happen. Shattering your customers’ expectation begins with you!

By Sandra Wilson 13 Jun, 2018

Do successful companies that are currently thriving need to change? When things are going well, when is the right time to change? The answers to these questions are “yes” and “probably now.” Good companies can’t become great unless they have themselves on a program of continuous improvement. Great companies can’t remain so unless they are willing to continue to embrace change. Change is happening all around us and the more we fight it, the more we lose sight of the need for it.  

I learned early in my career that the right time for change is when things are going well. The reason for this is three-fold.

1. Organizations are More Open to Change When Things are Going Well:

Organizations will be more receptive when it is viewed as a choice to become better and not a punishment for performing poorly. When things are not going well, let’s admit it, many people are rushing to hide in the weeds rather than be out front leading a new initiative. Driving change when things are going well is about fostering the attitude and receptivity of the people who need to change.

2. Financial Strength Helps Pave the Road to Success:

Driving change from a position of financial strength rather than weakness is important. When companies are in desperate need of change and the financials are weak, requiring that something new needs to happen, the choices are more limited. In other words, it is hard to make investments in the future when an organization doesn’t have any financial strength from which to invest. But when the company is financially strong, it can make patient and informed decisions that are influenced by data and doing the right thing.

3. Desperation May Negatively Influence Your Choices:

When executives are looking for answers, but their vision is clouded by the need for short-term survival, they often choose actions based on the need for immediate results. For instance, an executive who is managing a business that is about to go bankrupt might choose a path that provides some immediate cash flow rather than one that ensures the long-term success of the business. The same executive making the decision before things get bad could result in a new product that generates long-term business growth. Desperation often results in bad decisions because the pressure for needing a quick decision gets in the way of making the right decision.


So, the next time you feel satisfied with the current success of your business, remind yourself of the reasons to drive change when things are going well. The only constant that businesses can depend on these days is that their client landscape is constantly changing, and sooner or later if they don’t change, they will perish. Your past success may have gotten you to the race track, but only the willingness to drive change and continually improve will keep you heading towards the finish line of future success.

By Sandra Wilson 06 Jun, 2018

One of the drawbacks of being a seasoned CEO with a vast and diverse set of experiences, is that it is easy to step in and fill voids for your leaders. For instance, when one of your leaders comes to your office to ask your opinion, do you give them your advice or do you use it as an opportunity to coach and mentor by NOT  giving them your advice? I know it seems counter intuitive, but hear me out. One of the best leadership skills that I learned a long time ago was to use the seven most empowering words in the English language: “I don’t know…what do you think?”

So, what are some reasons for not giving your advice?

1.   Respect:  Show the leader that you respect them enough to want to hear their idea. Listening to others’ opinions and ideas is one of the best ways to show respect. It says that you care about the person and that you value their input. Missing any opportunity to do that is a shame.

2.   Observation:  Listen to their thoughts and notice how they are developing as a leader. When you do so, you gain a better understanding of how they think and approach challenges. This is an excellent way to help gauge how they are developing and to help formulate areas where they might need some future coaching.

3. Celebration:  If they respond with the answer you think makes the most sense, take the opportunity to celebrate with them over making a good decision. You might say, “That is exactly what I would do; I agree with you. Good work!” People like to be endorsed and they appreciate being affirmed in their decision by someone they respect. It is a moment to celebrate with them! Just think about the power of how they feel leaving your office.

4. Development:  If they give you an answer that seems unwise, use the moment to coach them in using a different approach. Think of some probing questions you could use to guide them. For instance, you could ask, “Did you think about it this way?” You have an opportunity to talk about the process you would use to get to a more solid answer.

5. Reality Check:  You might realize you are wrong. By listening to their idea, you may begin to notice that the advice you would have given has some flaws. You have the opportunity to learn from the leader and their approach.  

So, the next time that a leader who works for you asks you your opinion, fight that urge to answer outright and remember the seven most powerful and empowering words: “I don’t know…what do you think?”

By Sandra Wilson 05 Jun, 2018

Early in my career, I remember working for a business that lost its largest customer because an employee who took a vacation day forgot to tell the customer they were going to be out of the office. At the time, I remember thinking how demanding this client was. It wasn’t until years later that I realized that this client was lost over time and not because of that one event.

Long-term client relationships can be some of the hardest to earn, and most critical to keep, in any business.  This can be especially true in businesses where the interaction and transaction levels are high, with each of these interactions being an opportunity to retain or lose your client’s business. Most estimates show that it costs 5 to 7 times more to win a new client than to keep one that you already have. In addition, in more strategic customer relationships, there is often an on-boarding cost that involves setting up processes and having your employees ride learning curves. Once these costs have been incurred, the return on the investment begins. Therefore, losing these long-term or strategic relationships is costly.

Shaking the Bank

One way of thinking about these client relationships is as a piggy bank, those pink vessels that held coins when you were a child. I remember shaking my bank every week as I placed more coins into its belly. The weight and sound of the shake hinted at the amount available to spend on something special for myself. The interesting thing about piggy banks is that you make deposits and withdrawals, but you can’t ever take more than you give.

Making Deposits and Withdrawals

Your client relationships are very similar. Each interaction that your employees have with your client is either a deposit or a withdrawal in the relationship. For instance, a missed deadline or a sloppy error made in a transaction are withdrawals that, if made repetitively over time, could anger a client who begins to feel that you don’t care about their needs. On the other hand, a proactive phone call from one of your employees to anticipate a need before the client communicates it is a deposit. When you are doing hundreds, if not thousands, of transactions for your clients each month, your best hope is to make sure that you make far more deposits than withdrawals into your client relationships. Stated differently, when you have a healthy piggy bank deposit rate, your client trusts the bank will never become empty and they will react to periodic withdrawals with the appropriate level of concern.

By getting your employees to think about the relationship as a bank, it will help them to understand that when something happens (and it likely will eventually), the client reaction may not be about that particular event, but about the fact that there have been a series of withdrawals or that the client fears that the bank is becoming too light. In other words, they may begin to wonder if you are focused on their needs. While few business relationships are perfect, they need to be centered on creating trust and value by giving far more than taking.

  Assessing Relationships Over Time

As client relationships progress, it is important to periodically assess the weight and capacity of your client banks. Are your employees making more deposits than withdrawals? Is the client happy with how heavy the bank is becoming? Are you, as the manager, aware of the frequency of withdrawals? Does your client view all of this the same way you do? One of the best ways of knowing the answers to these questions is through the use of business analytics and metrics and by simply meeting with your clients and asking them how they are feeling about the relationship.

Businesses that help their employees to think of every interaction as a deposit or withdrawal will become more successful at maintaining their long-term relationships. Not only that, their employees will have a healthier perspective of why a client may “overreact” to a service failure that just doesn’t seem very large in the moment. It gives everyone, employee and client alike, a better and longer-term perspective of the relationship. So, how full are your client relationship piggy banks?

By Sandra Wilson 01 Jun, 2018
Welcome to my blog.  I am excited to be able to share some of my ideas and experiences with you.  Please feel free to use any of the ideas and let me know if I can help in any way!
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