The Power of Appreciation

The other day I realized it is unusual for people to be told they are appreciated.

The revelation came about from my offering a compliment to the person responsible for the logistics of my meetings and events.

The comment was: people do not appreciate the effort required to have a perfect meeting – if it is done well no one notices; however if there's a glitch, it is glaringly obvious – and I thank you for creating perfection.

The recipient immediately sent an urgent response asking what had gone wrong and with assurance that any problem would be corrected immediately and it would not happen again.

Recognition for doing a great job of the logistics was so unusual that she heard the comment as a preamble to a complaint. I quickly said there's no complaint – just the opposite - I appreciated the work your team does to make everything ready before we walk through the door.

The response was memorable - oh, yes it does take a lot of work and care to create an experience that people take for granted, and you make such a good point about folks not taking the time to acknowledge when things go well. We appreciate that you are always complementary and appreciative of our efforts to support your events!

Have you noticed the reaction when you thank someone for their help – a smile; they stand a bit taller; they will replicate that action over and over again.

The one I like a lot is the look of surprise followed by a big grin and a wave when I thank the crossing guard near the subway – a painless way to make someone's day.

The same principles apply to the people you work with (or for) and volunteer with as well. Ever tell your boss or your partner you appreciate him/her for _________ (fill in the blank as appropriate) – the reaction is priceless.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs (NCIS) is a master at expressing deserved appreciation – he acknowledges a good job to the individual but does so within earshot of their co-workers. The recipient almost floats off the floor with pride and satisfaction, and gets another good jolt when seeing the reaction of the coworkers. Do you think they are motivated to do more good work – you bet they are!

Share your appreciation – catching someone doing good is effective mentoring when you shine a spotlight on it.

Give it a try – share what you find.

Rainmaker– 300 seconds of new possibilities

Experience Causes Scope Creep

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a customer develop world class skills using a tool, going from no presence to a highly customized, effective environment.

Then they run beyond the capabilities of the tool.

And they have to change.

Which is going to cost time.

And make everyone have to learn new ways to do the same things.

So they complain.

“If we had known this was going to happen, we wouldn’t have started with the tool!”

Nonsense.

That first tool took you from nothing to excellence. Instead of using 15% of the capabilities, you use 105%.

You figured out things the people who designed the tool didn’t know. And you surely figured out how to provide results that went way beyond your starting competence.

Some project managers want to design in a vacuum.

“Tell us what you want and we’ll go away for six months and bring you what you asked for.”

More nonsense.

Experience causes scope creep. The purpose of learning is a better solution.

If you have misguided managers telling you you can’t afford to do a better job, they are taking money out of your pocket, now or later.

Find some buckets to overfill. It will improve your total project average.

The Dune Leadership Lessons – Ancient Texts Of A Future

The Bartender's Lesson In Finance

One of my favorite projects was 3½ months as the general manager of a country club while a search was under way for a new GM.

My goal was to improve the performance of the dining and grill rooms, increase diner volume, and grow revenue from this area of the club.

To record sales, each area had a terminal for the central a point of sale (POS) system. Each night after the club closed, the POS was closed out and reconciled. My first night, the bartender, who typically did the close out, helped me learn the process and printed the tape with details of the close, including the gross receipts for the day.

When we were done, I took the tape and asked his estimate of the gross receipts amount – he said he had no idea. I asked for his best guess – I showed him the amount...he was way off. The next night he was closer and after about a week he was within a few hundred dollars of the actual amount.

The next night, as I was locking up the club, the bartender did the close out and was waiting for me with a Cheshire cat smile – when I went to start the close, he was standing there holding the tape, with a hand over the gross receipts figure. His smile got bigger when he ASKED ME for an estimate of the receipts for the day! After a quick mental review, I told him the figure – it was within $75 of the actual amount.

I told the bartender that having an accurate feel for the receipts is important – the same is true for general costs as well. I gave him an estimate of the daily combined labor cost for servers, cooks, bartenders, and other dining staff – he immediately said – on Tuesday we don't even take in that much.

My turn to have a huge smile as he says that knowing costs and receipts gives him some tools to manage our operations better. How I ask? The bartender, standing a little taller, says we can have fewer staff on hand for the lighter days, or send them home early based on the diner volume – servers, cooks, and others. Also we could do some specials or deals to promote more activity on the light days.

He got it – make adjustments in the cost and revenue sides of the ledger to better balance operating results. By knowing how the receipts and costs relate, and honing his ability to accurately estimate the key figures, he became more valuable to the club.

With his new outlook, the bartender was making a greater impact on the club's bottom line and in a short time was promoted to a more responsible role (and more $$).

A lesson well learned and applied to get positive results.

Sales Lab Posts – a fresh outlook

Cost Goes Both Ways

I was invited to view a new software product, JAPMS, Just Another Project Management System. I was in a roomful of people who had letters after their names that meant they were experienced project managers.

The builders showed us screens that represented projects in multiple views, and multiple projects that rolled up into programs, and dashboards for most of the management belief systems.

They were showing us how incredibly easy it was to move a project to the right due to unforeseen circumstances. Man, one thing goes wrong and your whole project recalculates!

I’ve used many project management systems, from the sublime to the blue screen. I’ve even built and sold a couple. So I was surprised at the response when I asked, “What happens when you do something that cuts time from the project?”

They didn’t know what I was talking about. Obviously not owners. Not one in the room.

“What do you mean?”

“Well suppose somebody comes up with an activity that takes a couple of weeks off the delivery date?”

From the discussion, I realized I was in a room with a group who had never considered running a project in less time than expected. They were more interested in that than in how the software worked.

Back when I was running the construction company, I would tell the estimators to figure out how the competition would price a job, so we could figure out if we even wanted to bid it. The estimators would then figure a better way and bid that.

Then I would go to the site supervisors and tell them that if they couldn’t beat the estimators’ numbers, I didn’t need them on the project. They got very good and very bonused beating expectations.

In selling we see similar situations all the time. If we can’t get better with every implementation, where’s the fun?

Winning a bid just creates another opportunity to excel.

I really enjoy finding a similar requirement after enabling technology has improved. One time I built a second marketing services factory that could create better results in less than two thirds of the time and cost of our original factory. Of course, I had had a heavy hand in building the prototype operation.

Anyway, the project management software turned out to be another record keeping application, but several of the reviewers said they were going to look into building ways to shorten their projects into their project plans.

Who knew?

Sales Lab Resources – Tools for a new economy

Contingent Commitments

During the course of a month I go to several meeting and events which require advance registration (RSVP). I usually work the registration desk and find that between 20% to 40% are no shows – registered to come but do not make it.

Several people have shared their disappointment in the number of people who had indicated they were coming to their wedding, but did not show and did not even send a note of apology/explanation for their absence.

In recent post on a blog I follow, a fellow was gnashing his teeth about having taken a new job - he was starting on Monday - but late Friday he got an invitation for a second interview for his 'dream job' – what should I do, he whined.

When I ran the human resource function in my organizations, there was a small but growing trend of individuals who accepted our job offer and agreed to a start date, but did not show up – no call, no explanation – nothing except they did not make it – ever.

What is common in these four stories is that people committed to an action but a notable portion did not follow through on their commitment.

Why does this happen?

Of course there are unforeseen things that pop up last minute – boss calls an instant meeting, car overheats, kid emergency, spouse late to come home - the list goes on... This can certainly account for some of the no shows, but it does not account for the 'radio silence' in not contacting the host – even a “sorry I could not make it, something came up” shows more character than blowing off the failure to attend.

But what's the explanation for the rest to the group who did not have a personal crisis and still did not make it?

Is the idea that 'a person's word is their bond' not as valid or important today - don't make a promise you can't keep and always deliver on your promises is about personal integrity.

There now seems to be the 'contingent commitment' – it looks like a commitment but acts like a maybe. A pledge with an unstated 'except' – yes, I'll attend the event (except if I don't feel like it or something better comes along).

If someone consistently commits but does not follow through, how does that speak about their character? Would you trust them to be a key player on the team working on a high profile or critical project?

My comment back to the guy with a conflict between starting a new job and going to a second 'dream job' interview – “you committed to your new employer – show up to the job unless the employer has unilaterally changed the offer.”

Am I being too idealistic, expecting individuals to honor their word – or revise their commitment - for something as trivial as just another event? Have we gotten so busy and over-scheduled that it is acceptable to be casual about showing up?

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