Never, never, never give in

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“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense”

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was known for his inspiring speeches. Unlike most politicians today, he wrote many of his speeches himself. In business, as leaders and managers we could do far worse than be inspired by some of Churchill’s famous speeches.

Never giving in? Often in the face of adversity it is easier not to make the extra effort to achieve the outcome required. As I reflect on my journey of establishing and managing a business, Churchill’s ‘never give in’ speech resonates.

Back when the business was just starting out, we were given a 3 month contract with a major Australian retailer to manage their Christmas overflow. This effectively doubled our existing business and would have prevented the business from failing. After we had signed the contract we then received a phone call saying ‘sorry, we’ve decided not to use you’.

Large Australian retailers are notoriously ruthless in dealing with suppliers, especially small ones. Although we had a contract we were in no financial position to seek redress for them breaking the contract. If we had taken legal action we would have been out of business before the matter was addressed and, we could not afford it anyway. With our backs to the wall, we went back and negotiated successfully with the retailer’s manager and convinced him that the honourable action was to adhere to the contract. This gave us our first big start in the business.

Several years later, our largest customer owed us a six figure sum and was reluctant to pay. Failure to pay would have meant our business would have collapsed unless we were able to secure a bank loan to cover working capital. This was something we were reluctant to do as our houses had been mortgaged to establish the business. Negotiations were not fruitful in reducing the debt owed to us and we became extremely worried. We kept the pressure up without success. Luckily the customer decided to cease using our services but they needed to move their stock. This presented the lever we needed to get paid. Put simply, “no payment no stock” and our business was saved (post note: 12 months later the customer went broke). Never, never give in had saved our business on a number of occasions.

Finally, successfully selling our business was our last example of ‘never, never, never give in’. After 2 failed sales attempts in 12 months it looked as though the business would never be sold and we would not receive a reward for our 15 years of hard work (and worry!). Seven prospective business brokers were interviewed to assist in selling the business and were rejected for one reason or another. It looked like another failure. However, I encouraged one of the brokers to try another approach. After weeks of trying to convince all my partners to use his company’s services, he was appointed to sell the business. This proved a decisive. The broker had international experience and was able to sell the business to an international buyer well above expectations.

I recently read a great blog about not giving in where the author states “Anything worthwhile is worthwhile sticking with until it is done” this applies to not only business but life itself.

In business as in management, staying power or persistence will often win out in the end………sometimes when you least expect it.

Managing Customer Complaints

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Managing Customer Complaints

“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it”

Peter Drucker

As business owners, managers or supervisors some of the worst moments in your working experience can involve managing customer complaints (note the word ‘manage’ rather than ‘handle’?)

The experience is often stressful, uncomfortable and unpleasant isn’t it?

Customer complaints have serious ramifications for your business and if not managed well can seriously damage the business. Customer complaints do however provide an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive and enable you to retain the business.

Remember it is estimated that less than 10% of customers complain about customer service, they just go elsewhere and we rarely know why. Don’t dread customer complaints, but instead view them as an opportunity to create a long term customer. A complaint gives your business a second chance!

There are 6 steps in managing a customer complaint:

  1. Let the customer vent their anger

Remain calm, try and keep personalities out of the situation and allow the customer to vent their anger and listen attentively.

  1. Make ‘I’ statements and apologise

Build rapport and build empathy by using ‘I’ statements: “I can understand………..I would be angry” show that you are taking sides WITH the customer. The anger is addressed at the problem and not you.

  1. ‘So what you are saying is…’

Try and understand what the problem is by using effective listening techniques – paraphrase what the customer is saying and ask clarifying questions so that you have a clear understanding of the issue.

  1. ‘This is what we can do….’

Take responsibility for solving their problem and let them know what you can do. It is important to use positive language and offer solutions, options or a course of action. Make sure you gain agreement from them.

  1. End positively

Thank the customer and explain what you intend to do, when and how.

  1. Just ‘do it’

Just like the Nike advertisement ‘just do it’ means providing updates, following up within the agreed time frame and communicating with them (personally is best) when that action has been completed.

This is an example from a few years again when I was managing a vehicle transport company. A transport manifest arrived by fax (yes many years ago) at 4.00 pm and upon reading it I learnt that there was a car arriving within the next 2 hours that was due in Brisbane that night. We were in Wagga Wagga in country New South Wales Australia 1,200 kms (14 hours away) from Brisbane. The car then had to be loaded onto a truck north for Cairns (a further 1,700 km away or 20 hours away).The car was needed by the customer in Cairns in 2 days time for him to pick it up from the airport and drive to his tropical beach holiday destination a further hour’s drive north.

This was Mission Impossible!

It was a physical impossibility to have a car in Cairns nearly 3,000 km away in 2 days even if it was driven there.

Flying a car was not an option!

Should I be like Corporal Jones in the BBC TV series “Dad’s Army” and start panicking?

What happened?

I called the customer (with extreme dread) and explained the situation 3 hours before he was due to board a direct flight from Melbourne to Cairns.

His reaction (Step 1) was dismay although not overt anger – how was he going to get to his holiday house?

I apologised (Step 2) and asked him again (Step 3) what his requirements for transport for his holiday were. He needed to have a car to travel to and around his holiday destination.

I then gave him several options, one being that we would provide a hire car at no cost for his holiday or until his car eventually arrived (Step 4).

He agreed, I thanked him for his understanding (Step 5) and said I would arrange this and get back to him.

A hire car was organised, using my personal credit card to be available at the local Cairns airport lounge for his arrival (Step 6). I then phoned him back just before he boarded the plane. He was very happy with the outcome. He continued to be a client for many years.

Even the most difficult situations can be solved using common sense and the 6 Step approach to managing customer complaints……………

Compare this approach that described in one of my earlier blogs.

It is quite a contrast isn’t it?

Priorities…

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Priorities…

“Having my priorities in order has really helped me look better, fresher and more relaxed”
Kim Cattrall

Maybe a quote from a TV star (Sex and the City) is not what you would expect to head a blog about priorities in work and business. However, it does highlight the fact that if you have your priorities in order, you can achieve great things and not be side-tracked by unimportant issues.

Let me give you an example. A friend of my daughters popped in recently for a quick catch up. I asked casually how things were going in first 12 months of her job. She started to complain that the new managing director (and this was a multinational company) had decreed that only white coffee cups were to be used and she wanted to use her Lord of the Rings coffee cup. Other people were complaining as well.

These types of decrees are not uncommon as shown by the linked article about the former managing director of BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company. He put out an edict about desk ‘etiquette’ that bordered on the neurotic, at a time when the company had both great opportunities and of course many problems. He subsequently left the company with very little to show for his tenure at the helm, in particular the missed opportunities.

Micro management is normally a red light that may indicate that management does not know how to prioritise; treats staff as unimportant, and is not up to the “real” job. I once worked for a manager who was obsessed with orderliness, where all prospective customers were placed in labelled manila folders and filed (and that’s where they stayed!) whilst he complained that I should not keep active files on the floor near my desk as it made my office untidy. Perhaps it did make my office untidy, it certainly did not stop my success in achieving sales. I can remember another good example from years ago. I was studying whilst working full time and thought it would be a good idea to give my then manager a draft of one of my one of my assignments (which was about the industry we work working in). He proceeded to mark the spelling and grammar (this was before Spellcheck)

…………..little wonder he was dismissed some years later.

So what would be your advice to my daughter’s friend?

Be defiant and show independence and continue to use her Lord of the Rings cup?

It’s all about priorities.

Is it important?

………possibly demotivating, irritating and annoying ‘yes’ but important ‘no’?

We asked her:

“Is this important to you doing your job to the best of your ability?”

“No”

“Then it’s not a high priority is it?”

As the link to blog below, the expression “when a dog is in the hunt, it has no time to search for fleas” has relevance.

Remember it is up to you get your priorities right………………..

If you do, life and work is far less complicated and you are more likely to be much happier and more successful.

Management by Walking Around

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Management by Walking Around

“The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity”

Tom Peters

I was recently discussing how the first 6 months of a new job was going with an associate who I had known for many years. This was a senior role which required both senior management experience and technical expertise which was critical to the organisation and its members. The associate was quite happy with their new role, had autonomy and was able to work on projects unhindered. However, they were puzzled that in the head office of about 60 people where they worked they had never seen the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). That’s right, not even physically sighted the CEO, let alone met them.

This seems an extraordinary situation, but it’s true. It would hardly come as a surprise that in the previous 12 month period over 30 new people were employed to replace those who had left. It can be safely assumed that there was something seriously wrong with this organisation, and the statement ‘a fish goes rotten at the head first’ explaining organisational failure would appear true in this case.

Staff look for leadership, not aloofness.  Evidence clearly indicates that successful organisations have management teams that are engaged with their customers and staff.  One demonstration of this, is the concept ‘management by walking around’. This is not a ‘royal tour’ as experienced in one of my first jobs as a fresh faced junior.  At that time I worked for a large multi-national in the steel industry and whenever senior executives were about to ‘tour’ there was a frenzy of painting and clean up, much to the bemusement of staff. The tour was generally a 5 minute walk through accompanied by the plant manager before the entourage moved on to the next plant. Little wonder that the business had to merge later and divest its manufacturing to remain in business.   Early on in my career, I developed the practice of ‘walking the floor’ within an hour of arriving at work to talk to staff. It was amazing what an effect it had on morale, as problems were aired and often solved; giving staff a sense of satisfaction in their jobs.  It was also another way of providing feedback on performance and hearing about issues with customers and the suppliers. People like nothing better than being asked for their opinions in a considered and professional manner.

My suggestion is that if you are not managing by walking around then plan to start this as soon as you can.  It will work wonders, make your job easier and help with workforce engagement and increase profits! However, ensure that you are genuine in your approach. Your workforce will pick up  fake concern and self-serving behaviour immediately.  I can recall another CEO in a much smaller organisation who would stroll through the workplace, stopping and asking a plant operator the name of the person who they to next visit, then walking up to that person and saying ‘hello Mary’ as if they were some long lost friend, but not engaging in any meaningful dialogue before rushing off to the next person. You can imagine how he was viewed by staff and it later became a game to give him the wrong name and see what the reaction was!

Management by walking around makes great sense and makes for a better workplace providing it is done sincerely, in a considered and professional manner. So if you are not doing this, the best time to start is now…………………………

Above the Line and Below the Line Thinking…

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Above the Line and Below the Line Thinking…

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Continuing on from a previous blog highlighting the difference between excuses and reasons and making sure you are not the road block, we have the concept of above and below the line thinking.

This is a very powerful concept – “The Line” is the parallel that divides our character and represents responsibility. Responsibility is a very important word. It is a powerful life skill that puts into practice the act of ownership; taking responsibility and being accountable for your actions.

Acting below the line our lives become circumstance-driven and include the characteristics of laying blame; denial and making excuses.

Are you a victor or victim?

Laying blame is far too common in organisations and businesses; whether it is the CEO or others. It shows that they are not willing to be accountable or responsible for their actions. Excuses don’t solve the issues either, nor promote responsibility. They usually cause frustration.

With denial we are committing yet another below the line action “I didn’t do it.” This obviously ineffective response can create certain frustration in others and make us appear unreliable and dishonest.

Yes, victims let things happen to them; do not take control; are pessimistic; find reasons why not and always appear tired and stressed.

By choosing to act above the line  we are using response-ability (that is taking responsibility for your performance and showing you have the ability to be responsible). It is a powerful skill. This can be defined as having the ability to respond (that is be pro-active). With response-ability comes increasing choices and freedoms that we may have never had before.

By living above the line, you take responsibility for your own life, business or career. You begin to have greater control because you stop blaming things outside yourself for your current situation. I can remember being in a business where a manager always came up with excuses about poor business performance whilst continuing to deny there was a problem. This was extremely frustrating for me. It began to affect my work performance and emotional state. I was blaming him rather than taking ownership for my performance. I decided to take responsibility for my performance and the business performance and this filtered down the organisation to others, making them take responsibility for their sections……..and unsurprising performance improved and so did workplace morale.

Responsibility is the ability to respond to the events that happen in our lives. When you sit back and accept things that happen to you, you are allowing the circumstances of life to control you rather than taking control of what circumstances come in and out of your life. When you take action, you make life happen for you…………not to you!

Never Never Say These Things…

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Never Never Say These Things…

 “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first”

Mark Twain

Too often, unfortunately when service providers, managers and staff fail to manage in a pro-active way, and things fail or do not go the way they expected, they come up with excuses.

What are differences between reasons and excuses?

The measurement for success in business today is performance. Whether you are a pleasant person, honest or related to the boss or is not, is irrelevant if you are not contributing to the business’s performance in a positive way.  Too often we hear about employees being unfairly treated when a business folds or lays off staff, however perhaps rather than blaming ‘someone else’ whether it is the owner, managers, the market or customers the employees could have taken effective action that may have prevented the current situation.

I call this ‘discretionary effort’; the difference in the level of effort one is capable of bringing to an activity or a task, and the effort required only to get by or make do. In other words “going the extra mile”…

Here is a list of phrases to avoid which are excuses, not reasons:

“They didn’t get back to me” – so you did not follow up?

“I thought someone else was taking care of it” – so you don’t take responsibility in your job”?

“No one ever told me” – so you don’t communicate with those around you?

“I didn’t have time” – did you have time to talk around the water cooler or photocopier?

“I didn’t think to ask about that” – so you don’t  think about your job?

If there are roadblocks in the business whose job is it to remove them?

Yours or ‘someone else’s?

Sometimes in business , there are too many people  talking  about their rights (what they think they are entitled to) rather than their responsibilities (taking initiative and being pro-active).

Good business owners and managers love employees who remove road blocks and are positive and pro-active.

My observations over 30 years in business is that if you use excuses like those above then you are the road block! Everybody learns from experience and learning is a ‘state of mind’ – so don’t be a roadblock…

The Effect of Disruptive Employees in the Workplace

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The Effect of Disruptive Employees in the Workplace

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome”

Michael Jordan

Have you ever worked with or for a person who is disruptive? Was it is always about them and not about the team?

Workplaces are strange social environments. We are thrown together with those who we would not normally choose to spend time with. Having said that, it is our responsibility to work as hard as we can to make our relationships at work productive and perform our jobs to the best of our ability, to help ensure the organisation and the careers of those within the organisation are successful.

Disruptive employees display the following characteristics at work:
• They constantly see the negative points of issues (the glass is half empty)
• They try to get others onto ‘their side’
• They turn minor inconveniences into major ones, often in loud voices and with great drama
• They come up with complicated explanations for the most simple occurrences
• They never meet deadlines
• They bore people with their social lives often to the extent of what they had for dinner
• Are often way sick more than other employees

We as managers are often paralysed by indecision when confronted with disruptive employees who disrupt the work environment and the performance of the team or business. Why is this?

Probably because we prefer to make life easier for ourselves by not confronting the problem. Are we really making it easier for ourselves? I doubt that there is any manager in the world who can honestly say that they have not deferred confronting the problem. I have certainly been guilty of this.

Can you remember when a disruptive employee left an organisation? Everybody in the team seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and become more productive again.

I can remember working with a disruptive employee who was always sick, everything was a drama, was negative and dismissive of new ideas, disrupted fellow work mates who were too polite to tell her to ‘go away’, boring them with her love life and what she cooked for dinner each evening. When she left there was an enormous positive change in the work environment.

So what can we learn from this?

Teams look for leadership. As the manager you have the authority to act in ways that benefit the team.

I can remember an incident where a state manager was harassing and threatening staff whilst telling the managing director each afternoon what a great job he was doing. The financial results did not show this. His subordinates were demoralised and were seeking support. A window of opportunity presented itself, we had proof that company policy had been seriously violated and with the managing director out of the country we sacked the manager. The relief from his direct supports was immediate, they stopped looking for work outside the company and their morale improved overnight. Furthermore, one of the staff who was being bullied became one of the company’s best managers with the most profitable branch! True leadership improves a company’s performance.

Disruptive employees cost money, either directly or indirectly. It’s your duty as a manager to manage and not abdicate this essential activity. Your team are watching you. Either manage them and have a plan to ensure acceptable behaviour, or manage them out of the business.

You owe it to your staff and customers.

What are you going to do when a disruptive employee affects the performance of your organisation?

Recognising Poorly Managed Organisations

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“Unfortunately it’s also true to say that good management is a bit like oxygen – it’s invisible and you don’t notice its presence until it’s gone, and then you’re sorry.”
― Charles Stross

Have you ever walked into a business and realised it was poorly managed before you even met the management team?

Years of experience has sharpened my ‘antenna’ to organisations with poor management. The symptoms are apparent even when you first come in contact with the business or organisation.

Think about the last time you visited an organisation – what were your first impressions? They are generally a guide to the rest of the organisation. I can remember a recent visit to a business. My first impressions proved to be correct.

The reception was untidy and dirty, no visitors book, no induction procedure, no chair to sit while waiting for the owner, no coffee, tea or water was offered at the meeting, the meeting room where customers would obviously meet had broken chairs with paper and cardboard boxes on the board table. When I politely requested a cup of coffee there were no clean coffee mugs or milk.

Was this initial experience an indication of how the business was managed? Yes of course it was!

The staff were surly and demotivated, and initiative was discouraged. The owner treated them poorly which were exacerbated by his erratic behaviour. The business went into administration within 4 months of my visit.

By comparison, another business I visited was the opposite. Although the office area was ‘dated’ it was neat and tidy, a drink was offered and there were pictures on the wall showing what the company did together with certificates of appreciation from charities and the company’s values were prominently displayed. I subsequently found out that this company was growing profitably at 20% per annum and had been doing so for the past 3 years.

Another indicator is telephone manner – if the phone is not answered promptly, if the person does not state the company, introduce themselves and have a helpful and pleasant manner then it is probably a symptom of poor management. Telephones are the face of the business and often the first interaction with customers.

As an extension of this theory, we often don’t notice good managers or good customers until they have left. They are often ‘invisible’ and do their job without ‘noise’. In one of my earlier blogs Beware of the Operations Hero explains this concept as well.

Like a well serviced and driven motor vehicle that performs well and does not breakdown, good management is the same.

Good managers recognise this in their staff, customers and suppliers……….do you?

The 5 Whys

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The 5 Whys


For want of a nail a shoe was lost,

for want of a shoe a horse was lost,
for want of a horse a rider was lost,
for want of a rider an army was lost,
for want of an army a battle was lost,
for want of a battle the war was lost,
for want of the war the kingdom was lost,
and all for the want of a little horseshoe nail.

Confesio Amantis

Have you heard of the 5 Whys?

The 5-Whys is an Analysis Method used by Toyota Motor Corporation to find the root cause of a problem, not the symptom. It digs beneath the outward symptoms to find the cause. The premise is that systems fail, not people. It is a very powerful management tool and is closely related to the Cause and Effect Fishbone diagrams

The method involves asking “Why …?” five times in succession.

This may sound simplistic; however it requires thought and intelligent application in order to ask the right Why?

As the questioner, you may need discipline and persistence to follow the methodology. The answer to one question leads you into framing the next Why…?

It may not be possible to ask or answer the next question immediately as you may need to collect and analyse additional information to ensure the question is answered properly. This may also require brainstorming.

This methodology requires practice and the more you use and apply it, the more you’ll begin to find the real underlying (root) causes of problems. By the time you get to the fourth or fifth Why…? you are very likely to be looking at management practices rather than just symptoms.

Here is a simple example.

Problem: The car won’t start.

1. Why? The battery is flat. (Symptom)

2. Why is the battery flat? The alternator is not working. (Symptom)

3. Why is the alternator not working? The alternator belt is broken. (Symptom)

4. Why is the alternator belt broken? The alternator belt was well past its useful life and had not been replaced. (Symptom)

5. Why is that?

Root Cause: The vehicle was not maintained in accordance with a maintenance schedule. There is no effective maintenance system in place.

Remember the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy in 1986, when the space craft exploded shortly after launch and was watched live on TV by millions?

This was caused by faulty ‘o’ rings and was a systemic failure of management systems in the space program.

Using the 5 Whys.
When solving a problem using the 5 Whys, a common error is to stop too soon. People keep taking the first or second simple answer, blinded by the symptoms or settling for the first ‘apparent’ cause. Don’t accept ‘it’s just human error’ or ‘they made a mistake’. Mistakes happen this is why robust quality systems are needed. Systems must be designed with built in controls that help prevent the problem occurring in the first place, detect it if it does occur and then do something effective to stop it recurring.

Remember, you are looking for the root cause and simple answers are most likely to be symptoms (i.e. the outward signs of a problem that has been observed) and are unlikely to be the real root cause. Good quality management systems insist on a systematic approach to dealing with nonconformity involving corrective and preventive actions. This can lead to massive improvements in an organisation’s performance.

The example of the flat battery illustrates how a system of maintenance would have prevented the problem occurring. Money would have been saved on repairs, time would not have been lost whilst having the vehicle repaired and staff and customers would not have been delayed whilst waiting for the vehicle and so on.

Can you think of a problem in your business or workplace where you could uncover the root cause using the 5 Whys?

Customer Service

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Customer Service

“Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They’ll just walk away.” 

Marilyn Suttle

I recently experienced not one, but three examples of appalling customer service from a major Australian retailer which has prompted me to reflect on what really is “customer service”. I ‘phoned 2 different stores and got the same result – the ‘phone was transferred through to the appropriate department until it rang out. I then ‘phoned head office to seek assistance and was transferred to one of the stores again and after waiting for at least 5 minutes, a counter staff member picked up. He was most embarrassed and offered to get the department to call me.  I refused! I had had enough. My complaint via email to head office went unanswered.

Did that surprise you?

Recently I had a business colleague tell me the story of why, after 12 years he had decided to sever the relationship with a major service provider and partner. Despite being a loyal and longstanding customer who always paid within terms and his company being one of their largest customers, he had never met the CEO. When problems arose over service, they the customer, were  accused of being inefficient and unreliable. This certainly appears to have been management denial as covered in one of my earlier blogs.

To cap it off, when the service provider finally met to discuss the less than satisfactory service with the wronged customer, she was told how busy he had been with other customers.

As a customer, do you care about a supplier’s other customers and how busy they have been?

No!  You only care about your own requirements as you are the one paying for their services. You are not interested in their excuses (they are not reasons).  Such excuses make you feel as though you are not to be important enough to generate a relationship with.  You certainly don’t want to know that they were too busy taking care of another client!

Let’s put it another way, no man (apologies for being sexist) would come home late for dinner and use the excuse:

“Sorry I’m late for dinner dear, I just caught up with a girlfriend for a quick drink”

Like all relationships, whether family, social, personal or business, the principles of common courtesy, respect, manners and decency apply.

They are just as important in the professional or commercial world.

So how are you going to prevent this occurring in your organisation…………..??