Consumer Psyche

 John Klymshyn lists our the 6 secrets yo being awesome at everything by Anders Ericsson. Interesting read. Things to follow to make a huge difference in your daily life.

1. Pursue what you love
2. Do the hardest work first
3. Practice intensely
4. Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses
5. Take regular renewal breaks
6. Ritualize practice

Ron Kaufman's article lists the advantages of measuring performance and how organizations would benefit from that.

Service Measures and Metrics are a valuable building block for service improvement. But to build a service culture, the methodology of these metrics must be uplifting for those you query and for the members of your team.

Clarify What You Are Measuring and Why
Just because you can measure many things doesn’t mean that it makes good sense to track them all. What do you really want to know, and what action will you take with what you learn? Review this list and then decide which insights will be most helpful to improve your service now.

Customer Satisfaction: What are your customers’ perceptions and expectations of your service? How satisfied are they with what you have delivered?

Customer Loyalty: How often do your customers buy from you? How often do they refer or recommend you? What is your share of their wallet? How connected do they feel to your service and your brand?

External Service Performance: Is the service you provide sliding stable, or stepping up? Are you hitting your performance indicators and meeting service-level agreements?

Internal Service Performance: Is the service level inside your company going up or going down? Are your colleagues providing service to each other that accelerates or impedes the performance of your organization?

Employee Engagement: How strong are the attraction, retention, and motivation of your employees? Are they connected to your vision, to your customers, and to each other? Are they just employees on the payroll, or active evangelists working with a vision?

Staff Development: Are your team members progressing as professional service providers? Is your service education making any difference? Are your employees getting bored or getting better? Are they seizing every opportunity to develop their service skills and mindsets?

Pic is from here.

Go the extra mile and you will see everything will come closer to you. Do you go the extra mile in what you do?

Window washers at the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee decided to go above and beyond their call of duty.

While washing windows overlooking the kids’ hospital beds, the workers decide to sneak in a little extra surprise. Dressed up as Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America, the washers gave the kids a little pleasant surprise. To make it extra special, they came in later on for a little meet-and-greet. 

Will you?

“If I have been administered either a verbal or written schedule, then I consider it my absolute compulsion to adhere to it.” Amitabh’s Blog – Day 53

No wonder his quality of maintaining time is mentioned by everyone. People take you seriously if you stick to the time schedule. Just try to walk in to the meeting 5 minutes early, back to your seat from lunch - 5 minutes early, appointment – 5 minutes early, give that report – 5 minutes early. You may need to work hard to meet this deadline but keep a smile on your face when do make your entry and see the reaction of others. This would set a trend. And you would be THE change. Worth trying.

This happened last Sunday at Sarjapur and fits my Monday Blues series.

A sudden jerk, horrible screeching sound and a clanking of metal and then I realise that a vehicle has hit me from behind.

I pull over, park and get down. As I get down I see the driver has hopped out and his friend who is in the passenger's seat is frantically shifting to the driver's seat. A group of 7-10 people has already gathered and are waiting in anticipation. The car has Kerala registration and the driver who was in the driver's seat before rushes to my side and is almost trembling and is whispering sorry. What do I do? What would you do?

As I inspect the ugly scratches on my car, in less than 30 seconds the crowd starts shouting at him and now there are close to 20 people! The other guy has come down now and we are blocking traffic. I look at the guy and his sorry face and I know I am in full control. What would you do? I look at him and tell him its ok. Frankly speaking both of them are stumped. They offer to pay and say something about insurance. I wave them off and say drive safe and get into my car. The smile and relief they have on their face is worth more than the few scratches on my car.

Try it next time. When you get a chance to screw someone's happiness, stop. You will feel up!

Pic is from here. 

Modern life is ruled by social media or social justice. Everyone has an opinion and has an audience. Any act is not gone unnoticed or forgiven. The chance to make news is up for grabs and guess what no one is missing it.

 There are eyes everywhere watching you and your every move. No one would believe what you said as they can now verify. If you know some place where cameras aren't there now, wait and ye shall be seen soon.

It is important for us to behave properly. Though the justice system/delivery is a bit slow, it catches up to you. There are no exemptions. The more famous you are the higher the chances of you to be picked up. That is what the Ecuadoran envoy, Rodrigo Riofrio, forgot when he got into a fight with two women in a supermarket checkout line. It almost triggered a fight between the Ecuador and Peru. Good that diplomacy is going on but it also makes us wonder if we are alone anymore.

So next time you are angry or someone eggs you out, watch out, you may end up as Youtube's next sensation.

What do I post on mother's day? Should I write how much I love my mother? I tell her that every day. I would like to quote Meng Jiao (751-814) whose beautiful piece on mother is remembered as one of the best lines written about a mother's love in the last 2000 years. Dedicating these lines to the best mother in the world: Jhansi. 

Here it goes and the translation below in English.

游子吟 ——孟郊

慈母手中线，
游子身上衣。
临行密密缝，
意恐迟迟归。
谁言寸草心，
报得三春晖！

The Wanderer's Song -- Meng Jiao

With the thread in her hand, the kind mother
Is making clothes for her son leaving home.
She sewed with stitches close to each other
For fear he might about the world long roam
Who says grass that bathes in the spring sunshine
Can repay it with hearty feelings fine!


 

What motivates you?
What makes you push forward?
What changes something in you and moves the wheels?
What lets you have goosebumps?
What makes you feel special?
What drives you?

If you feel your daily job is a business then you are just another guy. If you feel your daily job is a platform to transform lives, change attitudes, change believes, educate, learn and encourage, then you have a platform.

So what would you choose to do today?

Art is by Hugh MacLeod

Few days back I found this product on Flipkart and ordered it on their site. Let me tell you this. I am a frequent customer on their website and I love shopping there as it is simple and hassle-free. This one incident proved to be otherwise.

So after I ordered the product, it came on the last day of the expected dates and within a few minutes I packed it back as I was not happy with the quality of the product that was delivered wasn't up to the quality it was shown on their listing online.

So I called customer care and asked them to pick it back up and found that they don't do that! They would do that only if the product is broken and not in usable condition. Now you should have seen how upset I had become and even after patiently explaining to the agent to ask someone above him to check if it is possible but he was strictly reading from the rule book. So I had to search their policies and finally reach out to their Facebook page and post about it.

Surprisingly for Flipkart, I got a call in 15 mins and after listening to the problem they said they would send someone to pick it up. Sure enough there was someone to pick it up from me a couple of days later and the amount was returned. my faith in Flipkart was restored.

Is this the way you solve problems? Is this how you want to be known? Do you want me to feel that you are not empowering your front end staff? Is it true that you are showcasing a simple, yet fragile system when the most irate and aggressive client is the first one to get his queries/demands met? If that is the case, I am sorry for you. You aren't in the right track.

Have you had an experience like this? Who won? The rule or customer service?

I am forced to watch(secondary exposure) some of the soaps on TV these days and the content makes me sad! Let me tell you why.

Almost all the channels have a serial where men don't talk and women are portrayed as selfish, cunning, irritating, jobless, cussing and ignorant! I am surprised that every family has some twist, at least one unruly member, an idiot, a genius, a hardworking, a kid who is never shown studying and what not.

Do you actually watch this stuff? I mean everyday? What can I say? Is my understanding right or am I thinking it wrong? There are hundreds of subtle and sometimes direct annotations and references to illegitimate affairs, sexual undertones and what not. You might argue that some exposure is good at home for children, I want to see you face to face and have a serious talk. I am shocked as most of this is shared without a warning and suddenly is shown! I saw my friend's daughter so attracted to these soaps that she eats only when they are on.

I think it is time to clean the soap. I wish people behind them see that kids might be watching them too. Why can't you add more humour and fun to it? After all not all families in reality are fighting all the time. Shouldn't parents watch out?

Seth seems to be thinking on the same lines as I am or someone is irritating him with questions running in my mind!

As organizations and individuals succeed, it gets more difficult to innovate. There are issues of coordination, sure, but mostly it's about fear. The fear of failing is greater, because it seems as though you've got more to lose.

So urgency disappears first. Why ship it today if you can ship it next week instead? There are a myriad of excuses, but ultimately it comes down to this: if every innovation is likely to fail, or at the very least, be criticized, why be in such a hurry? Go to some more meetings, socialize it, polish it and then, one day, you can ship it.

Part of the loss of urgency comes from a desire to avoid accountability. Many meetings are events in which an organization sits in a room until someone finally says, "okay, I'll take responsibility for this." If you're willing to own it, do you actually need a meeting, or can you just email a question or two to the people you need information from?

Thus, we see the two symptoms of the organization unable to move forward with alacrity, the two warning signs of the person in the grip of the resistance.  "I can take my time, and if I'm lucky, I can get you to wonder who to blame."

You don't need more time, you just need to decide.

Read the history of the original Mac and you'll be amazed at just how fast it got done. Willie Nelson wrote three hit songs in one day. To save the first brand I was responsible for, I redesigned five products in less than a day. It takes a team of six at Lays potato chips a year to do one.

The urgent dynamic is to ask for signoffs and to push forward, relentlessly. The accountable mantra is, "I've got this." You can feel this happening when you're around it. It's a special sort of teamwork, a confident desperation... not the desperation of hopelessness, but the desperate effort that comes from being hopeful.

What's happening at your shop?

Am suddenly drawn to them. Like bug to the fire. Like bees to honey. Like Tiger to chicken. Wherever I go, I am amused with the different types of lights. Or should I say glass?
Amazing forms, sizes, shapes and prices :)


Strange that they can't move, change, correct. Just stay and let the dust get collected. Interestingly enough, they let the light' brighten them inside out. No dust, darkness, shade or dullness lets their hope come down or stay gloomy.

Can you be a light? Can you make someone's day shine up? Or would you contribute to the gloom?

You choose.

Guess what. In the process of lighting up for others, they glow and shine themselves too!

All pics displayed here can be downloaded and used for free. Just give a link here. You can find more pics here: t3i photography.

Adaah!

That's my name. And I am pretty.
I have a pink watch, pink glasses, blue hairband, steel ear rings, white tee, blue jeans and a broken tooth. 

That's the intro given by this little girl in Bahrain where we met in the hall of an exhibition center. She was to the point and clear on what she had to say or rather who she was. 

Sometimes I think we as adults loose our identity when we choose to follow someone else. Time to stop and see what you really are and what you want to be. Is there a gap between what you dreamed of and thought about yourself and what you have become?

Then you should wake up and start moving in the direction of what you want to be.

All pics displayed here can be downloaded and used for free. Just give a link here. You can find more pics here: t3i photography.


 

What is your leadership style? Do you want to create messengers or leaders?
You already know the answer!

Let me list the differences for you here and then you decide what you want to be.

Messengers:

• Do the job
• Are dull and boring
• Are slow
• Not closers
• Are easy to handle
• Don't ask questions
• Agree with you always
• Think what you want them to
• Are easy to mould
• Obey
• Stick to pattern
• Are submissive
• Cannot think outside the box
• Cannot bring you new business
• Cannot bring you revenue
• Are a dumber, older version of you!
• Are mediocre at best
• Don't give their best shot
• Are afraid
• Are dime a dozen

One more for the Monday Blues series.

My friend, Pooja Rajpal shared a video today and am sharing here.

The video has a simple message. Everyone has a problem and is trying to fight it and yet going along on his way through the day. Control your emotions, anger when someone is at your mercy. After all, sometimes all we need is a good hug.

Is wife a gorilla? No I am not hinting about the weight but is she angry, irritating and aggressive like a 1000 pound gorilla? I doubt so. But isn't some exaggerating good enough to ignore and smile about? After all everyone seems to love a wife joke once in a while.
Century ply came up with this ad campaign to commemorate the and to my surprise I found several people found it funny and not at all offensive and that it crossed a million views on youtube!

Though few of the reviews online talk about the durability, strength and finesse, the most it makes is focusing on the anger. I think it is fair enough to suggest that the ad made me remember the brand and hence won its share of my mindspace.

Ok here are the takeaways from this TVC:

1. You can be funny without hurting
2. Reality(or the lack of it) is accepted
3. Sometimes a twist is not needed
4. Subtle mentioning of the brand is good
5. Wife is not a gorilla! You are, if you forget your anniversary :)

Ron's article on Service  Metrics. Read on...

The purpose of this building block is to drive new actions that create and deliver greater service value. This purpose is perfectly aligned with our definition of service as taking action to create value for someone else.

Your actions can generate positive results in many different areas: performance, profitability, market share, reputation, customer loyalty, employee engagement, and more. Understanding the data can help you track progress, identify trends, and provide a baseline for future improvement. The right measures will also help you catch problems early and avoid pitfalls before they happen.

Service Measures and Metrics are most effective when they help you prioritize what’s most important. What new commitments should you make? What new actions should you take? What can you do next, or do right now, to increase satisfaction, secure future business, or generate greater loyalty for your organization? If your current measures and methods of reporting do not achieve these goals, then it is time to review and revise.

Don’t let your Service Measures and Metrics become disconnected from the practical levers of power. Collecting data and crunching numbers can easily become a separate function or a department, fueled by the urge to gather even more data and encouraged by the suppliers of surveys, facilitators of focus groups, and purveyors of mystery shopping. I am not against any of these practices; they all have their time, place, and function—so long as they lead you to new action.
Make sure the people on your team know what you are measuring and why. Be sure they understand which numbers you are tracking, and which needle you want them to move every day.

Often I have been asked by people the same things. Again and again. Usually this is when you are in the nick of closing something. I try and control my agitated mind which is perplexed as I would have shared the same data, excel file or numbers time and again. Can you send me again is the next question! I am short of an expression here. Why would I send you the same thing again? I would share it hadn't I given you that last week/month and sometimes in the last hour.

What is my takeaway from this? Well, here it goes...

Either you are too dull or slow or lazy to keep asking for the same thing again and again or you are too smart and keep asking things to show that because you didn't have that and didn't have this you are allowed to delay the delivery.

I have on solution for this. Create or move on.

Is it broken?

or is it ready to be fixed?
You choose!

Seth's post today is very apt. Show me the money!

Saw this on a school bus in btm, Bangalore.

Interesting to see so many spelling mistakes and yet being reused this year.

MJ shared this link and I couldn't just resist sharing it with you.  Unilever has come with some brilliant ads in the past but this is beautiful and simply made.
Some takeaways from this ad:

1. I am definitely washing my hands more frequently
2. Ads that say I don't need to buy anything attract more shares
3. You needn't be a buyer now, you needn't be a beneficiary now to like this
4. Look at advertisement as an investment