Have you ever come across a statement or a question that absolutely spun your head around, making you look at things in a brand new way?

It happened to me yesterday. I was reading a blog post by outstanding customer service speaker and writer, Shep Hyken, in which he wrote:

“Don’t just be good TO the customer. Be good FOR the customer.”

My mind was reeling as I thought of the importance of that statement. Being good TO the customer is certainly important, and implies the application of sound customer service principles. Being good FOR the customer, however, takes the interaction way, way up the value chain. Being good FOR the customer takes thought and it requires treating the customer as an individual.

Here’s the link to Shep’s post – check it out: “Be good for your customer.”

Something to think about: Put a sign next to your phone, in your briefcase, in your office or cubicle, next to the cash register, etc. asking, “How can I be good FOR this customer?”

Tags: Recommended Resources, Service Analysis, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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I came across the following blog post today. It offers good reminders to leaders who want to improve the level of customer service in their organizations.

1. Commit to High Standards and Communicate Them to Employees

2. Maintain Proper Employee Attitude

3. Keep Your Level of Customer Service Consistent

4. Use Teamwork to Implement Your Customer Service Policy

Check out the article at: How to Provide Excellent Customer Service – 4 Tips For Employers to Improve Customer Service.

Tags: Leadership, Recommended Resources, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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My guest blogger today is Don Tanner of Tanner Friedman, a strategic communications firm. Be sure to visit their site, and especially click on the OUR TURN tab to check out some terrific ideas in each of the three categories, Blog, Perspectives, and News.

Don’s article below is a perfect compliment to my recent post, The Frontline Equals the Bottom Line. I love Don’s line about how leaders sometimes “fire poison tipped arrows directly at their own people.” Sad but true.

I hope you enjoy this thought-provoking article!

What Goes Around Comes Around in Employee Relations – by Don Tanner

How do you treat your employees? Do you guide and mentor and set them up for success, or, do you badger and belittle and set them up for failure?

I am continually amazed by stories I hear. How about the boss that does not provide a roadmap for future growth (”Keep on doing what you’re doing”) and then chides the employee when certain un-communicated milestones are not met in their mind. Or, the superior that gives “all or nothing” ultimatums rather than guiding and encouraging the colleague towards success in reaching particular goals.

Such individuals-in-charge seem to operate out of fear and ego. Don’t they realize that they are stifling and paralyzing their greatest resource for sustained and future success – their employees? Sadly, no. And when times get tough, rather than rallying the troops and circling the wagons, they fire poison tipped arrows directly at their own people.

The biggest barrier to change for such individuals, in my experience, is their past successes. “My way works so why not keep doing it” seems to be their motto. What they don’t realize (and find out in time) is that treating people badly always comes back to haunt you. It may take 5 years, it may take 20 years but your reputation (cemented by all of the former employees you treated poorly) will soon precede you and the death knell for your company becomes only a matter of time.

As the 80’s “hair band” Ratt so famously sang: “‘Round and ‘Round.”

Tags: Commentary, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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If time management is a challenge for you (as it often is for me), this video post shares an effective technique.

If you receive my blog via email, you may need to click here to view the video.

Tags: Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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In one of last week’s blog posts, I discussed the important role storytelling plays in effective leadership (“Leadership and Storytelling”). I emphasized that stories provide the links that connect an organization’s employees to its history, its purpose, and its values. And that purposeful, well-told stories can stir the emotions of team members and make leaders more real.

At the end of the post I promised I’d recommend some resources that can help you develop and refine stories. The most important component of any meaningful story you share, of course, is its authenticity. I direct you to the following resources simply to help add polish to your stories.

Book Recommendations

Story Theater Method: Strategic Storytelling in Business, by Doug Stevenson. While the book focuses on crafting speeches, it provides excellent guidance for crafting stories for any purpose.

Managing by Storying Around: A New Method of Leadership, by David Armstrong, specifically addresses using stories as a leadership tool. The book shares many, many stories along with their application to the business world. Armstrong doesn’t intend the reader to actually use his stories, he provides them as examples of how effective stories are structured for business and, most importantly, how stories can make a point better than any other method.

Other Resources

“The Nine Steps of Story Structure” is a post from Doug Stevenson’s Story Theater blog. This brief post provides an outstanding blueprint for taking any story to a higher level. You can also navigate around the site for more of Doug’s resources.

“Business Storytelling” is an article from the Mind Tools Website. The article highlights the various types of stories and provides tips for effective storytelling.

I hope you find these resources to be helpful as you develop and share your stories!

Tags: Leadership, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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