How to get your team (or anyone) to pay attention or care AT ALL! Seth Godin chimes in…

Want to talk to your team? Write a memo? Communicate a change? Want them to read your newsletter or blog?

Why not write NAKED. I have said this for years, communicate with clarity and with raw realness or don’t do it at all.

Seth Godin weighs in today too from his blog:

Writing Naked

Here are Orwell’s rules, edited:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. You don’t need cliches.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Avoid long words.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Write in the now.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. When in doubt, say it clearly.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Better to be interesting than to follow these rules.

The reason business writing is horrible is that people are afraid.

Afraid to say what they mean, because they might be criticized for it.

Afraid to be misunderstood, to be accused of saying what they didn’t mean, because they might be criticized for it.

Orwell was on the right track. Just say it. Say it clearly. Say it now. Say it without fear of being criticized and say it without being boring.

If the goal is no feedback, then say nothing. Don’t write the memo.

If the goal is to communicate, then say what you mean.

My best tip is this: buy a cheap digital recorder. Say what you want to say, as if the person you seek to persuade is standing there, listening. Then type that up. Simplify. Send.

So, how will this change what you write today?

C

Why employees don’t care what they need! Instead give them what they demand…

Seth Godin wrote a post today about how to sell and market what people demand and tells you NOT to try to sell what people need. I think it is applicable to managing employees:

Needs don’t always lead to demand

One of the accepted holy grails of building an organization is that you should fill a need. Fill people’s needs, they say, and the rest will take care of itself.

But… someone might know that they need to lose some weight, but what they demand is potato chips.

Someone might know that they need to be more concerned about the world, but what they demand is another fake reality show.

As my friend Tricia taught me, this is brought into sharp relief when doing social enterprise in the developing world. There are things that people vitally need… and yet providing it is no guarantee you’ll find demand.

Please don’t tell get confused by what the market needs. That’s something you decided, not them.

If you want to help people lose weight, you need to sell them something they demand, like belonging or convenience, not lecture them about what they need.

So, how can you apply this to managing employees?

You may as the employer feel you know what is good for the employees, you may find yourself saying as I heard someone say yesterday “This is not just a lecture, but you really need to hear this…”.

Now, if you think that this is helping your productivity or morale or end results, you are wrong. It is not.

Instead, imagine for a moment that Seth is right, that people don’t care what they need, they only care about what they demand.

So, what are you employees demanding? They may not be saying it out loud or to you, so this may take some effort on your part, so go find out.

If you do not give employees what they demand, they will either work for you forever in a half-butt style or quit.

Employees generally demand to be treated with respect and honesty. Now, now, you are probably thinking “I treat everyone with respect and honesty!” Which you probably do, however what about the managers and co-workers?

MOST COMPANIES have someone in them that is a bully or rampaging personality who is not respectful or honest. However, they are excellent manipulators of the bosses, and they are the last to find out what is going on!

But, employees demand much more, especially these days! With companies vying for “the best place to work”, and companies follow the Zappos way, the gems of employees will be firmly planted there, with more joining their ranks everyday. Those that are left will be those that were not ethically or morally firm enough to be hired by these cultural companies.

How will you compete?

C

So, does managing HAVE to be this much work? Is it the employees that are the problem?

A different take on Seth Godin’s post today.

Here is what Seth has to say:

The power of buttons and being normal

Taxi drivers in New York were worried about adding credit cards to their cabs. The fee (5% of so) would cost them too much, they said.

It turns out that tips are up, way up. They’re actually making far more money now.

Why? Because most of the machines offer a shortcut for the tip: $2, $3 or $4.

You can decide to be a cheapskate and hit the $2 button. Except…

Except that if you had paid cash, you probably would have tipped 75 cents for that $4.25 ride. It takes a few more clicks to type in 75 cents, and hey, $2 is the lowest and it’s a more ‘normal’ amount.

It’s a three second decision that happens over and over. People really like cues.

And of course, I agree with this.

However, I began thinking about how this can also be applied to employees and management.

“People really like cues.” including employees…

Employees sometimes, or very often actually, fall into ruts. Ruts like office gossip at the coffee pot or ruts of complaining about overwork or the boss. Often a new client will talk about this problem and often they believe it is the people who are the problem. And sometimes they are!

But, MOST of the time, the problem is the environment. The environment allows and even encourages these ruts to form and continue.

So, thinking about your office, how does this affect the employees productivity? How does this deteriorate the customer service?

Once, I entered a  doctor’s office and rang the little bell at the window. The receptionists were in the back, having lunch and they were complaining LOUDLY about a patient. I said “hellooooo?” to politely let them know I was there, since they had not heard the bell. However, they continued to go on, so engrossed in the story and the animated retelling of the account, they did not hear me. On and on, the voice described the argument the doctor had with the patient. FINALLY, I opened the door and walked into the back a bit to let them know I was there. They went on like nothing had happened and the doctor had no idea the possible damage that was happening, o doubt often in his office.

Imagine if I had been a patient! Imagine if this was happening in your office/store/location!

Is it the people? The employees? Possibly, but more likely the problem is much bigger than that.

When there is an environment that teaches people to act this way, it allows people to act this way, then it will BE this way, always, no matter the people in it.

Instead going back to what Seth wrote above, people like cues. If you give no cue for the tip, you get 75 cents. Give a cue and quickly triple that! What kinds of cues are your employees getting from you.

Once I got told by an employer, “the “stars” among you will do SO well with this”.Well, that’s great, but the cue I got was some of you are losers! And none of us knew which ones where which, so we all felt scolded.Did it inspire us to be even better? NO. It made us feel like, “nobody is noticing our hard work, why try so hard?”.

Instead, if you give the cue that people are special, unique and you care about them, if you believe in the best in people and actually appreciate each and their contribution, you get more of that best.

If a culture is created that feeds and grows a set of values far above and beyond your average business, THEN, people in it are responsible and caring about their impact on the business and the world, the customer service is stellar and the future of that company is bright because the consumers LOVE to experience the difference.

Of course, Zappos is a fantastic example of this. If you have doubts that company culture pays off, look at their track record to over a billion in sales!

So, where should you begin?

How do you get started?

That’s what I am here for my friend. I am creating an entire course to teach this and as I do, I will post ideas and rants here for you to enjoy, learn from and transform your company culture!

But, until then, WHAT CUES ARE YOU GIVING TO YOUR EMPLOYEES?

C

These ruts of

Seth Godin’s blog on Labor Day. Are YOU part of a dying breed of employee managers?

In a world where labor does exactly what it’s told to do, it will be devalued. Obedience is easily replaced, and thus one worker is as good as another. And devalued labor will be replaced by machines or cheaper alternatives. We say we want insightful and brilliant teachers, but then we insist they do their labor precisely according to a manual invented by a committee…

Companies that race to the bottom in terms of the skill or cost of their labor end up with nothing but low margins. The few companies that are able to race to the top, that can challenge workers to bring their whole selves–their human selves–to work, on the other hand, can earn stability and growth and margins. Improvisation still matters if you set out to solve interesting problems.

The future of labor isn’t in less education, less OSHA and more power to the boss. The future of labor belongs to enlightened, passionate people on both sides of the plant, people who want to do work that matters.”

But, why then do most employers want to beat people down into submission, squelch the individuality and create stringent regulations to make outcome first, people last?

What results does this provide to said employer?

Will this model FIT in our future economy or is it the “old way” that is on it’s dying path out of midstream goings on?

Daniel Pink, author of Drive, talks about this at length, as do others like Tony Hseih, author of Delivering Happiness, of Zappos.

Some say this “do as I say” model is dying. Where will you be found in the stream of time?

My best,

C

How Apple evolves and develops it’s Brand!

They do as Seth Godin says, they take a cliché and do the opposite. THIS is one way we can INNOVATE, like I have been encouraging you to do. As Tony Robbins has pointed out for the duration of this “recession”, you must innovate during this time or you will suffer, because some of your competitors WILL!

To quote Seth:

The effective way to use a cliché is to point to it and then do precisely the opposite. Juxtapose the cliché with the unexpected truth of what you have to offer. Apple does this all the time. They point out the cliché of a laptop or a desktop or an MP3 player and then they turn it upside down.

Richard Branson takes the expected boredom of a CEO and turns it upside down by doing things you don’t expect.

There is power in opposites like this, very often, in that, you can turn a negative into a positive. If your product competitors are very similar to yours (or at least seems that way to prospects), with time, there is a commoditization, that will squeeze any profit out of the venture.If you don’t change the game, it will change and you will pay the consequences.

Like I talked about yesterday in my post, a negative objection from a prospect can be a positive. You can use it to create more success in the future: If competitors chose someone with more “experience”, saying you are younger than your competitors, then build a plan to show that as an advantage. This won’t help for this prospect in particular, but for future prospects, you can be ready. Brand messages for your youth could be:  “Uses the latest breakthrough technology.” “In it for the long haul” (for 30 years instead of the competitor is already 60 so he will retire soon).

What negatives do you see that could be positives?

What we believe shapes our thoughts, our thoughts shape our actions, our actions shape our experience/lives.

What do you believe that could be shaping your life into what you do not want in your future?

C

www.christiescott.com

Seth Godin made me chuckle at how true this is for me!

Seth Godin writes today: If the only alternative is slow and painful failure, the way to get unstuck is to blow up a constraint, deal with the pain and then run forward. Fast.

Seth talks about a perfect problem that we have where there seems to be NO answer, NO way out. At least at first glance there seems to be no way out. However, like I told a client last week when he said “I have no choice, I have to take this contract”, I replied, “NO, there is ALWAYS a choice.”

Now, it may seem like a crazy idea or choice to make, but there is always a choice.

And THIS my dear friends is where I find myself now. With a perfect problem. I chuckled when I read Seth post, as this is exactly what I did.

If you are in my life, a friend or a long-term client, this will probably make you smile as it registers true. I AM THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT DOES THIS, this blowing up of a constraint and running in the other direction.  I am doing this right now in my life.

Why? BECAUSE I REFUSE TO SETTLE.  Unless there actually is no way out, which is almost never, then I will do what it takes to make a better outcome, even if it means going against all conservative reason

Ah, so in your life, don’t feel trapped. We have made our lives what they are, as painful as they may be. The decisions YOU have made put you where you are.

SOOOOO, you have a problem, then do something about it. NO EXCUSES!

IF like Seth says, the only other alternative is slow failure, what have you really got to lose?

My absolute best to you, as always,

C

Seth Godin explains why YOU might not be successful with your online marketing!

Ok, so here Seth Godin explains why YOU might not be successful with your online marketing!

Read it, learn from it and APPLY it! Then, PROFIT from it!

A good preacher ought to be able to get 70% of the people who showed up on Sunday to make a donation.

A teeny bop rock group might convert 20% of concert goers to buy a shirt or souvenir.

A great street magician can get 10% of the people who watch his show to throw a dollar in the hat.

Direct marketers used to shoot for 2% conversion from a good list, but now, that’s a long shot.

A blogger might convert 2% of readers to buy a book. (I’m aghast at this).

And a twitter user with a lot of fans will be lucky to get one out of a thousand to click a link and buy something. (.1%)

Likes, friendlies and hits are all fast-growing numbers that require little commitment. And commitment is the essence of conversion. The problem with commitment is that it’s frightening (for both sides). And so it’s easy to avoid. We just click and move on.

I think there’s a transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction. The faster the train is moving, the harder it is to pay attention, open the window and do business. If all you’re doing is increasing the number of digital spectators to your work, you’re unlikely to earn the conversion you deserve.

Waiting for your fairy godmother (venture capitalist/ investor) to save you?

There are no EASY ways to do business. When talking with a client today, I realized something I had never really admitted before, BUSINESS IS TOUGH!

There is no magic bullet, no get-rich-quick. It’s about something much more.

Now, that’s not to say SOME people may find success by being in the right place with the right thing at the right time, but those times are far and few rather than the norm.

Expecting that fairy godmother to come and make all of your dreams come true is a great way to feel like a failure!

THE SMARTER AND MORE SURE WAY TO SUCCESS? FOCUS! Focus on the right things at the right time. Focus on serving your current clients/customers/patients better! Focus on making loyal followers, die-hard fans. (See my post earlier today about Facebook fans and their worth, if you are using social networking as part of your plan.)

Here’s another way to think about it, to quote our man, Seth Godin, “Delight the audience you already have, amaze the customers you can already reach, dazzle the small investors who already trust you enough to listen to you. Take the permission you have and work your way up. Leaps look good in the movies, but in fact, success is mostly about finding a path and walking it one step at a time.”

SOOOOOOOOOOO? How will this change your day, your month, your year?

C

Why having NO Money or Budget when you start your business can be an ADVANTAGE! A Seth Godin case study.

So, Seth Godin tells about this company that did not have the money to spend on a sign that truly describes the product type, and amazingly this probably contributed to MORE success!!

“When Blythe and her partners started Lula’s Apothecary, the best vegan ice cream stand in this hemisphere, they didn’t have enough money to afford the letters to put “Dairy free” on the sign in their window. They couldn’t even afford “vegan.” So the signage says nothing about what they don’t put in their ice cream.

What they discovered was that word among the tribe of vegans in the East Village of New York City (an even bigger group than you might imagine) spread fast. The product was remarkable enough that just a few happy customers were enough to spread the word.

The other thing they discovered is that non-vegans were willing to walk on in if the place looked cool enough. In fact, the lack of ingredient-declaration on their window actually helped them reach out to people who might have been scared away at the lack of milk.”

So, allow the LIMITATIONS of your budget or time or employees, to work FOR your benefit! Allow this limitation to equate to a WIN! See how this can work for you rather than limit you!

If you don’t have money for a sign, then how can that actually be a benefit?

If you don’t have the money to redecorate your retail store, how can you make this an opportunity?

When you don’t have an advertising budget, how can you use that to inspire improvement?

Change, improve, make this work for you!

I want to hear about it!

C

How to charge thousands and be absolutely worth it!

Be a linchpin!
Seth Godin relays this story to illustrate: I had a college professor who did engineering consulting. A brand new office tower in Boston had a serious problem–there was a brown stain coming through the drywall, (all of the drywall) no matter how much stain killer they used. In a forty story building, if you have to rip out all the drywall, this is a multi-million dollar disaster. They had exhausted all possibilities and were a day away from tearing out everything and taking a loss. They hired Henry in a last-ditch effort to solve the problem. He looked at the walls and said, “I think I can work out a solution, but it will cost you $45,000 if I succeed.” They instantly signed on, because if he succeeded, the project would be saved.

Henry asked for a pencil and paper and wrote the name of a common hardware store chemical and handed it to them. “Here, this will work.” And then he billed them $45,000. That’s quite an hourly wage. It’s also quite a bargain.

Read Linchpin to get ideas on how to be a linchpin, but the bottom line is: WHAT VALUE do YOU bring to your buyers?

The problem with us humans is that we over value what we do. You may fight to admit it, but it is a REAL problem.

If you don’t believe me, read Harry Beckwith’s book, Selling the Invisible.

So, IF you want to grow your hourly wage? OR just continue to justify it in a poor economy, then get honest, how much VALUE do you bring? And then concentrate on how to bring even more value. Under-promise, over-deliver! Thre was never a time where this was more important.

Ok, so here we are again, at the point where I ask you, what will this change, improve, alter, in what you do today, tomorrow, next week, month and year.

As you know, if you change nothing, you have gained nothing and you have lost the time you have spent reading (sigh), once again. SOOOOOO, get to it.

My absolute best,

C