We all make mistakes - including with Customers. We will upset them, overcharge them, mess up their service, or wrong them in some other way. Not because we want to or mean to, but because it happens.

One of the truths about exceptional Customer service is that the story isn't over when we make a mistake. The story doesn't have to end there. If we recover gracefully and successfully, we may have a more loyal Customer than we did before we made the mistake.

If you want some great suggestions on Customer Service Recovery, read this post on the The Business Management Blog Resource. It contains 26 suggestions - one for each letter of the alphabet to help you recover more successfully.

Thanks to Bud Bilanich for pointing me to this great post.

Also posted in Customer Service and Leadership.

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Bud Bilanich is an author, fellow blogger and member of my Powerquotes Plus service. Bud posted yesterday about his experience with Powerquotes Plus - which is an email service that delivers a quotation, Questions to Ponder and Action Steps five days a week.

When I created this service I knew I was creating it based on what I knew about learning - that both questions/reflection and action are important to us owning and capitalizing on something we have learned. In Bud's post though he expands this idea beyond quotations. I quote:

Whether you subscribe to Kevin's Powerquotes Plus or not, you can still use his simple, but powerful approach to personal development. Here's how to do it.

Take a few minutes to think about quotes or information that catch your attention.
Ask yourself what the quote or information bite means to you.
Then decide how you're going to put this newfound knowledge into practice.

Bud is absolutely right. We can take this approach to any new information or new ideas we encounter everyday.

Sometimes we are too close to something and need someone else to help us expand our perspective. I thank Bud for doing that.

I encourage you to read his full post and further explore his blog - The Common Sense Guy. The blog reminds me of one of my favorite truths - common sense isn't always common practice. Reading Bud's blog (and taking his advice above) will help you make more of your common sense, common practice.

Also posted in Learning and Training.

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This past weekend I was reminded of a song I sang often as a kid - Sunshine Mountain. Since then I can't get it out of my head (which says something good about the song in itself, but that is another post).

Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain
Heavenly breezes blow.
Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain
Faces all aglow.

Turn, turn from fear and doubting
Look to God on high
Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain
You and I.

Think about the words to this song, regardless of your religious beliefs. In these few words we are reminded to think about the big picture, to remember that if we are heading in the right direction the destination (for ourselves, our team or our organization) is very desirable. We are also reminded in a not-so-subtle way that our success is a journey - (the word climb is used 6 times in 36 words).

These 36 words also tell us that the destination will be reached easier with others - that we can't do it alone.

If you know the song, I doubt you'll get it out of your head today. That's ok. Think about the spiritual and secular messages it gives you. If you don't know the tune, just read the words again... reflect on the messages I found and any others you find for yourself.

Also posted in Leadership and Teamwork.

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In the past few weeks I haven't been posting to this blog very much... and I certainly having been keeping up with my reading of some the the great blogs down the left hand column of this page.

This morning though I have been doing some blog reading and found to my surprise that Steve Farber (author of The Radical Edge and The Radical Leap - both books worth reading - see my reviews here and here) has added me to his blog roll. In reading the list of others so included, I "met" Jodee Bock. I met her by reading her blog - You Already Know This Stuff. I loved the title so I clicked through and read the last several posts. I know I'll be reading it more in the future, I encourage you to do the same.

Also posted in Leadership.

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I wrote an article in my newsletter, Unleash Your Potential this week titled Finding Mentors in Your Memory. In it I suggested some questions that you could ask yourself when considering the perspective of someone you admired, but could no longer talk to directly.

In response, a colleague and friend sent me an email, which reads in part:

You may remember that both my wife & myself are cancer survivors. Just two weeks ago Sharon & I "signed up" to volunteer with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's First Connection project, an early-support program for the spouses and families of newly diagnosed blood cancer and lymphoma patients. The program's primary mission is to offer Hope to the people around the patient who was just given what most of us perceive as devastating news.

We've been through a full day's training and, even though we've yet to make our first contact, I'm confident we know the right - and wrong - words.

When I read the "In Kevin's Own Words" column about mentors this morning, my mind immediately went to First Connection. While our contact with these spouses and families should not, ideally, turn into long-term relationships, we will serve a mentor-like role for a short time and your questions, when turned to us, seem important, i.e.:

- What did they (Dave & Sharon) do? We've been through the "similar situation" and we're still-living examples that Hope thrives.
- What would they (Dave & Sharon) do? We can testify to the good that may wait for a seized opportunity, helping them consider their situation from the perspective of our experience.
- What would they (Dave & Sharon) say? Having the imaginary conversation is a terrific idea. There are a million questions, and we know most of 'em.
- What can I (the spouse/patient) learn from who they (Dave & Sharon) were (are)? Hopefully they can pick up on the fact that we're a couple of pretty ordinary folks who, for some reason, have been given extraordinary experience, the lessons from which are active involvement in the loved-one's care and the importance of faith, family, friends, and Hope.

When you read my initial article you will see that I was thinking about the questions from the mentee's perspective. Dave (who other than using first names asked to remain anonymous) expanded the questions to be valuable to a mentor. And in the case of this First Connection project, to a peer-to-peer situation as well.

I'm more convinced than ever that these questions can be a valuable addition to your toolkit - both as a mentor and a mentee

Thanks Dave.

Also posted in Leadership, Learning and Training.

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I'm proud to live in the United States of America and happy to be celebrating our independence today - the 230th birthday of our country. Our country has long exalted and celebrated the independent person: the lone hero, the cowboy, the winning quarterback. Perhaps that comes from our Declaration of Independence - we declared we were independent.

Of course this isn't completely true. All our fore fathers were really doing were declaring we are independent of England. Never were those founding fathers and all the residents of the 13 colonies less independent than on that day. On that day July 4, 1776 they became more interdependent than ever - on each other.

230 years later that fact hasn't changed. In a world with more people, more different countries and more of just about everything else, we are completely interdependent. But don't let the personal significance get lost when considering a global perspective.

We need others. We need the resources they provide us (when was the last meal where you were responsible for producing everything you ate?), we need the perspective they provide us (when did you last ask someone for a piece of advice our counsel?), we need the love they share, we need their ideas, energy, passion, commitment and a thousand other things.

Rather than calling this Independence Day, it would make more sense to me to call it Freedom Day. 230 years ago today a strong courageous group of men signed a document declaring our freedom from England, and assuring our interdependence would be stronger than ever.

Spend time today thinking about the interdependencies in your business, in your family, on your team, in your neighborhood, and in your life as a whole.

I think you'll find plenty of reasons to celebrate your Interdependence today (and everyday).

Also posted in Leadership and Teamwork.

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