Years ago I led a seminar on how to have a positive attitude at work. In the text, “Attitude: Your Most Priceless Possession,” author Elwood Chapman,suggests employing the “Flipside Technique.” The concept is to take something not commonly considered good and reframe it as a positive, injecting a dose of humor when necessary. I’m using … Read more
I had flown in to keynote a customer service conference at a resort. Because of weather delays and too-tight connections, I hadn’t eaten since lunch, and now, after 9:00 p.m., the destination airport concessions were closed. I asked my driver to stop at a fast food place so I could eat during our hour-long drive, … Read more
Flying back from a speaking engagement in Ann Arbor last week, I changed planes in Chicago. I boarded the American Eagle flight at the appointed time. We sat at the gate for nearly half an hour after departure time when the co-pilot came on the intercom. “Ladies and gentleman, the reason we haven’t taken off … Read more
The line of hungry patrons waited patiently to place their order. The newly opened neighborhood burger establishment, Mojo Burger, had already created a buzz by their quality food and their top-notch service. But it wasn’t just that they served Meyer Natural Angus beef and fresh, not frozen, fries. I’m always interested in what makes one … Read more
Often times I find the staff of businesses don’t know how to think beyond pre-described processes. When they get a question outside the norm, they just seem to shut off their brain, resulting in either no sales where there could have been one, or elongating the buying process if they could just think. I was … Read more
I know this may sound like common sense, but even the best of us forget it. Or we forget to teach our mentees this lesson. I was serving on a Board of Directors and was one of three Board members running for President, elected by fellow Board members, not the membership at large. In the … Read more
Once I used an assessment as part of a training program I conducted for a client’s managers. Everyone really liked the assessment and the insights gleaned from it. The owner of the company told me he’d like to use the assessment on everyone in his company. “Great” I replied, “I can work up a quantity … Read more
Yesterday I was having our monthly group consultation/coaching call with a client’s managers. One brought up an issue you may relate to. He had a 5-month new staff member who has been absent and tardy too often, and has been verbally warned. The staff member had viable excuses — family deaths, personal illness, even an … Read more
I love it when the outcome exceeds what we anticipated. Recently, an airport client wanted to increase the customer service skills of all the concessionaire (retail, food and beverage) employees. He said he wanted a customer service training program designed that their internal trainers could deliver. After interviewing the key stakeholders, I learned that the … Read more
A colleague called this morning to see if I conducted seminars on Myers-Briggs, the personality assessment. I told him I’ve found few people who’ve attended Myers-Briggs who could remember anything beyond their own four-letter style. I prefer a different system, which I’ve found people can remember — and use — years after the session. He … Read more