Vegas is one of those unique cities that people seem to love or hate.
I love being here! Not sure I could stay more than a few days at a time, but it's a great "escape your life" place to visit.
Although it may sound trite, one of my favorite activities is to experience the Bellagio fountains at night. Last night one of the segments particularly touched my heart. The music was one of my favorite classical pieces - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. I used to be able to play it on the piano, and maybe I will play it again someday.
What a wonderful start to my trip!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Off to Vegas
I'm still processing information from the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. Not yet ready to share my thoughts and changes, but I will soon.
Today I am flying to Vegas for a Marcus Buckingham seminar. If you haven't read Now, Discover Your Strengths or Go Put Your Strengths to Work, you can click on the links to find out more info.
I'm excited to meet Marcus because I believe his ideas & concepts can be applied most easily in a small to mid-sized business.
Will post again tomorrow after the seminar.
Today I am flying to Vegas for a Marcus Buckingham seminar. If you haven't read Now, Discover Your Strengths or Go Put Your Strengths to Work, you can click on the links to find out more info.
I'm excited to meet Marcus because I believe his ideas & concepts can be applied most easily in a small to mid-sized business.
Will post again tomorrow after the seminar.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough clever rationalization
I'm reading the book this weekend.
Looks like it is a treasure on how to live TODAY, instead of putting off what you want to do
Will share more info on this book next week.....
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Adding Value Wherever I Go
During my cross-country trip I learned a valuable lesson for my business. I am in the enviable position of being able to work wherever I am. Somehow I have always thought that was possible, but only if I had my laptop with me.
For example, in Indiana I met some great people who have a charitable foundation to assist people in Guatemala. We talked about some ideas to improve development. No need for a laptop for that.
After leaving Indiana, I arrived in St. Louis with the original intention to stay just long enough to pick up my laptop & drive west. Needless to say, I ended up staying for the weekend.
A friend from my Ernst & Young consulting days now has a specialty apparel manufacturing business. We worked on identifying and documenting her business processes. Although I needed a computer to document the processes, the true value she received was in our discussions.
My questions provided a way for her to gain clarity on what she truly wanted to accomplish with her business. She now has a way to create consistency in how her products are created. She can also begin identifying metrics for measuring business and employee success.
From an external perspective, I stayed an additional two days in St. Louis. From an internal perspective, I gained priceless information about how I do what I do best.
I love working with decision makers to set a direction for their business and create results! It's a great combination of imagining more for them and helping them rise.
For example, in Indiana I met some great people who have a charitable foundation to assist people in Guatemala. We talked about some ideas to improve development. No need for a laptop for that.
After leaving Indiana, I arrived in St. Louis with the original intention to stay just long enough to pick up my laptop & drive west. Needless to say, I ended up staying for the weekend.
A friend from my Ernst & Young consulting days now has a specialty apparel manufacturing business. We worked on identifying and documenting her business processes. Although I needed a computer to document the processes, the true value she received was in our discussions.
My questions provided a way for her to gain clarity on what she truly wanted to accomplish with her business. She now has a way to create consistency in how her products are created. She can also begin identifying metrics for measuring business and employee success.
From an external perspective, I stayed an additional two days in St. Louis. From an internal perspective, I gained priceless information about how I do what I do best.
I love working with decision makers to set a direction for their business and create results! It's a great combination of imagining more for them and helping them rise.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Do You Get to Do What You Do Best Every Day?
Earlier today I participated in a call with Marcus Buckingham, author of Now, Discover Your Strengths and Go Put Your Strengths to Work. This summer he's presenting a Summer of Development series of telephone calls to promote the concepts from Go Put Your Strengths to Work.
Today he was asked - What's the #1 fact or statistic that I could share with my boss so she can understand the power of strengths?
His response ought to be given to every CEO in the world.
The Gallup organization asked 198,000 employees working in 7,939 business units within 36 companies: At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
When they compiled the findings and compared business units, they found that when employees answered STRONGLY AGREE to that question, they were....
Today he was asked - What's the #1 fact or statistic that I could share with my boss so she can understand the power of strengths?
His response ought to be given to every CEO in the world.
The Gallup organization asked 198,000 employees working in 7,939 business units within 36 companies: At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
When they compiled the findings and compared business units, they found that when employees answered STRONGLY AGREE to that question, they were....
- 50% more likely to work in business units with lower employee turnover
- 38% more likely to work in more productive business units
- 44% more likely to work in business units with higher customer satisfaction scores
Currently, only 17% of organizations have a majority of employees who agree that they apply their strengths at work every day.
If you don't do what you do best every day,
it's time to make some changes.
Call me at 480 332 7690 to start doing what you do best
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Following my "go with the flow" plan
Funny how sometimes you just don't really enjoy a vacation as planned....
When I completed my client project in June, I planned to take July off. No work, no worries, no conference calls. Just time with family and friends. A trip to Guatemala. Some goofing off time. Time just to be.
Today I spent several hours talking with the individuals who created Seeds of Help foundation. This foundation is helping many people in Guatemala through education and development programs. They are planning a group trip in October 2007. If you might be interested in going to Guatemala in October, here's a link to the contact form.
We talked about designing the organization as if it was 1, 3, 5, and 10 years from today. We discussed development efforts. In short, it was an exhilarating exercise for my brain. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them and brainstorming on what the foundation could become!
I met Walter Able and his family through a friend/business colleague in Columbus, IN. Actually, it was my friend's father who introduced us. He took two Spanish classes with Walter's parents. LOL
If you have a few minutes, please visit the website for Seeds of Help. It's a great organization, and I'm looking forward to being involved with their activities!
I'm still going with the flow, and I'm glad it flowed towards this opportunity.
Maybe tomorrow I'll revert back to relaxing....
When I completed my client project in June, I planned to take July off. No work, no worries, no conference calls. Just time with family and friends. A trip to Guatemala. Some goofing off time. Time just to be.
Today I spent several hours talking with the individuals who created Seeds of Help foundation. This foundation is helping many people in Guatemala through education and development programs. They are planning a group trip in October 2007. If you might be interested in going to Guatemala in October, here's a link to the contact form.
We talked about designing the organization as if it was 1, 3, 5, and 10 years from today. We discussed development efforts. In short, it was an exhilarating exercise for my brain. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them and brainstorming on what the foundation could become!
I guess I didn't realize until today that I was feeling
a little bored and restless this week.
a little bored and restless this week.
I met Walter Able and his family through a friend/business colleague in Columbus, IN. Actually, it was my friend's father who introduced us. He took two Spanish classes with Walter's parents. LOL
If you have a few minutes, please visit the website for Seeds of Help. It's a great organization, and I'm looking forward to being involved with their activities!
I'm still going with the flow, and I'm glad it flowed towards this opportunity.
Maybe tomorrow I'll revert back to relaxing....
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
"I'm sorry, but you called us too often"
Tonight I heard an interesting story courtesy of the Situation Room show on CNN. A quick Google search brought me to this news story.
Sprint Nextel dumped 1,000 customers because they called Customer Service too often. At first, I was stunned because it's RARE to hear of a large company turning customers AWAY from their business.
Sprint has never been know for wanting to talk with their customers. When they established their first website, the customer care phone number wasn't listed on the site..... it wasn't listed ANYWHERE!
As a former Sprint customer, I have had more than a few difficult customer calls with them. Part of me understands why it might be necessary for multiple calls to resolve an issue. However, Sprint tells us that these customers average 40-50 calls per month.
When I heard that statistic, it made me re-evaluate the situation. Maybe Sprint did need to set some boundaries and release their problem customers. If a customer is calling that often, you have huge operational issues or an impossible-to-please customer.
Sprint views this move as a way to improve their call center efficiency and profits. I suspect they are more interested in the profits than the service.
Of course, the postscript to the story is priceless...
At the end of the letter, it tells the customers that they have until July 30 to switch to a new carrier if they want to keep their phone number. Then it says, Should you have any questions regarding the transfer of your number to another wireless carrier or about the final adjustments to your account, please call our customer care department at (877) 527-8405. See for yourself - here's the letter
I think they'd better add a few more staff to the customer care department phone lines.
Sprint Nextel dumped 1,000 customers because they called Customer Service too often. At first, I was stunned because it's RARE to hear of a large company turning customers AWAY from their business.
Sprint has never been know for wanting to talk with their customers. When they established their first website, the customer care phone number wasn't listed on the site..... it wasn't listed ANYWHERE!
As a former Sprint customer, I have had more than a few difficult customer calls with them. Part of me understands why it might be necessary for multiple calls to resolve an issue. However, Sprint tells us that these customers average 40-50 calls per month.
When I heard that statistic, it made me re-evaluate the situation. Maybe Sprint did need to set some boundaries and release their problem customers. If a customer is calling that often, you have huge operational issues or an impossible-to-please customer.
Sprint views this move as a way to improve their call center efficiency and profits. I suspect they are more interested in the profits than the service.
Of course, the postscript to the story is priceless...
At the end of the letter, it tells the customers that they have until July 30 to switch to a new carrier if they want to keep their phone number. Then it says, Should you have any questions regarding the transfer of your number to another wireless carrier or about the final adjustments to your account, please call our customer care department at (877) 527-8405. See for yourself - here's the letter
I think they'd better add a few more staff to the customer care department phone lines.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Networking in Guatemala
When I decided to join this missions trip to Guatemala, it was for selfish reasons. Since I'm in the process of adopting from Guatemala, I wanted to travel to the country. Going with a large group seemed like a great way to get to know some new people, visit a new country, and be safe.
Tonight I talked with one of the guys. As we're talking about my experience, he tells me about an immediate opportunity they have on a project in Louisville. Although the opportunity didn't fit my skills or interests, I referred him to someone who might be able to help.
Proof once more that Success is All about Relationships!
Tonight I talked with one of the guys. As we're talking about my experience, he tells me about an immediate opportunity they have on a project in Louisville. Although the opportunity didn't fit my skills or interests, I referred him to someone who might be able to help.
Proof once more that Success is All about Relationships!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
What irony!
I'm writing from Guatemala.... just arrived. Long story short - our group of 25 didn't make the connecting flight from Dallas to Guatemala City.
What I learned from the experience: American Airlines operational supervisor Lynn Allen and her boss Jerry Smith truly exhibited calm and graciousness in a very difficult situation. They illustrated customer service in a crisis, and I will happily share this story in future programs.
Imagine 25 people who can't agree if they are going to Guatemala or asking for a refund and going home. Imagine trying to rebook 25 people in the midst of travel delays and weather problems (Dallas airport actually closed because of storms).
SIX hours..... we spent six hours getting everyone rebooked.
Today Lynn came to our gate to thank me for helping her last night. I thanked her for remaining focused on our goal: to get to Guatemala safely and as soon as possible
Although some people in the group chose to focus on asking why American didn't hold our original flight for 25 people, I chose to focus on "what can we do about it?"
Your focus will bring success or failure.
What I learned from the experience: American Airlines operational supervisor Lynn Allen and her boss Jerry Smith truly exhibited calm and graciousness in a very difficult situation. They illustrated customer service in a crisis, and I will happily share this story in future programs.
Imagine 25 people who can't agree if they are going to Guatemala or asking for a refund and going home. Imagine trying to rebook 25 people in the midst of travel delays and weather problems (Dallas airport actually closed because of storms).
SIX hours..... we spent six hours getting everyone rebooked.
Today Lynn came to our gate to thank me for helping her last night. I thanked her for remaining focused on our goal: to get to Guatemala safely and as soon as possible
Although some people in the group chose to focus on asking why American didn't hold our original flight for 25 people, I chose to focus on "what can we do about it?"
Your focus will bring success or failure.
Where's your focus?
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