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Success or failure at work? You make the call
Recently I was working on an initiative for my job that involved getting some feedback from an Executive Director at my company. I had emailed him, asking a couple of questions and requesting a meeting to discuss what I was working on.
Over a week went by without a response. I found out that he was on vacation and wouldn’t be back for another week or so. A couple days after he was scheduled to come back in the office, I emailed him again. This time another week or two went back without any response. I was beginning to get frustrated. Why wasn’t he responding me? I’m sure he had a full inbox to look through when he returned to the office but surely he has cleared it out by now!
That week I was attending a meeting with a number of other local leaders and after the meeting ended I got to talking to VP at my company. I expressed my frustration about the situation and lack of response to my emails by the Executive Director, but was stunned with the VP’s response to my comment. It wasn’t accusatory or condescending, but more inquisitive.
“Why don’t you just give him a call?” she questioned.
Then it hit me. How could I have not done something as simple as picking up the phone? I realized how technology has caused us to put up so many barriers and in some ways has hurt the work relationships that are so crucial to build. We look for the easiest way for us to communicate something, instead of one that is the best for the person we are communicating with. I also felt like a bit of a moron, given that I had overlooked such a simple solution.
The next day I made the call and was able to connect with the Executive Director and get the information I needed for my project right away. All that stressing I did was for nothing and what I had built up to be a hassle in my mind, was really a simple fix.
Email is great, don’t get me wrong, but our reliance on it (especially at work) has caused us to forget about some of the most effective ways to communicate. Email can provide a better record of a conversation, but it is much easier for someone to say “no” when you ask them for something electronically. It is much harder to be turned down over the phone or in person. In using email, we also look to avoid confrontation and instead engage in a bunch of back and forth, as more questions come up or people pay half attention to what you write, asking for information that you already provided.
Talking to someone live or on the phone demands more of their attention and engages them in a way that sending an email cannot. Plus, it is a more efficient form of communication because you can get the answers you want immediately, instead of having to wait for a response (what will invariably come when you are distracted doing something else). Moreover, since many of us receives dozens of emails a day, our email may get lost among the others, while a call stands out more. One final, often forgotten, benefit of talking with someone live is that it improves your working relationship, helping you do your job better in the future.
Instead of only relying on less-personal forms of communication where tonality and urgency can be lost, go back to the “old school” and connect with people more directly.
Successful young professionals are willing to proactively pick up the phone to get what they want. They set up an in-person meeting to build a better relationship instead of just relying on technology platforms.
So go ahead and pick up the phone, or drop by your co-workers’ office instead of sending that email. Not only will it improve your working relationships, but it will help you get the answers you need faster. The worst that could happen is that you have to leave a message.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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How to Speak to an Executive
Most of us have been asked the old cliché, scenario. “what would you say if you were in the elevator with the CEO of your company and you had to pitch him/her an idea but only had the time from when the elevator left the lobby to when it reached their floor?”
The ability to get your point across concisely and artfully to executives can mean the difference between moving up in your career or getting stalled where you are at. While oversimplified, the situation described above correctly characterizes the approach you should take when talking with an executive.
Despite the influence and responsibility they have, it is important to remember that often executives revert to almost being child-like when they reach that top level of corporations. Attention spans almost completely disappear and it is hard for them to focus on doing anything administrative without the help and support of an assistant. Every day they are bombarded with information and have to shift focus in the blink of an eye, as they have a number of areas of responsibility and lead organizations that working on many projects. When you have the opportunity to present a powerpoint deck to them or speak with them about an idea you have, you must consider their frame of mind.
That said, here are some keys things you must keep in mind in order to be successful speaking with top executives:
- Be Brief- When speaking with an executive, get to the point. Don’t plan on going through a lot of detail on every little part of the process you went through to arrive at your recommendation. Work under the assumption that if they want to know, they will ask you. Think of it like a funnel. What you communicate to an exec is analogous of the small funnel opening. Only communicate what is essential and be able to have background information and logic on why you reached certain conclusions. The process of presenting is not about you sharing every detail, but is about you getting your main points across and getting their buy-in and support. Additionally, at meeting scheduled for 1 hour may end up being 15 minutes if the executive is late leaving another meeting and may have other commits that have come up last minute that cut the time even shorter. This happens regularly to me.
- Be Insightful- Don’t tell an executive something they already know. Be unique and share something new. They don’t have the time to go over the same topic and details over and over. Teach them something new. When you consistently do this, then execs will know you are a go-to person and will come to you for guidance in the future. Using stories and analogies are good as well. I remember one presentation where I compared our companies operational complexities to ordering a steak at a restaurant but being expected to tell the waiter the internal temperature of the steak you wanted, the amount of salt, pepper and other spices you wanted along with the angle you wanted the grill lines to be at. It seemed to get the message across.
- Be Prepared to Go Off-Track- I do not think I have ever talked through a presentation without being interrupted. More accurately, I don’t think I have ever gotten more than 30 seconds into a presentation without being stopped by an executive to ask a question, say on opinion or move ahead to a more specific part of my presentation. It happens. Be familiar with your presentation and able to start and stop anywhere while being able to seamlessly go back to important areas that were skipped as you follow-along the executive’s thought process. Executives see things in a unique way and may not learn a concept the same way you did.
- Be Ready to Answer Questions- Be prepared to answer any question. While you want to keep presentations short and to the point, make sure to have a ton of back-up information. You will undoubtedly be asked something unique and need to have reference-able evidence to back-up what you are saying. Just as important, if you don’t know the answer, admit that you don’t, commit to finding an answer and then follow-up with the executive with the answer you find.
- Be Sure to Follow-up- While it would be ideal to get a direct and clear answer from an executive after presenting, this is often not the case. Execs need time to process what you recommended and tie it in with the other dozen priorities they are juggling. Ensure that you follow-up to confirm buy-in and get approval on the best path forward. Often you will have to drive this because if you wait around for them to get back to you, you may be waiting forever.
I regularly present to executives at my company about new and exciting technologies and strategies to build revenue. While at first I was very concerned with getting my point the way I wanted to explain it, I soon learned that I had to build my analyze specifically for the executive I was reading out to, almost like I had to write in a different language I knew they understood. Being flexible is so important.
A good way to learn how to effectively communicate to executives is to treat all your interactions with co-workers like they are with an executive. They will appreciate how you value their time and you will get much better at getting your point across.
Now the next time you are in an elevator with an executive you know what to do: be brief, be insightful, be prepared to go off-track, be ready to answer questions and be sure to follow-up. And even if you are not limited to an elevator ride’s amount of time, take ownership of your communication and treat everyone with the respect that you would give an executive from your company. It will help you go far in your career, not matter what your chosen field is.
Does Anyone have any stories about interactions they have had with an executive or tips of their own?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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The best question a manager can answer: “Why?”
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blog of which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/the-best-question-a-manager-can-answer-why/
Let me lay out a situation that most of those that work at almost any company are familiar with: Company management undergoes a reorganization and change is coming. The change can be vast including entire groups or functions going-away, leaving hundreds or thousands without a job) or could be something slight, like people have to work on an upcoming Saturday.
Corporate leaders are (rightfully so) worried about big things like, will this new strategy and organization structure cause the company to lose momentum? Or, will this change cause us to lose profit or become vulnerable to our competitors? Yet one thing that does not receive as much thought is how to “break the news” to all the employees. For most, it’s as cold and calculated as sending out a company announcement via email, and then letting the chips fall where they will. This lack of thought about communicating change can be disaster because (quite simply) people talk.
When people talk two things happen, (1) they get distracted and no longer focus on their work, and (2) they come up with some of the most creative conclusions as to why things changed and the rationale behind the new system. Most of the time these self-crafted answers are based on wrong assumptions or are just completely rationalized and made up by someone who is ill-informed.
In managing people, I have found that the best way to deal with change (and basically the changing of any policy or rule that is set) is to answer the question that is often disregarded by managers; the question “Why?”
Managers can wrongfully think, “I’m the boss and I know why I needed to make this change. My employees just need to focus on the new way we are doing things so we can reach the new goals I set for them.” Instead, effective managers don’t just tell their people that a change has been made, but they offer rationale behind why the change was made.
For example, a friend of mine’s company had an entire team that was focused on making products for and selling to a certain industry. One day, it was announced that the team would no longer be focused on this industry but instead would be targeting international customers. Along with the announcement, some people’s job would be eliminated and some would have to move to Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the announcement. There was no why.
Left to their own devices people spent a great deal of time and energy speculating whether the change came because of something going on in the industry (which appeared to be growing) or a new opportunity that came about internationally, and beyond. The company did not share that this industry focus was not profitable or that the cost of paying experienced people on the team was causing the company to lose market share in other product lines because there was less money for marketing. The reasoning could have been anything, but the bottom-line is that it was not shared.
The beauty about sharing why with your employees is because it allows them to move on. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. It may hurt, and they may disagree with the rationale that you used in making your decision, but at least they understand your reasoning.
Telling the why behind a decision allows people to feel like they are important and deserve to know. Instead of de-motivating them, it allows people to focus more on their work and can even empower them to work better and smarter because they will naturally look for new ways to support your rationale for making the decision in the first place. If you talk to the team about the purpose behind a cost cutting measure you are instating, they will begin to uncover additional ways to cut costs in other areas (often times without you even asking them to). They will work smarter and in a way that is mindful of why the decision was made, while you will get better results.
While it is important to use tact and put the right “spin” on the reasoning behind your decision, make sure to share the why with your people and not just what the change is. It can mean the difference between achieving the result that you are hoping the change would create and total failure and low morale. Remember the answer the question, “Why?” even if you aren’t directly asked.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Who is Your Customer?
Customer service is a big area of focus for any business. Everyone has their own recipe from “the customer is always right,” to “treat your customer how you want to be treated,” to “make sure your customer is ‘very satisfied.’”
Ultimately the common notion, no matter what the doctrine, is that customer service is paramount to the success of any business. The same can be said for you and your “business.” How you treat customers in your job is a direct reflection of the your career success. While these statements will garner a lot of nodding heads, what most people miss is the scope of who the customer is.
Most will consider the customer the person who pays for a product or service that the company you work for offers. While this is true in the literal sense, the customer concept permeates well beyond. Many will think something along these lines, “well I am an analyst in the internal accounting department, so I don’t interface with customers directly.”
This mindset is completely incorrect.
No matter what job you have, you have a customer. Your primary customer is your boss. While your company technically pays you, your boss is the one that is the primary conduit to your future paycheck. Just like an external customer, if you boss isn’t happy then it made lead to the end of “revenue” from this customer (i.e. you get fired).
It is not uncommon to have multiple customers as well. In taking a servant’s mindset (see Career advice in 6 words or less) your employees are also your customers. Therefore your customers could include: your boss, your direct reports and actual external customers.
In order to truly “delight” your customers there are three (fairly self-explanatory) steps to take:
- Figure out what is important to that customer- It is not about selling them on what “services” you have to offer (the tasks and skills you have) but instead on the things important to them
- Set the proper expectations with your customer- Don’t over-commit. In the case that your “customer” is your boss, let your boss know how long it will take for your to complete a project and make sure to turn it in on time. This is the “talking the talk” of the equation.
- Deliver on what you promised- Tell a peer of yours that you will attend a meeting for them and then make sure to attend (and report back on what key points were discussed), the examples or endless, even when you are not focusing on someone who is not the traditional definition of an external “customer.” Just remember that it is all about follow through, aka “walking the walk.”
One key thing to remember is that it does not always take grandiose actions and well crafted plans to offer unique and exceptional customer service. One of the best example can be seen in the story of Johnny The Bagger.
Just remember the simple thing that Johnny did and the big difference it made to his customers.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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The 9 Rules of Improv That Will Help Your Career
Most of us have heard of (if not seen) improvisational acting before. While many would just consider it a theatrical art, its rules and techniques have a much broader application. It may not always be theatrical, but it is definitely an art.
The following 10 rules, when properly used, can help give your career the edge it needs to get to the next level:
- Say “Yes, And…”: This is typical the first rule of improvisation. Saying yes to something someone in your work team wants to do (even when you don’t 100% love the idea) builds trust and support. The “And” is where you can add your input and leave your mark on the project. Doing both together builds group cohesion and gets others to buy-in to your ideas later
- You can look good if your make your partner look good: In a scene, the better you make your partner look, highlighting the their skills, but better the scene will go. The same is true in business. The better a team project is, the better the whole team is going to look.
- Tell a Story: It’s a fact that everyone loves storytelling in some shape or form. It helps ideas stick and before written language was the original way to pass along lessons and history. When you are communicating an idea, tell a story, relate it to your audience and the message will stick.
- Make the Active Choice: Your career is about “doing” not “talking” or “planning.” Audiences inside and outside of work are drawn to doers. Even if you are not successful 100% of the time, taking more action will ultimately lead to more positive results than staying stagnant
- Everyone is a Supporting Actor: This is an important lesson I learned early in my career. Whenever I made things all about me and how good I could look, it left me open for office politicking and criticism but when I made it about the team and the vision we were all working toward then (almost magically) I got more support from people and the results were better. It’s about playing off of each other, not competing against each other.
- Move Forward: When you are playing off of our co-workers and making active choices together, an almost outside force takes over to bring things along. Either way, the focus should be on going to the next level. In your career you shouldn’t allow yourself to get too comfortable. If you do that too often then you will miss out on opportunity and your will get behind. Don’t just argue and create conflict (see Rule #1), this stops the scene. When disagreements at work arise (and they always will) focus on what is at the core of the conflict and make sure to move the conversation toward everyone’s common goal instead of making it personal.
- Listen: This is a simple but often forgotten rule. Improv actors needs to actively listen to their fellow actors in a scene to find ways to move it forward. The way listening can give an actor ideas for what to say next, listening in a work setting can help you uncover important trends and find support of the ideas that you have.
- Change, Change, Change: I have said that change is really a “business as usual” state in the corporate world. We all need to be comfortable and adapt with change to be successful. If our idea that everyone once loved now is put on the back burner for another area of focus, go with it (and do so following all the other roles listed).
- Know when to end the scene: This rule is more my own than one you would find as part of typical improv rule lists, but it is really key. It is important that we learn when it is time to move on to the next thing (the next project, position, company, stage in our lives). This is also one of the most difficult things to do. We must remember to be patient and not move on to the next thing too early. End at the right moment, end on a high note. There is a reason why many athletes retire after winning the Super Bowl or World Series- it marks being at the apex of the mountain, and is an indicator of when to go climb another mountain.
For those who are interested, here are a few more rules… look at them in the context of work, you can see a great deal of crossover: http://improvencyclopedia.org/references//Alger%60s_Next_10_Rules.html
Remember of art of improv in how you approach your day-to-day work and career as a whole.
Mr. Biz, OUT!
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The One Thing That Can Make You Successful
May 16
Posted by Young Professional's Edge (YP Edge)
153. That’s the number of work emails I received yesterday. And that doesn’t even account for the 45 emails that I had to write and send (nor does it factor in my personal email accounts). Pair that with 5 hours of conference calls and an end-of-day deadline and you have a pretty packed day. Then add in Facebook updates, tweets, text messages, news, TV, phone calls and staying up to date on blogs and articles (like this one) and you start to realize how packed with information a normal day is.
For many of us, this type of constant communication and bombardment of information is typical. It is also robbing us of our time. Beyond depending on these forms of communication and sources of information, we feel like we are “out of the loop” if we spend even a few moments disconnected from them.
While these forms of communication and information sources keep us in the know, they keep us from fully living our lives. They also create clutter and challenge our internal filters that tell us what is worth our time and what wastes it. It also creates a bunch of clutter as we access information from many places and are getting more and more distracted from what is important while the trivial replaces what matters.
Do you really need to monitor that Twitter feed or does it distract you from engaging in an important face-to-face conversation with someone? Do the 20 RSS Feeds giving you various forms of advice really help or do they become a chore or time waster?
What we really need to do is get rid of the clutter. Instead of seeking loads of information, seek simplicity. Take some time to shut things down and just think.
I have found time and time again, that when I resist the urge to become distracted by the various forms of communication and sources of information out there, I begin to listen. I start to listen to those around me and most importantly, I begin to listen to myself.
When you take a step back you start to ask questions like, “is this thing I am doing really getting me closer to my goals?” or “is all this added complexity really helping or distracting me?” things begin to get clearer.
With the publication of my second book approaching, I took some time to conduct a self-inventory. I realized that only a small subset of my activity promoting my first book produced a vast majority of the sales. I became so wrapped up in having to check off boxes and having a presence on every medium that I lost track of what was truly important: getting my message out and helping people.
I am not here to say that all this information and these social platforms are bad, I am just saying that in moderation (a la the age-old advice of Aristotle) it can be incredibly valuable but too much can be damaging.
This “disconnected” time will help you realize what is important and what to eliminate. It is remarkable the ancillary things we do that keep us from reaching our goals, preventing us from spending our time on what is important.
Take time to unplug and ask yourself whether what you are doing now supports your personal and professional goals or whether you are becoming your own biggest obstacle. Instead of adopting the complexities that life has created, seek simplicity and clarity.
Don’t come up with 20 goals to reach. Odds are, focusing on 20 things at once will stop you from accomplishing any of them. Pick 3 or 5 and align your efforts and activities on that targeted list.
Seek simplicity and welcome the moments of clarity that come from when you unplug, take a step back and listen. This is the one thing you can do to make you successful at anything you want to accomplish. Whether a personal issue or complex group project, suddenly complexities will be replaced by an identification of what you need to do to reach your goals; a key first step in finding success.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Tags: Best Practices, communication, Mindset, Young Professionals