Wait till at least an hour before you check your email!

Wait till at least an hour before you check your email!

“E-mail is not evil. It is just a little dangerous.”

~Julie Morgenstern

When email first came out, it was billed as a time-saver, but now, I think most people would agree that it is anything but that. We all get way too many emails and every person behind each and every message deserves a response, which often takes so much time.

No one would argue that interruptions make us less effective. They make it hard to get anything accomplished, and at the end of a day filled with interruptions, you feel terrible and unproductive.

Where interruptions are concerned, email is just about the worst offender there is. The reasons are twofold. First, emails take time to answer, and second, they kill our momentum. It takes time to get back up to speed on the task you were focused on when the email came in.

Though emails are an unavoidable part of our lives this day and age, we can learn to be more efficient with them. One way to do this is to wait for at least an hour after you get to work to answer your emails.

I know this will be hard for many people, because much of the time, it seems we do not just answer our emails, we answer to them. But I promise, if you adopt this method for two weeks, you will see some great results.

Here is why I think this tactic works. Starting the day with your emails puts you in a reactive mode instead of allowing you to be proactive with the things you need to accomplish. Conversely, focusing on something that is both urgent and important at the start of the day puts you in a better position to make positive progress toward your goal. At the end of the day, you get that good feeling that comes with having accomplished something of value.

For me, when I start the day answering my emails, the day seems to drag, and I can be almost certain that I will not feel good about how I have spent my time. When I wait to check emails until I am at least an hour into my work, however, it is normally a very good day.

Some other rules of thumb that can help you be more effective and efficient with your emails are as follows:

• Try limiting the times you check and answer your emails to two or three times a day – assuming your job allows for this. Being tuned in to your email throughout the day means you will be continuously interrupted.
• When going through your emails, respond first to those messages that can be dealt with quickly. More involved responses should be addressed when you feel you will have more uninterrupted time.
• Because we are all inundated, it is always helpful to be able to see at a glance what the email is about. When sending email, try to include as much information as possible in the subject line. It is so refreshing to get an email with only a subject line and nothing in the message itself.
• Much of the time, I think people try to communicate too much information in a single email. If you have more than two main points to cover, it is better to break this up into multiple messages.

Now go out and make sure that you are using email in a manner that helps, not hinders, your progress and adds value to your organization or company. Give these tips a try and remember to answer emails only after you have been at work for at least an hour.

You can do this!

Make sure your sales staff is earning its own way.

There is no more fascinating business in this world than that of selling. Without salesmen there would be little progress made. Selling is behind every successful enterprise of whatever character.

~George Mathew Adams

I have written numerous columns on the importance of sales and how every business needs to be sales driven.  Profits are important, but they just do not happen without sales.

In order to have sales, you need an effective and efficient sales force. There is no question about that. However, just having a sales force is not adequate. You need to make sure that your sales force is compensated on actual sales and that they are measurable so you can appropriately reward them for their efforts.

Obviously, the best thing to do with sales compensation is to reward them based on actual sales. For many businesses this consists exclusively of sales-based commission or incentives. The disadvantage here is that the staff will focus only on making sales – which earns them their incentives – and neglect those other important tasks that support the sales function.

The best sales forces work together as a team to reach their sales goals, but an incentive program that rewards only direct sales undermines the team dynamic. People are not going to be excited to work together as, typically, only one person receives a commission.

I prefer a compensation structure that consists of a low-base salary and direct sales incentives. That way the staff is compensated for their individual efforts but is also paid for doing tasks that benefit the firm but not necessarily them individually.

An important consideration when determining how to reward your sales force is whether they are paying their own way. I was helping a firm that had two sales people. Including benefits, these employees were being paid $230,000 annually, with the majority of their compensation predicated on incentives. When we looked at the gross profit margin before sales incentives, the firm was only earning $150,000.

Obviously, in this case, the sales staff was not adding value to the firm. This could have been because the sales incentive was too high, the market just was not big enough for two sales people, they were asking them to do too many tasks not related to individual sales, the profitability of the firm was not adequately structured or a combination of these factors.

In this case, the firm realized that their sales commission was too high and they had to lower it. This can be very tricky as you are cutting the income of your sales force and it can appear as though the firm is just being greedy.

This firm decided to reduce the commission but, in exchange, picked up 95 percent of each employee’s health care premium. This solution was not a perfect quid pro quo, but it showed that the firm was trying to make up for the reduction in sales commissions. The staff did not like the reduction at all, but they did stay with the firm. The firm also ended up earning a whole lot more as the staff worked even harder to keep their income at the level they thought it should be.

Now go out and make sure that your sales staff is compensated in a manner that maximizes both their individual efforts and the return to the business. It is important to ensure that the total benefits package is reasonable and permits the firm to earn a fair profit.

You can do this!

Eat your frog first!!

The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business--or almost anywhere else for that matter.

~Lee Iacocca

People often say they can tell how successful they are going to be in their day based on how it begins. The better it starts, the better it will end. Of course, the real question is how do you make your day start well?

Mark Twain was an amazing author and a very wise philosopher. He once said, “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” Obviously, ‘eating a frog’ is a colorful analogy for those tasks that you dislike but must do.

In my personal experience, when I was faced with a task I really did not want to do – such as reprimanding an employee – I tended to push off.  I always just felt that if I avoided the pain, then it might go away.

Of course, as anyone who has ever put off an unpleasant task can attest, it never goes away. It merely ends up weighing you down and ruining your entire day.

Once I learned to abide by the ‘eat your frog first’ philosophy, however, my life has seemed so much easier and more refreshing.

I have been running for decades, but I can truthfully say that the part I enjoy most about my daily 3-mile run is when it is over. I learned early on that doing it first thing in the morning (eating my frog) was the only way to ensure I got it done each and every day.

When I put it off until later in the day, it just becomes too easy to come up with reasons not to do it or to justify skipping it because I have run out of time. On days when that happens, I just do not feel right.

Having the courage to face the things that you just do not want to do early on is so vital for every leader as well as for every individual.

I have a very good friend, an author, who has the hardest time getting going in the morning. Though he likes to write, he just seems to put it off to avoid the pain of writer’s block. However, once he gets started and he really gets into his craft, things seem to flow without interruption. The problem for him really is just getting going.

To help him out, I suggested he try implementing the ‘eat your frog first’ philosophy. He now tackles his writing first thing in the morning before doing anything else, and he says he feels so much better as he no longer dreads sitting down to write.

Now go out and try doing the things you dislike the most first. When you learn to eat your frog first, you get those troublesome things out of the way and open yourself up to having a great, productive and worthwhile day.

You can do this!

Identify the Problem

"Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have witnessed in public and private life, have been the consequences of action without thought."

~ Bernard Baruch

In business as well as in every other area of daily life, you are going to encounter problems. This is just part of the human condition. However, in business the stakes can be very high, and the results can be disastrous if you are unable to find the appropriate solution. 

Entrepreneur after entrepreneur have failed because they missed seeing and properly identifying the problem.

Typically, when I am asked to consult with a business, it is to help them with some kind of problem. It could be anything from an HR issue to an accounting issue.

In every case, my first order of business is to help them correctly identify the problem so we can settle on the right solution. It can be a tricky process. Sometimes what appears to be the problem is influenced by a larger issue. Other times, it is not the problem at all.

For example, I was assisting an entrepreneur who was having a problem with an employee who was not working hard enough. As per my usual process, I began by asking the entrepreneur to describe the problem in general terms. Then I asked him to tell me what he thought the underlying issue was. Initially, he responded that he felt the employee lacked motivation but, after more discussion, he realized the real problem was his hiring decision – and not just in this one case.

As I continued to ask more questions, it became clear that his hiring process was flawed. Sure, he would have to deal with this one employee, but if he did not address the root issue, he would only have to face it again in the future. With this understanding, he could alter his process to ensure he was hiring the right people for the job.

In another instance, an entrepreneur came to me for help because she was frustrated with how long it took the company to introduce a new product in the marketplace. Initially, she thought the problem was not having enough staff in place, but after some questioning by me, she realized it was not a personnel issue but the fact that they had inadequate software to monitor and evaluate new projects.

To use a personal example, I have a wonderful black lab, Sophie. I have trained her to compete in AKC obedience trials and she has done remarkably well, earning two titles with one more to go. Recently, however, I just lost the enthusiasm to train her every day, which is so necessary.

For the life of me, I could not figure out why I had lost this motivation, but once I tried to define the problem, the answer became clear to me. I had simply not set any goals for myself in this area and I need goals to stay motivated. Once I was able to figure this out and make the necessary adjustments, I felt so much better and Sophie and I both enjoyed her training.

Now go out and make sure that before you jump into solving what you think is the problem, you have looked to see if there is another issue at work. To help make this determination, ask yourself the following questions:

1.    Why has this become a problem?

2.    Is this an isolated issue or have there been other similar problems?

3.    If I am successful in solving the problem I have identified, would all associated issues disappear?

4.    If I could rebuild my operation, how would I do it now to avoid this problem in the future?

 

You can do this!

How do deal with an angry customer!!

Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way; this is not easy.

~Aristotle

Lately, I have been working a lot with medical practices on how they can improve the service they provide their patients. While most of the examples I will share in this column are pulled from this work, the concepts are applicable to each and every business. 

Among all these practices, issues with angry patients seem to be a common thread, which is not entirely surprising when you consider that patients come in feeling poorly and it does not take much to set them off. Whether it is too much paperwork or a long wait time, there are a number of factors that can increase a patient’s frustration and incite their anger.

When I first began working with these practices, I had no idea how extensive this problem was but, as I spoke with the frontline staff, they named angry patients as the number one problem they face time and time again.

Whether it is a patient or another kind of customer, the best and most effective tactic for dealing with an angry person is to show empathy for their situation. Saying “These are just the required forms and you need to fill them out in order to see the doctor,” just will not do it. A better approach would be for the receptionist (the “director of first impressions”) to say, “I am so sorry to ask you to fill out this paperwork again, but it will ensure our records are correct so we can get you the best possible care.” The second statement shows empathy and offers a logical explanation for why the data needs to be collected again.

Even though we can empathize with a customer’s frustration, it is never acceptable for them to raise their voice or use profanity. If this should happen, your staff needs to tell the customer that kind of behavior is unacceptable and warn them that if it continues, they will be asked to leave. For obvious reasons, you will also want to steer these angry customers away from your other customers and talk with them one-on-one.

Unmet expectations, in general, are the cause of most angry patient situations. However, a lot of the anger can be mitigated by wording responses in such a way that you communicate warmth and caring.

For example, one of the most common inciters among these medical practices is a co-pay that is higher than the patient expected. In a case like this, the front office personnel could say, “I am so sorry that you were expecting a lower payment. Do you have another means of paying today or would you like for us to bill you? Which would you prefer?” A response like this puts the power back in the patients’ hands.

I would say the best direction you can give your staff about how to deal with an angry customer is to call in the manager and allow them to handle the issue. Front office staff should not be saddled with always having to take the abuse from angry customers. These frequent beatings destroy their morale and their desire to come to work each morning.

As a final caution, avoid arguing with an angry customer at all costs. This just tends to make the person even angrier.

Now go out and make sure your staff is trained in handling angry customers. Frequent and continuous role-playing activities are a good way to ensure they are able to respond appropriately in the moment.

You can do this.

Are you too busy?

Our frantic days are really just a hedge against emptiness.

~Tim Kreider

A recent column in the New York Times really caught my attention. The column was entitled “The Busy Trap,” and in it, author Tim Kreider talked about how so many people are too busy and they feel guilty if they are not doing something work-related all the time.

I am mentoring a very talented executive and we were recently discussing the vacation he was mandated to take. I asked him to take just four hours every day of his vacation and unplug completely from work. He replied that he could not commit to that because if he did not have this to do, he would not know what to do.  This executive had fallen into the “busy hole” and had no way of climbing out.

However, after much discussion and cajoling I finally got him to agree to try this four-hour plan. In the beginning it was excruciatingly painful for him, but as the vacation progressed, he began to look forward to the time he had to be with his family away from work concerns. He shared with me later that by the end of the week, he felt so great during these four-hour breaks that he wanted to continue the process of getting out of the “busy hole.”

When I think about my earlier years and ask other people if they were as busy 30 years ago as they are today, they all emphatically say, “No!” They were a lot calmer, and life just seemed to move much more slowly in the 1980’s. Why? My theory is that it has a lot to do with the ease of communications we have today.

In the early 80’s most people did not have personal computers, and if they did, there was no Internet.  Now that we have become so “connected,” we stay tethered to our businesses and friends almost 24 hours a day.  When I forget my phone at home, I feel almost naked and have to rush back to get it.

It is unhealthy for entrepreneurs and managers to be accessible 24/7. The stress stays with them all day and night and they have no opportunity to unwind. We all need time to just be, and with this never-ending flow of communications, so many of us do not get a chance to enjoy the moment.

I, myself, am a recovering busy addict. I now leave my phone and computer off after 6 p.m. – which, I will admit, is still tough. However, I have been sleeping much better and I know this daily break is what I really need.

I also try to take more trips where I can make myself inaccessible to calls, texts and e-mails. No matter what I do while away, I feel so much calmer when I return because I have allowed myself to unplug from these sources of stress.

Now go out and make sure you take some time every day to step away from phones, texts and e-mails. I promise that once you get used to this new habit you will feel so much better and even more productive.

You can do this.                                

Honesty is so Important!

Honesty is so important

I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and what you're willing to sacrifice to accomplish it.

Lee Iacocca

  There is a story about a retiring CEO who was unsure of whom his replacement would be. He called a meeting of his top aids and said that he was going to give the position to the executive who could get the greatest results from a seed he would give them today but measure the outcomes in six months.

   One of the senior management team was Bill who just could not get this seed to grow at all though he tried so hard with different fertilizers, alternative lighting patterns and all kinds of potting soil. He just did not know what he was going to do.

  On the morning before the presentation of the results of this test, Bill was talking to his wife about what should he do. She recommended that honesty was the most important attribute for a chief executive and for him to show the pot with no growth from this seed. Bill was so reluctant to do this.

  Bill decided to follow his wife’s advice and went to this meeting with his empty pot.  When he saw the others results, he felt like a failure. Their plants were lush with growth and all were at least 4 feet high. He was so embarrassed not to have any results and many times he thought about just leaving the meeting rather than being embarrassed in front of the entire staff.

   At the meeting the CEO asked each of his team to show him the results and to tell him how they had achieved such amazing results. Of course Bill hung back and was the last to show the CEO his pot but then went up and said I tried just about everything I could think of, but I just could not get the seed to grow.

  With this statement the CEO made the announcement that he decided whom his replacement was going to be. He said Bill was going to be the next CEO as he was only person that was honest about the seeds. He went on to explain that he had boiled the seeds before hand so that there was no way for them to grow at all and Bill was only one who was honest.

   While this is only a story it clearly shows the value of honesty. Without honesty there is no trust as trust is predicated on honesty.  Honesty just should be the foundation of every enterprise.

  As a CEO or manager you have to be incredibly honest to gain the respect of your staff and to insure that they will be honest to you. I once asked some of my staff if they had to choose me to be honest or nice, but not both, towards them, what would they choose? They all appreciated my being nice but they really valued my honesty and did not want to give that at all up.

   Being a leader, you have a higher responsibility about honesty. You are the role model and unless you can demonstrate this quality on a consistent basis, you just are not going to get your staff to be honest with you.

  Now go out and make a commitment to be as honest as you can be to everyone whom you have contact with. I promise you that your life will be much better and your organization will operate with higher levels of efficiency.

  You can do this!