|
Astute Planning, Flawless Execution, |
|
| Issue #174 |
Thursday, January 5, 2012 |
Getting Naked - A Business Fable With such a provocative title, we risk having this edition of our newsletter getting caught in your spam filter. But, we thought we'd go for it anyway. A number of years ago, I was coaching a member of my team on how to improve relations with those around her (subordinates, peers and external customers). After much discussion, the root cause of the concern dawned on me and I commented "you need to become more vulnerable." To this, she responded as if I had two heads. "Vulnerable?" was her reply... I need not go any further into this particular case-study because, when I recently picked up the book Getting Naked - A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty, by Patrick Lencioni, I found that he said it all (better than I could).
The main section of the book is a business fable which aptly shares the benefits of being vulnerable ("to embrace uncommon levels of humility, selflessness, and transparency for the good of a client") in a common business setting (which happens to involve mergers and acquisitions). The second part of the book shares "the three fears that prevent us from building trust and loyalty with our clients" and techniques to address each. In summary, the three fears described by Mr. Lencioni (a seasoned business leader, management consultant and best selling author) are: #1: Fear of Losing the Business #2: Fear of Being Embarrassed #3: Fear of Feeling Inferior We might not like to admit that these fears exist, or we may refer to them under some other name. However, human nature tells us that we are all susceptible to the above. To this, Mr. Lencioni was kind enough to cover (in detail) strategies to address these fears. Those strategies include: - Always consult instead of sell - Give away the business - Tell the kind truth - Enter the danger - Ask dumb questions - Make dumb suggestions - Celebrate your mistakes - Take a bullet for the client - Make everything about the client - Honor the client's work - Do the dirty work - Admit your weaknesses and limitations To be clear, the purpose of this article is not to serve as a book review / synopsis, but rather to recommend that you acquire the book (which I consider a "must read" for anyone that delivers service to others) to reap the valuable message that it imparts. For your convenience, you may click here to visit Amazon.com to purchase this book Too often we look for sophisticated strategies and techniques for improving our business and relationships with our clients. There is no silver bullet, but there are simple techniques that you can employ. I hope that you find this book adds to your repertoire of human relation skills and helps you get 2012 off to a great start! |
Contents
Some Words From Our Customers The assessment performed by Customer Centricity proved to be very beneficial for iBasis. It focused on what's working, what's not, and provided clear action items on how to improve. Prior to the assessment actually taking place, we were on our way to outlining and implementing what we perceived to be areas in need of improvement; however, following the assessment completed by Craig and his staff, we quickly realized that there were other ways - many of which were low hanging fruit - that could yield us high value in the short run. We were amazed at the analysis and feedback that could be provided in just one day. The assessment was non-intrusive to the staff and allowed us to conduct business as usual. Craig's team did their homework prior to arriving on-site -- self-assessments were completed by our staff along with initial interviews conducted with some of our senior operational staff. The assessment, itself, was thorough yet very simple and to the point. Working with Customer Centricity has been a refreshing and rewarding experience.
Paul Floyd
Quick Links |
|
© Copyright 2012 Customer Centricity, Inc. All Rights Reserved 5 Old Coach Road Hudson, NH 03051 (603) 491-7948 |
|
