Change 1 FRUSTRAION And You Can Change It All!

When our clients get frustrated with technology they have few options. Like the rest of us, we may curse our email or voice mail or PDAs or computers, but we’re generally stuck with them.

That’s not the reality when it comes to ’solution’ providers. Aggravate a prospective client and they won’t bother to return your calls when it’s time to sign the contract. Make it complicated for a client to work with you, and they’ll decide that next phase of work “isn’t that important right now.”

So take a frank look at the way you have complicated either your communications with your client or the work itself. Ask yourself:

“What activities am I using that could be simplified?”

Right them all down. Then prioritize them from “simplest to fix” to “most complicated to redesign”.

Once you’ve completed your list, create an action plan to solve the activity at the top of your list this very week. Your clients will love you for it!

Let me know the results you create!

June 27, 2008 | Filed Under Processes | Leave a Comment 

WHY YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS GOING OFF TRACK

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

This past week I spotted a trend among my clients. You might call it the ‘dash’… everyone is sprinting to prove they’re making changes in their business’s productivity as if that is a badge to earn all by itself.

And too often they are speeding down a track that is taking them to actions and solutions that will cost a lot of time and money and not even solve the issue at hand.

You may be caught in the same sense of urgency, starting an unnecessary race. So I thought I’d share the steps I use with my clients to get them focused at the right pace so that they get the full result they’re hoping for to grow their business.

Step 1 – Define The True Issue

One of my largest clients asked me to sit in during the first presentation by a tech team to address improving the Customer Services function at their company. Sure enough, the team ‘presented’ the issue by quoting back 35 interviewees’ concerns and then went straight into the proposed solution. Fortunately the COO paused the conversation and identified that he hadn’t heard the actual ‘need’ for which the proposed project was a solution.

Make sure you’ve defined exactly what is being ‘fixed’ and be sure the users of the solution are at the table defining what is needed.

Step 2 – Research the Options for Solutions

We all fall in love with our area of expertise. And the tech team members showed it clearly. They were proposing ‘web based’ technology and mega databases to gather all the interactions with clients… and they completely neglected the more familiar automated phone options and even email exchanges. Not to mention the non-tech solutions that could be created by realigning customer service personnel roles.

Take the time to flush out at least three options and run those ideas past the potential users to see if you’re staying on track.

Step 3 – Check that the Solution Matches Your Business Model

For this particular client, the end user will never be the person contacting Customer Service. Their distributors are the ones who will report issues and 20% of them are not computer users. That doesn’t mean they might not find technology solutions useful, but it won’t be sitting at their desk. They need solutions they can use when they are standing on site at a client, or get a phone call while driving between appointments.

All the technology in the world won’t solve your key challenge: make it easy for your customers to communicate with you the way they are ready to today. OR make it even easier!

Step 4 – Double Check That The Solution Works ‘Inside’ AND ‘Outside’

Not only does my client need to make it easy for their customers to be heard and responded to… They also need to capture the information so they can check internally to identify trends in their products and services and decide what may need to be redesigned. The tech team will need to design a system for gathering information easily, and passing it to those who need to know immediately, and summarizing it in reports for periodic trends analysis. At each stage, the information may look very different to each audience.

Sort out how you’ll store information over time so that you can be sure it serves improving your customer’s experience AND your own organization’s performance.

Step 5 – Design How You’ll Test And Adjust The Solution

Just like a rubber band springing back into place, changes in systems and people’s behavior can melt away when you assume it will all come together as needed. Nothing takes you off track more predictably than designing and instituting changes and then walking away from the project. Never assume the ‘design’ is the solution.

Before you invest time and money in permanently changing processes, and policies, and roles and responsibilities test the proposed system with all the users.

Commit to the project’s long-term success by assigning responsibility for testing your chosen solution and evaluating how it’s working… AND commit to adapting it as you learn what is working well and what needs to be tweaked.

Step 6 – Test And Adjust, Test And Adjust

My client is bringing together a task force of six disciplines to talk through all of the steps above. They’ll be guiding the tech team’s focus to be sure it meets all the users needs and stays on track with the Issue identified back in Step 1.

Now it’s your turn on the track.

June 2, 2008 | Filed Under Managing, Organization, Processes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 “I Wonder” And You Can Change It All!

Is there something you’re not making progress on this week? A decision you cannot settle on? Use a power question to break through what has you stalled.

Start with asking yourself:

“What 2 or 3 criteria must this decision meet?”

Now create a list of 10 possible criteria and then select the key criteria you’ll hold yourself to. Then evaluate the decision against those criteria. You may see that you need additional information, or you might just have everything you need. And you’ll be through that stalled stage and ready for action in minutes instead of months!

March 14, 2008 | Filed Under Processes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 To Do And You Can Change It All!

OK - You’ve got a list. We ALL have a List. Now’s the time to take control of those To Do’s and turn them into Ta Da’s!Ask yourself.

What single thing will I absolutely get “DONE” today?”

Write it down.

Now write down 3 items you’ll take off today’s calendar so you can keep your focus. Take those items and delegate, dump, or time block them so they’re off your To Do list and you can celebrate what you got DONE today and the rest of the week. Ta Da!

January 28, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Organization, Processes, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

SHIFT YOUR TO DO LIST TO HIGH PAYOFF TA DAs!

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

You’ve got dreams and you’ve got your attention on what it takes to achieve them. You’re ready to roll up your sleeves and eager to start producing massive results.

The problem is, you’re dragging. You put in tons of hours, your desk is piled with papers, and no matter how hard you work, you’re plagued by a To-Do list a mile long and growing. You’re constantly busy yet you get to the end of each week before you get to the end of your list.

Important things fall through the cracks. In fact you’re feeling frustrated, drained and overwhelmed. And you’re doubting what you’ve actually accomplished.

I started coaching this month with two new business leaders and that’s exactly what they were facing, every day. They were wondering how they’ll ever achieve their big goals when they can’t seem to dig themselves out from under their avalanche of tasks and ‘have to get done’s’.

So I gave them a To Do list Makeover. We turned that time and energy sucking list of “To Do’s” into “Ta Da’s!” they can smile about. And you can use it too!

So what’s a Ta Da! List?

Have you ever noticed that your To Do List is a never-ending list of everything you think you should be doing?

We’re all so adept at creating lists of things that need doing. But not all items are created equal—some are simple items to get done, others take major effort. As a result your To Do list is full of busy work all mixed in with the important stuff and even the urgent and critical things your success depends on.

A Ta-Da! list is results focused. It’s a list of High Payoff tasks, that when completed have immediate impact on your results and success. Completing items on your Ta-Da! List results that in energy focuses you and each next effort on accomplishments.

A Ta Da! List is a declaration of what you are committed to getting done. And that means getting it done in the most effective way possible.

Here is a 5 step plan to tame that To Do list:

Step #1: Declare Your Top 3 Priorities.

Your Ta-Da! List needs a clear focus. Every day, start a fresh list with your 3 most important projects or priorities. Don’t let your High Payoff Activities get buried – keep everything else off this list. Clearly focus on the 3 priorities that must get done, no matter what else happens. Let this focus your actions.

Step #2: Dump The Lowest Priority Items.

If everything is equally important then nothing really is. Take a fresh, honest look at your To Do list. Now filter your list for the things that you dream of getting done ‘someday’ and write them down on a separate piece of paper – out of your sight, permanently. Ask yourself “What items on my list fall in the ‘great idea’ category but have very little payoff if I do them? What items have absolutely no consequence if I DON’T do them?” If you’re finding “shoulds” that you keep stalling on because they aren’t aligned with your top priorities, cross them off and be done with them.

Step #3: Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.

Identify anything and everything that must get done, yet could be done by someone else. That means handing it to someone and overseeing their accomplishing it so you stop being the ‘only one’ who could get it done. I teach my clients to use the “If I Ran off to Fiji Test”. If you decided to catch a plane tomorrow, and it still needed to get done, who ought to have it on their list? If you’re concerned it won’t get done to your standards, set-up a formal hand off with a ‘check in’ dates and times to review progress and provide input. But commit to letting someone else handle it all the way to completion.

Step #4: Pencil Out The Week.

Take another look through your list. If there’s anything on your list that doesn’t have to be completed today, but does need to be completed within the next 7 days, pencil it onto the appropriate days. Just knowing you’ve created a time and space for them will free you up to focus on other, more important, priorities right here and right now.

Step #5: Time Block The Rest.

All that should be left on your list are those items that (a) must be done today, (b) are linked to a top priority item and (c) must be done by you and only you. You may want to break them into 45-minute blocks of time, alternating with 15-minute breaks, so you know you’ll accomplish them and also give attention to quick fix items that crop up. Write those blocks of time in your calendar.

And anything else that crops up during your day? Take them through steps 1 through five and get your attention back on your declared focus for the day!

That’s it. 5 simple steps to create your Ta-Da! List. Watch how much more focused and productive you are.

January 26, 2008 | Filed Under Delegation, Goal Setting, Managing, Organization, Processes, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Obstacle And You Can Change It All!

It’s the beginning of the year so we’ll keep it short, sweet, and direct!Ask yourself:

“What is a single obstacle that held me back from my goal last year?”

Write it down.

Now write down 3 steps you’ll take this week to redefine it, erase it, or get a coach to help you see a path around it so it won’t hang you up this year.

January 15, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Processes, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

THE FIRST 4 STEPS TO A HIGH PAYOFF YEAR IN 2008

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

Are you staring at your calendar, musing over last year’s results, and wondering what IS the way to get started in really creating the business of your dreams?

We’ve all had that moment of scratching our head and feeling stuck. The moment, maybe hours, when we know we need to sit down and put our plans in writing. To make a couple of commitments to ourselves so we keep them in action, but we can’t get the picture in focus at all.

I kicked off my work with a new coaching client last week. Mike is looking at the next step in his career ladder. I posed lots of questions. He laid out for me his idea of where he wants to go, how long he’s wanted it… and then… there was a long silence.

A silence marked by the sounds coming from the other side of the office door.

A silence triggered by my question to him, “What have you tried so far?”

And then he said it. The painful admission uttered by most people with an idea that’s languished…

“Not much. I’ve thought about it a lot. But, what do I first?”

Mike thought that was his stalling point. Not knowing what to do. Is this where you’ve been stalling out too?

To get to that answer you have to ask the right questions.

Every single business starts from an idea. Every advancement in a profession is launched by a personal opinion or belief, or a specific realization of a possible way of being in the world.

While it’s a vital part of the process of creating a business, your “idea” is NOT your business. Ideas amount to nothing IF they never go beyond the thought. And from thought into action.

More often than not, business owners and professionals get so taken with their “idea” they fail to move forward. Like Mike, they get caught in a tug of war they cannot even name – wanting to move forward while being diverted and held back. They stall out because they miss the 4 simple steps that create a clear path to achieving that vision.

To make sure YOU don’t ever stall out with your “idea” you have to do first things first:

1) Define Your Vision – This is what all of your efforts and energy in this business will create. Your answer to this question is what gives your idea juice. In order for your answer to anchor your efforts it must be very specific.

The Vision for Your High Payoff Catalyst: To help 1,000s of entrepreneurs and business owners become successful faster and easier than they ever imagined.

2) Sort Out Your Resources – This is taking stock of all that you bring to achieving your Vision at this specific moment. Your answers to this question help you clearly see what you already have to assist you in making your business “idea” solid.

They should include: your skill set, your knowledge, your aptitude, where you came from, where you’re at now, what you have in your kit bag to make your idea a reality.

Your High Payoff Catalyst resources include some pretty unique skills, proven experience, relevant contacts and a 20-plus year track record of systematically helping hundreds of professionals and business leaders learn simple step-by-step processes that get them from “idea” to “action” to “results.”

3) Sort Out Your Challenges – This is taking stock of all that you know might delay you achieving your Vision. Your answers to this question help you to clearly see what you need to solve first. When we’re facing obstacles rather than our resources our time and attention is constantly diverted. It’s like carrying a 200-pound backpack with us on a hike.

This includes your own doubts, fears, limiting beliefs, and even old habits that work against what is wanted and needed to get to that goal. My Challenge? Getting beyond wanting every single step laid out before I start my journey.

4) Systematically Work BOTH Lists – This is giving deliberate attention to removing your obstacles at the same pace as you are using your resources. Each obstacle that you clear out of your path accelerates the success of each resource you use. And the lighter your load, the quicker your progress on your path.

Mike and I will be working on these two fronts at the same time: clearing out his limiting beliefs about how hard it will be to prove himself to his boss, and using new techniques to increase his personal productivity in the role he’s asking to step into.

To make progress to your goal, you need to simultaneously work two parallel tracks. When you recover your attention from your obstacles, you’ll easily know what is each next step to take. It will be staring right at you.

January 13, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Ideas, Processes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Meeting And You Can Change It All!

Many of my clients tell me their time is being wasted by being pulled into meetings all day long. If you’re running into the same challenge, take a look at the next meeting you have on your calendar and ask yourself :

“What is the outcome I want from this meeting?”

It may be to get closer to your goals, to become more expert on a topic, to educate others at the meeting, or to hand work off and free up more of your own time and energy.

Whether or not you are the person who set that meeting, who booked the time, who designed the agenda, you can influence the value you get out of it. Walk into that meeting with the answer to that question written at the top of the page and use every opportunity to create that result for yourself. And even for others.

Right Here. Right Now.

December 9, 2007 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Processes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Assumption And You Can Change It All!

Are you getting results you hoped for … or are you slightly off track? If you’re seeing outcomes other than those you anticipated, here’s a quick way to sort out what may be going on.

Take a piece of paper and list all the assumptions you made… Assumptions about what you were aiming for, about how you decided to approach it, about the resources you took on or rejected, about the obstacles you anticipated and about those you ‘knew’ wouldn’t get in your way.

Then, one at a time as you read back through that list, ask yourself:

“If in reality this ONE factor were actually the opposite, what might that mean?”

Make a note of the implications of each of your assumptions, and the new insight and possibilities you have for your efforts.

December 2, 2007 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Processes | Leave a Comment 

THE 10-STEPS TO HIGH PAYOFF SUCCESS

By Linda Feinholz, “Your High Payoff Catalyst”

It takes two things to become successful: Motivation and An Action Plan. You proved that you have the first crucial element: motivation. You showed it in the steps you’ve taken that got you this far.

Sometimes, motivation creates a momentum of it’s own… until one day we look up and realize we actually are stalled in place. Now I’m not a maniac about that phrase everyone trots out “Grow or Die!” I’ve found that phrase driving business leaders into actions that create all sorts of time, energy and resources just for the glory of appearing to be in motion. What a waste!

Is it purposeful action? I am a hard nose about making a clear distinction: Are you marking time, standing still, holding a constant place because this is the destination you were aiming for? Or, are you here because you hadn’t noticed you’re “here?” You may even be repeating yourself, doing the same old same old out of habit, with not an ounce of motivation driving it at all.

Over the past 20 years I’ve developed a guaranteed 10-step system anyone can use to create success that’s on purpose, sustainable, and repeatable. My business clients use these steps, whether they’re a solo-preneur in the financial services industry, a small business owner with a manufacturing operation, or a senior executive in a non-profit. (In fact, I used it myself to turn a set of skills and interests into a vibrant consulting and coaching career!)

Here it is:

Step 1: Find your Personal PURPOSE – Become an observer of what motivates you, what activities, industries, roles challenge you and interests you over and over again. It’s a pattern you can use with ease to drive your momentum throughout your life.

Step 2: Declare a VISION for your world – Write a compelling statement that describes what you want to see created in the larger world. What is the thing you dream could be different than it is now?

Step 3: Set an INTENTION for yourself – Decide what aspect of that larger Vision is the piece you’ll take on, put your heart and intelligence behind, and make your personal mission. It’s your slice of the world you’ll pave for others to thrive on.

Step 4: Imagine the STEPS you’d use to achieve it – It all starts in imagination! Grab a piece of paper (or your computer keyboard) and draft the key milestones you believe should be achieved and who could be invited to help reach them.

Step 5: SHARE the Dream - There is power in participation, even at the early design stage. So create a board of advisors for yourself to flush out your idea. Invite the time, intelligence and experience of others to design it well from the start.

Step 6: Find your TEAM – As your idea takes shape you need to develop a list of the skills it will take to achieve it. Make sure that list includes the experience, contacts, and personal styles of the people you want to recruit so that you can tell everyone you know exactly who you’re looking to bring onboard.

Step 7: Create the ROADMAP – View this as a team exercise. When you involve everyone who will participate your plan will be more comprehensive, potential obstacles may be identified before they occur, resources you’ll need can be spelled out, and solutions can be implemented with less resistance and with full participation.

Step 8: Install SYSTEMS – As your idea becomes reality and you develop a real, permanent organization, you need to put processes and structures in place. This makes it all easy to add each new person to your team, to make each effort an efficient one, and create a sustainable endeavor that actually requires less effort as you succeed, rather than more!

Step 9: Focus on MORE – Ask everyone on your team how it could be more… easy, effective, successful, enjoyable, productive, efficient, profitable, imaginative, innovative, collaborative, influential. Add your own adjectives and see how many marvelous and relevant ideas can enrich and accelerate your Vision coming to fruition.

Step 10: Test and ADJUST - Monitor how well your Actions are achieving the results you expected. Are you on track toward your targets? Then keep going. If not, you can learn from examining whether you need to shift what you’re aiming for, or how you’re approaching it.

Of course, this is just a brief overview. Any one of these powerful steps can create breakthrough results for you!

This 10-step system includes so many proven strategies you can use to create a High Payoff that I can’t even begin to list them all here.

But if you’re impatient for success, and feel yourself stalled, then take a fresh start with this list and get clear about the step-by-step action plans you’ll take to get fresh motivation and back into action.

November 30, 2007 | Filed Under Processes | Leave a Comment 

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