Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 14
March 17, 2016
Rethinking the Value Zone: Why Focusing on its Employees First was the Right Move for HCLT
Guest Post by David Burkus
In February 2006, Vineet Nayar, the president and CEO of HCL Technologies, one of the largest IT service providers in India, made a shocking announcement to a global meeting of their biggest customers. In short, he told them that they were no longer his top priority. In fact, HCLT had decided to fire some of its customers.
Specifically, Nayar was announcing a reorganization of HCLT’s structure and its priorities around a new strategy that he labeled “employees first...
March 8, 2016
Service with a Magic Touch
The Platters were a favorite singing group of mine. They had forty songs that made the Top 100; four that were #1 hits. One of their top songs opens with the lyrics: “You’ve got the magic touch; it makes me glow so much. It casts a spell, it rings a bell, the magic touch.” Now, assume your customers were singing a song about their experience when dealing with you and your organization. What would it take for them to use similar lyrics in describing that experience.
The magic touch that makes...
February 2, 2016
The EASY Way to Customer Loyalty
Guest Post by Joseph Michelli, Ph.D
Ok, the title is a smidge misleading. If customer loyalty was something easily achieved, the American Customer Satisfaction Index would not be approaching a 9-year low. However, “EASE” is a key to driving customer satisfaction, engagement, loyalty and referrals.
In this, the age of the consumer, people increasingly want knowledgeable sales people, veritably perfect products, rich sets of product and service offerings, instant delivery, and a strong emotiona...
January 19, 2016
Create a Stained Glass Experience
My son and his fiancé elected to get married in a large antique church in mid-town Atlanta. Their choice of church was driven in part by the magnificent stained glass windows in the sanctuary. Just at the “I do” part of their late afternoon ceremony, the setting sun suddenly showered through one giant stained glass window sending a mosaic of bright colors over the wedding party. It took our breath away!
What if customer service was like a stained glass window? It would mean service that is ar...
January 5, 2016
Leading a Culture of Innovation
A CEO met with her senior staff and posed a typical CEO question: “What strategies and tactics would you recommend if we needed to increase our productivity by 10%?” Her executives quickly outlined belt-tightening steps and “do more with less” recommendations. Then she asked, “What if needed to increase our productivity by 100%?” After a long pause, one bold executive answered, “You cannot get there from here; we would have to completely redesign how we get work done.”
We are living in the 10...
December 22, 2015
Holiday Serving Under-The-Gun
Host! The word carries a variety of meanings, each painted in the color “help.” It conjures a maître de escorting a guest to the best table; a hotel concierge taking the stress out of a tourist’s holiday; or the greeter at a large party ensuring no detail is overlooked. And, it is the perfect moniker for the front-line service person during the busy holidays. It is also the antidote to the stress that comes from being constantly under-the-gun!
My best example of a great host is the concierge...
December 8, 2015
The Night Before Conference
‘Twas the night before conference and all through the hall,
not a vendor was stirring, no emails no calls.
The banners were hung ‘ore the expo hall floor,
and signage was out by each breakout room door
Attendees were nestled in hotel room beds,
while visions of networking danced in their heads.
And I with my beeper, my cell phone on mute,
had just reached the office with latte to suit.
The room was all cluttered, a messy stage crew,
I elected to skip it and relax with my brew.
When out...
November 24, 2015
People Don’t Resist Change
Making change happen in organizations would be a lot easier if there weren’t those pesky resistors. There are the angry types filled with long memories of pain. There are the pessimistic types who wouldthrow a wet blanket on the most carefully planned party. Finally, there are the silent grumps who say everything nonverbally.
No matter the form of resistance, people are NOT resisting change. Rather, people resist what they predict or perceive will result in “pain” over which they have no cont...
November 9, 2015
Dont Get Sucker Punched by Competitors
“Sucker punch” is an interesting moniker for an unexpected blow for a competitor. Historically a label from the world of boxing, its use has been expanded to the business world. The implication is a hit that should have been predicted. The fact that the inevitable was missed or ignored leaves the recipient of the punch deemed a “sucker.” So, here is your warning! Your customers have changed!
Customer expectations have not only gone up; they have changed. Getting better might take care of the...
October 26, 2015
Who’s “Killing” Your Customers?
Jerry Lee Lewis (aka, The Killer) has been a wild country music singer performing for over sixty years! His performances are electrifying with acrobatic boogie-woogie piano playing and wall-to-wall non-stop passion. Having attended his concerts more than once, I have watched him amaze huge audiences with his talent, versatility and willingness to be experimental. He is 80 and still performing!
In the 1989 movie, Great Balls of Fire, with Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee, he is told by a show produce...
