Tag Archives: Northern California Consultants

Knowledge Work is More than You Know

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Contribution, Customer Experience, Management

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The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin

Think about service businesses for a moment—especially businesses like hotels, restaurants, hair salons, and retail shops. If you peel back current fashions, modern conveniences, chains and franchises, and the cornucopia of offerings, these businesses exist much as they did in the 18th century. Merchants, hoteliers, and shopkeepers operate business models that are hundreds of years old and have very low barriers to entry compared to, say, rocket science.

In these pages, one thing you’ll learn is that service can set one business apart from another.

What’s more, knowledge sets one business apart from another—or even above the rest. Knowledge is such a powerful factor that when applied properly it actually transforms 18th century trades into 21st century businesses. Knowledge in the form of business management, human behavior, art, fashion, customer experience, sales, computer science, technical education, and so on carries with it the potential to separate your business from the millions of “entrepreneurs” who’ve gone before—and who are still out there, just opening and closing each day while conducting transactions in between.

Every day I encounter businesses—many of them national brands—that miss their opportunities to put knowledge to work for the benefit of their customers and the benefit of their own organizations. Think back on situations you’ve encountered:

  • Hotels where the receptionist asks you, “Is this your first stay with us?”
  • Coffee shops or counter-service restaurant employees who call out, “Next person in line.”
  • Hair salons who ask, “Who are you here to see?”
  • Dentists and doctors whose receptionists who say, “Just sign in and take a seat.”

Each of these, and many more, have the option to choose knowledge work over low-level, menial, dead-end jobs—and they don’t need to change careers to do it. When Peter Drucker coined the term Knowledge Worker in the late 1950s it came, rightfully, to mean people who deal primarily with knowledge like accountants, lawyers, engineers, and others.

By accepting Mr. Drucker’s famous challenge to search for the unused potential in every job, even a low level clerk can transform her work as a hotel receptionist into knowledge work by learning that people prefer to be looked in the eye, recognized, and greeted with a smile. See? It’s not rocket science.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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Erector 2.0

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Innovation

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Erector

Remember the erector set? A masterpiece working model of structural metal with pulleys, gears, wheels, and electric motors. A.C. Gilbert invented Erector in 1913 as a way for young men to learn about buildings and working with motors. An educational toy that was perfectly timed at a point when many of our most necessary and innovative technologies were mechanical in nature. At home, boys were using Erector to create buildings, bridges, cranes, and conveyors. In 1949 an Erector was used in the Yale School of Medicine to build a functioning prototype of the artificial heart.

As popular as Erector was, imagine what might have been if virtually every family in America had one. How much more innovation and progress might there have been in a 20th century already marked by incredible breakthroughs? What if it had appealed to girls as well as boys? What if it seemed relevant to almost everyone and owning one was a social expectation?

We have something like that today. Chances are you used it a moment ago. It’s your smartphone.

With smartphones we’ve gone from making calls, to reading email, to using applications, and making video calls. What’s about to happen is using cell phones as programming devices. That’s right, get ready to start programming with your cell phone. Two things caught my eye this week. First, Wired Magazine’s article on the Internet of Things and a little start up in Silicon Valley called Play-i. Check out the Wired article to understand how you’ll be programming your air conditioner to engage 30 minutes before you arrive home and how to feed weather information into your lawn sprinkler system to optimize water usage.

See the Play-i blog to learn their innovative plans to teach your five-year-old to program using a robot and a smartphone.

The pace of technological change we’ve experienced in the last 20-30 years has been amazing and it’s been fueled by a miniscule fraction of the population knowing how to code. Try to get your head around the pace we’ll experience in a world where most people program. Let’s hope one of these five-year-olds creates apps to manage that.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

Partner of the Quarter

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Customers, Management, Results, Shared values

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Trophy

On a recent visit to a nationally known coffee shop this sign was prominently posted at the bar where the drinks are picked up,

Partner of the Quarter
 
2nd Quarter 2013
Presented to
Ashley Capitola*
 
Our Partners
 
We’re called partners
because it’s not just a job
it’s our passion.
Together we embrace diversity
to create a place where each of us
can be ourselves.
We always treat each other with
respect and dignity.
And we hold each other to that standard.
 

What do you think of this message? What do you think about placing it prominently within the retail space? What do you think customers see when they read this message?

I’ll give my opinions in a future post.

*Name changed for privacy.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

My Purpose Here

07 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Contribution, Customer Experience, Management

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camping

On one side of the coin it reads, “How do I help my workers achieve?” On the other side, “How do I make a contribution in this job?” These are the two sides of the same coin of managing people.

Recently, we were catching up with our friend who works as a receptionist at a campground where my wife and I spend several nights each year under the stars. We’ve always been impressed with Ola and her customer service and people skills. At 82 years of age, Ola looks forward to coming to work each day, serving her customers, and being the ambassador of her campground’s brand.

The campground has been under the same management for years and in all that time the owners have never shared their organization’s purpose and vision with Ola. Curbing my speculation, it seems their main interest is in maintenance, making physical upgrades, and keeping track of the cash flow and accounts. The rest, they leave to chance.

Well, as chance would have it, Ola is intuitively filling in the rest. She has a keen sense of what the campground stands for and its small-but-growing reputation as a destination. She recounts stories about visitors from all over the U.S. and several points abroad. How they heard about her place, how she made them feel welcome, and the positive experiences they had. She gets post cards from friends she’s made as they pass through her campground and her life.

I asked her if the owners support her and help her achieve these amazing results. Her reply, “No, not really. But, I don’t let that interfere with my purpose here.”

Ola demonstrates impressive knowledge in three little words, “My purpose here.” She looks for the ways to realize the unused potential in her job. She’s working for something larger than herself. She’s achieving results for her customers. Ola is a self-managed executive and an inspiration.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

The Real Ryanair, Please Stand Up

23 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Customer Experience, Customers, Management

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Ryanair

Mike and the Customer is a very good blog about how to improve things for the customer. One of Mike Bird’s recent posts caught my eye: Ryanair: kings of the customer experience. I prepared the following as a bit of conversation between Mike and me. If you’re interested in following along, please read his Ryanair article too. Ryanair is a low-cost Irish airline.

Mike, I really enjoyed your post and I’ve reread it a few times. Considering solely what’s in it, something seems a bit off to me in terms of emphasis. I don’t think the most interesting observation is, “Customer experience is not about being nice, it’s about meeting strategic goals.” Rather, I prefer something closer to, “Ryanair succeeds precisely because it is one of the few companies to have understood exactly the customer experience that it needs to compete strategically…”

My take is it’s about Ryanair understanding what its customers consider value. As you say, they value, “…Low cost, on time, with bags, that’s it.” From this perspective I read the story as a triumph of understanding the customer and driving the organization to deliver what they value without compromise.

To me, Ryanair hasn’t, “…Designed a customer experience to compete strategically.” Their customers don’t care about it and they know it. Instead Ryanair has chosen a low-cost, high-efficiency strategy vis-à-vis their competition to meet the needs of the utilitarian traveler. In that space customer “service” is all that is required and an experience isn’t a consideration. That being said, I do love the Michael O’Leary quotes you use (CEO Ryanair). He obviously knows how to promote his brand through the Press. Making fun of “Mother” is much more memorable than some dry statistic about on-time rates for take offs and departures.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

A Framework for Your Brand

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Effectiveness, Shared values

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Branding Framework, branding

A Branding Framework defines who you are, what you stand for, and what you will communicate to your customers, team, and partners. There is an old saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, every road will take you there.” A well thought out framework has a beginning, middle, and end—and all the points on the journey are well defined. Starting with anything less increases the risk that you’ll waste time, resources, and money, let alone confuse your customers and fail to inspire your workforce.

A Branding Framework also creates consistency. Consistency is important in the execution of any integrated marketing campaign (where each element of the campaign reinforces and strengthens every other element). And, it serves as the basis for constant iteration and improvement of past and current campaigns.

The key to adopting any framework is to adopt it once: Then pour your energy into execution and continuous improvement. The body of branding knowledge is replete with definitions, counter definitions, and terms that overlap. Our framework addresses what your business needs, and if used consistently, will accelerate the development and strength of your brand.

In the end, the real value comes from what the Branding Framework allows you to accomplish. So, when you find yourself asking, “Why am I putting time and energy into developing this framework?” remember the answers:

  • Create a shared understanding of your values, purpose, and vision
  • Set a strategy that will turn your customers into your brand advocates
  • Increase the power of your brand
  • Drive profitable growth

If you are curious about how to develop a Branding Framework for your business—complete with Statement of Purpose, Vision, Brand Promise, Ideal Client, and much more—please contact me. I would enjoy talking to you about your specific needs and the future of your business.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

Because I Said So!

16 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Management

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Responsibility

It’s likely that every manager has had many of those days where she can barely suppress raising her voice to say, “Because I said so!” Human beings are often baffled by how other human beings behave in situations that, to them, seem like such no-brainers. “Of course you would go the extra mile to make the customer happy.” “There’s no reason not to treat our suppliers with respect.” “I can’t even imagine not returning an email within 24 hours.” The list is endless and leaves managers tempted to think, “What do I have to do to motivate my people to do a good job?”

But is motivation even the point?

We confuse our duty to manage for results with motivating others. If you don’t realize only others can motivate themselves, and if your company doesn’t always create an environment where people can engage in meaningful work and use their talents, and if you don’t remind yourself that your job is to create results; then no wonder you think you need to motivate others in order to, “Get them to do what I want.”

The secret to achieving high levels of performance is to make workers responsible for their work and their results.

Once you’ve established your company’s purpose and vision, communicated your values, recruited talent whose strengths are suited to your team, designed meaningful jobs and measurements, established a track record for rewarding accomplishment, and set the priorities, you’ve taken responsibility for your role as a manager. If you haven’t performed these duties now would be a great time to start.

When one of your workers isn’t performing, the cause is much more likely to be a lack of responsibility for results than a lack of motivation.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

Don’t #@!% the Customer

16 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Shared values

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Atlassian

Hanging from the ceiling, like world championship banners, are five giant statements of the Atlassian company values. In an earlier post I explained how talking about values improves company culture and competitiveness. It looks like Atlassian might tell you the same thing. Jim Collins, in Good To Great, claimed you don’t need perfect values—you just need values—and that alone is enough to make a difference. Imagine the tone that is set everyday when an employee walks into their office and sees this:

  • Open Company, No Bullshit
  • Build with Heart and Balance
  • Don’t #@!% the Customer
  • Play, as a Team [note the comma!]
  • Be the Change You Seek.

That’s pretty clear and powerful stuff when it comes to explaining the accepted rules of conduct at Atlassian to anyone who works there.

Drucker believed a huge percentage of knowledge workers should be managed as if they were volunteers. Not only did he recognize that volunteers do what they do for meaning, control, achievement, etc., but he also saw that today’s workers are well educated, mobile, and carry with them their own means of production—in other words, they can work anywhere they want. He also argued persuasively that knowledge workers, and organizations, excel when the workers themselves seek responsibility for their own work and it’s impact on the whole.

So, if your workforce consists of highly educated, intelligent, super-mobile people who crave responsibility, you’re off to a fantastic start.

Now it’s your job to build the organization’s values, and constantly reaffirm them, so your people know how to excel within your culture and to learn explicitly why they were attracted to you in the first place.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

Culture Clash

16 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Shared values

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Put your hands in

When was the last phone call, or face-to-face, with your manager where company culture, common purpose, or company values came up in conversation? How about during your last performance review—or business check point meeting? Maybe the topics came up at your annual planning meeting, offsite, or celebration.

People are every company’s greatest asset. Great companies routinely acknowledge they owe their success to their talented people. Clearly, most knowledge workers are high achieving, smart, motivated, experts who know what to do and how to do it. In an earlier post I discussed why the carrot and stick are no longer effective. All too often I hear how employees feel micro-managed or intimidated by their managers as if fear were some kind of virtuous, effective management principle.

In the 2012 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey 95% of respondents (figure 10) said communication with Senior Management is Important or Very Important. It is virtually self-evident that the type of communication they are referring to is not function specific. What knowledge workers need to hear from their management is:

  • Why do we exist?
  • What do we believe in?
  • Why is the world a better place because of our work?
  • What will it look like when we achieve our goals?
  • How are we performing compared to customer expectations and the competition?
  • Which innovations must we achieve to ensure our future success?
  • Why can I believe in our leadership team?

Every company has a culture whether they plan it or not. Some are toxic. Most are average. And some, maybe yours, can be exceptional if they make a healthy achieving culture a priority and put their plans to achieve it into action.

You can make your company culture a competitive advantage. Don’t leave it to chance.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

30 Seconds on Lucavìa Consulting

15 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in Branding, Customer Experience, Effectiveness, Innovation, Management, Shared values

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Lucavia Business Front

I believe entrepreneurs need partners to help them turn their creations into businesses.

While entrepreneurs focus on their creations, I bring focus to their businesses by:

  • Defining their organizations
  • Planning their success
  • Creating effective teams
  • Understanding and Engaging their customers.

The entrepreneur needs to accomplish five very big things:

  • Create shared values and purpose
  • Create direct business results
  • Multiply their impact by working through others
  • Innovate
  • Build and develop tomorrow’s talent.

I would like to start our relationship working on your Branding Framework. It is the foundation for:

  • Shared vision within the organization
  • Concentrating effort on results
  • Consistent branding across all media
  • Iteration and improvement.

Jim

Lucavìa
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved