If you’re asking for feedback in the wrong way – you’ve nothing good to say about yourself.

On a recent commute to London I fancied a cuppa and a snack whilst awaiting the train. It’s transaction that must happen thousands of times a day across platform kiosks of the UK. I was told the following “if I give feedback about the service I could win an IPAD” (see below).

 

This was on my mind nearly all day.  Brilliant customer service should be that good it doesn’t need attention drawn to it. But this request and card combination is like a needy comedian. Don’t tell me you’re funny, make me laugh. It reminded me of the time I opened an account with HSBC and at the end of the hour or so to do so in branch, the young banker teller mentioned a feedback form would be on its way and he’d be grateful if I’d complete it as it helped the branch and him etc.  Had he NOT mentioned it – I’d be more likely to do so.

I’m sure there is some clever psychological principle behind all this associated with influence and behaviour and I’d appreciate anyone letting me know what it is. For me right now the advice is this: Don’t draw attention to something you want from people as a request to action. Your ‘attention grabbing/request’ becomes the behaviour of note and not the focus of the very thing you want apprising. For the station café, concentrate on making brilliant coffee, developing banter with the commuters and getting some energy into your café.  This will get more feedback and love for you than your IPAD raffle (which essentially it is). Similarly for you dear reader, if there is something you want from someone, have an attitude and behaviour about DOING not BEING. Too much of our time and effort is about our ambitions and wishes. Stick to what you know, do it well and fall in love with it.  THAT is what people will love you for.  If you’re asking for feedback in the wrong way – you’ve nothing good to say about yourself.

 

 

 

cutting costs can only get you so far.

We’ve spent a good time with clients over the last few weeks hearing they are STILL cutting costs, laying off people, restructuring, recalibrating, re-organising and in some cases probably re-spelling their business.

 

One way of remaining profitable or paying what staff you have left is to cut cost. I understand that, really I do. After a while though there is nothing else you can cut. You’re essentially turning off the gas that powers your machine.

 

Who in the business is taking risk, saying ‘yes’, spending money, trying things out, experimenting, investing effort and energy? It’s here the ‘new’ will be found and get you out of the mess you’re in. It’s easy to sit here and type that sentence but there is truth in the adage of ‘what got you here won’t get you there’; Many a grandmother has made omelettes by breaking some eggs.

 

All this cost cutting is easy for salaried people to commit to. On a good day it looks desultory and on a bad day, just pathetic.

 

Cut away. Save what you want.

 

And remain a big business with the same problems you had before – only this time you’ll have no-one left to fix them and a culture who’ve learnt how to say ‘no’.

Keep Clam and... PISS OFF.

I thought it was a passing summer fashion from a few years back, but no the ‘keep calm and carry on” thing is STILL going.

If this has been written about already and I'm last to mention anything then I've been avoiding it until I was sure I wasn't just feeling isolated and missing out on the 'fun'.

 

the cards were one thing... but I’ve noticed a new generation of messages turning into kitchen or hall hanging signage. These appear to have clichés such as “a cheerful house is a happy home”, or “a smile costs nothing” along with other references to dancing, wine, coffee and conversation.  Lots of middle class crap.

I’m saddened and embarrassed for us as:

You’re paying upwards of £20.00+ for something sprayed onto wood and brass chains. This is just shitty landfill assembled by children in china to hang on your fridge.

You could type out or at worst write out by hand on paper the sentiment.

But the worst and more saddening aspect is the belief that this shitty coloured trite makes us feel any better. Like we need to spend MORE on thinking and feeling what a good loving home takes for granted. Why we need to remind ourselves of it is one thing, but to have our family values and home north stars based on varieties of wine, dance moves and coffee conversation is just wrong. Any good intentioned sentiment is lost in the material acquisition of buying the bloody statement in the first place. Shame on you for doing so in John Lewis too.

I’ll choose my own emotions thank you  and I don’t need a poncy lavender board to tell me to do so.

 

Keep calm.

Piss off.

 

I thought Karen Brady would be a little more innovative...

t.v. this week provided much joy.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se8JdqjyUrc



The Apprentice season 9 (season 9!!!) episode 6 required the teams to design corporate events.



Much as I'm tempted to get into the content of this, I won't.  My focus is on a Karen comment. I like Karen.  Never met her. Probably won't but for the record, this is all a good intention blog.

 
Anyway.

 
46mins into the programme the candidates are all facing the usual bollocking.

One pipes up and makes a comment about corporate people talking crap.

 

It’s at this point Karen says “you might find that a rough attitude when you stand up in front of a bank and ask them to invest in your business” (steely eyed look, yet retaining glamour)

 

Well Karen.

 

I disagree.

 

The last place anyone want to ask for investment is a bank. It’s a bit 19^th century to go cap in hand to some uptight economist reading home county living banker and ask for a business loan to start an online cupcake business. the last thing we should give up is our opinions and attitude too.

 

The alternatives are MASSIVE.

Online lending and peer to peer support is growing by the second.

I have two pieces of stimulus to help
1. the excellent what’s mine is yours by Rachel Bosman and Roo Rogers describe in detail how the growing tide of co-created, co-shared and co-owned work and life is very much part of a successful and sustainable future. To be supplicant to a restrictive set of banking terms isn’t worthy or attractive to anyone with a modicum of ambition.  There are also countless currencies out in the virtual and semi virtual world that represent value and credit in context.  Imagine if we got a £1.00 for every ‘Like’...

2. In addition, I met with Microsoft’s CMO this week.  I heard Phillipa Snare talk very openly about her healthy distain for the establishment and authority.  So hooray for the opinions.

 

Much more attractive than fence sitting professionals.

 

Apart from you Karen – you’re an exception.  J

 

 

co-creation (or should I say the differents engine)...

Been busy this week in Brazil with some of the sharpest minds on the planet.  http://www.differents.com.br/ are challenging the agency model. in fact, I think they're challenging nearly EVERY model.

I think it all needs a push too.

Why buy in ‘experts’ (nasty term) and additional heads of a few agency people when you can work with thousands of volunteers and like minded entrepreneurs on your challenge?

This isn’t about running a suggestion box in the foyer (please don’t do that either) or an online competition to arrive at the answer.

it's not about getting latte drinking agencies in (like me) who make ppts with the same examples (we know the usual suspects and I've written before about this).

This is co-creation.

I feel embarrassed I have only recently started to think about it.  Running an agency out of London it’s easy to get swept away and distracted by hundreds of other agencies and individuals all trying to do the same thing.  We use the same language in describing what we do. Usually this is about ‘being fresh and different with a little strategic thrown in’. I can’t think of a client who’d NOT want an agency who didn’t value working with customers and insights to arrive at new ideas – what’s the alternative... I leave the reader to ponder.

Co-creation gets me excited as if the facts are anything to go by then we can all say cheerio to the business models that got us here.  Good bye banks – peer to peer lending rising year on year. And perhaps goodbye brands too.  Co-creation is here and it’s time to ship up or ship out! I love the idea that consumers get a say in what they want the brands that they are fans of do and say. innovation is dying.  I'm surfing the co-creation wave.

Go to it and thanks Differents for the week.

I’m off to buy a 3D printer and find me some more brain power.

bitesize shot or weekend away...

Been racing around the world with the team recently hence lack of updates but here’s something to keep you going for now.

 

The health spa vs. massage debate.

Is it better to put your learners away for a week or expose them to a series of small bitesize chunks over a number of weeks or months...  mmmm.

Opening the batting in a consistently brilliant fashion is the guru of learning Dr Seb Bailey from the Mind Gym. Here’s a starter for 10:

http://clomedia.com/articles/view/is-the-future-of-learning-bite-sized#comment-883319633

 

my thoughts are. You learn not what the lecture told you but what it caused you to do.

If it’s content (regardless being 90mins or 9 days) failed to engage you (for whatever reason) then you’ll learn that you can attend workshops and check your email without being spotted, think negatively and daydream about running up to the MTV beach house...

Nail the causing piece and you’ve got it cracked.

In a shameless piece of trumpet blowing, we worked with the CEO and team of JWT MENA last week on unlocking business issues that had rattled around for a while. It took 3 days. These guys worked day and night. They rocked. Like Aerosmith BUT they also realised very strongly it is their immediate action after the workshop that seals the learning.

For me nothing happens during a learning intervention when the learner is conscious of his/her experience in the classroom. It’s when you pass it on AFTER the event you realise what has been acquired.

At the point of transfer you aint you; it’s like suspended animation. And like a CD on pause, 90mins or 3 days can pass instantly when you’re in that status.

Now,

Go think.

CUSTOMERS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTH...zzzzzzzz

Put 'customers at the heart of everything we do' in a search engine and see what you get.  The highest number of related comments I got when search was 99 million.

What made me smile more wasn't the quantity of material, but the range. On one page I saw that both Thompson Reuters and William Hill the book keepers put customers at the heart of what they do.  Along with tanning salons, cake makers and of course, your business.

I believe that 'putting customers first' etc. has become another platitude.

three reasons I think it's a 'fail'.

1.  If you are putting customers first, you don't need to tell them.
2.  Customers is a generic term. No two are the same and although a few may be groups because they all want the same loan (or car, or t.v, or fake tan) they did so for different reasons, their friends will give them different comments and 5 minutes later, you can bet (on William Hill) they'll want something else that differs to each other.
3.  If every business achieved this customer utopia, then there would be no effort in the world needed at the customer end to discriminate and discern one quality of service from the other; think about it. It's because some offerings are poor that the customer chooses you over another - but then if such were the case we could do nothing and wait for everyone to make mistakes right? if only life were THAT easy.

But putting customers etc. almost creates a platform that no-one can own and thus you're setting the conditions around yourself that you can't satisfy.

odd one this.

I've been asked to think about a 'customer centric brief' and as such feel it's worth a longer explore to get to know the brief.

if only we did the same with all our customer requests...