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Some Great Advice Regarding Gossip
/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom DoescherTom Doescher
Recently, Barbara was meeting with a client who shared their gossip policy. In my decades of business experience, I’ve found that gossip is like cancer in large and small companies alike. The policy below is so well-written that, with our client’s permission, I’ve included it, intact, with only a few editorial comments. If you haven’t addressed this issue in your workplace, consider adopting a similar policy.
NO-GOSSIP POLICY
In the workplace, gossip is an activity that can drain, distract and downshift employee job satisfaction. We all have participated in this, yet most of us say we don’t like it. In order to create a more professional workplace, we the undersigned are making a commitment to change our atmosphere to be gossip-free.
gos·sip n. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts. Trivial, chatty talk or writing.
You’ll notice that gossip is a noun — which means it’s something you DO. That also means it’s something you choose to do — and you can choose NOT to do it. You enter into gossip by choice — you can opt out of the activity at work. In order to end gossip, you must end a particular type of communication — and that can be talk or email communications (Editorial comment: or text messages).
• Gossip always involves a person who is not present.
• Unwelcome and negative gossip involves criticizing another person.
• Gossip often is about conjecture that can injure another person’s credibility or reputation.
The persons signed below agree to the following:
In order to have a more professional, gossip-free workplace, we will:
1. Not speak or insinuate another person’s name when that person is not present unless it is to compliment or reference regarding (Editorial comment: factual) work matters.
2. Refuse to participate when another mentions a person who is not present in a negative light. I will change the subject or tell them I have agreed not to talk about another.
3. Choose not to respond to negative email or use email (Editorial comment: or text) to pass on private or derogatory information about any person in the agency.
4. While off the job, speak to another co-worker about people at work in a derogatory light. If I have feelings, I will select to talk to someone not at the workplace.
5. If another person in the department does something unethical, incorrect, against procedures, or disruptive I will use the proper channels to report this to the person in authority to take corrective action.
6. I will mind my own business, do good work, be a professional adult and expect the same from others.
Disclaimer: You may want to have an HR consultant or your labor attorney review your specific wording.
Should You Hire a COO?
/in Nuggets and Encouragement Regarding Strategy and Focus/by Tom DoescherTom Doescher
Probably one of the more common topics discussed with clients involves whether or not they should consider hiring a COO. Actually, just yesterday, one of my clients said, “I’ve built this company to a size where I need help managing it.”
A few years ago I read Make The Noise Go Away: The Power of An Effective Second-in-Command, by Larry G. Linne. Since then, I’ve recommended it to several clients. Just recently, I read Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO, by Nathan Bennett and Stephen A. Miles. In their 2006 book, they observe that not much has been written about the role played by the COO.
Although I’ve been involved for years with hiring and working with COOs, I found the book to be a deep dive into the subject. Bennett and Miles appropriately point out that COOs are hired for different reasons. Unlike other positions, such as CFO or CIO, the COO’s role needs to be tailored to the situation. For example:
The authors offer some challenges faced by COOs in their jobs, and provide Q&A interviews with successful CEOs and COOs. Here are some of the topics they address:
This may sound self-serving, but I think getting outside help in hiring and onboarding the first COO will increase the chances for success. In my experience, it’s very emotional for the CEO, especially if that individual is also the company’s founder, and the outside advisor can help the CEO work though it. Obviously, Doescher Advisors would love to help!
Just Ask for the Business, Please
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherTom Doescher
In writing the simple fictional narrative entitled The Asking Formula, author John Baker hit a lot of nerves. His book is all about the third phase of new business development, Closing, which follows Finding and Building a Relationship with a new prospective customer/client. See previous blog post.
As a prospective customer, we’ve all had an experience where we think, Just tell me how much it costs, and then I’ll decide. In this short (99 pages in large font) book, the main character shares his simple formula for Closing. To be honest, I would be embarrassed to relate the many actual stories of instances where my colleagues and I should have used his simple formula.
I won’t ruin the book, but I will share the first two steps:
Step One — Know what you want. (Editorial comment: The best new business development professionals I know always are specific about what they want to accomplish in every meeting with the prospective client — which might even be to have the next meeting with the decision-maker.)
Step Two — Ask for it. (Editorial comment: Don’t laugh; it isn’t as easy as it sounds. I was fortunate because my mentors were so good at teaching and demonstrating this simple action.)
Baker states that “Directness is a rare thing these days.” Once again, I’ll quote my dad, who said, “Ask. What is the worst thing that can happen?” I also remember one of my successful new business development colleagues, who would say, “My goal in this meeting is to get to the ‘No.’ ” Once again, Baker and other sales gurus would say that most people spend too much time with prospects who are never going to purchase anything from them.
I have a suggestion: Consider buying multiple copies of his book and have your new business development team read it. Then, facilitate a discussion and maybe do some role-playing.