Our Blog
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OKWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
How Good is Your Company at Solving Problems?
/in Nuggets and Encouragement Regarding Strategy and Focus/by Tom DoescherHow good is your company at solving problems?
That’s the rhetorical question addressed in a Harvard Business Review article titles, Are You Solving the Right Problems?
The authors believe managers, spurred by a penchant for action, tend to switch quickly into solution mode without first making sure they really understand the problem. Can you relate? I know I’m guilty as charged.
The article offers what the authors believe are the seven best practices for effectively reframing problems:
Although this article may seem a little academic, I would highly recommend reading it. As I have already admitted, I love jumping in and solving the problem — and, at times, I’ve missed the mark. This article provided advice that would have saved me time and embarrassment in the past.
Is There a Reason You May Not Have Any Mentors?
/in Sharpening Your Personal Leadership Skills/by Tom DoescherFor the past decade or two, I’ve been fortunate to have so many mentors who have poured into my life. I’ve written about it more than once, including in my October 13, 2014, post entitled What is a Mentor?
I’ve also observed that many executives I meet have very few, if any, mentors. So, me being me, I concluded once again that I am a “lucky guy.”
The other day, I was expressing to a group of executives how fortunate I am and how sad I feel for those individuals without mentors, who go it alone. One of the executives, a longtime friend and colleague who happens to be a clinical psychologist, said, “Did you ever consider that possibly you have so many mentors because you’re open to and solicit input from others?”
Believe or not, I had never had that thought.
So I ask you: Do you have mentors? If your answer is no, then why not?
What is One of the Hardest Jobs to Perform Today?
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherAccording to a Harvard Business Review article entitled Kick-A__ Customer Service — Consumers Want Results — Not Sympathy, 81 percent of customers across all industries attempt to take care of matters themselves before reaching out to a live representative. The investment in self-service technologies has been enormously effective at removing low-complexity issues from the live service queue. According to the article’s authors, 84 percent of customers prefer a straightforward solution to their problem. When they do call for assistance, they’re knowledgeable and very demanding.
The authors conclude that customer service representatives fall into seven profiles, which they outline in the article. The big “aha” is focused around two profile types: Empathizers, who enjoy solving others’ problems, seek to understand behaviors and motives, and listen sympathetically; and Controllers, who are outspoken and opinionated, and like demonstrating their expertise and directing the customer interaction.
Intuitively, I would think Empathizers would be the best reps — and so do customer service rep managers, since Empathizers represent 32 percent of all representatives (the largest category). As it turns out, we’re wrong! The trouble is, the messaging managers use in recruiting service reps is often stereotypical of yesterday’s customer service workers, and tends to repel rather than attract Controllers, who represent only 15 percent of all reps. Controllers want flexibility to express their personality and handle issues as they think best (versus following a script), are keen problem-solvers with a unique ability to think on their feet, and are self-starters who are comfortable taking the initiative.
If you’re part of a company that provides customer service reps who assist clients by phone (and probably face-to-face, too), I would highly recommend reading the HBR article. Our old, well-established “best practices” no longer work in this tech-savvy world.
By the way, according to the authors’ research, the best reps, Controllers, are paid the same as other reps and are satisfied with it.