Do you remember when you were in school and your teacher would assign a team project? You either loved or hated team projects because you knew that every group ended the same; there were always a few that led the group and did a majority of the work, the few that contributed, the one that argued every point, and the slacker who did absolutely nothing but still got the same grade. It was bullshit, and…
We’ve learned through our culture to always satisfy our customers. We’ve learned from endless experiences that when we don’t satisfy our customers, someone brings our failure to our attention and we observe the consequences. And those consequences are very expensive. Take acquiring new customers, for example, the costs of gaining trust with someone you just met is quite high. It takes a lot of time and energy for them to accept that you will do…
“Yes, I’ll run that report.” “No problem, I’ll stop at the store on the way home.” “I’ll feed the dog.” We all make commitments like those above all day long. We make commitments to our spouse, friends, employers, colleagues and fellow employees. Commitments can be in the form of a promise, request, assertion or assessment. It’s important to realize that everything you do or say is a commitment and viewed that way by others. Picture…
Build a learning organization by compelling every associate to notice, observe and assess their ethics and capacities to produce Conditions of Satisfaction for all our customers with practical offers that manifest, demonstrate and display the highest of human virtues. Last month I clarified what Conditions of Satisfaction (COS) is. I’d like to take a moment to also share with you why Jenco finds it so important to produce COS. Plain and simple, we want to…
Part of Jenco’s Mission Statement is “to produce Conditions of Satisfaction,” but what’s that mean? Have you thought about it? What does it mean to you as a customer? Satisfaction, in this instance, is the customer’s evaluation on whether or not they are willing to accept a product or service in the condition that it was produced. The customer is considered satisfied when they accept, transact (pay for it) and then have the willingness to…
Who manages YOU? Do you anticipate your customer’s concerns before they have to bring the issue up to you? How do you do it? Here at Jenco we strive to never have to be managed. Too ambitious? Maybe, but that’s our goal, and I am committed to make sure that’s happening. I encountered a real life example just last week that I’d like to share with you all. I encountered a situation where we were…
“What’s next?” is not the question to ask…if you plan to be a leader. The question implies being orientated to completing one task and looking for the next task to start. While this is somewhat functional, it isn’t strategic or competitive. What powerful managers do is remove Constraints to the flow of work. They anticipate the work 6+ weeks out and begin to identify what Constraints exists which will inhibit the work to be performed. Constraints can…
Are your skills helping your business organization gain momentum? The right hand man of Warren Buffet and a fellow Billionaire, Charlie Munger once said “I believe in the discipline of mastering the best that other people have ever figured out. I don’t believe in just sitting down and trying to dream it all up yourself. Nobody’s that smart…” What I hear with that quote is rigorous learning, surrounding yourself with networks of strong thinking and…
Are your teams producing Shock and Awe or is the mood in your hallways more of resignation? As someone who leads teams to define the game of life worth playing for them, the biggest hindrance I find to success is resignation. To me resignation looks like: Heads down, limited interaction, the absence of caring…waiting…hiding…cynical. It isn’t a pretty sight. We live in a substantially more connected world now than even a couple of years ago so why is it…
Trust is defined as an assessment I can make about how you will take care of my concerns in the future. Can I trust you to show up to take me to the ball game on Friday night? Trust has 3 important components: competence, reliability and sincerity. Competence is the ability to perform. Do you have the knowledge of how to drive a car? Do you have a car to use on Friday? Do you…