Did my brain grow overnight? Was I the subject of a new government “smart drug” study? Did aliens kidnap me and inject me with massive amounts of knowledge using their telepathic powers?

Nope. I read a book last night.

Ok, so I didn’t read a whole book, but I did read at least a couple of chapters. I read almost every day. It’s one of the ways I get inspired, learn new things, and spark new thoughts. It’s part of my personal development plan.

Why do I do this? It’s simple. I love what I do, I want to keep doing it, and I want to be the best in the world at it.

Do you have a personal development plan? What I’m talking about goes beyond simple goal setting. You can say you want to lose 25 lbs, or that you want to become a leader in your company, or that you want to establish yourself as a world-class expert in customer service, but without a plan you’ll never get there.

A personal development plan doesn’t have to be difficult or complex. We have development meetings every month with each member of our staff. One of the questions each person has to answer (even me) is “What am I doing to develop myself in my current role?”

The answers may vary from learning new software to reading a book to attending a seminar that pertains to their role. I honestly don’t care what the answer is…as long as there is an answer.

As a company, we’ll do what we can to develop our people, but what I’ve discovered is that the real rock stars are the ones who constantly develop themselves.

When one of his employees asks for a raise, my brother (a much wiser businessman that I am) looks them in the eye and asks, “What are you doing differently or better than you were doing this time last year?” Sadly, many of them leave his office with their tails between their legs because they haven’t grown in any way. If you don’t grow, how can your contribution to the company grow?

If you want to be worth more tomorrow than you are today, you’ve got to start developing yourself.

If you want your team to be higher performing tomorrow than it is today, you’ve got to start helping your team members develop themselves.

There’s a quote that’s attributed to Zig Ziglar that says, “In 5 years, you’ll be the same person you are today…except for the books you read and the people you meet.”

I’ve also heard that if you read about a subject just 30 minutes a day for 5 years (probably less than that), you’ll know more about that subject than 99% of the world. There’s always going to be that freaky genius in every field who somehow knows more than you, so don’t worry about the last 1%.

Reading certainly isn’t the only way to develop yourself. Here are some other ideas:

• Try a new approach to an old problem.
• Take on a project that challenges you.
• Go to lunch with a mentor or potential mentor.
• Take a vacation.
• Take a longer vacation than normal.
• Take a working vacation related to your field.
• Study a competitor.
• Do an internship (yes, even if you’re not 20).
• Browse a bookstore.
• Do something you never thought you’d do.
• Apply for a new job that interests you.
• Identify your weaknesses and improve one.
• Identify your strengths and expand one.
• Turn off the TV and do…anything.
• Join an association.
• Start an association.
• Experiment without fear of failure.
• Take a class.
• Teach a class.
• Attend a conference, workshop, or seminar.

Other articles you might like:

• Customer Service Book Review: Super Service
• Customer Loyalty Book Gets Reviewed on AllBusiness.com
• Customer Service Book Review: Choosing Civility
• A simple four step plan for renewed success
• Plan your customer service improvement for 2010

1. Can you identify where it is HARD to do business with your company? Consider your website, phone system, email response time, physical layout, process and policies. It is amazing how we make it difficult for our customers to do business with us. Arrogance and ego can create systems that are convenient for the company but not for the customer.

2. What rules do you need to eliminate? Most rules are written for 3% of your customers. Then we start to think all of our customers are out to cheat us. Believe me, the majority of your customers are not a problem, stop punishing the wrong group.

3. Are you one mistake away from losing a customer? That mistake could be a broken promise, no callback, a missed deadline or not getting it right the first time.

4. Who needs to go? The right people are crucial to your company’s success. It is a great time to hire really good people as many of them are out of jobs. Work on upgrading your team. If you are not hiring, then what cross training needs to be done so the employees are at their best to serve your customer.

5. Would you want to do business with your organization? No need for elaboration on this one.

No one likes change but it is needed and demanded. So go to the edge, jump in with both feet, hold hands and get it over with.  Make something good happen today.Other articles you might like:

• Deliver better customer service by being prepared
• To Improve Customer Service, Be Easy to Work With
• Is your job a TGIF or a GIFT?
• Put customers before tasks
• Real people rock

But this can also be an obstacle to growth and improvement.

Too often our habits stop us from making internal changes in response to external changes the world had brought to our door. They can blind us to how the rest of the world has changed, which can affect our business.

Our habits can also prevent us from trying new things even when we know we should. There’s risk involved in trying something new. Will it work or not? How will I know? And there’s a cost of figuring out what to do and how to do it. Some days it’s just easier to put such decisions on the back burner and keep doing things the way we always have.

Many of us will only change when two things happen.

1. We get frustrated with how things are.

We finally understand or acknowledge things are not as we’d like them so we get upset, irritated or even angry. This is critical for motivating us to make a permanent change.

2. We believe we CAN change.

Frustration is usually not enough. We need one more element: Faith.

We need to know we can successfully make the changes we want to make. We need to believe we can do it. If we lack this belief we might never try. Faith is what pulls us through the fear of the unknown. It helps lead the way to our solutions.

So, to be better at making changes in your business, find ways to get frustrated and to have faith that you can make changes successfully.

The “frustrated” part really just means knowing what’s going on with your business and how it compares to what you want. It’s the difference between reality and your desire. Maybe there is no difference, in which case, maybe there’s no need to change.

Develop some key measures for your business and establish your goals for them. They could be simple like revenue, revenue growth, net income, net income growth, employee turnover, etc. Or, you might have more detailed metrics. That’s okay. Just make sure they are measurable. Apply them to your business on a regular basis and note the gap between your actual performance and your goal.

Do this without fail. It can be an eye-opener.

The second part is to get better at making changes. Do this by making changes a regular and frequent part of your business. I’m not talking about massive change. I’m talking about small, manageable things you can do on a regular basis.

For example, you wouldn’t fire all your sales people and put your whole marketing budget into Google ads. But, you might hold off on replacing a sales person and instead try some Internet advertising for 3 to 6 months. That would be a manageable change.

Larry Wilson talks about failing fast and failing small. This is a great way to think about it. When you try new things, do them small and fast. The faster you learn what works (and what doesn’t) the smarter you get and the less risk you have. And you’ll see more success this way. Most important though, you’ll start to create a method or process for implementing change.

When that happens you’ll be able to see faster what’s working and what is not, according to a measurable standard. Then you’re well on your way to building a stronger business.Other articles you might like:

• Here’s an Easy Formula for Change
• What is Leadership?
• How to Beat the Recession – Part 3
• Is Your Company Delivering the Right Experience?
• 8 Reasons to Feel Good About the Economy

Catch people in the act of delivering amazing service

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

If you want to improve your own customer service then watch people around you and observe the customer service they deliver. Maybe these people are co-workers. Maybe they are employees in businesses you patronize. It doesn’t matter. Your first step is to watch them and note how they do. Your second step is to reward them when they deliver great customer service.

Think about how you define good customer service. Make a list. Or if your organization already has customer service standards in place, use them. Then apply them to other people. Use them to judge how they are delivering customer service. And keep it positive. This is not about criticizing others.

Reward others for good service by recognizing them. Either tell them directly what a great job they did. Or tell their boss. Or leave a note. Find ways to let people around you know when they’ve delivered amazing service. You’ll find your customer service skills improve every time you do this.
Other articles you might like:

• Recognize Others for Delivering Great Customer Service.
• This Tip Can Improve Your Customer Service Immediately
• To Improve Customer Service, Find a Role Model
• Reward Yourself When You Deliver Amazing Service
• Make the Most of Customer Service Week 2008

After a complaint, promise to do better.

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

A while ago I saw an interview of Dell’s Chief Information Officer. He was talking about some of the customer service problems Dell had been experiencing. While he answered many of the questions he failed to do several things, one of which stood out:

He never said they would do better.

The most important thing you can tell an unhappy customer is that you will do better. When you promise to do better you are giving them a reason to come back. If you neglect this you leave the door open for them to wonder what will change? A customer gives you feedback because they want you to improve, so they feel good about remaining your customer. But if you don’t promise to improve they might feel you don’t care about improving.

Next time you (as a customer) have a complaint, listen for those magic words “I promise to do better”. If you hear them, how does it feel? How much more confidence do you have in that person or company?Other articles you might like:

• How to Handle Customer Complaints: Tip 2
• Thank your customers for complaining
• Who’s Talking About YOUR Company?
• Five Ways to Improve Customer Service Starting Today
• Connect with your customers

Improve Your Customer Service Every Day

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

In the world of customer service, you need to get better or you’ll fall behind. The Disney organization is well known as a model of quality customer service. And yet they constantly train and focus on how to improve the service they offer their customers. One reason they do this is because they understand the quality of customer service is relative to what customers expect. As you deliver better service, your customers get accustomed to it. They expect it. So you need to improve or they’ll feel your service level has declined.

The same is true for industries or geographic areas. As customers get used to better service from some companies, they’ll expect it from others. The rising tide of expectations affects all boats.

This week pick one aspect of your customer service you’d like to improve. Describe how your new, improved version will look and feel. Then share this with your employees and customers. Get their input. And get their feedback. Have them tell you how you’re doing. Then repeat.Other articles you might like:

• Six Steps to More Loyal Customers
• Never let your customer repeat themselves
• Customer retention tip: Be easy to talk to
• Never let your customer repeat themselves
• Make a Promise to Your Customers…Then Keep It!

(DVP) x (BA) = Change

D = Dissatisfaction (with a current situation or condition)
V = Vision (for how you would like things to be)
P = Plan (actions and strategies needed move you toward your vision)
B = Belief (the genuine belief and faith that you can make your vision happen)
A = Action (actions you actually take to move toward the change you want)

(This uses similar elements as both Gleicher’s Formula and the Harvard Change Model.)

It works like this:

D = Dissatisfaction (with a current situation or condition)

You decide you are dissatisfied with something. It could be anything. Anything that bugs you, irks you or that you want to change. For example, I’m working on losing weight. My present response to the earth’s gravitational pull is more than I want. It bothers me. I am dissatisfied with it.

V = Vision (for how you would like things to be)

Because of your dissatisfaction, you create a vision of how you would like things to be. This is where you paint a picture. How does your new and improved situation look? How does it feel? Walk around a little and experience the change you want. Then describe it in abundant detail. Be specific and tangible. make it simple to understand and easy to remember.

My vision for weight loss is easy. I step on the scale and it does not laugh at me anymore. Actually, my real vision is it say “180″ when I step on it rather than the current unreasonable value (which, for now, shall remain unpublished, unseen and highly classified).

P = Plan (actions and strategies to move you toward your vision)

The next step is to create your plan to make your vision reality. You can be as detailed or brief as you want. Make it work for you. But a requirement for every plan is action steps. make sure your plan includes actions you can take (right away) to begin moving toward your goal. Some people prefer the actions to be measurable. Some don’t. Some people chart their completion on actions steps. Others won’t. Again, do what works for you. Just be sure your actions steps move you closer to your vision. They should be reasonable, and doable. Or, as my high school running coach used to say, “stretch but don’t pull anything”.

Continuing my weight loss example, my plan includes several items. One is to exercise every day for at east 30 minutes. My wife and already walk the dog and workout at LA Fitness 3 times a week. So these 30 minute sessions would be in addition to those. Plus, I am eating at least 4 servings of fresh fruit or vegetable every day. And I am avoiding junk food, fast food and greasy food. (Too many calories and too much fat.) Finally, I’m watching my daily calorie count.

Notice, not all my plans are measurable. And not all are positive. That’s okay. The only two requirements are that they are doable and they will move you toward your goal. I know some self-help gurus say you need to measure and chart everything and set goals that are positive. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, unless it doesn’t work for you. Like I said before, do what works and forget the rest.

B = Belief (the genuine belief and faith that you can make your vision happen)

You have to believe you can make the change you want. All the visions and plans in the world are worthless if they’re not followed by action. And people will rarely take action on something without the belief or faith that can do it.

This does not necessarily mean you have all the answers or you know exactly what to do to accomplish your vision. This happens a lot less than most of us admit. Plans are fallible, subject to change because they’re not perfect. But belief (or faith) that is absolute. When you are confident you can do something even though you have no clue how you will do it, then you have belief. And that’s required for making a positive and permanent change in your life.

A = Action (actions you actually take to move toward the change you want)

Finally, you need to take action. All the talking and planning in the world won’t get you anywhere is you fail to take action. Remember, the Plan component details the NEEDED actions. It does not say you’ve actually done them. Action is where most attempts at change fall apart. It needs to be sustained yet flexible. You need to start and keep going, even when it seems things are not going the direction you want.

Nothing happens until someone takes action. There is no substitute for this.

Remember, change is a process, not a project. It’s an ongoing thing. Once I get my weight to 180 I won’t go back to my old ways. By that time I will have developed new habits based on the actions I have taken. Those that fit my life and help me meet my goals will remain. And isn’t that what change is all about?

What do you think? Would this work for you? Are you using this (or something like it) already?Other articles you might like:

• What is Leadership?
• Use faith and frustration to improve
• A simple four step plan for renewed success
• Remember What You Control (And What You Don’t)
• How to Beat the Recession – Part 3

Here’s a tip to help you improve the quality of your customer service immediately:

Recognize others for delivering great customer service.

If you want to improve your own customer service then watch people around you and observe the customer service they deliver. Maybe these people are co-workers. Maybe they are employees in businesses you patronize. It doesn’t matter. Your first step is to watch them and note how they do. Your second step is to reward them when they deliver great customer service.

Do they smile? Are they courteous and friendly? Are they prompt? Do they know their products or services? Are they focused on their customer?

Think about how you define good customer service. Make a list. (If you need a starting point look here.) Or if your organization already has customer service standards in place, use them. Then apply them to other people. Use them to judge how they are delivering customer service.

Important: Don’t be negative!

The purpose here is to catch people in the act of delivering good (or great) customer service. You be the judge. You decide whether it looks or feels like great service. If it does, let them know. Tell them they did a great job.

This positive feedback is critical to helping others notice when they have done something right. And it helps motivate them to keep continue. It also helps you.  Because you are focused on noticing and remembering what makes for great service, you’re thinking about it. It’s top of mind.

How can you reward others?

A simple thank you works. Or you can be more specific: “Sue, I want to compliment you on your great service. I really appreciate how knowledgeable you are about your store’s products.”

Be creative. Think of how you’d like someone to recognize you for delivering great customer service. What would make you feel good?

Finally, your last step is to do it yourself. Since you’re already focusing on great service, incorporate it into your work. As you watch others do it, you’ll find it easier to remember and do yourself.

If you manage people and you want to help them improve their customer service, this technique can help you too. Find ways to get your team members to recognize each other for delivering great service.  Make it a contest. Show your team it’s important. Give them incentive to catch others in the act.

As a team leader, manager or owner, you need to do this too. Make sure you are regularly recognizing and rewarding your employees for providing great service. This shows them you really do care about service. It aligns your values with your actions. They see you’re walking your talk.

Discuss this in your team meetings. Have employee present to the group the examples of great service they saw from their co-workers. Then talk about why they’re important and how everyone can do them. Help your employees remove obstacles to providing great service.

If you do this long enough and often enough, it will become the norm. You will be building a team of people who work together and help each other. You’ll be creating a culture of service that will naturally deliver amazing service to your customers.Other articles you might like:

• Recognize Others for Delivering Great Customer Service.
• For better customer service, catch them in the act
• To Improve Customer Service, Find a Role Model
• Make the Most of Customer Service Week 2008
• 5 easy ways to improve customer service today

A while ago I heard an interview with Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at MIT. During the interview, Dan talked about an experiment which caught my attention:

“…they created tests that made it easy to cheat, then looked at what happened if they reminded people right before the test of a moral rule. (It turned out that being reminded of any moral code — the Ten Commandments, the non-existent “M.I.T. honor system” — caused cheating to plummet.)”

They were able to prevent cheating by reminding people of a specific moral code.

In other words, proximate awareness caused people to behave in a certain way. And their behavior was guided by the standards they are made aware of. Or, put another way, being reminded of a behavioral standard caused people to honor that standard.

This got me thinking about how this might be applied to helping companies improve customer service.

One of the biggest challenges we face in improving customer service is that it’s hard to change habits. For the most part, people know how to deliver good service, at least on a basic level. Because we’re human, we know what it means to treat others right. And, because we’re customers, we know what most people want, as customers.

But, even if we know WHAT to do and HOW to do it, we don’t always do it.

Why don’t we do it?  We’re under stress. We get busy. We have a lot of competing priorities. For many reasons, we fail to put the customer first. We choose to NOT do many of the things we know we should do if we want to give our customer the experience they want.

For decades, management has tried carrot and stick approaches to getting employees to do what they should (in customer service and every other aspect of business). I’ve never been a big fan of either the carrot or the stick. I believe Professor Ariely has found a better way. Having proximate awareness of behavioral standards seems to be effective in encouraging people to meet those standards.

What if we applied this to customer service?

If a person had a regular reminder of good customer service practices or standards, would they be more likely to use those practices or honor those standards?

I believe the answer is yes. I believe if we have a daily reminder of best practices and desirable standards for serving our customers, then we’ll be more likely to remember, use and honor them throughout the work day.

So, I have developed a new tool to do this. It’s called the Daily Dose of Customer Service.

It delivers a short reminder every day of how to provide Amazing Service to your customers. It might be a tip or a quote or a rule. But each day it’s quick, typically less than 30 words.

Once you subscribe, you receive the email reminder every day. So, it’s easy. All you have to do it subscribe and then read your Daily Dose of Amazing Service every day. Then observe your behavior and your level of service. Do you see improvements? Are you using these concepts more? Are you more aware of the importance of providing good customer service?

Like Professor Ariely’s test, this is an experiment. If you choose to subscribe, I’d encourage you to let me know how it works for you. And, tell your customers, co-workers and employees about it. The more people who use it, the better we will be able to determine how effective it is in helping people improve their customer service. I want your feedback.

To learn more about this free service, click here.Other articles you might like:

• Create a Daily Reminder of Amazing Customer Service
• 5 easy ways to improve customer service today
• Hire smart to start
• Know your company’s customer service standards or create your own
• Make the Most of Customer Service Week 2008

Seth Godin has some useful things to say about this. Here’s a great example  from his latest book, Tribes:

“Sternin went to Vietnam to try to help starving children. Rather than importing tactics he knew would work, or outside techniques that he was sure could make a difference, he sought out the few families who weren’t starving, the few moms who weren’t just getting by but were thriving. And then he made it easy for these mothers to share their insights with the rest of the group.”

Godin goes on to quote Jerry Sternin:

“The traditional model for social and organizational change doesn’t work. It never has. You can’t bring permanent solutions in from outside.”

This is powerful stuff. This tells us we need to think and act differently than we have been. The old model, as Sternin points out, has been to look outward for the big solutions. So we hire consultants to come in and tell us how to do things better.  And sometimes that works fine.

But mostly it will not. Here’s why.

Unless your organization is completely dysfunctional, you already have most of the solutions you need. They exist in the knowledge, creativity and experience of your management, your employees and your customers. These people know your company best. Put them all together and nobody has more insight into how your company works.

The key is to engage all three of these groups so they want to find and implement solutions. I call this “getting everyone involved”. To do this you need to create a persistent and transparent flow of information between these three groups. 

This enables you, as a manager or leader, to dive deep into the most valuable asset your organization has: your employees and customers. Find out what your customers want from you. Figure out how to deliver that in a way that is sustainable and meets your goals. And ask your employees and customers to help you deliver on that promise.

It’s okay to get help from the outside. You need to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world. And bringing in new ideas from the outside can be healthy. Otherwise you risk becoming stagnant and inbred.

But don’t expect complete solutions from the outside. Don’t look outside for every detail on how to implement your plans. Just because a specific model or plan worked in one company does not mean it will work for yours. Because your company is different. 

The key is to take in the best ideas and from them synthesize a solution that will be most effective for only one company: yours. And you need to do this with your people: you employees, your managers and your customers.Other articles you might like:

• How to Beat the Recession – Part 3
• Use customer service standards to engage customers and employees
• Here’s how to have real customer loyalty
• Five Ways to Improve Customer Service Starting Today
• Minnesota Public Radio knows how to engage customers