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Thursday, August 17th, 2017

Cellpocalypse: When Communication and Customer Service Collide

communication, reputation, training, values and culture

The day of the BellAliant outage in the Atlantic Provinces, I had an appointment at the bank – a national chartered bank that shall remain nameless for now. We were on vacation and I was driving into Charlottetown from the Stanley Bridge area – about 45 minutes away – to meet my sister and mother. … Continue reading Cellpocalypse: When Communication and Customer Service Collide

Wednesday, July 19th, 2017

High-Performing Teams: a Few Good People (Part 3/3)

communication, hiring process, integration, leadership, orientation, productivity, team building, team work

This is the third and final part in my series on high-performing teams. The first article talked about the critical conditions necessary to create such teams, and the second discussed leading and motivating them. Even though Google’s Project Aristotle found that the people on high-performing teams were less important than how they work together, anyone who has … Continue reading High-Performing Teams: a Few Good People (Part 3/3)

Wednesday, June 21st, 2017

Leading and Motivating People in High-Performing Teams (Part 2/3)

communication, inspiration, motivating teams, trust

In my last newsletter I said it takes a village to develop a high-performing team – to create the culture, structure and process. Then it’s all about the people. Even with expanding uses for artificial intelligence, it’s the people who make the teams. This issue is about leading them and motivating them – what to do … Continue reading Leading and Motivating People in High-Performing Teams (Part 2/3)

Thursday, May 18th, 2017

Critical Conditions for High-Performing Teams (Part 1/3)

decision making, goals, process, values and culture

I’ve had the good fortune to be part of some outstanding teams during my career. It’s something that gave me energy, motivation and enjoyment. Those same teams also delivered results, innovation and leadership within the organizations. With our constantly changing world, what makes a high performance team is evolving. There are also many ideas about how … Continue reading Critical Conditions for High-Performing Teams (Part 1/3)

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

United Airline’s Fiasco is a Symptom of Underlying Issues

communication, customer service, leadership, process, reputation and brand, training, values and culture

The bodily removal of a passenger from an April 9th United Airlines flight got people talking, especially about customer experience. The experience wasn’t limited to the customer who was physically removed from the plane. It was experienced by all the passengers who witnessed it firsthand and all the prior or potential customers who witnessed it … Continue reading United Airline’s Fiasco is a Symptom of Underlying Issues

Thursday, March 16th, 2017

Language, Power and Choices: What’s in a Word?

customer service, listening, plain language

It’s impossible to read – or hear – the news without noticing how some words inflame people, some words inspire people and some words push people around. I want to say that last one is figurative, but the impact can be so substantial, it can seem as powerful as a literal push. Choice of Words … Continue reading Language, Power and Choices: What’s in a Word?

Thursday, February 16th, 2017

How to Have Fewer, Better Meetings

Efficiency, Meetings, Planning, Time Management

Use this series of questions to help you figure out: If you need a meeting How to make it an effective use of everyone’s time What do I want to accomplish? First ask, “Do you even need a meeting?” With a better understanding of what you want to gain from the meeting, you’ll be half … Continue reading How to Have Fewer, Better Meetings

Wednesday, January 18th, 2017

3 Steps for Planning to Learn

leadership, needs assessment, training

1. Assess Your Needs You likely have organizational goals to consider. Either they’re in place or you may be working on them right now. Going directly from goals to training needs can lead to quick conclusions about what’s required. For example: “A key company focus for the next year is customer service, so we … Continue reading 3 Steps for Planning to Learn

Thursday, December 8th, 2016

Learning to Make the Most of Feedback

facilitation, learning, lifelong training, skill development, training

Seeking Feedback I haven’t been subject to traditional performance reviews for over 12 years now. In spite of that, I try to seek out feedback in other ways: from clients, colleagues and mentors. As difficult as it can be to hear where you need to improve, it’s critical to growth and identifying learning opportunities. If … Continue reading Learning to Make the Most of Feedback

Monday, November 7th, 2016

Is Engaging with People Ever a Bad Idea?

decision making, public participation, stakeholders, strategy

The concept of public participation is built on the premise that the collective wisdom produces a better decision. The result of the US election and Brexit vote might cause some people to question the wisdom of opening decisions up to the entire population. However, it’s important to distinguish between public participation to meet a specific … Continue reading Is Engaging with People Ever a Bad Idea?

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