2 Reasons Why You Will Never Be A Leader

I have been thinking a lot about leadership lately.  Between the volunteer work that I do and some pretty cool and specialized work with my clients, the conversations have really caused me to pause and think about what makes a leader, and in particular, a good leader.  Is a leader born?  Or, can someone develop leadership qualities over time?  I would say, based on my experience, yes and yes.  But, are there characteristics that would indicate that you will not be a good leader?  Yes there are.  There are 2 pretty good reasons why you will never be a “true” leader and they are pretty straight forward.

Image courtesy of www.sdanational.org

Image courtesy of www.sdanational.org

Before getting into the two reasons, it is important to note that good leaders have certain things in common.  Good leaders are:

  1. very self-aware;
  2. genuinely concerned about others and like people;
  3. good listeners;
  4. great at connecting with people, as well as helping people connect with others;
  5. trusted; and finally
  6. because of the first five, they know how to inspire others

So, what are the two reasons why some people will NEVER be real leaders?  Two simple reasons:

1.  Ego

All leaders have egos.  But how big are those egos? Some are pretty big.  Even effective leaders can have very big egos.  The difference however, goes back to the list above.  If every conversation is about you and how intelligent you are, how great you are, how you saved the day, etc. etc., your ego is too big.  If you have a title, people “might” humour you and listen.  But, they won’t follow you when the chips are down.  They will look for ways to avoid you and look real leaders.

Real leaders have a bigger purpose.  It isn’t all about them.  They inspire others.  They raise others up and empower them.

Real leaders don’t need to have a title.  For example, they don’t need to be President and CEO. They don’t need to be Chairman.  They can lead and bring people along with them because of knowing who they are and inspiring others through trust and purpose.

2.  Lack of Authenticity

People are smart.  Most of us see through people who only want to advance themselves.  People who are authentic have consistency that shines through.  People who lack authenticity however cannot create trust or truly inspire others to follow.  Inauthentic leaders only have consensus and followers when things are good.  During times of trouble or change, inauthentic leaders can only win through ruling with fear.  In the end, people will turn on inauthentic leaders in a split second.

I remember one “leader” whom I worked with who only spoke about himself and his greatness. I often wondered if he was trying to convince me of his greatness or, himself.  He certainly didn’t convince me.  He was as transparent as water. He regularly spoke about his concern for others and the well-being of those he surrounded himself with.  Despite these words however, his actions spoke volumes.  In the roughly five years I worked with/for him he didn’t know my husband’s name or what he did.  On the other hand, I knew his wife’s name as well as each of his children’s names.  During an illness that manifested itself in very obvious physical changes to my appearance, not once did he ever ask how I was making out or if the cause was even found.  Our conversations always centered on him and what great things he had done or was doing.

Regardless of what meeting he was a part of, he always brought the conversation around to him.  People humoured him because of his title, but when he wasn’t in the room, people were not very kind to him.  People only tolerated him.  People found ways to work around him.  People even found ways to avoid him.  In fact, on one occasion, a meeting was called in one of the company locations where he would update the more than 800 employees there.  Less than 30 showed up to that meeting.  People saw through him.  They weren’t interested in listening to his rhetoric.

People are smart.  Most of us see through people who only want to advance themselves.  People who are authentic have consistency that shines through.  People who lack authenticity however cannot create trust or truly inspire others to follow.  Inauthentic leaders only have consensus and followers when things are good.  During times of trouble or change, inauthentic leaders can only win through ruling with fear.  In the end, people will turn on inauthentic leaders in a split second.

Real leaders have the ability to make great change.  We need great leaders. That being said, what do you think about leadership and these two reasons why some will never be real leaders?  Do you agree or disagree?

10 Ways to Avoid Looking Like a Jerk When Using Email

We all know people who would rather email than pick up the phone or even walk down the hall to talk to someone.  Heck, if I am being honest, I have even done that.  Sometimes it is done through laziness other times it could be to CYA.  C’est la vie, right?  For the most part, yes; however, there are times that the answer is no.  So, here are 10 ways to avoid looking like a complete jerk when using email:

Image courtesy of www.bubblews.com -

Image courtesy of www.bubblews.com –

10.  Use “Reply All” Judiciously

Not every email needs to have everyone on the distribution list or even an entire string.  It is good etiquette to acknowledge that some information is for information only.  On top of that, it is good practice to acknowledge that email is moving to a smaller distribution list who can and will and act on the issue(s).  When more information is ready, the entire group will be added back to the email distribution.   Being up front and transparent about actions is important.

9.   Understand the “To” and “CC” Fields

Think about who needs what information and when.  For example, many people don’t realize that when sending an email and using the “To” section, you are actually looking for feedback or input from that person or persons.  Using the “CC” section is to ensure that you are providing information to people so that they are in the know, but not necessarily for response.

If you are CC’ed on a message you do not need to respond if you don’t have something to add or contribute.  People often feel that they need to respond to all email even when  CC’ed.  The fact is,  you don’t.

8.   Double Check Spelling and Grammar

To err is human and everyone makes mistakes from time to time in what they write and heck even in speech.  Despite this, mitigate the damage and do good proof read.

7.  Work to Keep Email Short

Ever receive an email and see paragraph after paragraph and think…”Do I really have to read all of this?”  Sure you have.  If you feel this way, think about others and avoid having your audience dread your email.  If you are about to recite War and Peace, it might be better to call a meeting.

6.  Format Email

Make it easy for readers.  Don’t blend all content in one long paragraph.  Break it up with spaces, bullets, etc.

5.  Have a Large Attachment to Send?  Ask first

Some organizations restrict the size of incoming email.  It is best to ask in advance if there could be an issue and/or if they would prefer to receive the information via another medium.

4.  Know When Not to Use Email

If your email could be perceived as alarming, punishing or angry, it would be best to pursue other communication channels.  For example, ask yourself if it would be better to meet in person to help put the issue in context and to be able to answer questions/concerns immediately.

3.  Avoid Using All Caps

I am surprised that some people still don’t know that using all caps is the equivalent to yelling at someone, but it would appear that this is the case.  In a few instances when people have sent me an email with sentences written entirely in caps, I called to ask what I had done to cause the person to yell.  The person who sent the email was completely surprised that I took it that way and was only intending to draw more attention to a particular sentence.

2.  Know When to BCC Others and Use Caution

When sending out a mass email to people it is best to BCC the entire distribution list.  This helps  protect people from unwanted return emails or in some cases, protects privacy.

Where it becomes really tricky is when a person responds to someone and BCCs others in order to make the another person look back or to CYA.  It only takes one “Respond to All” by the person who was BCCed or a conversation to realize that there is a trust issue at hand.

1. Respect People

It goes without saying that you should not put anything in an email that you wouldn’t want a third-party to read.  That being said there are some expectations by the sender  that the receiver will not respond and include others in the email, except in certain circumstances:

Some acceptable times to include others in an email distribution that they were not originally cc’ed on include:

  • You have changed jobs and the person sending the email is looking for assistance based on your old role
  • A person is looking for help or advice in a particular area and as a result sent an email asking if you know of someone who could assist
  • The originator of the email is looking for contact information for another party.

These are three examples where cc’ing another party is completely acceptable.  In each case, the person responding would include the third-party and offer an explanation and/or introduction.

Some examples of when it is not acceptable and makes you look kinda like a jerk include:

  • A person in authority sends an email looking for information and you respond sending the information, but include others.  In this case you should let the person in authority determine if and when another will get the information.  There could be a very good reason that the person was not included in the original email.
  • A colleague sends an email and either has inaccurate information or missing information and you respond correcting the person and cc their boss.
  • The sender of the email has or is looking for information from you and in your response you cc the entire department and/or management.

In all these cases, the person who responds and adds others to the email really comes across as trying to make the other person look bad.

What has been your experience with email?  Have any items to add to this list?  Disagree with any?  We would love to hear from you.

The #1 Reason You Need to Hire for Experience Versus Inexperience

I have been working with a number of clients lately who are really on the fence about whether they should hire a really experienced, knowledgable person who would be a member of senior management versus hiring someone whom they feel has a lot of energy and therefore could learn quickly.  I have counselled them about the benefits for both.  And, there are benefits for both.  Now, I realize what I am about to say will sound boastful however, it is true that those that took my advice have been benefiting from the results and are pleased.  Curious about what my advice was?  Here is the #1 Reason that you need to need to hire experience.

Image courtesy of studentwire.co.uk

Image courtesy of studentwire.co.uk

Lack of Process and Subject Matter Expertise

If you are lacking processes and subject matter expertise in a particular area, you need to hire someone who has that expertise.  This applies to project management to marketing to engineering.

My clients have a burning platform.  They need to make “something” happen.  Whether that “something” is increased sales, increased brand recognition or helping a failing or compromised project to succeed, you need someone with the experience to analyze the existing environment and provide insight about potential pit falls and road blocks as well as set strategy.  In all cases, these clients are missing this experience.  Some are small organizations.  Some are much larger and established organizations.  They are struggling.  They have tried many solutions, including moving people into different roles and hiring the inexperienced, the so-called energetic people.

When evaluating their situation, I recommended in all cases that they needed the right leadership to take them to the next level.  I also suggest that just because someone has experience does not mean that they don’t have energy.  In fact, I went further to say that if you find the experience also look for passion.  If there is passion, the energy will also be there.

Through the course of the conversation with clients I learned that often times “energy” was code word for someone who can roll his or her sleeves up and actually do the work versus just developing strategy and directing others.  Once I realized that this was the issue, I worked hard to change that misconception.  Yes, there are people who only focus on strategy and managing people, but in this day and age, many leaders realize that they have to be able to roll up their sleeves too.  This is particularly true for start-ups and organizations in flux and/or crisis.

In one particular case I recommended that the client hire an experienced person to help them through the issues and to develop the team.  The client was ready to hire.  Unfortunately the client, in this case, did not listen.  The new hire had no background whatsoever in the discipline for which the individual was hired.  The client was very excited about this new hire.  The exact  words were:  “[insert name] is really excited and full of energy.  We are going to get a lot done.  This is good.”  Fast forward one month and the client called.  You could hear the anxiousness in the tone and cadence of the conversation.  The issue?  The new hire was overwhelmed with the work and while a lot of the of recommendations I had made were implemented, they were NOT seeing the results.  It was now do or die time.  I was asked back to help identify the issues.  I already knew the issues.  While the person was very keen, the individual had no background and was attacking things from the “I have to complete this list of activities that was recommended.”  It was a check list only.  There was zero strategy — zero understanding of the business, the complex culture and zero understanding of change management.

The client was willing to hire me for a week’s worth of work.  I summed up the issues and made a recommendation within one hour.  This time the client listened and hired for experience.  Flash forward one month, the project has seen positive results.  The client’s client is starting to see results and much happier. My client has now recommended me to CEOs he knows.

Key Take-Aways:

  • Think about the end-result. It is not failure to admit that you lack subject matter expertise in an area.
  • Hire for experience, including relationships.  In some cases, projects can be derailed because your project team doesn’t have the cultural knowledge of the organization that you are working with.
  • Experience doesn’t mean that a person cannot roll up his or her sleeves and work side-by-side with the team

What is your take on hiring for experience versus inexperience?  Is it really about energy?  If you want to learn more about hiring for experience, connect with us today.

Marketing Advice or Snake Oil: When to Walk Away (or Run)

I have worked in the management consulting/marketing/PR industry for a long time know.  I have seen many trends emerge and die.  I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.  My colleagues and myself have also shaken our heads more than a few times when self-professed experts or gurus have emerged offering a one-sized solution.  This is the modern-day version of snake oil.  In fact, there are some signs that you need to watch for in order to know when to run away from the expert when he or she recommends the following:

Image owned by TaylorMade Solutions

Image owned by TaylorMade Solutions

Outsource All of Your Marketing

If a consultant recommends that you don’t need a marketing presence within your organization, this should be a red flag. If your business needs to understand and build an audience, have data and research to develop products or solutions, you need a marketing presence internally.  You might not be able to have an entire team based on your size and revenues, but you need at least one person who has the knowledge and real marketing experience to guide your organization.  You need someone who has a vested interested in the long-term success of the business and who thinks about the overall strategy versus just tactics and campaigns.

Metrics

If either your consultant or your marketing team informs you that it is not necessary to measure your marketing efforts, run!  Yes, run.  While there are many thoughts on how to measure marketing and just what metrics need to be in place, they are absolutely essential.  They key of course is to have a marketing leader who understands the fundamentals of marketing and also how to align those activities to the overall KPIs of the business.  Not connecting the two is a big miss.

Social Media

You Don’t Need To Be In Social Media

If a management consultant advises you that you don’t need to be in social media, first laugh and then run away.  In this day and age, to still hold this belief is like telling a business that they don’t need to answer the telephone when it rings.

The issue at hand with social media is that far too many consultants, including those that specialize in marketing still approach social media as a push tool.  They don’t understand social media and/or the power.

You Need To Have A Presence in ALL Social Channels

If you are told by your marketing team that you need to have a presence in all social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, etc. etc.) you need to evaluate your marketing leadership.  This approach will fail and fail miserably.  This is neither practical, nor strategic

Public/Customer Comments

You Should Turn OFF the Ability for the Public to Comment

If you are going to go this route I would recommend not bothering to venture into the world of social media.  Social media is intended to be social.  Your customers and prospects aren’t interested in push communications.  They want to engage.

You SHOULD Delete All Negative Comments

If you want to create a problem and possibly an online backlash, this would be good advice.  The only reason I would recommend deleting a comment would be if it was containing threats, profanity or a personal attack.  Before deleting any comment you should have a policy in place and publicly shared that outlines the reasons that a comment would be removed.

You Should ALWAYS Respond to Negative Comments

While we might all have the urge to respond to negative comments, stop and think about it first.  Will responding to the comment give the person a bigger audience than he or she already has?  Is this a justified negative comment?  Can you take the conversation offline?

You Should NEVER Respond to Negative Comments

Again you need to apply some logic and common sense.  If you never address the issues at hand, you need to question what your purpose and objectives are for social media.

Regardless of the situation, businesses need a social media playbook to be able to quickly, consistently and accurately navigate social business.  A good social media management consultant will be able to give you the skeleton of such a tool or develop one for you. Your budget will determine whether it is a skeleton or a full-fledged playbook.

Blogs

If your consultant and/or marketing team tell you that you need a blog, think about this carefully.  The same applies for if you are directed that you should not have a blog.  While blogs are all the rage, do you have a good understanding of content marketing?  Do you understand SEO, how to write a blog headline, or know which platform you should be using?  Do you have the time to do it properly?  If you say no or are not sure, do you have someone leading your marketing team that has this expertise?  If you say no or you don’t know, you need to engage the right person to lead you and your organization through this.

As you can see, there are many indicators that business leaders and owners should look for when getting marketing advice or hiring marketing leadership. It doesn’t need to be a frightening experience, but hiring the right people in the early stages is important.  Hire for experience and knowledge immediately. Hiring resources that you think will learn or gain experience as they go, is not the way to build and protect a brand.  What do you think?  What has been your experience in hiring the right marketing resources?

The #1 Way to Build Your Sales (Hint: Hire A CMO)

Great companies stack their C-suite with the best people they can find to support the CEO and the objectives of the company.  Great companies also realize that in order to build their brand and ultimately sales, they make marketing an integral part of the overall strategy. Entrepreneur.com said it best: many current business battles are marketing battles.  “The CMO owns the marketing strategy–and that often includes the sales strategy–and oversees its implementation. The CMO will know (or learn) your industry inside out and helps you position your product, differentiate it from your competitors’ products, enlist distributors, and make sure customers learn to crave your product….If your business’ success depends on marketing, you need to hire a CMO.”  So, let’s look at #1 way to build your sales:  Hire a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) 

image courtesy of naturallyadvanced.wordpress.com

image courtesy of naturallyadvanced.wordpress.com

Many think that CMOs are for large enterprise organizations.  That thinking couldn’t be farther from the reality of today’s business world.  In fact, leading companies whether start-ups or small and medium businesses have realized that they need to have a CMO on the team as early as possible.  CMOs work with the rest of the C-suite to build the overall corporate strategy and then they lead the execution of that strategy.  CMOs understand how to establish an integrated marketing strategy and look at all pieces of the puzzle.  They look at everything from segmentation to pricing, packaging to audiences/channels, advertising to digital strategies and tactics.  A strategy that doesn’t include all aspects of traditional and digital marketing is a missed opportunity.

Still confused and uncertain?  If so, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Have you ever confused your customers or prospects with inconsistent messaging/advertising?  For example, if you are selling a specific lifestyle does all collateral including website, social channels, advertising, wording and imagery reflect that lifestyle?  If not, then you have confused your customers and prospects.
  2. Is your marketing department staffed with great people, but with no real marketing experience?
  3. Are you having to spend more time mentoring and guiding the marketing team to stay on track?
  4. Is your organization shifting gears, but still gravitating to old markets and/or practices that are no longer your core business?
  5. Do you have a burning platform, but don’t have the marketing team to build and/or execute upon an integrated marketing strategy?
  6. Do you desperately need a strategic business plan?
  7. Have you been attacking your marketing at a tactical level hoping that something will “stick”?
  8. Do you have partnerships with third party brands that have stringent branding requirements and implementation?
  9. Do you have a senior marketing strategist/practitioner onboard who can talk the talk with your branding partners?
  10. Have you implemented the tools of the trade or your competitors, but just aren’t seeing results?
  11. Do you need to build your  brand and protect that brand?
  12. Are you marketing and communicating in both traditional and new digital channels?
  13. Do you need to reach the right audiences to sell to?
  14. Do you know what evergreen content is, or even if you need it?
  15. Do you know how to develop and execute inbound marketing?
  16. Do you know what metrics you need to focus on?
image courtesy of contentmarketingup.com

image courtesy of contentmarketingup.com

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you need a CMO.  The second biggest mistake after not hiring a CMO is waiting to hire the CMO.  It is important to note that CMOs are strategic by nature.  Developing a strategy without the CMO should be done only as a last case scenario.  Developing the strategy and then hiring a CMO will likely result in hiring someone who is tactical only. Alternatively you might only attract someone who has experience in the areas identified. An integrated strategy will not exist and some important components may be totally missed.

So, summarizing entrepreneur.com, if your business depends on marketing, don’t wait.  Hire a CMO.

My 6 Must Reads from 2013

I don’t make New Years resolutions.  I don’t believe in them.  However, I do use this time of year to take inventory and edit.  So far I have removed over 100 pounds of paper from my house and have laundered and prepared three large bags of clothes to take to one of our local charity shops.  My next stop was my library.  I realize that I amassed a lot of new books in 2013.  Despite being in edit and purge mode though, I can’t get bring myself to ever dispose of books – except text books.  My collection of books tends to be heavy on biographies followed by business books.  Of course there is a bit of the fiction types that take me away into another world and time.  Thankfully being a part of a book club forces me to have more of the latter.  That is a good thing.  In reviewing and organizing my new additions from 2013, there were definitely  six books that stood out and, if asked, I would recommend. Here are my top picks from 2013:

IMG_1872

Audience: Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans and Followers, by Jeffrey K. Rohrs

This is a great book that really helps organizations to understand and value the role of an audience.  @jkrohrs uses great stories and examples to get the point across.

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, by Malcolm Gladwell

I really loved this book.  It did make me stop and think about a lot of things.  @Gladwell did a masterful job of looking at things differently.  I had more “aha” moments reading this book than I have for a long time.

Influence Marketing:  How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing, by Danny Brown (@DannyBrown) and Sam Fiorella (@samfiorella)

This is another one of my favs of 2013.  If you are interested in Influencer Marketing, then this is  the book for you.  It is a great source for the history and evolution of the topic.  The book also gives great information for your strategy.  For more detail on this book, check out my review by clicking here.

Lean In:  Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg

Of all the books on my list this is no doubt the book that has been discussed the most.  To be honest I needed to take time and reflect about this book.  There was so much hype about it and its author, I almost unfairly dismissed it and left it off the list.  That would have been unfair.  It is a good read and one that should be read by both women and men.

 WTF (What’s the Future) of Business, by Brian Solis

@Briansolis gives good insight into metrics and the changes that need to occur to keep pace.  Having worked in more than six industries, metrics is one of the common themes.  What are the right things to measure and how best can organizations achieve the right ROI?  Great food for thought can be found in these pages.

Youtility:  Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype, by Jay Baer

@jaybaer is one of my favs when it comes to marketing advice.  One of the things that I like best about his advice is that he is just so grounded.  His advice is based on what most would say is common sense. That being said, very few people have common sense and so many people complicate things unnecessarily.

There were a lot of great books released in 2013, what books would you add to the list?

What Canada’s New Anti Spam Law Means For Marketers (Even in the US)

Do you have customers in Canada?  Do you email your customers?  Thinking about setting up an email campaign for your customers?  Now is the time to learn about the new Canadian Anti Spam Law that comes into effect this July (2014) in Canada, and yes this applies to companies based in the United States.

Image courtesy of www.inboundsales.net

Image courtesy of www.inboundsales.net

This new law is expected to have the most severe penalties in place for those who violate.  The maximum penalty for an individual that sends out spam is $10,000 and $1,000,000 for an organization.

With email marketing making a resurgence of sorts, this new legislation will make it far more difficult for companies to employ new marketing tactics to reach customers and even more difficult to reach prospects.  With 2014 really being the year of mobile (in my opinion), this will definitely throw a wrench into the mix.  Marketers are going to have to come up with new ways to get the coveted attention of the audience.

Here is a synopsis of what you need to know:

1.  Existing Email Lists

If you have an existing relationship, it is expected that you will have a very clear process for opting out if the recipient decides that he or she no longer wishes to receive email.

Implications:  If you do not have a very clear (and easy) process for customers, you are at risk for violating the anti spam law.

AND very importantly  the email MUST be relevant to the recipient’s role and/or duties.

Implications:  This is an important nuance that marketers must be aware of.

2.  Buying New Email Lists

While this new law does not prohibit the buying new email lists, it is very clear that all parties must adhere to the existing Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).  Additionally, the same rules apply for having express consent and also having a clear opt-out process.

Implications:  There will be an extra level of due diligence required for companies both selling and buying lists.  The question you need to ask yourself in order to protect you and your organization is:  Will you be able to determine if Canadians are included in the lists?

3.  Text Messages and “Cellphone” Spam

Think you can still text or reach out by cellphone?  Think again.  The same conditions for email apply to these marketing/communications tools.

Implications:  Your text messages now need to have an opt-out option AND you need express consent.  From a personal standpoint I can relate to this. Organizations texting me and I never signed up to receive texts.  This will be an interesting scenario for travellers to the US.  How will phone companies be handling sending text messages to Canadians when we have not expressly consented?  What will happen as a result of unwanted text messages?

4.  Does this legislation cover all businesses, including government and not-for-profits?

Like the Canadian Do-Not-Call list, it does not.

Political parties and charities are exempt as long as they are not engaging with people for the primary reason of selling and/or promoting a product.  Some might argue that a political party promoting a candidate is selling a product, but it is not clear how this fits into the equation.  This might actually be a good test-case for the law.  Based on the Do-Not-Call list, I suspect that politicians can still send such email.

5.  When exactly does this new law come into effect?

While the key provisions will be effective July 1, 2014, the full effects will not be in place for 36 months.  In fact, small business and not-for-profits are being given this grace period to accommodate the changes that this means for them.  Realizing that they might have the technology and/or resources of larger and for-profit organizations, the government is providing more time to these organizations to make the change.

Do you have concerns over this new legislation?  Are you versed on these changes?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Will 2013 Political Antics Result in an Abysmal 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer?

Like many in the Marketing, PR and business world, I am anxiously awaiting the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer.  Will the bizarre political antics of 2013 result in abysmal results when the 2014 Trust Barometer is released? (Tweet this) Time will tell.

IMG_1859This is a question on the minds of many.  And, quite frankly it should be.  Organizations whether privately owned, publicly traded or even government-based, trust is becoming more important.    Having the social license to operate is based on the foundation of trust.  The same goes for those individuals (and organizations ) who wish to influence policy or purchasing decisions. Members of the C-suite (or senior government) and Marketers in particular should pay close attention to the results of the Trust Barometer and here are 5 reasons why:

 1. Investments

Over the years there has been a shift in the types of organizations that individuals want to associate with or invest time and/or money.  (This also applies to geographic locations.  See #3.) They want trustworthy organizations that are perceived to be doing the right things. If you are publicly traded you should be very interested to know where your industry falls within the barometer.

2.  Recruitment & Retention

Whether you are recruiting for your Board of Directors or your workforce, trust plays an important part in how your industry or profession is perceived.

If overall your industry is not faring well, it could impact your recruitment efforts. With this knowledge however, your C-suite and Marketing professionals can take steps to differentiate your specific brand and business.  With some careful planning, work, a lot of consistency and proper employment branding, it is possible to stand apart from the industry and be the bright light.

3.  Business Expansion

There is a lot of consideration given to business expansion and the choice of geographic location.  Businesses tend to stay away from areas or regions that don’t meet workforce planning requirements of skills, education, or demographics.  They also careful in locating in areas that have a questionable economic position.

More importantly though, managers that understand that reputation management is the single greatest risk that keeps Boards of Directors awake at night (as outlined by CIMA), and a country or region that has been identified as lacking trust will most certainly impact site location.  While some may not consciously realize that they are including this in their assessment, it is a contributing factor.   It relates directly to the region’s ability to attract and retain quality people.

4.  Employee Engagement

As BlessingWhite findings have shown us time and time again, engaged employees stay for what they can give versus the unengaged employees who stay for what they can get.  This should be a huge red flag for employers, including governments.  With reduced budgets, having the right people in the right frame of mind has never been more important.

The question for employee engagement should be:  if an industry has been identified as lacking trust, how does this trickle down to the organization?  The 2013 Trust Barometer found that on average employees were more trusted than CEOs when delivering information.  Add to that the gap in how the C-suite values the importance of treating employees well and there are significant concerns.

5. Spokesperson Selection

The Trust Barometer should be carefully referenced when thinking about corporate spokespersons.  Are CEOs the most trusted?  Are subject matter experts the most trusted?  Or, is the average employee the most trusted?

And just what were some of the political antics of 2013?  Let’s take a look at a few (in no particular order):

In the United States:

  1. Mayoral Race in New York
  2. Snowdon Leaks and the associated fallout
  3. Healthcare Debate
  4. Healthcare Rollout
  5. “The” Government Shutdown

And, really for the first time we can’t forget Canada.  A country that usually has super boring politics  saw a year when things went spinning out of control with media coverage focused on three key stories:

  1. Senate Spending Scandal – This is really several stories with Duffy, Pamela and Patrick.  After months of suspense and intrigue, the soap opera would just not go away.  And, into 2014, the story will continue.
  2. Quebec Charter of Values – Apparently in Quebec some feel that it is more than ok to merge Church and State.  Or, more appropriately, the State can/will tell you what you can wear or not wear to work and in public.  Next, they will tell you what language you can speak or not…oh…wait a minute…never mind.
  3. Mayor Ford of Toronto.  That’s it.  That is all I need to say about this.  Of all the stories, this one was very well covered by the media, the late night shows and satirists everywhere.  Everyone knows about Mayor Ford.

What is your take on Trust in 2014?  What do you anticipate we will see?

Good Customer Service Includes Having The Guts to Admit You Messed Up

It takes a lot for me to write a blog post discussing how a company messed up.  I don’t like doing it really.  Why?  All companies make mistakes.  After all, they are run by human beings and we all make mistakes from time to time. As a result, we should use mistakes to learn what to do to change future behaviour.  Having the chance to learn is the only reason that I write blog posts that highlight poor performance.  Earlier this week I wrote about my experience  with Keurig Canada.  I actually wrote the blog a month earlier, but sat on it.  I wanted to give them a chance to rally and fix the issues.  Eventually I decided to update it and post it.  To Keurig Canada’s credit, they called me.  It takes a lot of guts to admit that you messed up, but they did.  As a result, I want to give credit where credit is due and provide an update as a lesson learned piece.  Here are tips that you can take away from the Keurig Canada experience:

Screen Shot 2014-01-08 at 1.45.12 PM

1.  Be Active Listeners in Social Media

Reputation remains a top concern for Boards of Directors  and quite frankly it is keeping many members awake at night.   So, it shouldn’t be surprising that social media is at the crux of the matter.  You can choose to employ the Ostrich Effect, or you can be an active listener in social.

Keurig monitors its social channels and as a result when I mentioned them on Twitter, they not only saw my blog post, they read it.  They also checked me out on LinkedIn.  I am sure that they also looked at the fact that I have more than 4500 followers on Twitter.  In other words, I have an audience and some level of influence.

2.  Take Action and Move Conversations Off Social

Businesses that care about reputation need to do exactly what Keurig did.  They also need to   use social media monitoring tools that pick up on any company mention and not just direct mentions.  When you have the right tools you can act quicker.  Responding to customer service issues early on, is important.  The sooner you do it the better the relationship.

I have to admit that when I was answering the call and I saw the area code I wondered if it might be Keurig Canada calling.  It was.  I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that they would have a Customer Service Manager call me.  She was good actually and very professional.

3.  Acknowledge Issues

In this case the company is going through a lot of changes and growing pains.  The good news is that the Customer Service Manager acknowledged each and every issue that I raised in my blog post and outlined that they are taking corrective steps.  I find it encouraging that each issue was acknowledged.  I am sure we have all had experiences when a bad customer experience was only made worse when the person or persons representing the company denied that anything unsavoury happened.

Screen Shot 2014-01-08 at 1.51.08 PM

4.  Live the Brand

The Customer Service Manager that called me was, as I mentioned very professional.  She understands the Keurig brand, that was clear.  While not everyone thinks about being on brand and following the brand voice and values, I do. I can’t help it.  I am a Marketing Practitioner so I value and recognize when companies do this well.  Kudos to this Customer Service Manager!

5.  Follow Through

The proof is always in the pudding  though, isn’t it?  During the conversation, some issues that I had, were addressed and acted upon as promised.  This is encouraging of course.  Change also takes time and I know that they understand and have identified all of the issues that they currently have.  Based on this information, I have chosen to again use the online purchasing option through Kuerig Canada.  I will continue to monitor the progress that they make with each purchase.

These are all important components of customer service.  There are of course more and I would love to hear what you think about.

3 Ways to P!$$ Off Your Customers – Keurig Canada Customer Service #Failure

Customer service is not something that you expect some of the time.  Customers expect good customer service all  of the time – period – full stop.  Great customer service is what sets a brand apart from its competitors.  Unfortunately, some companies are failing at customer service – both traditional AND social.  Even more unfortunate is the specific epic #failure of Keurig Canada.  Here three things we can learn from this bad experience.

The Issue

For the first time I opted to buy my coffee online direct from Keurig Canada.  This is not a complicated process.  Create an account, select the coffee you want, check out and pay for it.  Check, check, check and check.  All was well up to and including the confirmation email receipt.  This email stated that I would receive another email when shipped.  Days passed, no email.  A week passed, no email.  More days passed, no email.  I checked on line.  What did I find out?  My payment was taken, but yet there was no status on my shipment.  In fact under delivery date, it said: “N/A”.  I made my original order on November 30th.  After approximately two weeks, I called.  In total I called three times.  Each time I waited on the line for close to an hour and still could not reach a human.  An option was given to leave a message.  I left a message with my name and telephone number and asking about delivery.  No one returned my call.  I emailed Customer Service as well.  No one ever responded.  I resorted to social media and did get a response and a call from the main location in the US.  Unfortunately they were unable to help.  They couldn’t see my order because I was in Canada.  They were fantastic.  In fact, I want to stress that when dealing with Keurig in the United States, their brand representatives are among the best.  I love dealing with them.  Cross the border and well, that is a different story.  Dealing with Keurig in Canada is painful at best and enough to make you rethink your coffee machine purchase.  Keurig Canada’s customer service is a failure.

So, how can your business excel at customer service – both traditional and social?  Here are 3 lessons learned from Keurig Canada’s epic #fail:

Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 5.19.42 PM

1.  Understand the Brand You Represent

It is incumbent on all organizations to ensure that all employees, and particularly customer-facing employees, know and understand your brand – the brand values, voice and how to actually live the brand.  If you are going to outsource parts of your operation, this is even more important.  It only takes one person to hurt your brand and reputation.

Keurig Canada failed to understand the brand.  Their website states the following:  “Keurig” is derived from the Dutch word for excellence, which is our standard for everything, from our patented brewing technology to our gourmet brands of beverages and our customer service.”  

Keurig Canada if you believe that not returning phone calls and/or email which you specifically point your customers to as a communication channel is “being excellent,” I beg to differ.  This is NOT excellence.  Failing to keep your customer informed is a fail.

 2. Staff Your Customer Channels

There is no question that certain times of the year more busy than others.  The business cycle should not come as a surprise.  Staff for it.  Keurig in the US was able to answer and respond to calls.  Their population base is larger.  They have more customers.  They were staffed appropriately.  Jump on a plane and get schooled by the Keurig experts at your head office.  Please!

 3.  Rethink Your Processes and Actually Make Changes

Clearly there was an issue and Keurig Canada realized it.  I received notification that there was an issue with unusually high volumes and therefore they were offering a free box to make up for it.  Good on them, sorta!   This is an opportunity for a second chance.  Unfortunately, they have failed yet again.  Not only did they require that you make a minimum purchase, it has now been a week since my last order.  Guess what?  For days there was no information.  My delivery date said:  N/A.  I checked today and my order apparently shipped yesterday. I have not received the verification email that they promise.  So, the question is:  has it really shipped?  I could call or email, but based on my previous experience, I will pass.

Screen Shot 2014-01-04 at 10.28.14 AM

What’s Your Experience?

These three items are three easy fixes.  If you value your customers, establish processes to avoid these missteps.  The next step is mine.  Will I continue to be a Keurig user?  Or, will I sell my machine and go another route?  I am not certain just yet, but I can tell you that I am seriously evaluating next steps.

So, what is your customer service experience with Keurig?  Would you choose another coffee system?  I would love to hear your thoughts.