Get To know  them
So many times we see a company provide what the customer is looking for and then send them on their way. In a bicycle shop, for example, a customer walks in and is obviously searching for something related to a bicycle. He or she mentions that a desire to purchase a new bicycle is what has brought them into the store that day. The shop owner has plenty of bicycles for sale, lets the customer find one they like, receives payment, and lets the transaction end there.

One thing to remember is that, often, the businessman or woman knows more about the product or service they are providing than even the most informed customer. Suppose that the customer in the bicycle shop picked out a street racing, ten-speed bicycle and the shop owner, neglecting to develop a personal relationship with the customer, let the customer’s choice be the beginning of the transaction and the payment for said bicycle be the end of it.

Now, suppose that the same customer with a new street racing ten-speed bicycle was planning on taking that bicycle on a mountain trip through rugged and desolate trails. Obviously, the street racing ten-speed is not the best of choices for doing so. If the shop owner had taken the time to talk to the customer and asked questions such as, “So, planning on doing some riding? Where at?” the shop owner would have been able to suggest a better product for the customer and, hence, developed an appreciative bond between the business and the customer, causing the customer to, more-than-likely, make a return visit.

Make It Special
Sometimes, excellent customer service calls for the unusual. Make an effort to go the extra mile and provide what is known as “customer-led services”. Some customers might work until 5:00 p.m., which is just when your store closes. Offering to let the customer shop after the store closes is catering to a customer’s special needs and goes a LONG way in the relationship department. This sort of action also goes hand-in-hand with developing a personal relationship with the customer, as mentioned earlier. This example of customer service is something that can be used anywhere, from a small storefront business to a large corporation. The point is, pay attention to special needs of your customers, whether a customer is a casual shopper or a corporate client, and you will be rewarded with continued business from that customer again and again.

Customer Service Starts at Home
It is important to remember that good customer service starts with employees that are happy to serve the customer. Take care of your employees and they will take care of you. Make sure their needs are met and do what you can to create a workplace free from negativity and full of motivation and recognition for creativity. Happy employees love their job and it shows when they provide a service or product to your customers.

Time’s Up!
If an idea, plan, or strategy is not working, bring it to an end. So often, managers are faced with the realization that perhaps the system which was put in place to increase customer service is not going to produce positive results after all. Still, they are reluctant to drop the curtain due to pride or hoping that with just a little more time the plan could still be effective. Forget it. If it’s not working, move on to something else. Shut it down and start something else. There is no use in wasting customers’ time and business in the hope that whatever method is being used will eventually work out. Out with the old, in with the new is good advice.

Above all, remember that customer service is the single most important thing to consider in your business, second only to taking care of your employees. Be willing to be flexible and get involved in the process of customer service in any way possible, no matter how high on the food chain you are. Not only will this serve as a good example to your employees but it will increase the level of service that your customers receive.

David Dell, research director for capabilities management and HR at The Conference Board, has observed, “Both HR and IT have many new issues to address and many decisions to make and implement. But the speed of change in both areas makes the challenge more difficult as it increases the promise.”

Why do people resist change? Leslie Smith, a clinical psychologist and former Web designer in McLean, Virginia, outlines these reasons:

• Fear of making mistakes or looking foolish.
• A lack of understanding or confidence about the new system and its benefits.
• Anxiety about doing more. Employees often feel overworked already, and resist learning something new when it’s layered on top of their existing duties.
• Change fatigue. Once people learn something new, they’d like to stick with that new knowledge and take a rest.

Jeanie Daniel Duck, author of The Change Monster: The Human Forces That Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation & Change, writes, “The knee-jerk answer (to failed change efforts) is the people ‘resist change,’ as if ‘resistance to change’ were some kind of sorry genetic code that, if it could be reengineered, would magically produce people instantly eager to do things differently whenever anyone asked. The ‘resistance to change’ answer… is appealing because it takes the blame off the leaders and puts it on those ‘no-good followers.’”

Leaders must take charge of change. There are many things that you can do to ensure a more successful initiative, including:
Communicate. Explain what benefits you expect from the new system and how people’s roles might change. Also make sure that change is championed from the top of the organization and communicate that support.

Collaborate. Involve prospective users in change decisions and choices. Duck says it’s not the change that’s the problem, but the way it comes down. “People are changing all the time, but those are changes of their own choosing,” Duck says. “People resist being told they have to change.”

Demonstrate. As Duck observes, people are powerfully motivated by self-interest. Technological change is likely to be more successful if people are shown what’s in it for them. “When they’re motivated, it’s amazing what people can do,” she says.

Evaluate. Look at the whole corporate culture, not just IT, to determine how many other changes people are being asked to deal with at the same time, such as a merger or reorganization. Perhaps it’s time to give them a breather.

Commiserate. Let people know it’s okay to complain, Duck advises. It provides a useful outlet. Although IT may feel like the corporate whipping boy, “that’s the nature of the beast. IT departments have a checkered past,” she says. “They must accept that and be more careful.” Further, allowing complaint and disagreement might enable you to measure resistance before you spend millions of dollars on that new initiative.

Don’t denigrate. Mary Lynn Pulley, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. She maintains that the learning curve is upside down: “It’s more of a valley than a hill,” she says. “Whenever you learn anything, your performance actually declines before it improves.”

She refers to that performance dip as the Valley of Chaos, and urges learners to remember that chaos and creation go hand in hand. “Things have to fall apart or disintegrate in some way so that they can come back together in a new way.” Managers must make it clear that mistakes are okay and avoid any kind of punishment for error in a learning environment.

Eradicate. “You must allow for the notion of un-learning as people abandon old ways,” Pulley says. Know that people have to rid their minds and routines of that which no longer works, but be aware that getting rid of the old and familiar can engender fear and confusion.

1. Success is not achieved accidentally. It is a systematic, deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what you will do when you get there, and what the steps are to get you where you want to be.

One of the most important aspects of success is the ability to visualize your path and stay focused on your goal until you reach it.

2. The sooner you envision your dreams and develop a plan to turn them into reality, the faster you will accomplish your goals. Mental pictures are a mechanism to lead you down the path of true independence and motivation.

Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior that develops in part due to low self-esteem and fear of failure. Your imagination is like a preview of your future.

If you don’t use your imagination your life will remain mundane and unfulfilling.

3. Overcoming procrastination is the first step in helping you create the lifestyle you desire. You must change the habits and behaviors that led you to procrastinate in the first place.

Change is a slow process so be sure to reward yourself along the way for small achievements.

Instead of focusing on the difficulty of a large task, break it into smaller jobs and create a timeline for finishing them.

4. Several small jobs done over time are much more manageable that one large task with no end in sight.

You’ll be astonished at how much you can get done if you concentrate on one thing at a time instead of cluttering your mind with multiple tasks.

Try tackling the more undesirable tasks early in the day so that by afternoon you can pursue more pleasant activities.

5. Relieve yourself of the pressure created by clutter in your office or home. Develop a filing system, rid yourself of unnecessary papers, and give yourself an organized place to work.

When you exercise self-discipline in your surroundings as well as your behaviors, you will make major strides in accomplishing your goals in a shorter period of time.

No matter what is happening around you, keep your mind focused on the reward you’ll receive by reaching your goals.

6. If people or outside forces distract you, use the power of the human mind to block out what impedes your progress and concentrate solely on the task at hand.

You will make remarkable progress by refusing to let others alter the path you have chosen.

Overcoming procrastination and staying motivated is the way to lifetime success and happiness. You’ll achieve your goals rapidly when you stay focused on your destination and the rewards that will follow.

7. Review your habits and way of thinking to determine what you are visualizing most of the time. If your visions do not lead you in the direction of accomplishing your goals, then you must change them.

Discipline yourself to concentrate on your goals the majority of the time, and if you stray from the path, get promptly back on.

Imagine what the rewards will be when you finally reach your destination and keep that thought foremost in your mind.

Procrastination is of no use to you in your quest to fulfill your dreams. Lose those old habits and replace them with habits that lead to self-motivation and control over your life.

You know the names of the most recent batch. We have all been impacted, in one way or another, by downsizing, re-engineering, restructuring, delayering and so on.

Re-engineering is a solid business management tool, but applied incorrectly it can cause more harm than good. Downsizing, when done improperly, is appropriately called dumbsizing.

The latest management buzzword isn’t really a trend. It is more a reaction to the last few trends. The new buzzword is brightsizing. While it provides more opportunity for comic relief, courtesy of Dilbert, it is no laughing matter. Brightsizing is downright dangerous and you need to protect your organization from it.

Brightsizing is defined, by Paul McFedries’ Word Spy, as “corporate downsizing in which the brightest workers are let go. This happens when a company lays off those workers with the least seniority, but its those young workers who are often the best trained and educated.”

Sometimes brightsizing is blamed on union contracts, which enforce seniority-based hiring/firing practices. It is, unfortunately, just as common in non-union companies.

Many companies have policy statements in their employee handbooks that state that in layoff decisions “among equally qualified candidates preference will be given to the employee with the greatest seniority.”

When faced with decisions that will result in a reduction in staff, make sure you first evaluate the value of the employee to the organization and THEN look at other mitigating factors, such as length of time with the company.

One company I worked with kept an individual with them because he was one of their first employees. They kept finding jobs he could do as the company grew rapidly and outgrew his capabilities. Eventually, the made him responsible for picking up dignitaries at the airport and bringing them to the office.

While I believe in company loyalty and retraining employees, you have to draw the line somewhere based on performance and value to the company. The driver had gotten old, was nearly blind, and could not even converse socially with the dignitaries he picked up. He did not make a good first impression for the company.

This individual, incidentally, became an even greater liability to the company because he never adjusted to the changing social rules on interpersonal conduct. His remarks and actions were usually dismissed because “he’s just a harmless old man”, but the potential for a harassment lawsuit was significant.

Remember, your first obligation is to the health of your company, not to any individual. While it is important that you respect your employees as a group, and always treat them fairly, you can not sacrifice the company for any individual. If the company suffers as a result of poor personnel decisions on your part, it may result in further downsizing and more employees would have to be released.

Don’t brightsize your company by keeping people with the greatest seniority. Don’t cripple it, either, by applying any other arbitrary measurement. Don’t just keep the tall people, for instance, or the blondes. Don’t keep people just because they are friendly or dependable. Make all your staffing decisions based on what is best for the company.