One Person Makes a Difference

4. WRITE SOMETHING

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The act of writing is powerful. It makes you think through problems. It doesn't matter what you write about. You need only add a small observation about your world. When you dod you make yourself part of a larger world.

One Person Makes a Difference

3. COUNT SOMETHING

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We should be scientists in this world. We should quantify things that interest us when possible to get a handle on their abstract essence. You will learn something.

One Person Makes a Difference

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2. DON'T COMPLAIN

There are difficulties of having to work with other human beings under circumstances only partly in one's control. Choose not to complain! It's boring, doesn't solve anything, and will get you down. Therefore, be prepared to discuss something else.

One Person Does Make a Difference

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If you ever thought surgeon's knew it all, let me refer you to a book by a surgeon for people in the medical field...with applications to anyone involved in delivering a service to a customer. Atul Gawande wrote, Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. In the Afterward he wrote a piece entitled, Suggestions for Becoming a Positive Deviant. There a five suggestions:

1. ASK THE UNSCRIPTED QUESTION

Encounter people at a real, personal level. Intentionally make conversation with them. Learn something about them. Sometimes you discover the unexpected.

Bags Fly Free

I give kudos to Southwest Airlines and their marketing campaign, Bags Fly Free. What a novel concept and a great piece of advertising. It reminds me of what I've learned about business:

You tell people what you want to do.

You tell people what you are doing - while you're doing it.

You tell people what you've just done.

So...it's all about marketing, even when you're providing a customer service.

"Clientele" - A Customer Service Verb

Management guru Tom Peter's wrote in a blog that businesses have wasted opportunities every day because they do not "clientele." He defined it: "to create a relationship-building encounter with your customer, so that the relationship with the store is better when she leaves than it was when she came in."

How is your clientele?

Read more!

The Spirit of Fellowship

Socrates was a strong believer in the idea of teamwork.  He called the process "koinonia" - the spirit of fellowship.  Another Mars Hill aficionado, the Apostle Paul, wrote of the same concept in the New Testament of the Bible, asking for those who followed the itinerant rabbi named Christ to strive for authentic community.

Here are Socrates seven steps to achieving this spirit of fellowship:

1. Establish dialogue.  Present your ideas, but don't try to make everybody agree with them.

2. Exchange ideas.  Have everybody present their ideas.

3. Don't argue. While people are presenting ideas, just take notes and focus on the person speaking.

4. Don't interrupt. Let participants say everything that is on their minds. Don't speak up while somebody else is presenting an idea.

5. Listen carefully.  Otherwise, you might not get a full understanding of what a person is saying.

6. Clarify your thinking. Eliminate all your biases against others on the team.  Any biases will cloud your judgment of some one's ideas.

7. Be honest. Say what's on your mind.  The only way to establish trust is through honesty.