Mike Figliuolo – Page 104 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

Outlookicide

June 2, 2008 /1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

Meetings give me a rash. A really bad one. One that not even calamine lotion can soothe. The only things worse than meetings are reports. Standard daily reports, weekly reports, hourly reports. Reports on the status of reports. If I wasn’t already insane, these things would drive me insane. Take a look at your Outlook for this week (or if you’re a rebel, look at your Lotus Notes). How much time is spoken for already? How little time is left for you to actually get stuff done? Now take a look at your inbox. How many Excel files are in there with their thousands of rows of data that no one will look at until some SVP gets bored, opens one up and asks a random question about a data point no one has looked at in months? Even more alarming is if you have folders in your Outlook dedicated to storing each of these reports so you can quickly answer said random questions because you have the reports conveniently stored on your laptop. By the way, they’re probably also stored on a shared drive somewhere so you’ve now doubled the amount of data storage space required for this crap repository. Fear not my friends. There is a cure.

Perfect 10

May 26, 2008 /3 Comments/in Customer Service, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

I know sometimes it seems like I have more complaints than I do uplifting, heartwarming stories like the ones you’d find on the Hallmark Channel. But every once in a while, someone gets it right. Nails it. Perfection like Nadia Comaneci.This particular individual of whom I speak was slightly less athletic than the sprite-like Nadia. Okay, a lot less athletic. About 6’2″, 280. With a mountain man beard. But that didn’t matter because his skills in the service arena were absolutely spectacular. It was a bright, sunny afternoon and I was performing one of my regular jobs – I was the IT guy for the day. It’s amazing how much maintenance running a home wireless network consisting of kid’s PC’s, laptops, XBoxes, and other peripherals can be. But it’s better than my other two jobs as plumber and chief bug killer. Anyway, it was time to install the new printer. Everything was hooked up just dandy. But where was the wire to make the final connection to the PC? I emptied the box. I went through the 18lbs. of packing materials. No wire. I read the box and in the modern-day equivalent of “batteries not included” in tiny 10 pitch the box said “USB cable to connect to PC not included. Sucker.” I swear, the “sucker” part was on there.

I never want to be [sic]k

May 19, 2008 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

Reading the news (or even your email) can be distressing and can drive one to the point of despondency. It can also be fun. It’s especially fun when people say or write silly stuff and the reporter has to write “[sic]” after a misspelling or stupid comments in the original transcript. “[Sic]” technically means “Thus; so. Used to indicate that a quoted passage, especially one containing an error or unconventional spelling, has been retained in its original form or written intentionally.” Said more simply, it’s a way for the author of the article to point out the person they’re quoting can’t spell quite as well as they can or to indicate the speaker speaks funny. To be clear, I never want to be [sic]. Being [sic] means I forgot to hit the spell check button before I put something in the pubic [sic] domain (See? It can be funny!). It means I’ve been less than attentive to basic tenants [sic] of professionalism. It reflects poorly on me and really tests the patients [sic] of my readers. In some cases, it reflects a certain level of disrespect for my audience as it implies they’re not even important enough for me to spell check before presenting an idea to them. At the very least it indicates I don’t have enough spare change to buy a pocket dictionary or buy web access to get to dictionary.com. I’m not saying I’m bettor [sic] than people who misspell things. I’m simply trying to point out that the one minute you save by not proofreading something costs you immeasurably in terms of your own personal brand equity. I saw a massage [sic] the other day where the author was exhorting people to do their diligence on companies before interviewing with them because “failing to do so […]

Rabid Ferrets In The Corner… Give Them An Out

May 13, 2008 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

Stupid stuff is going to happen. Expect it. It’s part of our complex and highly interdependent world. People will make mistakes. A lot of them. Layer on top of that some incredibly politically charged cultures (for more on that subject see “Hot Heads and Karma”) and there’s an abundance of potentially bad outcomes. There will be times where stupid stuff will happen to you (and yes, there are times you will do stupid stuff – accept it as axiomatic). When really stupid stuff happens (known as “stoooooopid” stuff it’s so stupid), it can feel like others are conspiring against you. It can seem like a plot of Oliver Stonesque proportions. During those situations, the outcomes are mostly binary – you defuse the situation or it blows up sometimes causing irrepairable harm to your career or reputation. You may even have an urge to attack the responsible individual. Doing so can create a situation where they feel like a rabid ferret backed into a corner. When you create that dynamic, they’re most likely to attack back (and rabid ferrets can be NASTY!). The good news is, there are ways to defuse these events simply by adopting the right mindset. When you’re facing that little fang-baring whirling devil-spawned rodent, give them an out. Create a way for them to gracefully exit the situation without a full-on conflict. They want a fight as little as you do.

Strategic Flexibility Requires “Primacy of Purpose”

May 5, 2008 /1 Comment/in Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

There’s an old Army saying that “no plan survives first contact with the enemy.” (I’m sure some navy or marine guy out there will attribute this comment to their branch of service but to be clear, it came from the Army… well, actually it came from Helmuth von Motltke but his version was much less pithy. Gotta love his helmet though…). This principle holds true in business as well. You can put together the mother of all PowerPoint presentations, make massive strat plan binders for the Board of Directors or the heads of your business unit, create Excel models that cause the lights to dim when you run them and lay out huge project plans in MS Project. The thing is, as soon as you’ve briefed your plan, it’s irrelevant. The world has changed. Oil spikes. Consumer sentiment. A presidential election. New regulations. Disruptive technologies and even more disruptive competitors. Not to mention natural churn in the labor markets (see “Talkin ’bout My Generation“). In these changing times, it’s easy to get “off strategy” and chase things that seem important. Unfortunately you can end up behaving like a puppy in a park (Ever seen a puppy in a park? They chase EVERYTHING that looks interesting.). The only thing that can save you and keep you “on strategy” is something called “primacy of purpose.”

To Fall on the Sword… or Not

April 29, 2008 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

I love passionate people. People who throw themselves into their work with every last erg of energy they have. To them, everything about their work is important. It’s serious business and they drive hard to form the world in an image they’re proud of. With passion, however, comes peril. If everything is important, you tend to get worked up over every issue no matter how large or small. You feel it necessary to stand up for what’s right in every instance. You might even seek to transform situations by injecting yourself into them even if you don’t really have a say in the matter. The result is repeatedly diving on your sword for many issues or sticking your beak where it doesn’t belong and getting involved in problems that are larger than you. As usual on this blog, I’m going to give you a helpful little tool to help you avoid all those nasty sword gashes. All you have to do is ask and answer one simple little question: “What’s the upside?” That’s it. That simple. That single question will keep you out of more trouble than you can imagine. It provides what I call “clarifying moments” that help you better evaluate a situation and the possible range of impacts and implications of the actions you’re considering. If there’s no upside, it’s not worth fighting for or taking the risk. If the upside is clear, dive on in.

Customer Focus = Alignment in Strategy

April 22, 2008 /0 Comments/in Customer Service, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Besides ruthless prioritization (see “Strategy is About Saying ‘No’”) and being sure you have a well-articulated goal that ties to your financials (see “Budget +10% Isn’t a Strategy”), strategy requires a crystal clear understanding and alignment around serving your customers. These are the people who pay your salary. Aligning the entire organization’s efforts around providing outstanding products and services to these customers is key, yet often absent. Why? There’s lack of clarity and conflicting goals that often get in the way of alignment. Sure it’s easy for the front-line associate to understand customer service and wants/needs. These are your store personnel, service providers, sales teams, and anyone else who directly interacts with your end customer (be it an individual or a business). Usually there’s pretty good alignment within these ranks on the importance of serving customers well. The problem more frequently occurs in the “support” functions. That’s where it gets a little more difficult to align an organization with customer service but it can be done. The big question is “how?” There’s a great phrase I’ve had used on me and subsequently used in other settings. I was working in a “support” function where I was responsible for some of our organization’s back-end technology and infrastructure. The organization was focused on metrics that made sense at face – budget, project completion status, up-time, etc. Unfortunately, when requests came in from the “front line” they were seen as obstacles to achieving some of the metrics the group was evaluated on. How could we possibly make budget when the front line was asking for additional capabilities and resources? Then I heard it – “If you’re not serving a customer, you best be serving someone who is.” It was a clarifying moment.

Hot Heads and Karma – It All Works Out

April 17, 2008 /1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Perspective and patience. It’s a challenge especially in a lightning-fast business world filled with Type A’s, cro-magnons, and Machiavellian punks (read The Prince for more detail on this last point). It’s enough to make a sane person lose their mind (and in the case of the insane like myself, it means we have to attend therapy more frequently than we already do). Bad behavior happens every day. There’s classic micro-management where your superior is giving detailed instructions on how you should adjust your desk chair. There’s cro-magnonesque screaming and berating of subordinates who are doing nothing but their best yet market forces stall their efforts. There are the up-and-comers who behave like the fastest way to the top involves stepping on the backs, heads, and faces of those around them. And my favorite, the office politics and intrigue that would impress even the most conniving CIA and KGB veterans of the cold war. You confront these and other onerous acts daily. So what can you do? You have a few choices. You can play their game. You can get so bent out of shape over it you look like a bag of Rold Gold pretzels. You can focus on what matters and, like Jason Lee on “My Name is Earl,” believe in Karma. Let’s dissect these…

Forget the Free Breakfast! – Guest Blogger

April 15, 2008 /0 Comments/in Customer Service, Guest Blogger /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m pleased to bring you Mark Henson as a guest blogger this week. You’ll find background on Mark at the end of this post. Enjoy the post… I’m just getting back from a wonderful beach vacation in Hilton Head (trying to switch gears from palm trees back to palm treos…). On our way back to Ohio, we stayed in Mooresville, NC, just north of Charlotte. It’s known as “Race City USA” because it’s home base to the majority of the NASCAR race teams and just a few miles to Lowes Speedway. It’s also home to one of the most disappointing hotels I’ve ever stayed at — The Wingate Hotel, part of the Wingate/Wyndham hotel chain. We booked the hotel because it got a 3-star rating and it had an indoor pool. When you coop 2 small kids in a car all day, you MUST stay in a hotel with a pool…it’s the law. I’d have to say this hotel was really more of a 1.5-star dressed up to look like a 3-star. In fact, when we first arrived we were fairly impressed by the decor, the amenities, and at least one attentive front desk helper (the other one was doing a crossword puzzle while we checked in). All in all, it looked like a decent hotel with a pool and FREE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (which they really make sure you know about). Within minutes, the tuxedo this hotel was wearing began to unravel. The hot tub wasn’t hot. Not a big deal, but when we reported it to the front desk, the crossword puzzle girl rolled her eyes and said, “It’s broken. There’s supposed to be a sign. Is there no sign?” Nope, no sign. No sign of help from her, either. But at least we were going to get free […]

Customer Hostile Policies Feed Customer Hostile Cultures

April 8, 2008 /9 Comments/in Customer Service, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

So I’m going to hearken back to my very recent post “$325 Equals $210? The Math of Customer Hostile Policies” because apparently these policies are indicators of a broader cancerous culture. I’m flying home right now from Virgina Tech where I spent two days with some wonderful, bright and talented students (thanks for having me come speak by the way). I arrive at my layover destination. I’m traveling on the airline with the customer hostile policies I mentioned in my previous post. My final flight is scheduled to depart at 2:40 PM. I look at my watch and it’s 1:05. I notice there’s an earlier flight to my destination that departs at 1:20 so I walk briskly to that gate (at my age, I no longer sprint through airports out of fear of pulling something). When I arrive at the gate (at 1:08), I asked the gate agent “Is there any way I can get on this flight? I’m currently on the 2:40.” The jetway door was still open. Her reply didn’t shock me: “Ummmm no. I’m busy doing my paperwork and I have to get it out by 1:10. And I’d be all rushed to take your credit card info and get you on the flight.” You have to be kidding me. Her tone was one of annoyance that I, a measly customer, would dare interrupt her all-important paperwork or heaven forbid ask her to rush a little and go out of her way to perform the onerous task of swiping a credit card. “You can’t get me on the flight? The jetway isn’t closed yet.” Not even looking up from her paperwork I got “Nope. Flight’s closed.” I guess I didn’t even exist anymore because I wasn’t even worth being looked at now.

April Foolish Bad Office Behaviors To Kill

April 1, 2008 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

April Fool’s Day. One of my favorite days of the year. Usually I’ll find some nasty heart-stopping little gag to play (usually on my boss because it keeps him on his toes but now that I don’t have a boss, I guess I’m only fooling myself…). This year, I’m dedicating April Fool’s Day to calling out some of the foolish behavior we see and tolerate every day in our cozy little cubicles. While these aren’t the worst behaviors, they do make work a little less tolerable unless you can find the absurdity in said behaviors. That being said, I’d ask everyone do their part to end the foolishness. Call it out. Kill it. Please. So here are the foolish behaviors that made this year’s list: 1. Staff meetings 2. Sycophants 3. Stupid frameworks and acronyms 4. Stealing talent from another manager So without further ado, let’s examine each of these practices so we may better eradicate them from the face of business…

$325 Equals $210? The Math of Customer Hostile Policies

March 25, 2008 /5 Comments/in Customer Service, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

So I bought a plane ticket. It cost me $325. My plans changed and I now had a credit with one of the major air carriers. No problem. I know I’ll have to pay a change fee at a later date (usually $100) but not a huge deal. “At least I’ll be able to use the credit” I thought to myself. I had occasion to travel again so I called said airline and told them I wanted to book my flight to Chicago for my presentation at the Leadership Excellence 2008 Conference. The new ticket was going to be $210. “Cool! I can use my full credit and even simply pay the change fee out of what I already paid” I naively mused. Then the ugly spectre of customer-hostile policies reared its head. It went a little something like this: “Yes sir. The flight is $210 round trip.” “Great. I’d like to use a credit I have with you folks. The old confirmation number is RIPOFF325.” “Yes sir. I have that credit here. How would you like to pay the balance due today?” “Huh? Balance due?” “Yes sir. There’s a $100 change fee for using the old ticket.” “Yeah. I know. Just use the credit for the $325 ticket toward the $210 ticket plus the $100 change fee and I should still have a credit of $15 with you guys, right?” I mean, I did pass arithmetic in 2nd grade. Here’s where things start going south…