It’s Time to Face the Music: Making the Leadership Connection with Your Customers

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The bigger we get the smaller we have to think. Customers still walk in one at a time. – Sam Walton

A story is told of how many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary and enjoyed a comfortable living.

Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his performance, the imposter took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to the phrase that found its way in to the English language: “He refused to face the music.”

Facing the music with your customer is a matter of good leadership. Knowing where you stand with your consumer is paramount to your success. The findings by the 2013 Edelman Barometer of Trust (http://bit.ly/VKfWVd) indicate that there is a great deal of work to be done. Everyone wants to be a leader and we understand the need for it, but there’s a problem: many consumers don’t trust leaders. According the to report less than a fifth of the general public believes that a business leader can be trusted to tell the truth or make an ethical decision.

Making the leadership connection with your customer is a leadership issue of the highest order. Facing the music is how you begin. Are you taking an honest look and properly assessing your relationship toward your customer in a way that will build trust and credibility? Here are three ways to begin the process.

Be open to the facts. Facing the music may not be a pleasant experience as you assess your current footing but if you are going to build trust with your customers you must be willing to do it. If you are not listening to them then they will go where their voice is heard and valued.

Internally you must analyze your customer relationship in many ways. A great example of how this is being done is found with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and their ‘culture of metrics’ (http://bit.ly/RrWmd4) approach that keeps all eyes focused on the customer. Amazon tracks its performance against nearly 500 measurable goals, and nearly 80% of those have to do with customer objectives. The first step to making the leadership connection with your customers is to be open to the receiving the facts as they currently exist.

Be willing to change. When you face the music as it relates to your customers and you have an honest assessment of your positioning with them you must then be willing to act. Change works to your advantage only because of what you do with your knowledge. For example, if you have a disgruntled customer then you have a choice. Listen to them, help them, and keep them, or lose them.

Writing for Inc., (http://bit.ly/12C9apz) Maria Tabaka says, “Be thankful that your customer is willing to tell you what most won’t. It’s a gift that may offer you insight into problems that other customers aren’t willing to share… It’s a proven fact that when conflict is resolved well, a customer can become an even more devoted fan than they would have if there was never a problem in the first place.” When you empower yourself with the facts and demonstrate a willingness to change in order to meet your customers’ needs then you are on the path to greater success. Embracing this leadership challenge is essential to building the kind of relationships that will sustain you today and into the future.

Be vigilant going forward. The corrections you make today will help you today but the longevity of your success is a matter of vigilance. The needs, desires, and wants of your customers is constantly changing and evolving. Are you prepared to meet the challenges they bring?

A working formula for your vigilance looks like this:

RB (Relational Building) + CK (Customer Knowledge) = MB (Mutual Benefit).

Simply put, making the leadership connection with your customers begins by building relationships and knowing their wants and needs. When these two things become your priority you will not have to worry about your success. It will take care of itself. And it shows good leadership.

Are you prepared to face the music?

© 2013 Doug Dickerson

If you enjoy reading Doug’s leadership insights you will especially enjoy reading his leadership books, Leaders Without Borders & Great Leaders Wanted! Visit his website and order your copies today!

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Leadership Minute: Stay in Control

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Tom Landry said, “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.” Often time your influence as a leader can be wielded by your presence just as much as it can by your words. Your posture as a leader speaks to your team just as much as your words do. You can give your team the confidence they need to go forward when you show them that you are in control and despite any circumstance you remain calm. Make sure your words and actions are in agreement. Stay in control!

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s leadership books, Leaders Without Borders & Great Leaders Wanted! Stop by this weekend and order your copies!

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Leadership Minute: You Are Important

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Nathaniel Hawthorne said, “Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.” Never underestimate your importance as a leader. Your ability to make a difference in the lives of others on a regular basis is a blessing. The good thing is; you do not have to have a title to do it. Your importance has nothing to do with the position you hold. It has everything to do with your willingness to be a force for good. You have a place to fill in the world. Go out and make a difference!

 

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s leadership books, Leaders Without Borders & Great Leaders Wanted! Visit his website to order your copies today.

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Leadership Minute: Help Others

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Brian Tracy said, “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’” When was the last time you did something good for someone with no expectation of receiving anything in return? As a leader you have the responsibility every day to make decisions that impact your business and bottom line. But you also have the opportunity to help others. It’s in helping others that you discover the blessing of being a leader. And when you lead by the principle of the Golden Rule you are modeling the strength of your leadership. Let today be a day of great joy!

 

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s books, Leaders Without Borders & Great Leaders Wanted! Visit his website to order your copies today.

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Leadership Minute: Greatness in Perspective

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Napoleon Hill said, “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” I think this is the practical essence of leadership. Not every leader is going to do great things on a large scale but every leader can do small things on a great scale. When you make up your mind to be faithful in the small things and commit to doing them in a great way you can make a big difference. Be encouraged today in knowing that you are making a difference and that your greatness is not to be measured in the size of your task but by the size of your heart.

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s books, Great Leaders Wanted! and Leaders Without Border. Visit his website and order your copies today.

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Leadership Minute: Make Your Values Clear

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Roy E. Disney said, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”  As a leader you make many decisions throughout the day. But are they based on your values or something else? When your values are clear to you it streamlines your decision-making process. Your values serve as a filter to weed out the burden of worrying about public opinion, what’s popular at the moment, or any other frustrating possibility. Simply put, values are the guideposts that direct you in the way you should go and help to keep you grounded to your principles. Have you clearly defined your values?

 

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s leadership books, Leaders Without Borders and Great Leaders Wanted! Visit his website to order your copies today.

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Anger: Taming the Savage Beast

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Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. – Mark Twain

A story is told of Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, who was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded letter to the president.

“What are you going to do with it?” Lincoln inquired. Surprised, Stanton replied, “Send it.” Lincoln shook his head. “Put it on the stove. That’s what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It’s a good letter and you had a good time writing it and feel better. Now burn it, and write another.”

Anger is one of those emotions that if not dealt with can cause many problems for leaders. What’s more important is for your team to know how to deal with the anger of your customers. This was the topic of a recent Open Forum column (http://amex.co/11qWxK4) by Rieva Lesonsky. In the column Lesonsky cited a Futures Company survey that was conducted last year that revealed more consumers are in a state of generalized rage – not necessarily about customer service, but about most things in general.

The general state of mind of most consumers’ worldwide highlights a growing challenge for business leaders, and having an intuitive staff that can handle the growing tensions is imperative. The survey highlighted three primary sources for this heightened consumer anger: stress, suspicion, and anti-business attitudes. Any one of these ingredients is cause for concern but when combined as part of a growing consumer trend it is important not to ignore it.

Stemming the sentiments of consumer anger will require a proactive approach. While space restricts me from presenting an exhaustive approach for dealing with the consumer anger issue I will offer starting points that can position you to address it. Here are three steps to begin with that can help you tame the savage beast of anger.

Create awareness. Internal awareness is the first step toward addressing consumer anger. Is your company or organization paying attention to the warning signs of consumer anger? How consumer anger is manifested towards your business should be on your radar. If you are not aware of how it affects you, your competitors, or your suppliers it can have potentially negative consequences.

Creating awareness within your organization is crucial to its health and vitality. Make sure your frontline staff is sensitive and proactive in how they represent your company and the image they are putting forth. Being aware of potential conflicts can prepare you to surprise your customer with a greater than expected experience. You win your customer over tomorrow by preparing your staff today.

Build relationships. Externally, the success of your business is grounded in relationships. Mark Sanborn nailed it when said, “Customers don’t have relationships with organizations; they form relationships with individuals.” How do you see your customers? If you merely look upon them as transactions you are missing the point and always will. The key to dispelling the consumer anger sentiment is to make it personal which begins by building relationships.

Value is created where value is given priority. The reason consumers feel suspicious is due to their belief that businesses are ready to cheat customers whenever they can get away with it.  Dispelling the anger is found in building trust. That can only happen in relationship. Loyalty to the business is not always an economic decision it is one of relationship.

Deliver service with excellence.  Taming the savage beast of anger is an internal work (creating awareness) and it’s an external work (building relationships), which can now be solidified with how you deliver your product. When excellence is the standard by which your company or organization operates then it will be reflected at every level of the consumer experience.

The blueprint of your success in taming the savage beast of anger begins with leadership. Your capacity as a leader to recognize the need is the beginning of solving it.  Creating a culture of awareness is essential to your teams’ ability to recognize consumer anger and defuse it. And everyone delivers with excellence at every phase of the consumer experience it will keep them coming back for more.

Are you taming the savage beast?

 

© 2013 Doug Dickerson

 

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Leadership Minute: Keep the Faith!

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Helen Keller said, “Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” It’s been a tough week with the events in Boston and in Texas. But it’s in times like these that we need to be reminded to keep the faith.  It’s easy to focus on all that is bad and become discouraged by what we see. But on this day, let us focus on our faith, in the eternal goodness and Sovereignty of God, and be the beacons of light that the world needs. Our world is fragile and for many has been shattered. Today you can be the light and strength that can make a difference. Keep the faith and shine on!

 

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy Doug’s books, Leaders Without Borders and Great Leaders Wanted! Visit his website to order your copies today.

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Leadership Minute: Finding Balance

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Nelson Mandela said, “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” In leadership you need both. You need a good head to lead your organization with knowledge and competency. You need a good heart in order to lead your people. When you understand the power of combining the two it gives you a distinct advantage as a leader. It’s one thing to know how to run a business, but it’s a greater advantage to know how to build relationships and create a culture where everyone can excel. The challenge as a leader is found in understanding the importance of the two.

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially like Doug’s leadership books, Leaders Without Borders and Great Leaders Wanted. Both are available at his website. Order your copies today!

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Leadership Minute: Call Forth the Best

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Epictetus said, “The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” As a leader it’s nice to be surrounded with like-minded people who share similar passions and dreams. But are you nurturing those passions in others? One of the privileges of leadership is having the opportunity to invest in the people around you. As you call forth the best in others you will eventually raise everyone to a higher level. Don’t be discouraged by what you may see around you today. Calling forth the best in others is a process that pays great dividends. Don’t give up!

 

If you enjoy reading the “Leadership Minute” you will especially enjoy reading Doug’s leadership books. Visit his website to order your copies today.

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