Service with Purpose

7 reasons your service may be unspectacular service, and to make it spectacular

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:43:00 +0000

I am in the middle of a whirlwind tour of Australia. Every day is a different plane (sometimes more than one plane). Everything is so – the same.

Your industry might be like the airline industry. Everything may seem to be the same. It’s so hard to win in the airline service game, yet so easy lose.

Here are 7 reasons why.

1) The product is hidden.

Sure you can see the plane, but you don’t see the team of people who make flight possible. From schedulers to re-fuelers, they all have a critical role in your service experience, yet they are hidden.

Same for banks and postal services.

2) Everyone uses the same raw materials.

Everyone uses the same planes, and the same catering, and same pilots. Most low cost airlines operate using the Boeing 737, and long haul operators use a 737 or an A380. Not much choice there.

Same for bakers and consultants.

3) The process is controlled by regulators.

The regulators dictate how many staff you need on board and the places where you can fly. Not much choice there either.

Your industry may its own rules.

Same for liquor stores and TV stations.

4) The process has little room for originality.

Everyone has a similar food trolley, smile and service disposition. Some airlines try to funk it up a little, but they are doing the same thing.

Same for shopping malls.

5) The product is a conduit, a transitional purchase towards buying something else.

The flight is necessary to get to a destination as wrapping paper is necessary to conceal a gift. Rarely is the flight the product itself (unless you are flying over the South Pole on a New Years excursion).

Same for online stores.

6) The product is a consumable with no residual value.

Once you land, it is done. Whether you travel 1st class or economy you arrive at the same place. There is no residual memory or asset.

Same for car fuel stations.

7) People don't want it.

Most people would rather wave a magic wand a teleport straight to their destination than consume your product.

Same for Doctors and Chemists?

Now what?

The airlines have a product no-one wants with no residual value, and no way to differentiate. So why even bother with service?

Airlines should obsess with service for exactly those 7 reasons.

Most customers know what to expect. When airlines get it wrong there is nowhere to hide. Lost bags? Knarly staff? Late arrivals? These are the moments that define the airline. By either dealing with them well, or preventing them altogether.

Those extreme moments define most brands.

When an airline does not offer this predictable service, it is slated as being a poor service airline.

1) Reaching the minimum standard every single time is tough.

2) When the minimums are not reached, it is the real opportunity for the brand to be defined.

How was a lost bag handled? A delayed flight? Seat assignments spreading a family over a plane?

3) The paradox is that because service standards are so tough to achieve, standing out just a little gets exaggerated and you look like a star.

4) Brand and Soul are important. Building a Brand persona can create a differentiation, and if the staff can live the soul of the Brand, the differentiation will live and thrive.

Is your business really that different to the airline industry?

Seat the extremes and don’t underestimate the power of constant delivery.

Delivering unspectacularly consistency is the building block of a spectacular brand.

Why most loyalty programs are M.A.D. (in the nuclear war sense)

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:54:00 +0000

Many loyalty programs are M.A.D. but not in the mental sense, but the cold war sense. Many readers will know that M.A.D stands for Mutually Assured Destruction.

Nuclear powers will not initiate a war against each other because it will assure their own destruction from retaliation. So the immense nuclear powers have cancelled each other out.

Loyalty programs have become so prevalent they too cancel each other out.

If you and all your competitors have a loyalty program, which will the consumer use, the one with the biggest benefits or the easiest one to use?

Loyalty programs have created a new field of competition. You no longer compete on just product, price, place, and people, but also programs. So all of a sudden it all just got harder.

If the product, prices, and place of business are the same and the loyalty programs similar. It leaves one place for competition. People. And people = service.

The ultimate loyalty program is based on delivery. All you have to do is deliver what the customer wants - every single time. There is no need to deliver more, and certainly not less. But deliver to the customers what they want and expect every single time to create loyalty.

Loyalty built on service is lasting, but when built on a scheme it will only last as long as the scheme.

One thing which is more important than Sales training

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Some things are more important than Sales techniques. Many of my Mystery Shopping clients sped countless hours teaching each employee simply sales techniques.

There are the six steps to selling, or the 9 steps the selling, the Friedman method and so on. These usually involve some form of closing technique and or up-sell. All completely valid, but there is something even more important.

You have got to know your product.

In the car industry it is knowing the towing capacity, warranty, service intervals and options. In a café it is about having the knowledge to make the product.

In a study completed by my mystery shopping company in 2005, we found that in terms of importance, they chose knowledge over service as follows:

Knowledge 59%

Service 41%

Most selling processes are built of service, but don’t forget knowledge as a more important component.

Why you shouldn't always be a leader

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:16:00 +0000

Who says we always have to be a leader? Do appointed leaders even have to lead all the time?

As a child I used to follow certain friends but my mother used to tell me to ‘stop following’. The same happens in our jobs. Lead lead lead, is the cry, and we all paradoxically follow in the call to lead.

But following has some advantages. Even now I follow some friends to vacation locations I would never dream of visiting, eating strange foods, meeting different people. If you always lead, you follow your own path of predictability.

The same applies in business. Following leaders in your industry or others gives a new perspective. I follow people such as Matt Church, Seth Godin, and Chris Brogan. In fact, Social Media is built on the concept of ‘following’.

Being a leader is no more superior than North is to South. It’s just one f the ways to live your life or career. It’s not the only way.

Even appointed leaders have to follow. They have to be humble and listen to a Board, or they have to follow market forces. We all follow, and need to follow at times. Why is it such a bad thing?

I agree we all have a time to lead, but we also have a time to follow.

When price is more important than service

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:29:00 +0000

If you have recently gone shopping for electronics, you would think this to be true.

Rows and rows of goods are presented with splashy “sale” prices.

Most sales staff don’t engage too heavily, they just give you a price, you play the bargaining game, they reduce the price a little, but you don’t buy.

What do most people do? They compare prices.

Price doesn’t kill service, people do

With the same product, same store layout, similar prices, you would think the lowest price gets the sale. Wrong, the best service still gets the sale, as long as the price is competitive.

The normal shopping pattern – is not normal

The normal pattern is to:

1. Find a cluster of stores.

2. Walk around, and receive varying levels of service.

3. Narrow down to a product, or two.

4. Revisit the earlier stores and compare prices for the specific products.

5. Perhaps look online.

6. Buy the cheapest price.

All correct except the last point.

The customer will buy from the last store to give a ‘good’ price and the best service.

Too many of my clients think that price is the most important thing. The customer thinks it is; they say it is; they act like it is; but it isn’t.

What do you think?

How to Buy Loyalty - a simple example

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:46:00 +0000

Every business wants loyalty. Improving loyalty is one of the greatest leverage tools in business. My upcoming eBook will explore how to get loyalty, but this example got me a little excited.

You could consider buying loyalty with pre-paid pricing. The customers can purchase their own loyalty by paying upfront to be a ‘member’ in order to receive discounts.

Asking customers to pay for loyalty is different to earning it because 1) it creates greater perceived value of the benefits, 2) it allows you to give more immediate benefits, and 3) you get money up-front.

E.g. Perisher Blue ski resort allows customers to pay $48.00 upfront and the first six days skiing in the season are reduced by $20 each, days 7-9 are discounted $60.00 each. In a competitive market, competition is removed.

Is your customer service in the toilet?

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:25:00 +0000

Do you ever get the feeling the service you received was a façade, a big act? The service was OK, but it just didn’t gel.

The same happens when I go into companies to help them with staff engagement. There is a feeling that all is not well, but it can’t be pinpointed.

Here is a simple piece of advice. Go to the toilet/bathroom.

Customer service is about the whole part of the experience, including the bathroom. The way an establishment maintains its bathroom says a lot about their respect for customers and staff.

Are the bathrooms an inconsistent style to the front?

Are the bathrooms a consistent style to the front but poorly maintained?

Are they consistent with the front?

Either way, it reflects on how you are perceived by customers, and how you perceive them.

The same applies for staff.

Whenever I enter a business to talk about staff engagement, my first visit is to the bathroom. It instantly gives me a signal about how the staff (or customers) are considered by the organisation.

Cheap toilet paper, grimy washbasins, old cracked tiles, dishevelled locks, broken taps, and so on. It says a great deal about how your respect staff as human beings.

It’s no wonder why so many of my Mystery Shopping clients ask for the bathrooms to be evaluated. It’s important.

Good Ol' Advertising Still Works

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:43:00 +0000

Sometimes we get a little too clever in our marketing. We want word-of-mouth, we want social media engagement, we want a social media viral campaigns.

On a recent road trip to Canberra, Australia my eye was attracted to a simple sign on the freeway saying “The Daily Pie – fresh make everyday”.

I was in the car with a friend, his son, and my son, so hunger is never too far away.

Although we knew the location of the next McDonalds, we decided to take the turnoff to the small town of Collector, about 1km off the highway.

Along the way to the turnoff, we came across more signs – good old fashioned marketing. Exposure, Size and Frequency.

The Pie shop is in the middle of nowhere and charges prices double those expected in a city like

Sydney. But the flavor and generous sized pies compensated. They were amazing.

Here was a store located in the wrong spot, selling high priced goods yet with plenty of happy customers.

It was a humbling experience. Sometimes perhaps we are a little too fancy by half.

Blog Moving

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:18:00 +0000

Dear readers.

Just another reminder that this blog has moved to
www.servicewithpurpose.net

If you are a subscriber, you can automatically subscribe to the new feed here.

Subscribe feed

Role plays are tough - an alternative

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:41:00 +0000

For many people role plays are tough and uncomfortable. The thought of sitting with a peer pretending to be a customer is scary and intimidating. As a result, we avoid the activity.

Very few people will argue that role plays are not beneficial. In fact most expert professions are built on proactive simulations.

· Airline pilots use a simulator.

· Doctors may practice on dummies.

· Sportsmen practice in training drills.

And yet in customer service environments, it is avoided. Rather than move to the uneasy role-play, customer service staff and sales people could use the wisdom of others.

Here’s what you could do:

1) Sit with new staff and explain some likely scenarios:

a. What upsets customers,

b. Shortcuts,

c. Likely demands

2) Explain how you felt when this happened. This is important because when experienced by the staff member it won’t feel as foreign.

3) Explain what you did to fix it.

4) Explain where you have previously failed.

If you are not going to role-play, then share your wisdom, because leaders have a big role to play.

Related post – What we can learn from Yoda

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Trying is not good enough - what we can learn from Yoda

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:10:00 +0000

When leading staff, we sometimes get caught asking them to ‘try’ and then to ‘try harder’.

Asking staff to try gives them an excuse not to accomplish. Avoid asking people to try a new skill. Teach them and then ask them to ‘do’ the job. There is a difference.

Trying is judgmental. How can you know if the staff member tried enough? How do they know themselves? When other people learnt the skill, did they try harder?

If I attempt a task for the first time and get it wrong, was it because I didn’t try hard enough or was it something else? Was it perhaps the teacher, the learning style, or some other factor?

There is not try, there is only do - Yoda

Ask staff simply to ‘do’ the job. If it needs to be broken down, then do so. If they fail, then let them learn, and do it again.

Trying is experimental, doing is final.

The first time an airline pilot is asked to fly a commercial airliner, they are not asked to try. It is expected that they ‘do’. The learning and failing can happen somewhere else (in a simulator).

A Doctor operating for the first time is not asked to try.

A Plumber cannot try to fix a problem, it must be fixed.

So why is it that in service environments we think it is OK to ‘try’ to serve the customer, or to try to solve their problem. Is it OK to try to keep the store clean? Is it OK to try to be attentive to the customer’s needs?

Attempting to stack shelves is really just about not stacking shelves. Once you do the stacking, trying is irrelevant.

Don’t ask staff to try, that way they won’t perceive you as judgmental, and they simultaneously know that you need completion every time.

There are five things we can do to move staff away from ‘try’.

Give them instructions
Give them the tools
Set the expectation
Simulate
Do

Photo acknowledgment link

Beware of Customer Service Snake Oil and Silver Bullets

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:46:00 +0000

Every now and then someone presents me with the latest and greatest ‘cure all’ customer service program, idea, or system. There is no silver bullet in Customer Service.

I am the founder of a Mystery Shopping Company but do not purport it to be the silver bullet to solve all your service ills. It is a critical part of the solution, but not the sole solution.

Just doing training is not the answer, because it needs to be measured.

Customer complaint cards are not the answer because they are not frequent an tend to measure extremes.

The latest trend of Social Media listening posts (we started doing those two years ago) are also only telling you part of the picture.

Combining all the metrics in the one place is also not the only answer, because it misses the important point of mentoring, leading and managing staff.

Next time someone gives you the ‘cure all’ solution, don’t bite. But likewise, if you are only using one or two programs or processes, then equally you remain exposed.

It is unlikely you can do it all, but likely you can do more.

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10 things I learnt after 1 week in Europe

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Mon, 31 May 2010 07:32:00 +0000

Here are some observations after a week of travelling in Europe.

1) Old European airports like Rome have a lot to learn from Asian airports

2) Not many companies remain specialists. Almost all the companies I spoke to had alternative income streams.

3) Find a way to remove fear from the purchase process. We had some ordinary conference speakers which (as a conference organizer and speaker) makes me wonder how to remove fear from an un-testable purchase? See article Buyers remorse before you buy - how it can be avoided.

4) How revenue can be killed by efficiency. The cost of loyalty is often more than the benefits.

5) I can see why Italy and Greece are in such a parlous financial state. Wastage is rampant and normalized. You cannot get away with saying “Oh that’s just the way we do it around here”. I wonder if your company is also guilty of the same thinking.

6) Queue times in Europe have doubled. Is this because of the GFC? Is your business guilty of this? Do you measure queue times?

7) You cannot beat face-to-face networking. But don’t just go to an event once. You need to repeat visits. The second time you attend is easier because you start getting introduced – you become an insider.

8) Bring spare luggage on the plane. I arrived two days before my luggage and lost half a day buying essential supplies. What a waste.

9) The Italian airline Alitalia? Not worth mentioning.

10) Ask questions of others. They are almost always happy to share information.

I am continually amazed by the awesome and wonderful people I meet in my travels. Thank you to all of you who entered my life this week. You all know who you are.

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Buyers remorse before you buy - how it can be avoided.

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:42:00 +0000

How do you overcome fear in buying?

I have just attended a conference in Istanbul both as a participant, and a future buyer for my own conference. It’s scary. I was feeling buyers remorse even before I bought the product.

One of the main products of a conference is the speakers. Lets face it, great speakers = great conference.

But how can some speakers be so bad or irrelevant?

Having now seen the speakers at this conference, I know the ones I will use, and the ones I will not. But not everyone has the same luxury.

Many of the speakers came ‘recommended’ or they may have won an award (eg Toastmasters).

But...

Have you ever seen a speaker who ticked all these boxes, and yet failed to deliver?

The problem for speakers is to remove the fear. I now have fear arranging speakers for my next conference. Here’s what they could do to make me feel more comfortable:

Provide a video
Provide references
Show my last three talk rankings compared to average (even better if they are independently published online)
Provide a summary of what I will discuss
Show how the talk will link to the conference theme.
Invite the organiser to talk to me over the phone
Show some published works or white paper.

In your own business, have you identified the fear factors? Have you found ways to reduce the fear?

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Queue times in Europe have doubled

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:43:00 +0000

In draft findings of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association it was revealed that queue times across Europe have increased from 5 to 10 minutes and the average number of people in queues has grown from 3.4 to 4.4 people.

So what is driving this? Is it the GFC? Is it general cost cutting? Is it real?

The final results yet to be released, but the trend is disturbing. It seems our advances in technology and self-service and being outdone by the cuts in service.

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You are not special, or deserving.

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:52:00 +0000

You are not special
You are not the best
You are not unfortunate
You are not jinxed.
A tornado has no favorites or enemies.
A sickness has no reason.
A stranger in the street is as invisible as the next.
We are how we act.

We are bought up to believe we are special. Many are also raised to believe they deserve the best life can bring.

Unfortunately, mother nature is not so accommodating. Do you really believe that in nature, you are more special than your neighbor? The moment you are born, are you more deserving than all the other babies in the world?

Within small communities, you are special and all communities protect their own. To a community, you are more special than people in other communities. In a family, you are more special than people in other families. In clubs, you are more special than people in other clubs. However, in nature, you are no more special than anybody else.

You may hold a special place in someone’s heart, but you are not special.

When you walk down a street full of strangers you probably don’t consider one person to be more special than another. To you they are just another person.

This is not meant to depress you, for you are more than an anonymous robot. As a person, you have individual talents to do the greatest things possible. You can truly change the world. The only problem is, everyone else is equally qualified, and may be even more motivated.
In our work lives, the moment we are employed, we are anonymous. We are protected and considered special only after we are accepted. We become special through our actions. We become special if we have (or learn) a unique skill.

To customers, a service representative is not special. At the Supermarket checkout or an airline check-in, you don’t go looking for the ‘special one’.

The server only truly becomes special through their actions. If they treat you well, perhaps you will seek them out in future.

Equally, your business is not special, but can have a special place in the customer’s heart and mind through its actions.

Stop running your business, career or you life as if you are entitled. You are not special, but can hold a special place in people’s hearts through action. So act.

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What Rome Airport can learn from Asia

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:36:00 +0000

Having travelled extensively around our beautiful planet, sometimes unnecessary poor service strikes you like a sledge hammer.
After arriving at Rome airport for a flight to Istanbul, I was struck by the poor service, and how it compares to those in Asia, or the Middle East. In this case the poor service had nothing to do with people, but the facility.

Here are some observations which are so obvious, I wonder how if miss them in our own businesses.

If I were running Rome airport and conducted a mystery shop, comparing it to the best, I would make the following observations. I am biased because I have Italian parents, and visit annually. So if anything, I am being a little gentle and parochial.

1.    Signage driving into the airport is confusing. You don’t see the Rental Car return sign until you actually arrive at the right place (very Italian).

2.    Signage for Customs is in Italian. At the very least they could have an international sign depicting Customs and boarding gates.

3.    The lineup for security screening is marshaled through a room with little air conditioning, made worse by massive florescent advertising signs covering the walls to give the effect of being in a commercial microwave oven.

4.    They obviously think they care about service, because there are many signs apologizing for renovation inconvenience (although they are always renovating).

5.    No free wifi.

6.    The paid wifi directs you to an Italian website.

7.    No small trolleys for the carry-on bags.

8.    Appalling air conditioning.

9.    No powerpoints for laptop/phone recharging. Dubai has recharging stations that are always well utilized. Obviously there is a demand at airports.

10. No airport ambassadors to help people navigate the airport. Sydney does this very well.

Ten observations is sufficient, though I have not yet boarded my flight.

My takeaway is this. Go visit your absolute best competitor, purchase something and experience the service. If you don’t know the best, try many. Do your own Mystery Shopping.

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A manager is not a leaning pole, but should remove the need to lean.

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:23:00 +0000

The Role of Managers is not to give people someone to lean on, but to remove the need for people to lean.

Some managers seem to believe they need to be the ‘go to’ person for their staff, or to be the expert. Other managers believe that they should be the emotional leaning pole if not the technical support.

Other managers believe they should be the traffic director, the person to clear allocate work and clear up conflict.

These dependent characteristics block staff from being totally capable and motivated to do their work.

If the manager is required to motivate staff, then how will staff act when the manager is not there?

If the manager is required to ‘lead by example’, then how will staff be led when the manager is not present?

A great manager:

1.    Creates an environment for the work
2.    Teaches staff how to do the work.
3.    Works quietly in the background to give staff the environment they require.
4.    Lets staff take kudos for their efforts.
5.    Knows that they must be the first to offer trust

A great manager is not a leaning post. A great manager takes away the need to lean.

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Why Managers are like gardeners

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Sat, 22 May 2010 04:11:00 +0000

Why Managers are like market gardeners.

As a manager, you cannot force your desires on your staff. Sure you want them all to give amazing service as soon as possible. Sure you want them to be proficient as soon as possible. But it cannot be forced.

Just like a market gardener, the role of a manager is to cultivate, and create an environment for the growth of their employees. A market gardener cannot force a plant to grow faster than it is designed to grow.

The gardener plants a seed, fertilizes the soil, protects the plant from extreme weather, and waits. If the gardener tills the soil too often, it damages the roots and slows growth. Eventually, it grows best when left alone.

A manager is no different.

After all, the laws of nature apply to everything. Plants and people all live and die, they are all subject to gravity, they all need water, and they all come from nature.

Great managers are like the market gardener. They find the seed, plant, create an environment (fertilize with knowledge), protect, and wait.

Just as a gardener should not overly till the soil, a manager should not constantly interrupt and meddle in the growth of an employee.

A manager has no more likelihood of ‘accelerating’ someone’s customer service skills than the gardener has of making a tomato plant grow and ripen overnight.

Create the environment, and provide rich food, but then get out of the way.

[Mobile post]

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Not everyone reads English

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:01:00 +0000

When travelling overseas I am still surprised that hotels make it hard for a guest to find the hotel. I am currently travelling to the Hotel Movenpick in Istanbul. How do I say that to a Turkish cab driver?

Some hotels allow guests to print a card for the cab drivers, in their local language. Perfect. Why don't more?

Although I am reading an English website, the cab driver can't read what I print. What little obstacles can you remove for customers?

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 4

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Thu, 20 May 2010 06:27:00 +0000

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. See Part 1 of 4, here and Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

19. Be polite - When being overtaken on a narrow track, I would pull over an let people pass. I 'always' got thanked and it made me feel better. It also gave me someone to chase for a few moments, and to perhaps learn a new technique. If I was doing the passing, I would tell the person in front not to rush pulling over because I had all day. They would then thank me when I overtook them. Go figure. Are you being polite and courteous in the middle of battle, in a tough negotiation or uncomfortable staff interview?

20. Smile - the easiest face of all is the grimaced race face. There was a crowd near the finish line, and people scattered over the track. It was easy to ignore them and keep concentrating. Whenever I smiled at the crowd, or another rider, it took a great effort, but then I'd lose the pain. Remember to smile.

21. Rest - the 35 minute break between laps was all about recuperation. Managing the breaks was critical. sit, drink, eat, chat, wonder. It may seem unproductive, but it was critical to a successful day. We progressed by going no where and resting.

22. Knuckle down - At one stage I had to back-up for a repeat consecutive lap. My partner wasn't there for the transition so I went around for another lap. It was tougher and slower, but I enjoyed the thought of carrying the extra load. Are you really doing all you can in your business? Will you step-up when required?

23. Disaster - Disaster can strike at any time. My partners son broke his thumb 3/4 through the day. We had to abandon the race and get him home for x-rays. No matter what you do, uncontrollable circumstances can wreck your plans.

24. Enjoy the ride - pun intended. I kept thinking to myself that I was lucky to be doing what I love on a glorious day, with my son and good friends in a unique part of the world I would never have known. I was having fun, though sometimes I had to remind myself. Enjoy the ride.

I hope you enjoyed the series.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 3

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:09:00 +0000

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. See Part 1 of 4, here and Part 2 here.

13. Trust your equipment - In a particularly treacherous section the bike descends over loose rocks and soil. You have to trust the equipment. If you fight, it will throw you off. This is the most difficult concept to grasp. Do you have a machine or department you need to trust, but just can't. It's actually safer to trust.

14. Have support - my 13 year old son came to run support. At first it was to just make him feel part of the day. He became a critical team member from the moment we arrived. Do you have the support you need both physical and emotionally? Overestimate the support, because we tend to underestimate the need.

15. Stay focused - as I tired, my mind wondered. As it wondered, I made mistakes, little mistakes which caused me to lose momentum. During a long hard slog, is your organisation (or you) losing focus, getting distracted, and losing momentum?

16. It gets harder - of course it got harder and harder, and the hills got steeper. I didn't expect it to get as hard as it did. Next time I'll be ready. When you start, the energy levels are higher. Are you prepared for the drop of energy and enthusiasm?

17. People overtake - being a competitive person, it was difficult to see 20 year old riders overtake me. Sure they were semi-professional and half my age, but their speed surprised me. I couldn't let it get me down. I knew we all had different goals, and I knew there weren't many 40 year old people who could do this. I had my own race, and goals. As a side point, some of them burnt out (the tortoise rocks!) They were on the same same track, and same division, but somehow in a different race. Are you getting disheartened by speeding competitors? Are they really running the same race? Are they there for a quick sell? Glory? Something different to you? Perhaps you should ignore them, and occasionally get inspired.

18. Get inspired - the quicker competitors inspired me to keep going, especially the middle aged housewife I couldn't shake for a few minutes. Even the people pushing me from behind inspired me to keep going. Do you see anything good in your competition? Can you go beyond watching what they do to be inspired to be better?

In the final instalment tomorrow we will be looking at smiling, rest, and disaster.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 2

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. Yesterday I posted Part 1 of 4, here is Part 2.

7. Little goals - Set little goals such as to; catch the guy in front, sprint the next hill, do a sub 40 minute lap, keep the heart rate under 160. Does your business focus too much on the big goals? Big goals are hard to grasp. See related blog post on doubling your revenue in 3 years.

8. Time accelerates - Despite the pain, the day went quicker than expected. But the breaks were also quicker. Everything was rushed. All projects seem to go quicker. Have you accounted for compressed time?

9. Respect - one of the more important things was to respect my teammate. We had to respect each others skills, nuances, and lap times. No excuses, and no questions. For such a lonely sport, teamwork was important. Are you respecting your teammates? Do they respect each other?

10. Plans ahoy! - plans get washed away. My partner was missing at one transition. I had to do another lap. Do you have a plan B? Are you ready to 'dig in"?

11. Commit - This is more than committing to a team. This is about committing in a single moment. During the race, when I was first faced with a tricky log jump, I knew I had two choices, commit or stop. You cannot stop half way over a log when your feet are locked into the pedals. Are you ready to push through and commit when you need to?

12. Follow - It seemed anyone could break the 4 minute mile after Roger Bannister did in 1954. During my first lap I sat back and learned. I watched slow riders who were in front on the start line, and I watched the pro's jump logs, and traverse rocky outcrops (different to slow riders). If their bikes could do it, so could mine. And it did. Following others was a great learning experience, and great for my confidence. I love winning and being in front, but you cannot learn from anyone when you are in front. Are you learning from other people or other organisations? Are you stuck behind someone? Can you still learn, even if they are slower?

Tomorrow we look at Focus, Inspiration, and being overtaken.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with business Part 1

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:25:00 +0000

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. This is not a self-indulgent post about personal triumph, but there were many parallels with business. Here is Part 1 of 4.

1. Prepare - Everything had to be in shape, from our bodies to our equipment. How often do you go into a business venture (or situation) unprepared? Are you really ready to face a troublesome client? Have you done all your homework? Do you know the outcome you are expecting?

2. Shared goals - We agreed that we were not going for a win, nor was it social. We would push ourselves beyond the normal, but not extremes. Do you and your staff know what the 'end' looks like? Is it to be No.1? To learn? To support?

3. Sacrifice - We gave up small things to prepare. No booze for days leading up. Early to bed on Saturday night. Are you willing to give up a few small things for the big picture? Skip lunch? Miss a useless meeting? Don't check emails?

4. Anticipation - We looked forward to the event and yet were worried. Is there a sense of healthy nervousness about the job? Don't confuse it with self-doubt.

5. Start - I thought I was being smart and would start at the front of a field of 300. As I got ready the marshal asked us to turn around, we were headed the other way. In an instant, I went from the front to the back, and the race hadn't started. But it didn't matter, it was an enduro. Have you started after the competition? It's an enduro, keep going. As Seth Godin tells us - 'you gotta ship'. Just start regardless.

6. Expect Confusion - Things didn't go to plan. Our transitions got muddled. But we took the confusion in our stride. After all, we were not in it to win, so the odd mistake was OK. Have you prepared for confusion? It will be there.

Tomorrow goals crash, commitment, and respect.

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Survey Fraud - beware of how you collect customer data

steven@dipietro.com.au (sdipietr) — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:50:00 +0000

After I bought my current car I received a call from the dealer asking what I thought of the car, my opinions on the dealership and the Salesperson. Being a self confessed customer service junkie, I was was pleasantly surprised. The dealership cared enough to call and follow-up.

The dealer went on to ask if I had received the customer service survey form from Holden. They then made me an offer that stopped me in my tracks (paraphrased below):

"Mr Di Pietro, when you bring your car in for it's first service, why don't you bring the survey form in and we'll complete it for you..... we'll even throw in some free fuel"

Incidentally, the service I received was OK but nothing fantastic. They were OK on the relationship side but terrible on the follow-up (eg expected delivery time). That aspect of their business needs work, but Holden will be receiving responses completed by the dealer on behalf of customers. The point is, Holden will be deluding themselves into thinking everything is fantastic and miss opportunities for improvement. Incidentally I later discovered that these responses have a financial impact on dealers.

I saw the same happen at Auckland airport. Staff were completing handfuls of Customer Feedback forms and dropping them into the special chute.

Don't believe what your customers are telling you. Supplement your customer feedback forms with other data such as mystery shopping, and look for possible fraud, otherwise you might be missing opportunities to fix what's broken.

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