Rich Goldberg's Blog

How can we have a service economy without good service?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

For years now, the U.S. has slowly transitioned from a industrial economy to a service, or connection economy. The idea being, that in the connection economy, service is our competitive advantage. Unfortunately, companies speak about service from both sides of their mouth. For instance, you may have heard your company CEO say that everything we do revolves around our customers, and then say we need to cut our workforce and do more with less, but I know you can do it because you care about our customers. Maybe you heard your boss say that this client is our most important client and we need to do whatever it takes to keep them. You then report back what we need to do to keep said client and you are told we can't get approval for that as we can't spend any money.

Harold Meyerson wrote an opinion piece in the April 16th Washington Post titled Taking the "service" out of the service sector where he profiles companies such as JC Penney and Wal-Mart and how their "lean" approach to staffing has hurt their business. Companies have to continue to work to make their service, or product more compelling if they want to stay competitive. Expend the Emotional labor necessary to differentiate yourself from your competitors and be creative in the ways you look to grow your business, or make it more profitable. My experience is that when companies stand still, don't improve their product or service and just focus on cutting and slashing to the bottom line, neither short or long term business objectives get met. Unfortunately, these days, when a CEO talks to the rank and file about the future of the organization and spouts a dynamic phrase like business transformation to excite the team, it's really just code for we need to cut jobs.

Everyone is a marketer in the connection economy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:18:00 +0000

As I've written about in the past, I'm "in between successes". It seems no one just says they are out of work anymore. That being said, I have spoken to many company recruiters and HR people, and they communicate with potential employees, customers, or recommenders as if they aren't very important. They seem to communicate with the job seeker as if they are less than everyone else and we should just sit around and "hope" they decide to communicate with you in some fashion. I won't tell you the number of times an HR employee as told me they would contact me by a certain date and not only didn't meet their deadline, but didn't call me back at all to provide any feedback on an interview.

In today's connection economy, every employee in your organization needs to positively connect with whomever they interact with and show them a level of humanity not required in the old industrial age. Any negative experience can spread at speeds not possible just a decade ago. As an employee, all you have to really offer your organization that they can't get from someone else is you. What makes you standout? How are you adding value? I can assure you that treating potential customers and employees without regard won't help your companies business, or help your job be more secure.

In today's ultra competitive economy every employee needs to make positive connections and use their skill, talent and passion to make a positive difference in the organization and the world. How do you add value, or stand out?

Linchpin Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:03:00 +0000

I have read a lot of business related books in my time and up until recently only one has changed the trajectory of my professional career. That book was "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham. The book taught me to focus on my strengths and not beat myself up over the things I couldn't do. It not only transformed how I managed me, but changed the way I managed and hired my employees. That was ten years ago and it wasn't until now that I have read a book that has the potential to be just as transformative. The book is Linchpin by Seth Godin. If you read this blog you will realize that I am a fan of his and have already read several of his books and am a daily reader of his blog. That being said, it was not until I read Linchpin that I had had a series of Aha moments that if I follow through on in execution could fuel my career and yours as well for the next ten years.

The premise of Linchpin is a relatively simple one. For years, there were two groups, management and labor. Labor did everything they could do to fit in and be a faceless cog in the machine. Godin now describes a third group, the Linchpin. These are the people that own their own means of production(laptop, internet connection), who can make a difference and connect us. The Linchpin steps out from the faceless masses and makes things happen. The Linchpin connects, creates, and invents. Godin states that by bringing your whole self to the workplace and giving of yourself in ways that you never considered before and really trying to make a difference is the only way to become indispensable. How many of you have a job where you think you can bring positive change, but you don't because rocking the boat is scary and could get you in "trouble"? Godin would say that the Linchpin not only rocks the boat, but this is the only way to create a semblance of security at work. These are the people that create things where there is no rule book. As a matter of fact, the biggest lesson I took from the book was if you have a job where someone tells you what to do next, you have given up the chance to create value. You may ask, what stops us all from being Linchpins? Fear and anxiety. Get past it and be great! His follow up to Linchpin recently came out. It is titles the Icarus Deception. I will give you my thoughts on this book in the near future.

I highly recommend you read Linchpin and once you have, please add your comments as I would love to hear what you have to say.

Appreciate your employees

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:08:00 +0000

I was thinking today how much I appreciate my kids. You might think that sounds a bit trite, but for those of you with children you know you spend half your time adoring them and everything they do and half your time suffering from PTSD symptoms and wanting to dive under your blanket while watching them and everything they do.

This got me thinking about management. How much do we appreciate our employees? You are with them everyday, either virtually, or in person. You probably get so bogged down in your day to day that you forget the specialness of the people who work for you. You probably can tell me the things they have to work on much faster than you can tell me their strengths. You probably take them for granted. Take some time each week to think about your team members and what they add to your team. Then tell them. They will appreciate the feedback and will be newly motivated. People want feedback and are more used to getting negative feedback, or none at all. In the connection age it is imperative you make connections with your employees regularly, or they will not be your employees anymore.

Rich Goldberg

The Future of For Profit Education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:55:00 +0000

I've spent a lot of time recently studying the for profit higher education field. For those of you that aren't aware, for profit schools have been under tremendous scrutiny by the government over the last couple of years. Let me catch you up by linking to THIS article. Have you read it? Good. As a generalization, the problem the for profit education sector has run into is the same problem any business has when they get away from focusing on their customers(students) and their product. When profit is your number one goal you are doomed to fail because there is no substance to your business to fall back on.

The Late Steve Jobs talked about always putting products over profits. Not that being profitable isn't important, but that being profitable gave you the ability to make more great products. How many of you are reading this on an Apple product? I promise that Apple made a nice profit on your purchase. In the Higher Education field, being profitable gives you the ability to train and graduate lots more students and make their lives better and the country richer. Our industry needs to focus on our mission, our courses of study and our students success. That's what will lead to long term profitability, as opposed to shady selling tactics. To be clear, an admissions advisor focused on "sales" is important. A great admissions advisor will properly qualify a potential student, and then it is his/her job to "enroll" them in the possiblility of what this educational opportunity will provide. Any sort of higher education program is a big commitment and students do need help seeing the big picture. It's not only a schools job to help students with this, it is their obligation to have a great academic program that will then back up what the admissions advisor has promised.

The advantage of a for profit organization is that nothing gets in the way of innovation and improvement. Theoretically, the more you improve, the more success your business will have. Recently, one of my children needed academic intervention which my wife and I felt wasn't as robust as necessary to solve the problem. We were told by the school system that they are doing what is mandated. A for profit business doesn't think that way. It thinks, what do I have to do to get the job done as that is the only way to be profitable and stay in business.

Lastly, the schools that will survive are the schools that are commited to offering programs that are better than their competitors. These competitors are both for profit and not for profit. Price isn't as much of an issue when you offer a better product. That being said, schools need to charge tuition that makes sense for the economic times that we are in. I'm not talking about a race to the bottom, but tuition that makes financial sense for both the business and the consumer. I personally believe all the scrutiny of our industry is ultimately good. The education companies most committed to their student focused missions will not only survive, but ultimately thrive, while the rest of the companies will slowly fade away. Capitalism at its best.

Rich Goldberg

Random Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:54:00 +0000

It's been a while since I have posted and I have had lots of thoughts. So in the tradition of Larry King's old USA Today column's Let's get started.

I'm not sure why The IPad Mini is so popular. I would not be happy with the smaller screen. Why can't LinkedIn make their IPad app more like their website? I tend to just go through safari than use the app. I really want to see the new movie This is 40 when it comes out. Does anyone recommend an online education platform? I've taken a couple of online courses recently and I haven't been impressed. Ultimately, it still will come down to the teaching and the content. I've never been there, but I've always felt I should live in Denver. I have been to Northern California and I think I should live there too. By the way, I need a job in either Denver, or Northern California....Chicago would be fine too. I'm really tired of hearing about the fiscal cliff. Sometimes it feels like congress thinks it is just "playing" government and that their actions don't really effect the country. I love the library. If you don't visit regularly you are missing out. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Take some time of and spend it with loved ones, they will appreciate it.

We must change the meaning of education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 03:53:00 +0000

As some of you know, I'm a big fan of Seth Godin. He is an incredible thinker and has profound thoughts on many subjects. Earlier this year he wrote a 30,000 word manifesto on the future of education. Here is a Link to the book and a TedX talk he gave on the subject. Please share with as many people as possible. I think the topic of education reform is very important.

It's Hard to Find a Job

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I know most of you read the title of the post and thought....Duh! Of course it's hard to find a job. Let me explain. I spent 15 years working for the same organization consistently getting promotions, achieving success, and being a highly respected leader. I assumed because of my previous success, and everything I feel I can bring to an organization, it wouldn't be that hard to find a new role.....Ok, stop laughing. I've never really been involved in an in depth job search before. I didn't know how hard it can be. The frustrating part is when they pass on you it's difficult to find out why. I totally get from an HR perspective why they don't want to discuss it, but as someone who's trying to learn how to find a new job it's not very helpful.

Here is the takeaway for me. I still think when a company passes on me they are making a mistake, but I also think it's my fault that I wasn't able to present myself in a way to make them understand why I should be hired by them. I also will be much more empathetic when I do find a new job and have to hire people. I will keep working on that and keep you updated. Feel free to comment and share any stories you may have.

The new IPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:18:00 +0000

This past Friday the iPhone 5 was released to record-breaking sales and favorable reviews, yet what I have been hearing from a lot of people is about all the things the iPhone can't do, or is a year late being able to do. Yes, LTE, I'm talking to you. Every year a new iPhone is released and people are surprised that the improvements are evolutionary and not revolutionary. Just to be clear, you can only invent the iPhone once. After that it's just how can we make it better. Samsung took some shots at Apple this week in regard to how much allegedly better the Galaxy S III is. In full disclosure, I have never used an android phone. I'm even willing to bet they have some good phones, but there are new android phones all of the time and only one iPhone a year. Apple is going to make the best overall phone they can make where their competitors make phones in all shapes and sizes and hope one sticks with consumers. The iPhone, and all Apple products for that matter, speak to people who like things that just work. You either buy in to the utopian world Apple is trying to create, or you don't.

Terrestrial radio is dead

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 04:56:00 +0000

I read a column last week that Dan Mason, the President of CBS radio wrote, proclaiming that radio was far from dead. Early in my career I worked in radio, and it's an industry I still follow closely. Mr. Mason talks about the changing demographics of the listeners and how innovative the industry is with all of their streaming apps and HD radio and how we may never have another Howard Stern, Tom Leykus, or Rush Limbaugh again. I fell in love with radio for the personalities. Johnathan Brandmeir, Steve Dahl, Howard Stern. To me, this is radio. Not voice tracks and a few cookie cutter formats. I subscribe to SiriusXM and listen to people like Adam Carolla and Marc Maron's podcasts regularly. This is the radio I know and love and this is the radio I choose to listen to.

Goldberg,Version 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:34:00 +0000

I haven't been blogging for a couple of weeks as I went through a very large professional life change. For the first time in 15 years I'm in between jobs, a free agent, taking time to catch my breath. Frankly, that's all just fancy talk for unemployed. The last couple of weeks have been interesting for me as I've transitioned from Rich Goldberg from X company to just plain old Rich Goldberg. It's not often in a career you get an opportunity to stop and not only smell the proverbial roses, but make different choices. I've always told my employees as they managed their career to make sure they were going towards something and not just running away from situations that were challenging. I'm looking forward to the process of going towards something. I will keep you updated as well as continuing to give my thoughts on other business related topics. Thanks for reading.

What are your core Competencies?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 05:20:00 +0000

What are my core competencies is a question you should ask yourself every year. Companies do it and so should employees. We spend far too much of our time trying to improve what's "wrong" with us as opposed to taking greater advantage of our strengths. I always try to make my weaknesses "less weak" and work hard to capitalize on what I'm good at. The book is more than a decade old now, but I really recommend First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. There have been a few follow ups to the original, but this book changed my professional life and think it can help you as well. The entire book discusses why we should focus on strengths and uses data from Gallup to back up their assertions. Let me know if and when you read the book. It would be fun to discuss.

The future of education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:02:00 +0000

I just started taking CS 50 at Harvard College. I have all of the lecture notes, video of the class sessions, the problem sets and the quizzes. The amazing thing is the course cost me nothing. Welcome to open courseware. This is where colleges and universities create course content and share it freely across the internet. The classes won't give you course credit, but will provide you with the same knowledge as the student who pays $20,000 a year in tuition. What does this mean for the future of education? I don't know, but I have a class to watch. I'm trying to learn to program. If you want more information on open courseware please go to OCW Consortium

Sunk Costs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 03:29:00 +0000

I was looking for the best definition I could to properly explain a sunk cost and then I came across a Seth Godin blog post from 3 years ago which explains it perfectly. Click on this and then come back to me. Good reading, right?! Especially in a down economy, we have to beware of the sunk cost. Not all decisions are going to pan out, but we have to be willing to keep trying to make the right one. My Dad said to me that "if you aren't making any mistakes, it means you aren't making enough decisions." Too many organizations aren't willing to make the right decision after a wrong one because it costs more. I assert the costs will be much higher if you don't make the best decision in the moment.

Ipad dominates tablet market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 04:43:00 +0000

Very interesting article from All Things D commenting on the utter dominance of the Ipad. The Kindle Fire sales numbers have decreased. Are people buying the discounted Ipad2?

Squeezing the Lemon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:02:00 +0000

How many of you have ever disagreed with decisions made above you, but you had to execute? You can all put your hands down now. Let's take this a step farther. Have any of you either made, or executed a decision that was entirely about making your numbers this quarter, or even this year, but you knew the decision could potentially mortgage the companies future? These are decisions managers and leaders have to wrestle with every day. Where is the line between being efficient and lean vs. choking sales and service and causing longer term repercussions in the out years? How many instances can you come up with where mass cutting of expenses have ended being a good long term decision for your company? I pose these situations as questions because I'm not sure there is just one right answer, but I do think companies owe it to their employees, customers, and stockholders to operate as efficiently as possible every day so you can scale your costs up, or down based on the size of the business and not just slash, or "squeeze the lemon" to hit a number without really understanding how it will effect the day to day operation.

A spring buying/reading list

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 02:57:00 +0000

Seth Godin is one of my favorite business/idea/marketing writers. If you don't already you should subscribe to Seth's blog. I thought I would share with you a list of books and other items he is recommending this spring. Let me know your thoughts.

The Online Myth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:32:00 +0000

Saying you are an online company, or a digital company is the hip thing to do today and certainly the internet does play an important part in our economy. The problem I have with the internet as a business model is that some companies forget that "going online" is just a distribution and sales channel, it's not a panacea for a poor product, service, or business. Business is still about sales and service. Whether you are a brick and mortar, online, or mixed business, the fundamentals haven't changed. Provide a great product at a fair price, provide superior service and you will win. That was true yesterday, today and I promise it will be true tomorrow as well.

Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:08:00 +0000

Whether in business, or in life nothing is more important than communication. I also strongly believe that it is on the person communicating to make sure his/her message is heard accurately and in the way it was intended. I recently spoke to a large group of people on a conference call with the objective of motivating the group toward a common goal. I left the call feeling like I hit a home run, but 10 minutes later I got a phone call where I was told that I was not positive enough toward a specific company department. I can sit here and tell you that I didn't think I was less positive in my praise toward this group, and it certainly wasn't my intent, but at the end of the day if that's what that group thought I said or meant that's what happened. It's my job to communicate more effectively. if anyone doesn't get a message the way I intended it means I screwed up and need to do better.