Off the Shelf

Farewell Thomas Nelson

2009-11-23T10:39:26-06:00

Last Friday was my last day at Thomas Nelson. I can still remember Sam Moore, during a conversation in his office, saying, "Hire him!" That was six years ago and the beginning of what I believe to be a calling from God and unbelievable privilege to work with a team of committed people who want to help people find's Gods voice through His word. I'm humbled and deeply grateful for my time there.

We were able to develop some incredible products and concepts over the last six years:

Million Bible Challenge. We all thought that the goal of 1 million Bibles in twelve months was staggering. Little did we know that between Nelson, retailers and local churches we'd surpass that goal in FIVE MONTHS. To date, I think nearly six million of these Bibles have been given away. Incredible.

Word of Promise. When Carl Amari came to us with this idea we were excited and thrilled to have him as a partner. After an incredible launch of the New Testament two years ago this multi-award-winning product came alive again this year with the release of the full Bible. Over 600 actors, award winning score, 5.1 sound. At times we felt like we were docking the Queen Mary, but the team pulled it all together and it's a certified best selling product that gives people a new way to experience God's word.

Chronological Study BIble. This idea was a combination shower idea and retail experience. When I presented the concept to the team, they dug deep and developed a beautiful, 4-color product that's been at or near the top of best-seller lists since its release a little over a year ago. Like Word of Promise and many other of our products, it served as another way for people to seek and discover God's word through a unique and different format.

Felt Need Merchandising. This was an inside and outside team challenge. My retail experience combined with Barna research and the folks at cult branding developed a system that helps customers find bibles by how they want to shop, instead of terms they don't understand. Nelson's Bible marketing and sales teams did the rest and most every retailer who adopted the system experienced double-digit growth. Not bad.

Expanded Bible. Yet another shower idea that the team took to a new level. I knew many people who used the Amplified Bible, yet the base translation is dated. The scholar team led by Trempor Longman helped us develop an outstanding alternative that not only has alternate meanings, but helps the reader understand culture, other uses of the words, context and much more. I'm excited to see the full Bible.

The Voice. Perhaps the freshest and most intriguing translation of the BIble in many years. The Voice works from the original manuscripts and, unlike most Bibles, keeps the text in the original "voice" of the writer. It is typeset in screen play format for easy reading during worship and presents compelling commentary and help for the reader. It's truly a partnership between artist and scholar and the final work received rave reviews.

The authors. What a privilege to work with Max Lucado, John MacArthur, John Maxwell, Charles Stanley, Henry Blackaby and other pastors and teachers. These men of God truly love God's word and helping others discover it.

There were other products, milestones and campaigns that we accomplished. Each one designed to help people find God's voice more easily and more directly.

I'll miss working with this team of professionals (sorry, I'd list names, but know I'd forget someone, you know who you are and you know your contribution).

God's called me to a new chapter in my life. I feel as strongly as I did six years ago of that calling. Since 1992 my life mission has been to put life changing materials into the hands of people who need them and I appreciate Thomas Nelson giving me an opportunity to continue that mission through the BIble Group.

Delegating Customer Service

2009-10-20T07:32:47-05:00

Flying this week reminded my how frequently companies delegate customer service activities back to the customer. It's like delegating backwards. Just in the airline industry alone, customers now handle their own baggage (carry on), print our own boarding passes, directly make our own reservations, and bring our own food (which was really never a bad idea). Many retailers have scan machines so customers can check their own prices, many financial institutions have automated services and websites where customers never interact with a human being.

While many of these innovations are good and make things easy, don't you think that many times they also get in the way of helping the company brands succeed? Zappos, for example, has a unique way of giving me a lot to do, but also a way of extending themselves so I don't feel neglected or not able to contact them directly. I think AMEX also strikes a nice balance between "delegating" services but also giving me easy access to someone to whom I can talk when I have a problem or have a question. Apple is also a company to imitate for unbelievably good support and service. For example, I love the chat feature in the store because if I don't need help, I can go about my business, but if I have a question, someone is there, ready for me.

Companies who delegate too much or don't give customers balance between delegation and a real human being lose.

They lose the opportunity to talk to customers. This is huge. How do they know what's going on with their product of service if they don't listen and interact with live customers?

They lose branding opportunities. They are setting their brand up to be defined by the customer as unfriendly, uncaring and rigid.

They trade efficiency and short-term cost savings for longer term damage. They are measuring results incorrectly and ignoring the long-term opportunity that customer loyalty and trust can bring to any organization.

What do you think? Do you like having these responsibilities delegated back to you? What about your organization, how have you kept in contact with your customers, but also maintained cost efficiency?

Free Women of Faith 2-Day Event Pass

2009-10-16T08:35:13-05:00

Our Bible marketing team has partnered with Women of Faith to put together a fun promotion for this fall that could represent a million dollar ticket giveaway if all the tickets are redeemed.

Here’s how it works:

Promotional Women of Faith stickers are on several bonded or genuine leather Bible products – Nelson Signature, Women’s Study Bible, King James Study Bible, New King James Study Large Print Edition and the Chronological Study Bible.

A special insert, inside the Women of Faith stickered box, will provide the information for the customer to redeem their coupon with Women of Faith (proof of purchase required).

The ticket will be valid for any Women of Faith event though the 2010 season

SInce its founding in 1996, Women of Faith has ministered to more than 4 million women with the transforming message of God’s grace. Over the course of the two-day event one will hear fabulous music, watch stirring drama, listen to hilarious and heart-tugging stories, and join thousands of women in worship.

So treat a woman you love (or yourself) to not only a fine Bible, but also a ticket to spend two grace-filled days with Women of Faith. Just visit a participating bookseller near you and ask for the Women of Faith Bible promotion.

Handlebars, Program Code and Motivated Employees

2009-10-01T09:41:52-05:00

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting Logos Bible Software. We are fortunate to have them as partners with us as they are the backbone of the software portion of our Bible and Reference business. We have over 650 resources in Logos format and their program is simply the best. Bob Pritchett and his team do a phenomenal job for us and hundreds of thousands of happy users.

Several things struck me while we were there. First, they have a tremendous passion for the customer. It became obvious that they want to talk to users, solve any learning concerns and truly serve them.

What also struck me was their commitment to their employees. Being a software company obviously programmers and software development people are the heart beat of the organization. Keeping them motivated and happy is a good thing because it translates to quality software, employee retention and ultimately satisfied customers.

About a year ago, Logos’ IT Manager, Jim Straatman submitted a novel idea. Since Bob is always asking his employees for ways to make Logos a better place to work, Jim suggested a putting a Bike Repair shop in the back of the main developer room. Since so many employees ride their bikes to work (the offices are in Bellingham, WA) Bob agreed.

Logos has about 170 employees and the Bike Shop is open to all of them. They have everything you’d find in a professional bike shop and all you’d ever need to fix a bike. According to Ryan Burns, “If I were to ballpark it, I’d say 40-50 people have used the shop.”

The shop is open all the time, according to Ryan, and employees can stop by whenever they want. He goes on to say, “Obviously working on your bike isn’t ‘work’ so people are encouraged to use it during breaks and before or after work,”

Logos even has specially designed bike shirts.

Logos employees are very encouraged by their Bike Shop. It seems that even those who are not bikers appreciate it. Ryan adds, “It shows Logos is a company that cares about and listens to employees. Like I said, I don’t bike, but I tell people how cool it is to work for Logos, I inevitably mention that we have a Bike Shop in our office.”

And for those winter months? The Bike Shop becomes a Ski and Snowboard repair shop completely outfitted with a turning stand, hot wax, P-tex and everything else a person would need to have their equipment in shape before they hit the slopes.

Bob and his team have set a great example that I need to follow.

The Power of Gathering Input

2009-09-25T14:11:19-05:00

Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend of mine who is a consultant for a local technology firm. We’ve known each other for years and I always appreciate his insights and ideas. While he knows a lot about publishing and the marketplace, he’s not in the industry so he doesn’t have the normal biases or institutional memory. I came away from our time together inspired and much more informed than I was when we began an hour earlier.

I don’t know about you, but I have a small network of close friends who give me tremendous input. If you don’t have such a group, I’d highly recommend that you seek out people who are willing to just hang with you and talk about their market or ministry, what they are seeing as trends, how their organization is responding and what they think about your industry. It’s an invaluable way to get advice and input as often the best input comes from someone who brings to the table a totally different point of view or comes from a totally different place than you do.

The most successful leaders I’ve known feel comfortable asking for the input of others whenever they need it. They make no attempt to project an image of the all-knowing executive.

Why would you want to seek input from people outside your market or business?

It’s the highest form of compliment. These are wonderful and knowledgeable people. By demonstrating that you think highly enough of someone to share your personal challenges or invite them into helping you solve problems is a way to express esteem to them.

It allows for new perspectives. The outside people who regularly give me great input also bring different angles, different views and refreshing insights. I can then take their thoughts and use them to help my business or myself be better or create completely new paradigms.

It gives me a new set of eyes. Unfortunately many times I miss the obvious because I’ve stared at it so long it’s become part of the scenery. Gathering outside input gives me fresh eyes.

It gives me a new information set. We drown ourselves in data and information in our own markets and sometimes it’s good to hear new information from other areas that, when it’s all glued together, affect trends I’m seeing here.

I learned a long time ago that there are many people much brighter than me who can give me input and advice that cuts to the chase.

Do you regularly hang out with people who can help stretch your thinking to new ideas and perspectives?

Sprintz Furniture – Lessons from Poor Customer Service

2009-09-15T07:52:41-05:00

Over the last several days my wife and I have been underserved by a local furniture store. For context, we bought new furniture for our living/gathering room in June. Our daughter bought a new house and so we shipped all the furniture from that room to her. So since June this room has been empty or we sit on dining room chairs. In early July the furniture store informed us that our material was on back order and it would be a bit longer. No problem, because of my work I understand backorders from overseas textile plants.

Then the trouble began. We called the store and were informed that the fabric was in the US and the company that manufactured our new furniture (a U.S. company) had about a three to four week turnaround time. After that call came silence. We had to continually be proactive and call the store. Our sales rep seemed to not have any details, the problem escalated to an Assistant Manager and finally after a lot of grief, multiple calls, angst and loss of patience, we’re getting half of our order today.

What can retailers and other organizations learn from this circumstance?

Communicate. When there is a problem with a customer it’s a good thing to keep them in the loop. Just a few proactive calls from our rep would not have solved the problems, but would have assured us that we had a partner in this. It’s not the customer’s job to seek updates and information.

Take responsibility. Customers look to the retailer to solve problems and be their trusted agent in the transaction. It doesn’t smooth any ruffled feathers for people to blame something or somebody that’s outside the loop and whom we, as customers, can’t contact directly. To play the blame game only makes the customer angrier.

Empower employees. Employees need to be empowered to make decisions that best serve the customer. I have a friend who owns a software business. He has one customer service principle for his support team – “Take care of our customers.” That’s it. Each phone rep has the authority to do what it takes. Unfortunately in our circumstance we had to wait for the owner of the store to make some simple decisions. That wait was two days. When you empower your employees to serve, customers get quick answers that make them feel like you are part of the solution.

Make your initial offer a good offer. If you decide to do something to offset the customer’s bill or payment, make it something of value to the customer, not just something that is easy for you to deliver or perform. Look at the situation through the customer’s eyes and ask what is the right thing to do from their perspective. Don’t make it a negotiation. Do the right thing first.

Remember the customer. Retailers and others need to remember above all else that their logic is not necessarily the same as the customer’s logic. Customers have a special frame of reference that is unique to their specific needs or circumstances. They see service as a total experience, not an isolated activity. Good service is not about employees accomplishing tasks; it’s about the value provided to the customer.

Stores and organizations that truly serve their customers, like my friend’s software company, will find a way to be successful during both good and bad times. With all the competition out there the customer is king and companies with service policies and principles that don’t recognize that will unfortunately come in second.

Closing the GAP

2009-09-10T11:08:56-05:00

There are several ways to keep effective employees motivated and growing. Marcus Buckingham has spent a number of years pointing us to maximizing one’s strengths and I heartily endorse (and personally try to use) his advice and concepts. There’s no doubt in my mind that they work.

There is another way and Ron Potter and I, in our book Trust Me, call it GAP. It stands for Growth Achievement Path. Ron lends a GAP story to the book about a mail clerk, buried in the bowels of a large corporation. The interesting thing about this employee was his natural affinity and love of computers but being in the mailroom, he wasn’t exposed to leaders who could help him. One day Ron brought up this person’s name to the company’s leadership team and armed with Ron’s recommendation they shifted this person’s responsibilities and created a path for him that led to not only personal satisfaction, but also a very positive outcome for the company.

I have personally used GAP and encourage you to try it. To begin, you need to be aware of your employee’s and their strengths, desires and dreams (even if the dreams are outside of your unit or organization).

Once you feel you have a good handle on these three elements, you can, along with the employee, build a “path” that will help them grow and develop.

Some other tips I’ve learned when using GAP:

· Both you and the employee need to be brutally honest with each other. That takes a solid relationship and frequent conversations. If the employee wants to be a ballet dancer and they have two left feet, you need to guide them to a different place. Conversely, you need to be open to what the employee is saying and not be closed minded in your own prejudices and barriers. It’s a balance that takes time, trust and talking.
· The path should contain some achievable milestones. This is not just a good way to measure progress, but it gives the employee a feeling of moving forward toward their dream.
· You need to regularly meet. Don’t start strong and let this slide. Keep at it, stay persistent and make it a priority for both of you. Remain committed to the path.
· Make changes if necessary. Sometimes the employee sees that their dream needs some tweaking, especially once they begin down the path. I’m not talking typical obstacles to achievement, I’m saying that sometimes a person begins to do the actual work of the dream and finds out that it’s not quite what they expected. In this case, keep talking and developing. Your goal is to develop and maximize talent, not just check off boxes.

GAP is a wonderful tool for both you and your employees. What tools or methods do you use to maximize your employees?

Gaining a Better Perspective

2009-08-13T07:22:30-05:00

Andy Andrews book, The Noticer, has had a tremendous affect me (full disclosure I work for the publisher, Thomas Nelson and I consider Andy a friend, but trust me, neither has anything to do with this post).

In the book, Andy introduces us to Jones. He’s the noticer and he speaks clearly into not only Andy’s life but ours as well.

Jones spoke into my life in two areas: Perspective and choice.

Andy relates this story (and for space I’ll paraphrase). He living in a hole beneath the Orange Beach pier. He meets Jones and he begins to see life a bit differently. One day Jones brings Andy lunch. Being homeless Andy is anticipating something special. When Jones arrives he hands Andy a can of Vienna sausages and a can of sardines. They sit on the beach and eat.

Jones notices Andy’s not happy. He tells him, “Your problem is that your eating Vienna sausages and sardines from a can sitting in the sand. Me, I’m enjoying surf and turf with an ocean view. It’s all about your perspective.”

I don’t know about you, but that hit me between the eyes. How many times have I missed something special because I was looking at the event from a negative perspective? Or a skewed perspective that didn’t allow me to see all the possibilities or possible outcomes? It’s really much more than simply seeing the glass as half full versus half empty.

Since finishing the book I’ve worked hard on my perspective. I have to tell you that it hasn’t been easy, but it’s certainly been extremely worthwhile when I remembered Jones and surf and turf by the ocean.

How do you gain the best perspective? What can help you to trigger the best way to look at something? I’d appreciate your thoughts, and ideas on how to change perspective to see things differently.

Making Quality Decisions - Video or a Snapshot?

2009-07-16T07:39:19-05:00

We just finished our monthly Business Review Meeting. It's a great time for the Nelson leadership team to gather, review the month and talk about what happened, why and what's in the future. The meeting is always full of energizing conversation and discussion. This meeting was no different.

During break I could not help but realize that sometimes life (or business) is a snapshot and sometimes the view needs to be a video.

Snapshots are important. They give you a picture of what's happening. They are current and they have a place. We can also put snapshots in albums and bring them out occasionally to remember what happened.

Snapshots don't work so well when you need context, or to see a flow of "life" or information. How often have we taken snapshots of our kids - clean, angelic and smiling - when just a few minutes ago they were fighting or playing in the dirt. Snapshots don't always tell the full story.

In contrast, video is a panorama. It shows moments through time. VIdeo gives you context and it moves through time.

In financial meetings you can look at one month (a snapshot) or a rolling-12 (video) and get two different perspectives and maybe two different strategies based on the information you have in front of you.

It's my feeling that for best decisions you need both options and many times you need them together. Quality decisions need to develop from multiple perspectives, not just a snapshot or a video. You can't get lulled into either perspective.

What do you think? How have you used either or both and made a quality decision?

The X and Y of Buy - How Men and Women Make Buying Decisions

2009-06-17T07:13:12-05:00

I spend a lot of time studying and applying temperaments to my leadership and team building. I find it extremely important to know people, understand how best I can communicate with them and also how to put them in their areas of strength. Understanding temperaments helps me to that, plus a lot more.

There's also a lot to be said for as well for understanding gender differences. My personal Bible for this understanding, from a marketing perspective, is Michele Miller's The Soccer Mom Myth. It's an excellent tool for anyone trying to market and communicate to female customers and I highly recommend it.

The other day I was introduced to a new book from Thomas Nelson (yes, my employer) titled The X and Y of Buy by Elizabeth Pace. The book makes a very compelling case that in order to reach your audience (and at the same time get the sale) it is essential to know what separates the genders - what makes them different, unique and two distinct audiences for your presentation.

Like Soccer Mom, the X and Y of Buy provides a good amount of research and brain study that is gender focused. This research sets the stage for Pace's compelling arguments on presenting and selling to each gender. Her premise is that the genders are different and unique (they think differently, they react differently and innately have different communication needs), so you might as well treat them that way and present accordingly so each can clearly "hear" and understand your message.

The book is an good read and provides some very practical advice, even for non-selling situations. I wouild recommend it to anyone wanting to know gender differences and how they work in personal and business situations, especially when you are presenting or specifically selling.