Posts filed under 'News'
I’m recovering from the flu and as you can tell by this post’s title my crankiness hasn’t left. So here are a few gripes about business dealings as seen from the customer’s POV (point of view), that’d be mine.
And if there are business lessons here, they’re about how we should be mindful of what we say, or do to our customers. Or we’ll get a message from them saying “What’s Wrong With You?” (which I’m fully expecting after this post). Here’s what we’ll look at:
- Framing the Conversation with a Sledgehammer
- A Bill by any other name, would still smell…
- The Pit of Despair: Phone Message Options
Framing the Conversation with a Sledgehammer
Watch for messages with titles that leave no doubt as to which side of an issue the publisher is on. Here are a couple of examples framing different sides of the same topic (politics).
#1 CNN’s special programming called “Broken Government“
If you watch CNN, you’ve probably seen their graphic of Broken Government as they present an issue, or in the upcoming window on screen.
By framing the conversation in the title this way it leads one to think:
Broken Government = Current Administration is broken = Obama’s presidency is broken
I searched and couldn’t find CNN running this special programming during the Bush presidency. So, the way CNN has framed this title says they’re against Obama’s presidency (my observation).
However, CNN’s implication of government being broken highlights several underlying assumptions:
- Government is something that can be fixed
- Government was fixed at some time in the past
- CNN knows when Government is fixed
Those assumptions put me into rebuttal mode with:
- What if the nature of Government is to be constantly changing, always fluid?
- What if Government will never be fixed because it’s unfixable, like water?
- Is there a trusted source that could tell us when/if it’s fixed?
#2 Moveon.org’s email: “Washington’s Broken”
Here’s one from the liberal citizens’ movement Moveon.org. The same sledgehammer approach to framing the conversation. This time the rationale goes like this:
Washington’s Broken = Must Fix It Now Or Bad Things Happen = Take the Action We Want You To
One can identify the same underlying assumptions, and my rebuttals that go to this messaging. It’s just trying to get the audience to do something different than CNN’s messaging.
Takeaway for Businesses
When framing the conversation is done heavy-handedly, it becomes manipulation. And when it’s that obvious, it raises hackles and throws objectiveness and credibility out the window (some might say it shoves the BS meter off the charts).
That’s a shame because there may be valuable information to be gained if one starts with an open mind.
For your customers: when composing messages, titles, banners, headlines, etc. seek some level of objectivity. Otherwise you’ll lose that which you’re seeking: customers’ open minded attention.
A Bill by any other name, would still smell…
Comcast provides a bill online, Ecobill, and you can discontinue the paper bill. They”re greenwashing it as an ecologically responsible way to pay.
That’s really stretching the green thing. Yes, I’m not receiving paper, and that makes it green. But the company is saving millions in not printing and mailing these dinosaur bills.
When is doing something that’s just plain better for a company’s bottom line going to get pushed in customers’ faces as doing something for the environment?
Takeaway for Businesses
A little more honesty upfront and you can still keep the self-serving catch phrase.
In Comcast’s case, if they’d included a little honesty that they were saving money, then the message would be more believable. Ecobill could have stated they were passing those cost savings on to customers by keeping their costs down (see, didn’t even cost them anything).
The Pit of Despair: Phone Message Options
Here’s a great example of developers not working with users for a better interface.
Of the many different phone services that have voice mail options, few get the order of instructions right. There are many different phone services, not all have you press the same key to just leave a message.
Some services say just hang up, or press #, or press 1, or press 79, or press.
You get the idea, there’s a different instruction with different services. Not all have you do the same thing.
Here’s the problem. Almost every service doesn’t tell you what that key to press to leave a message UNTIL the end of a long list of other options, such as review, revise, delete, priority, etc.
And leaving a message is probably the most common choice 95% of the time. So why wait to the end to tell us that? Start the instructions by telling us how to do what we want to do 95% of the time?
And while I’m at it, why don’t all the phone services get together and decide on a common key for leaving a message, or replaying, or re-recording, or appending, or deleting, or…? Create a standard messaging system protocol, make it easier on all customers.
Takeaway for Businesses
It’s almost too obvious, but getting customer input in the development phase is crucial, even for a facility service offering. If not through focus groups, then one-on-ones with friendly customers/prospects.
Time to Rest
Hoping to return to some form of normalcy shortly and shake the flu. Maybe this post has prodded you to consider where in your customer communications or interactions you’re getting it maddeningly wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Revenue IQ
March 10th, 2010
An article in today’s New York Times describes a possible change in the way federal contracts are awarded, and it specifically calls out facility service contracts.
Plan to Seek Use of U.S. Contracts as a Wage Lever
The Obama administration is planning to use the government’s enormous buying power to prod private companies to improve wages and benefits for millions of workers, according to White House officials and several interest groups briefed on the plan.
By altering how it awards $500 billion in contracts each year, the government would disqualify more companies with labor, environmental or other violations and give an edge to companies that offer better levels of pay, health coverage, pensions and other benefits, the officials said.
Because nearly one in four workers is employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government, administration officials see the plan as a way to shape social policy and lift more families into the middle class. It would affect contracts like those awarded to make Army uniforms, clean federal buildings and mow lawns at military bases. (read the full article)
How might this effect Facility Service Contractors?
Is this good or bad for contractors, those going after federal contracts? Why?
Obviously, this is for federal contracts only….at the moment. If this change were successful with federal contracts, would city, county and state be far behind?
What about the private sector? Specifically high profile firms like those in consumer goods, banks and academic institutions. Their purchasing decisions already pay attention to maintaining a good public image.
I’ve started asking contractors what they think about this change and here’s the first response.
I think it would be great if we could all compete on an even playing field with hours, wages and benefits set in advance. I believe our company (IH Services) provides the type of work environment, management expertise and forward thinking that could get us more contracts in this environment. We do not have employment violations because we follow the rules, not like some of our competitors.
Taylor M. Bruce, Jr., President, I H Services, Inc.
What are your thoughts?
What do you think? Share your comments in this post. I’m very interested to hear your perspective on the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Revenue IQ
February 26th, 2010
U.S. immigration laws, enforcement and politics are tied up in an overwhelmingly complex knot.
Immigration touches all areas of society: the economy, publicly funded social systems, and universal human rights.
At a business level, immigration confuses and frightens workers and employers alike.
For low-wage service industries in particular, immigration is the tornado in the distance, a quickening wind now with an unknown future impact.
Here are a few observations for facility service contractors regarding immigration. (This is not legal advice, seek experienced counsel for that).
Customers & Business Competition
Contractors who play by the rules feel they lose business to shady contractors who break the law and sell at lower pricing.
But what if customers knowingly choose contractors who hire unauthorized alien workers and don’t pay taxes or overtime?
Aren’t they complicit with the bad contractors? Is there no justice for good contractors? Read on.
Wal-Mart’s business is based on selling at the lowest prices. Unfortunately, it has a history of buying the lowest price too, without looking any further. ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) has enhanced Wal-Mart’s vision .
In 2001 ICE arrested 100 illegal immigrant janitors at Wal-Mart stores in 4 states.
In October 2003 ICE’s “Operation Rollback” arrested an additional 245 at 60 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states.
The 12 contractors that employed janitors for Wal-Mart plead guilty to criminal charges and paid $4 million to the government.
Wal-Mart, to end the ICE investigations, paid a $11.2 million settlement to the Justice Department.
The story continued. Some of the illegal immigrant janitors arrested at Wal-Mart, filed a class action law suit against Wal-Mart claiming violation of the RICO Act. This long drawn out battle was started by Wal-Mart contractors paying flat amounts between $350-$500 per week for 7 days per week, 60+ hours per week, no overtime, no taxes and no time off.
These contractors were criminal, but Wal-Mart chose repeatedly not to know what they should have known.
Check out the many other ICE enforcement stories on their web site under NEWS, then select WORKSITE for the topic. Interesting reading.
FOR CONTRACTORS THIS MEANS:
- Know your current customers very well – they may be ICE targets, and you with them
- Do your homework on prospective customers – know who you’re committing to
- Always be rigorous in your I-9 practices
- Consider enrolling in IMAGE (ICE Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers) to lessen the likelihood of I-9 violations
Immigration Enforcement Increases
In the last several years I-9 investigations are increasing. ICE sent out 652 Notices of Inspection (NOIs) on July 1, 2009, compared to 503 in all of 2008.
FOR CONTRACTORS THIS MEANS:
- A more level playing field for I-9 compliant contractors
- An increase in the possibility you’ll be investigated – but likely still a low probability
- Always be rigorous in your I-9 practices
- Consider enrolling in IMAGE
Some Customers Continue to Hire Non-compliant I-9 Contractors
This was the story with Wal-Mart, who has now converted to become a very rigorous vetter of their contractors and subcontractors.
However, there will always be customers who work outside the law’s intent and letter.
FOR CONTRACTORS THIS MEANS:
- Avoid those customers like the plague, because they are
Authorized Workers are Protected
When workers are I-9 eligible and verified for employment they gain the protection of U.S. labor laws.
Compliant contractors want all employers to comply with minimum wages, taxes, and over time pay laws.
FOR CONTRACTORS THIS MEANS:
- A more level playing field for customer pricing
- An employment market freeing you to spend your time more productively
Contractors in the Middle of Changing Compliance
Currently, I-9 compliance doesn’t require verifying the authenticity of individual’s identity document(s).
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
“All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. On the form, the employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the individual and record the document information on the Form I-9.”
Does the following phrase seem open to interpretation?
“…the employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the individual…”
It doesn’t say check applicants name and social security numbers with the Social Security Administration.
But that’s one way to resolve the issue – by using E-Verify. It’s the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) free online service to match newly hired employees’ names with Social Security numbers.
Heads up, E-Verify is not foolproof. There have been 0.3% of 6.4 million queries in 2009 that have resulted in “No-match”, meaning the names and numbers didn’t match, but later proved incorrect (this meant 19,200 people had delays in getting hired).
As a result, employers get “no-match” letters. And the DHS/SSA are continuing to refine the legal definition and intrepretation of the “no-match” letter program.
Their instructions on what an employer should do, and when, were challenged in 2007 in the U.S. District Court of Northern California.
As a result, it’s not always clear which protocol contractors/employers should follow.
FOR CONTRACTORS THIS MEANS:
- Confer with experienced counsel
- Follow the employer safe harbor procedures announced before the no-match rule was enjoined: (1) within 30 days of receiving a no-match letter, check internal records; (2) within 90 days, ask the employee to go to the SSA or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resolve the issue; and (3) within 93 days, complete a new I-9 form (use identification documents other than those that initially created the mismatch.)
But What About?
Here are several questions I’d like to hear from you about, anonymously if you’d like:
- What about your long-term employees that were hired before I-9 had gotten stringent –> Do you go back & E-Verify their SS#s?
- What about accounts where you have lots of employees who may or may not be authorized aliens –> Do you go back & E-Verify their SS#s?
- How would you hire new, eligible employees fast enough to backfill lost employees to I-9 investigations?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Arlen,
President, Revenue-IQ
August 6th, 2009
Mea culpa.
After writing Process at the Expense of Purpose I realized I was guilty of working a process without defining it’s purpose.
My error was not defining the purpose of this weekly blog, as compared to the monthly articles I publish.
As a result, confusion may have touched some readers, such as:
- Is the weekly blog for facility managers? Procurement? Business unit managers? Or service contractors?
- Are the topics in the monthly articles different than the weekly blog? Why?
Taking my own advice, here are two statements to clarify purpose.
WEEKLY BLOG
Name: Revenue-IQ
Frequency: …well, weekly
Primary Audience: Service contractors (any outsourced service providers).
However, facility and property managers, Procurement, and business unit managers will gain a greater understanding of their supply chain by reading it.You may even pick up some inside secrets in the process.
Focus: Attracting prospects, winning contracts, and retaining customers (aka marketing, selling & business planning).
MONTHLY ARTICLES
Name: Service Performance Articles
Frequency: …you guessed it, monthly.
Primary Audience: Facility and property managers, security directors, Procurement, and business unit managers – any manager of an in-house or outsourced service.
Also, outsourced service contractors will gain a better appreciation of their customers’ environment by reading it too.
Focus: Improving service performance, quality, measurement, reporting and communication (aka optimizing the value received from services).
WHAT’S ALL THIS MEAN?
By keeping to these swim lanes, you’ll know what to expect when reading our blog and articles.
If you’d like to adjust your blog subscription, there’s a link on the bottom of the delivery email .
Or, if you’d like to get our monthly articles by email, visit our subscribe page.
Thanks for reading
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: blogs, Revenue-IQ, Service Performance, free articles
May 7th, 2009
The multitude of social media is overwhelming. And trying to find their use in business to business (B2B) is even more confusing.
For example, what’s all the hoopla about Twitter? (14 million unique visitors in March ‘09, up 1,202% over last year)
What happened to MySpace? (55 million unique visitors in March ‘09, down 11% from a year ago)
Why is Facebook everywhere now? (91 million unique visitors in March ‘09, up 195% over last year )
New social media come and go, rise and fall in popularity, sometimes even before you’ve figured out if they’re worth learning.
This post is my attempt to understand the purpose of social media for business. And like the ever expanding universe, the web is evolving and so my perspective is a snapshot of the present, to eventually be eclipsed by the future.
If you want to learn “how to” use individual social media I’d recommend HOW TO 2008: How To Do Almost Anything With Social Media.
The Best Communication Tool Ever
Before getting to the point, here’s a personal, historical perspective to help frame things. In 1999 I was leading a startup of a web-based facility service. It gave me insight into the craziness that existed then.
At that time every business had to have not only a web site, but an Internet strategy. A strategy that would revolutionize the way humans lived and worked.
Remember Venture Capitalists throwing millions at programmers for anything Internet, without business plans, without any proven basis in reality?
Remember serious discussions about whether supermarkets, bookstores, and all retail stores would disappear, to be replaced by online shopping?
It was the biggest green-field, blue-sky day dreaming that’s occurred in the last 100 years. Anything and everything was possible if it involved the Internet.
In 2009, now that some of the glare and glamor has come off the Internet, it can be seen for what it truly is, and has been from the start: a communication tool. The greatest mankind has developed, so far.
And this tool, like all tools, is at the service of human needs. So what are the human needs this Internet communication tool serves?
Seekers by Nature
Despite all the changes the Internet has brought about, we’re still human by nature. And part of that nature is to seek (food, water, friendship, love, achievement, self-realization).
The Internet helps us seek. Whether we’re looking for information or relationships the Internet makes us better seekers.
The Next Big Thing for Seekers
The proliferation of social media is just another evolution of the Internet as a tool for seekers.
By looking at the Internet as a tool for seekers, it becomes much easier to understand where the plethora of social media fits with your work and business.
Social media as Critic
Some social media enable seeking the info first, and then using relationships from the media’s users to let you know if its valuable. Here social media acts like an enormous pool of critics.
This is seen in ratings, rankings and authority (number of links pointing to it) used by social media.
Social media as Guide
Other social media have you use relationships to guide you towards the info you’re after. This works only if the relationships are reciprocal – the back scratching thing. And it means that you have to develop relationships first before they’re willing to help you get what you want.
This is seen in the number of followers, friends or contacts in these social media. It also suggest that the more popular you are, the more others will help you get what you’re seeking.
With all that preamble, here’s my take on connecting web dots, understanding the purpose and therefore eventual usage and strategies for the myriad of social media out there.
Social Bookmarking
This is social media as critic.
Examples:
We use these social media to seek information that’s been noted by others. Those others can be people we know or anonymous users of that media.
We’re using others’ opinions (as rankings, ratings, or authority) to help us:
- Find information based on what others are looking at (the popular stuff)
-and/or-
- Determine if the information found is credible or valuable (if so many others say its good, it must be, right?)
In both cases we’re seeking information and using others to help us find it and/or evaluate it.
Digital Networking
This is social media as guide.
Examples:
These digital versions of old fashioned networking are used for seeking relationships (creating new ones or keeping connected). It’s from these relationships that seekers hope to get what they want, eventually.
In a B2B setting, it’s who you know and are known by.
Whether you’re a follower, friend, or contact, digital networking extends your reach beyond your geographical and time constraints.
In digital networking we’re seeking the relationship first, then seeking how to make that relationship beneficial for both sides.
For example, if we’re seeking new business, digital networking can be used to find someone who can help us with an introduction to a prospect. We’re working from people we know to get to people we don’t know, but want to.
A little about Twitter
Twitter is the hot social media of the moment. It’s based on a 140 character answer to the question “what are you doing”?
These tweets (read by followers) are a call for relationship. A tweet requires followers to ask themselves “why do I care what this person is doing”?
The answer to that question defines the relationship with the person posting the tweet. Followers are seeking information, entertainment and/or relationship with others. In a B2B setting, Twitter enables that on an almost continuous basis.
Search
Though search isn’t really a form of social media, it’s worth including here as it is seeking in its truest form.
Examples:
Search is the most direct seeking. We kind of know what we’re looking for, we type it in a search box, hit enter, and are sent towards a number of possibilities of what we were seeking.
Now, if we’re not seeking, but want to be found this way that’s another story, which is best achieved through a content rich web site/blog, that follows.
Content Rich Web Site/Blog/Squidoo
Although a content rich web site, blog, or Squidoo lens is a destination, it’s used in seeking too.
Content rich means there’s a lot of relevant content available on the site. And if that content is in a searchable format, seekers will find it via search and social media.
Seekers can be directed online through traditional marketing outreach, such as:
- Direct mail programs
- Printed brochures, business cards, fliers, etc.
- Email blasts
- Links in email signatures
These communications tell the seeker what they’re looking for is online, then point them there with either a digital link or printed URL.
All of these methods work only if they’re permission based. Meaning the seeker has given the marketer permission to send information.
Also, I’ve included Squidoo here, it’s a community website for users to create pages (lens) for subjects of interest.
How are you seeking? How are you being found?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: new social media, twitter, content rich web sites
May 3rd, 2009
Seth Godin has a way of describing the unseen so that we say “Oh yeah, now I get it”.
But not for me this time. In his post “Blogs, books and the irony of short“ he writes:
“Blogs have eliminated the reason for most business books to exist. If you can say it in three blog posts and reach more people, then waiting a year and putting in all that effort seems sort of pointless.”
and then summarizes with
“…This is irony (we say we want long and deep and rich but we also insist that it be condensed to a sentence) so it’s not clear what you should do about it as a marketer, other than to accept that it’s going on.”
As a marketer I don’t see it that way. There’s a menu of mediums out there seeking to gain readers’ attention. By better understanding readers, marketers can reach for that split second of free attention. Yes, summaries are needed, but CliffsNotes never replaced the full versions.
Here’s my take on the attention menu. As a reader, we run through an instantaneous thought process deciding what to read. It may look like this:
#1 What’s Our Purpose for Reading?
We first decide what we want to get out of reading at the moment, it’s our purpose for reading. And we read for different reasons at different times. We read to:
- Get news
- Learn ideas & practices
- Relax & escape
#2 Purpose drives Choice of Content
After we’ve chosen to read, we then choose the content; topical, theoretical, educational, spiritual, fiction or non.
#3 Content drives Choice of Medium
Only after content has been chosen do we choose the medium. And it has to be available at the moment. But when faced with multiple choices (book, blog, newspaper, etc.) content drives the choice of medium.
Here’s an example. I have a 35-minute ferry ride from Bainbridge Island to Seattle. Sometimes I’ll read a book, sometimes a newspaper, an ebook, case study or white paper, or even a blog online via wi-fi.
My choice is driven by what I want to get out of reading for the 35-minutes during the crossing. My choice isn’t “do I want to read a blog or a book”. It depends.
So whether the medium is long, short or summarized, it’s our purpose for reading at the moment that starts the chain of choice
Blogs are just another option to invest readers’ attention and time. As is Twitter. If you want to stay current with personal and social news, and spend very little time (140 characters worth) Twitter is for you. And many of the people I follow on Twitter use it to share what books they’re reading. Twitter is on the menu now.
Here’s the part I agree with Seth about – the Peter Principle would’ve been a better blog than a book.
What’s on your attention menu?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: blogs, Twitter, Seth Godin
April 17th, 2009
There are two things that raise my skepticism meter: #1 Politicians. #2 The word Green.
I believe politicians’ motives should always be questioned. It’s a good idea to suspect the first 100 or so things they say, before they get to the real deal.
And Green has been splashed over everything to sell stuff, even a Bamboo Baby Hat (real) and a Grass Cell Phone (conceptual).
So why, in the midst of AIG bonuses and stuffing taxpayer money into banks, should the idea of the US government funding another bank with $10 billion sound worthwhile?
Here’s why: A Green Bank to Fund Clean Energy!
“Tuesday, March 24, 2009, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Assistant to the Speaker, introduced the Green Bank Act of 2009. The legislation creates the Green Bank as an independent, tax-exempt, wholly owned corporation of the United States. The Bank’s exclusive mission will be to provide a comprehensive range of financing support to qualified clean energy and energy efficiency projects within the territorial United States…
The Green Bank Act of 2009 would do the following:
- Create the Green Bank as an independent, tax-exempt, wholly owned corporation of the United States with the exclusive mission of providing a comprehensive range of financing support to qualified clean energy and energy efficiency projects within the territorial United States.
- Provide the Green Bank with an initial capitalization of $10 billion through the issuance of Green Bonds by the Department of Treasury, with a maximum authorized limit of $50 billion in Green Bonds outstanding at any one time.
- Assist in advancing vital national objectives — including transitioning to a clean energy economy, job creation through the construction and operation of clean energy and energy efficiency projects, abating climate change, energy independence from foreign sources, and fostering long-term domestic manufacturing capacity in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.
- Include robust spending safeguards and public disclosure requirements to ensure that the Green Bank operates at the highest levels of efficacy, accountability and transparency.“
Now I don’t know how you feel about more taxpayer money being spent, but I can buy into this one.
Why? Because:
- It respects entrepreneurship by providing those who qualify with the capital to get things done
- It honors the competitive marketplace by not saying who’s to be successful and who’s not
- And it puts taxpayer money to work:
- Creating green jobs that will help the US economy
- Creating clean energy production & energy efficient products/projects
- Helping slow climate change
- Reducing dependence on foreign energy sources
What’s not to like?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: Green Bank Act of 2009, clean energy, green jobs
March 27th, 2009
Fear is neither bad, nor good, it just is. Today it’s everywhere.
Fear is in increasing job losses, vanishing pensions, frozen credit markets, and the worst recession since The Great Depression.
Fear is something, even though FDR tried to spin it in 1933 with “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Fear is part of the human animal.
Fear is a source of energy and focus to act, a much needed stimulus when greater effort is needed, and a welcome challenge after we’ve stepped on stage or kicked a presentation into high gear.
Fear is always with us, always will be.
Fear is used by some; it’s promoted by news media to gain eyeballs and sell ads, and shaped by politicians to achieve their agendas and keep positions of power.
Fear can effect societies when one member of the herd takes off running and stampedes the rest.
Fear can effect individuals if it’s allowed to stress health over time.
But fear by itself is neither good nor bad.
The only important thing about fear is our response to it.
Do we overcome imagined monsters, or freeze with inaction?
Do we look for opportunities and invest (Warren Buffet invested $3B in GE and $5B in Goldman Sachs this past fall), or hunker down and wish for a tide that raises all boats (like many banks who are squeezing lending after getting TARP millions from the US Treasury)?
Do we accept fear’s presence, minimize it where possible, and mitigate it’s effects?
Warren Buffet’s quote “When people are greedy, be fearful – when people are fearful, be greedy” speaks to taking action in fearful times.
How are you responding to your fears?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: fear, investment, TARP, Warren Buffett
January 15th, 2009
The world, our world, evolved a while ago into one world.
It’d been happening for decades, helped by technology that enabled information to pass instantly from one side of the planet to the other.
Businesses are interconnected with customers, customers to markets, markets to investors, investors to governments, governments to employers, employers to employees.
And as we’re all seeing at the moment, employees are customers too. Jobs are local. Economies are global. The world is one.
It wasn’t this evolution that’s so remarkable, it was our inability to see it coming.
Not the specific failures of Lehman Brothers, WaMu, etc. But the surprise to realize that we’re already interconnected. That Lehman’s and others’ failures led to constipated credit markets, which zeroed out consumer and business loans, which strangled sales, which led to employee layoffs, who then couldn’t pay mortgages. Vicious, but interconnected
But we don’t see interconnectedness in other areas that effect us just as much as the current front page stories.
Our blindness prevents:
- Environmental responsibility from being the norm
- Holistic medicine accepted as mainstream
- Businesses from looking at the interconnectedness of problems
And in business, if we miss the lesson of the moment, we’re doomed to repeat its failures.
In the Contract Service World
The contract service world is interconnected:
- Employers to managers
- Managers to service staff (in-house & outsourced)
- Service staff to customers (internal and/or external)
- Customers to employers
In “Continents of the Contract Service World” I proposed 4 major areas to understand and improve:
- Customer Experience
- Expectations
- Promise
- Engagement
These are non-traditional areas for service businesses to consider. But then again so was the $700 billion taxpayer bailout of the banking industry.
If businesses can look at their problems as part of a larger interconnected whole, they’ll plan better and implement more successful solutions.
Reality check here.
The auto supplier may have been doing everything perfect, but their business is now in jeopardy. And the Ukrainian steel worker didn’t cause his plant’s closure, but he lost his job, and his family’s income.
There are no guarantees.
But the clearer we view our world, the more options we can create to survive and prosper.
How are you seeing the interconnectedness of your business?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: contract engagement, contract services, customer experience, expectations, service promises
December 15th, 2008
“Restaurant Chains Close as Diners Reduce Spending” describes more downstream parts of the US economy adjusting to the recession. And that matters if all your business “eggs” are in one basket.
If your business touches those lately hit by the downturn, you’re already feeling it. Hopefully, those in charge of your firm’s diversification have planned for it in advance .
If you’re a service contractor, and the bulk of your business is serving customers like those chain restaurants, you’re probably looking at new vertical markets. Good hunting, so are lots of others.
In either case, customer or contractor, diversification of your business base isn’t a bad idea. But who thinks about it in good times?
I guess the lesson to be learned is “in good times try and remember the bad times”. But not by missing out on some portion of the gold rush.
How is your business base diversified?
~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: diversification, service contractors, vertical markets
July 30th, 2008
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