June 4, 2014 · 8:36 am

I’m Back

Did you miss me?  I was away and didn’t post for a couple of days – I thought the break might do us good (it’s me, not you…).

Phil

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve written before about the golf trip I take with a group of guys each year – this was the 20th anniversary.  I drive with one of the guys down to Myrtle Beach with a stop overnight on the way.  In addition to saving much of the group baggage fees and the fear of lost golf clubs, the drive is a great opportunity to sit and reflect on things.  As we’re getting older the trip seems to have more meaningful conversations about life sprinkled in with the usual talk about golf and food.  There are business reasons why I bring this up.

While I had my computer with me as well as a smart phone, I made a conscious effort to disconnect.  I am of little value to my clients (or to my readers) when I’m tired and burned-out.  There is no “off” button any more and while it’s easy for me to suggest that you find one and use it, that’s just not going to happen.  So treat the time off as a business meeting. Just as you’d schedule an hour or two with a customer or partner, schedule time with your email or to returning calls.  Schedule the rest of your time as “busy” doing nothing work-related.

I’ll be the first to admit that it takes a few days to rewire your brain.  A 2006 CareerBuilder.com survey reported that 16% of workers feel guilty about missing work while on vacation, and 7% actually fear that time off could lead to unemployment.  To that 7% I say you need to find another job anyway and to the 16% I say that “work” won’t attend your funeral.  These last few days were a time to focus on “being” and not on “doing.”

I’m sorry if you missed me there for a couple of days.  Hopefully the time off did its job and I’m back better than ever.  I’m totally fine with you missing a few days as well since I’d love for you to have a clean mind and an open heart when you spend time with me here on the screed.

Make sense?

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May 30, 2014 · 9:07 am

That’s Just Rude

Foodie Friday and I hope you had a chance over the past week to go out to eat.

Waiter

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maybe it was to a holiday barbecue to begin the Summer or maybe you just needed a night off from the kitchen.  I’ve spent the week dining out a lot and it gave me a chance to reflect on something I see as a truism in life and in business.

Have you ever dined out with someone who is abominable to the server?  They treat someone who is doing their job with indifference at best and outright rudeness at worst.  Most servers, as you might know, are working for minimum wage plus tips.  It’s obviously in their best interest to keep their tables happy and I find it rare that a server warrants anything but polite, respectful treatment.  If you don’t like the food, the server didn’t cook it (or order it).  If they hover and you find it distracting, they’re probably just doing as their manager is instructing them.  Yet some people treat the wait staff as indentured servants, ordering them around without a “thank you” or “please.”  It embarrasses me, but it does something else.  It tells me a lot about the person with whom I’m dining.

You know that I subscribe to the “customer is almost always right” theory.  That “rightness” ends when they stop behaving like a reasonable adult.  I find that the people who need to demean other people generally have issues themselves – insecurity, low self-esteem among them.  So why is this on a business blog?

Bad managers can be like bad customers.  They treat their staff as “that guy” does a server.  Instead, just as you won’t get fed without a server doing their job, managers forget that it’s the work of their subordinates that makes their job necessary.  Just as servers can make a meal memorable or a disaster, staff can make the boss look great or incompetent.  I’ve always felt that we get what we give in both instances.  Which will it be for you?

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May 29, 2014 · 9:29 am

Give The People What They Want

I was working at a television network when the Internet became a “thing.”

Television

(Photo credit: Daniel Y. Go)

In those early years streaming video wasn’t really a consideration since the technology hadn’t been invented and there was no such thing as broadband in the home.  Nevertheless, the seeds of where we are today had been planted and there was a huge threat perceived by my compatriots at the network from the emerging technology.

Fast forward 15 years.  Today video streaming is a common part of the media experience and that technology has broadened the potential reach of content services (which is how one needs to think of “broadcasters”) well beyond the living room.  Forward-thinking companies embraced this new access to eyeballs while some continue to resist, entrenched in their old business models which are pretty much on their last legs.  The  way forward is seen in a study released the other day by the Viacom folks.  They studied the impact of TV Everywhere which defined as watching full-length TV programs on sites and apps by “authenticating,” or using pay TV log-in information.

The majority of users agree: TV Everywhere is additive to the TV viewing experience. Since they began using TV Everywhere apps and sites, 64% report watching more TV overall. This finding is even stronger among Millennials, with 72% watching more TV.  TV Everywhere also increases the value of pay TV subscriptions while strengthening loyalty to pay TV providers and relationships with networks.

  • A full 98% of users say TVE adds value to their pay TV subscription, with 67% saying it adds “a lot” of value.

  • The vast majority (93%) is more likely to stay with their provider due to TV Everywhere and 68% have a more favorable impression of networks that offer TVE experiences.

This points out how when we give consumers what they want instead of forcing them to choose an inferior option that may coincide with our business needs but not their appetites, companies do better.  Yes, I’m writing that in a way that extends it beyond just TV Everywhere but that’s the point I take away from the data.  Do you agree?

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