President

24
Sep 21
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Sweet Spot Is An Attempt To Please Everyone

Tags : customer satisfaction marketing strategy sweet spot

Do you find yourself striving for the sweet spot? That magical position somewhere near the middle of any continuum that often seems elusive?

The middle of summer is often interesting in the climate-controlled office. Some people feel hot, others feel cold, and the temperature control panel is fiddled with until the compressor on the roof freezes up. Then everyone is hot.

The dinner buffet has similar challenges. What are the food choices, what is hot, what is cold, and what will be consumed the fastest? Trying to find the sweet spot for any one particular item may feel like a big challenge.

One common theme with both of these scenarios is that more choices make it harder to find the sweet spot.

Have you ever looked at a Chinese restaurant menu? Usually lots and lots of choices.

At the drive through restaurant, more choices mean more options, and more options might make it harder to satisfy any one customer.

If you can buy a red car or a blue car only, you’ll make a choice. If there are 13 different color combinations, you’ll find it much more difficult to decide.

Is the sweet spot a good thing and how broad should options be?

Sweet Spot

It’s often counterintuitive to customer satisfaction. Pleasing every customer is perceived to mean that you must have a lot of options.

Is that why McDonalds once test marketed selling personal sized pizza? Did it stick? The pizza may have, but the concept seems to have been let go.

One thing that has stuck in most fast-food restaurants are the limited-time menu items. Something fresh, something new, or something different gets some traction.

At the same time, the limited-time, increases the likelihood of dissatisfaction. Unlike Mikey with Life cereal, some people won’t like it. Less chance of hitting the sweet spot.

Finding the sweet spot is about choice. Fewer choices keeps the continuum closer together, not so broad.

As the producer, not the consumer, the goal might be customer satisfaction.

Perhaps, the sweet spot in satisfaction gets broader when the options are fewer.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

23
Sep 21
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Status Quo Defense, Is That Your Position?

Tags : change pivot status quo strategy

Have you ever witnessed a status quo defense? Have you been a person who delivered one?

Change is happening all around you, even though the first thought is often a defensive posture.

That will never work.

We can’t do that because we don’t have the resources.

It is too expensive, we can’t pass the cost along. It will weaken our margin.

The status quo defense is common. Is it always appropriate?

Status Quo Defense

What changes are you attempting to protect against?

Is it technology?

A face-to-face is always better than a Zoom.

The newspaper, in print, is better and easier to read when compared with an online app.

Going to the movie theatre is much better than catching a movie on a digital stream.

Is change really about the risk of going backwards or is it more about the feeling of risk attached to the unknown?

All change involves emotion. There is often a gut feel, a weighing of risk, and the insecurity of the unknown.

A list of pros and cons might be helpful, but suddenly emotion and framing start to tarnish the attempt at honesty and facts.

Business meetings and strategy sessions often attempt to unveil something new. Something new means change and change often sparks a status quo defense.

You decide on what is most helpful, but quick and thoughtless reactions might leave you stuck or falling behind.

Debates create winners and losers. The other side of the coin is that without debate there may be complacency.

You’ll likely take a position.

Remaining neutral is a status quo defense.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

22
Sep 21
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Are Social Metrics Valuable or Just Hype?

Tags : marketing metrics and measurement social media social metrics strategy

Do you trust social metrics? Are you using social media professionally for business, is it more of a hobby, or are you just a casual observer?

When you posted the picture of your pet, did you get a lot of likes?

What about when you posted your angry customer service story, posted a political position, or a picture of your feet in the sand at the beach?

News media is famous for drama filled headlines. Readership or clickership (not a real word), often seems like the highest priority. Who is getting the most traction and how can the story be shaped to fit a popular narrative?

What are advertisers seeking and how are market segments being defined?

These questions and many more surround the analysis or value of social metrics.

Are they valuable?

Social Metrics

Social metrics claim to measure interest. They claim to gauge the likelihood of future interactions and often seem valuable to those seeking more clicks.

Does more clicks or views really matter?

There are at least to sides to the story. The first side would suggest that, yes, they absolutely matter. More viewership or readership is exactly what the social media user desires.

When the numbers are larger, advertisers and other potential stakeholders develop more interest too. There is little measurement about how scattered or how likely the same users will click or follow a similar thread.

The other side to the story is that the content creators are really skilled at one thing. They are skilled at getting more clicks.

That doesn’t mean that the clicks are meaningful or add any kind of value, often they are simply an illustration of a click.

In most circles, the value of social metrics remains questionable.

Unless your only concern is making them increase.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

21
Sep 21
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Valued Services Are a Measurement Of The Customer

Tags : cost customer service services value

Do you deliver valued services? How do you know?

In business, people often express that they deliver excellent products or highly valued services. They believe that what they deliver is very good.

It begs a two-part question, compared to what and defined by whom?

When you build a product or deliver a service you can certainly express that it is of great quality and of high value.

Often those producing the product or service will take great pride in their work. They may spend long hours and work extra hard.

Does that make it more valuable?

What about professional services? Are you willing to pay a more experienced or more educated medical doctor more? The same may be true for an attorney, a carpenter, or a consultant.

Who decides the value?

Valued Services

The truth is that the buyer or the customer decide the value.

When a business owner tells you that they have exceptional customer service you may want to ask how they know. In response, they may say, “because our customers tell us.”

Does every customer tell them this, or is it really only a special few?

Often businesses judge their product or services value based on their own opinion. They haven’t really studied it and they choose to ignore any naysayers.

It is hard to completely please everyone, and at some level you probably shouldn’t get too hung up on those few who decide what you provide is not of great value. However, totally ignoring it could sink the business.

Have you ever been served a beverage in a glass in a restaurant and there is someone’s lipstick on it? Is the floor dirty? Did you feel ill a few hours after consumption of the meal? Some things cannot be ignored.

Remember that the creator of the product or the person providing a service does not define the value. They may set the price, but the customer or client always defines the value.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

20
Sep 21
-

Beautiful Jobs, Have You Lost One or Found One?

Tags : career fired hired lost job new job

Writing this early on a Monday morning reminds me that Mondays often mean a day of grit and grind. Do businesses really offer beautiful jobs? Are you in a great one, feel stuck in a bad one, or have recently lost one?

Are you working your dream job? Have you ever lost a job and discovered it wasn’t such a good job after all? Are all jobs, beautiful jobs?

Some people go to the county fair, others to the lake or a spot near the river. Some hike the trails, ride a bicycle, or float in a kayak.

Still others go to a fancy restaurant, hang out in the park, or catch something unique or fanciful at the community arts display.

Not everyone has the same taste for recreation or art. Not every business has the job for you and not every job that interests you is one where you will feel like you belong.

Clients won’t always accept your proposal, and not all sales are final.

It might be true for the runaway bride or husband too.

Beautiful Jobs

The truth of it all is that not everyone wants what you want. Not every employer is the right match and money or benefits only take up the space in your soul for so long.

Every day someone is hired and someone is fired. Some people love what they do and others hate what they do.

Some businesses never want you to lose you and others are already looking for your replacement.

Things not working are a fact of life. Disappointment and rejection mean things aren’t fitting right now.

If you live in a climate with four seasons, it will rain one day, and sunshine on another. Hot and cold vary, things grow and die. Some will grow back again, others never will.

It’s all normal. It’s all relative.

Beautiful jobs may be more like seasons that you realize.

Look forward to next season.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

17
Sep 21
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Smart Connections Are Built To Last

Tags : connections generosity networking social networks

Do you have some good connections? How long have they lasted? Building smart connections ensures better quality and creates lasting relationships.

What are connections for, are they for leaning on when you need them? Are they built for you to help them, or them to help you? Is help part of the equation?

Are connections about back scratching? I’ll scratch yours and then you scratch mine? Is it the good olde boy network?

Today, it often feels like you need a degree in psychology to sell many products or services. You have to understand the marketplace, the people, and use all of the resources at your disposal. It’s not true in every sector, but it is true in many.

It may also be true in social media. Social connections, people you’ve never met. Social proof, do your pictures tell a story and spring others to action? Are you active on social media?

What about that new job you’re thinking about? Does anyone there know you, who would be a good reference or could give you a gleaming recommendation?

Smart Connections

Not all connections are the same. Many, but not all, seek reciprocity.

That isn’t all bad, but is it the true basis of connection?

Many non-profits go on funding drives. They make the ask. They apply a little pressure and you’re forced to consider your options.

Chambers of commerce host events. Drop a business card, shake (or fist-bump) a hand, or refer someone you know. Some of these have even ventured into an online, virtual option. Join us, we’ll chat, and become friends. Now, you’re on the email list.

LinkedIn, is designed mostly for business. People join, create a profile of experiences and credentials, make some connections, and establish a network.

Are any of these activities good? Are they smart?

Yes, and yes. They can also be over-cooked.

The elephant in the room is generosity. The more generous you are the better.

The tables haven’t turned, but people don’t value the feeling of being used.

Be authentic.

Be smart.

Strive to be more generous.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

16
Sep 21
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Full Risk, Are You Ever Willing To Take It?

Tags : calculated consequences full risk risk success

Assessing risk can feel complicated. It probably is. Are you willing to take full risk, or do you try to cut it in half?

All of life includes risk. Risk means you’re not guaranteed an exact outcome.

You take a risk leaving your home and driving to work. You take a risk with the unknown menu item at the restaurant. In the meeting, there is risk in speaking up.

Success, or not, depends on the risk you are willing to take.

Risk is also often connected to money or time.

Business operations have to weigh the risk. What is the risk to ship, should it be overnight, or the slower method? What is the risk of the new hire?

Promising when the product will be finished or the service is completely delivered involves some risk. Expected quality has some risk.

How far do you go? How much or how deep? What is tolerable? What can you afford?

Full Risk

It is a very scary place for many people. Big changes, life changes, expensive changes, and things that cost time.

Do you take risk in your job?

Are you willing to tactfully and appropriately challenge the process?

What is riskier, speaking up when you see something going astray, or staying quiet and watching it unfold in a costly or catastrophic disaster?

Weighing risk is often the most difficult part.

Many people want to play it safe.

Do you go in halfway? Is that safe? Somethings in life aren’t halfway.

You can’t halfway turn on the lights, dimmer switches don’t count.

You can’t get halfway married, not really.

Perhaps you can go halfway across a narrow bridge, but you’ll never get to the other side. And worse, you might get stuck there for a while.

Sometimes you have to go full risk.

Are you willing?

It won’t be completely safe.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

15
Sep 21
-

Learning Together Is Still An Option

Tags : adult education employee learning training

There are plenty of people who have decided that the online, virtual learning options are a better choice. At the same time, there are plenty of people who insist learning together, live, in-person is better.

What works best for you? Are you committed to only one path?

First, let me clarify that the discussion here is related to adult education, not K-12, or not necessarily a traditional post-secondary education.

In the workplace, how is your team learning?

Are they doing it together or more isolated?

Is time a factor? Can everyone participate in training at the same time or are staggered options more attractive?

When someone reads word for word from the slide deck is that a waste of time? You’ve granted them your attention, would it better to just read it yourself?

Learning Together

Most online platforms allow breakout rooms? Do these work for bringing thoughts, ideas, and interaction forward? They can.

Are you able to learn together whether you are on-line or in-person? What about asynchronous learning versus synchronous learning?

Learning together is a powerful option. So is instructor or facilitator led development.

There is power to connection. Power to group interaction, decision by consensus, and synchronized brainstorming.

People may have changed some of their habits. Habits about a movie theater or watching at home. Habits about eating out or cooking in, and even habits about how they will choose to socialize.

Is there still power to learning together. I think so.

Like most things in life, there is more than one way to do it.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

14
Sep 21
-

Protected Ideas Halt Forward Motion

Tags : change growth new ideas quality

Are there protected ideas in your workplace? Those ideas that are on sacred ground, untouchable, or off-the-table?

While some thoughts or ideas may be off-the-table due to legal concerns with protected classes, discrimination, or even harassment, others are often felt to be untouchable without good reason.

Protected ideas are not open to the consideration of new ideas. In these cases, new ideas are blocked, refused, or otherwise disregarded because they might upset the rhythm or flow of processes or systems, or worse.

Quality systems sometimes struggle to find the balance between locked in for specifications, and the opportunity of innovation.

Quality systems expect the exact. The exact should be able to be replicated a million times or more.

Innovation expects development, change, and new directions.

Then the idea of continuous improvement surfaces and that adds stress to the quality system.

A tug-of-war.

Are you protecting old ideas?

Protected Ideas

Productivity and growth are often halted when the effort is spent on defending and protecting, in leu of exploring.

There is often a counterproductive mindset of, lock everything in place and never change. Yet, change is a requirement for progress.

It may be possible to explore a new path without sacrificing an old way. Just because the old way has been proven effective does not mean that it will always be the best way.

Fast moving businesses and organizations discovered this to be factual during the early days (and on-going) of the 2020 pandemic.

Perhaps there is a balance, a happy medium, or a method to embrace both the tested and the unexplored.

People say that it is so, but where is the proof?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

13
Sep 21
-

Remembrance May Be Creating The Change You Seek

Tags : change forward leadership

What sparks change for you? Remembrance of past events may be the key to keeping the future on a different trajectory.

Every day, everybody has a chance to make a difference. They might make a difference for themselves, their family, or for the organization they work for. What helps drive them forward?

Reliving past negative events may not always be the best idea, yet, at the same time, pretending it didn’t happen may mean that nothing was learned.

The best place is probably a balance of somewhere between.

Influence Happens

Change might be considered to be created by influence.

Influence of the people, the forces on a structure or a system, or careless actions that might be categorized as a mistake.

When people are creating influence, they do it through words, actions, and behaviors. It might also occur in a marketplace through advertising, marketing strategies, and social forces.

Influence may even be created by government rules and regulations, technology changes, and the economy.

A pandemic might be a force of influence.

Should influence be a driver for change?

Remembrance Creates Change

Observations or the study of the past may create a positive position for future change. When people realize how something does not work, it might also illustrate segments or pieces of success.

Woodworkers, chefs, and business coaches might all learn something from trial and error. Try a little of this, or a little of that and notice what is working and what is not.

Over a period of time, skill improves and the practice of the craft is honed.

In workplace circles many people fondly label that as experience. Sometimes it is said to be missing from a formal education.

Do you remember what you’ve learned?

Remembrance is an opportunity. An opportunity to change the course of what happens next. It might also be an opportunity to shy away, retreat, or withdrawal.

It’s entirely up to you.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Author Archives: Dennis Gilbert

Sep 21

-

Sweet Spot

Sep 21

-

Status Quo Defense

Sep 21

-

Social Metrics

Sep 21

-

Valued Services

Sep 21

-

Beautiful Jobs

Sep 21

-

Smart Connections

Sep 21

-

Full Risk

Sep 21

-

Learning Together

Sep 21

-

Protected Ideas

Sep 21

-

Influence Happens

Remembrance Creates Change

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