long-term Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

09
Nov 20
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Weighing Alternatives is a Matter of Principle

Tags : alternatives discipline long-term principles

Big decisions or little decisions, short-term or long-term, what helps you decide? Weighing alternatives typically boils down to principles.

Some would suggest it is ethics or integrity. Others may decide the decision was based on outside forces or pressure.

Most of our choices are connected to principles. Your morals, a guideline, or your values and beliefs help shape the principles you will adhere to.

Recent high school graduates often base more advanced education choices on principles. In the short-term the opportunity cost is more. In the long-term, across many years, the theory is that it pays off.

Parents are influencers, so are other family members, friends, and the admissions staff.

This may be true about the car or home you’ll buy. It may be true about what you’ll eat for dinner. Pros and cons, short-term and long-term outcomes, or the consequences of action versus inaction.

Weighing Alternatives

When there are more alternatives you need to rely on your principles less. You can make a choice and the consequences of undesirable outcomes feel less risky. There is always another choice, at a later time, or on another day.

Often there are group dynamics connected to how you’ll weigh the options. Some of that is connected to your principles and some of it is connected to the social discourse you’ll choose to follow.

Your principles will guide you.

If your choices are only about the right now. Your principles probably lack the integrity or ethics you’ll need for the long-haul.

In a family of four, someone eating the whole bag of potato chips while no one else is watching seems like a reasonable choice. At least at the moment, in the right now.

The alternative requires discipline, caring, and compassion. It doesn’t satisfy the right now.

It’s about the principle.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. 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.

04
Nov 20
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Focus Matters and Changes the Outcomes

Tags : change long-term outcomes pivot results

What are you focused on today? Do you believe that focus matters? Will it change the outcomes?

When your work is very scattered it is hard to know where things start, stop, and how to measure progress. Time and effort are always wasted in the act of engagement, disengagement, and reengagement.

Focus Matters

When there is a problem or a crisis on the job, it becomes an all hands-on deck situation. Everyone jumps in to fight the metaphorical fire. They’re focused and it makes a difference.

Focus is often connected with a timeline. It is notable in many of life’s events. On graduation day, everyone is focused on the ceremony, the totality of the grind that brought graduates to the moment. It is also true for major surgery, a wedding, and an election.

When all the stakeholders are rounded up and focused, everything else stops until the event is over.

The long-term outcomes may be more significant. What will the graduate do now? Will the heart surgery prolong life and what will that look like? Weddings are in the spirit of a lifetime and election results last for years.

Resulting Outcomes

The focus is often short-lived when compared with the outcomes. The culmination of the process leading up to the event and what follows are the outcomes of a lasting endeavor.

Never taking the moments necessary to focus, without interruption, in order to create what happens next is often the problem of a failed action.

The real-life firefighter doesn’t put down the hose to browse his or her cell phone, have a snack, or chit-chat about neighborhood drama.

Perhaps what everyone needs is a little more focus and a little less procrastination or interruptions.

Focus is efficient and effective. It matters.

-DEG

06
Nov 17
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long-term customer service appreciative strategies

Long-Term Customer Service, No Need to Panic

Tags : customer service decisions long-term panic strategy

There are many businesses doing it for the long haul. There are also many businesses who believe they are in it for the long haul but tend to operate for the short term. Are you providing long-term customer service solutions, or really just service in the moment?

Operating for the short term often seems realistic. It feels like the right thing to do. What I do today, must earn the trust, respect, and close the sale with my customer. That makes sense, but that is a short-term proposition. After today, it’s over, tomorrow is another day.

Short Game Panic

In the suburbs or rural communities, most people require a car or similar vehicle for getting things done. There isn’t a train, a bus, or in some cases, not even an Uber ride. People make life happen in part with their vehicle.

Why do people run out of gasoline? Why do they let their tank go so low that eventually it is empty?

There may be many reasons. Anything from waiting for payday to a faulty gauge, however, one of the most common is short-term thinking. The idea is I think I can make it. It will save some time and money, right now, in this very moment.

The short game doesn’t always work out so well. It causes stress, anxiety, and often panic. Panic often causes us to make additional unfavorable decisions. We can’t see things clearly, we’re always picking up the pieces from the short term fix.

Short Game Risk

Risk is often measured differently in the short game. It is like our fear to speak up. It is common for people to say nothing even though they believe the result will be unfavorable. The short gamer weighs the risk of speaking up as more dangerous than dealing with a bad decision later.

In the short game, they say nothing, and there is little risk taken, it feels safe. Tomorrow the price may be paid as a poor choice unfolds in what now may be labeled as a self-fulfilled prophecy. However, they’ll let it play out, see what happens next. That is playing the short game, not the long one.

All of this is the same for the culture of customer service that you are building.

You can run the risk in the short game. You can take the chance that you won’t run out of gas or you can hang up the telephone, watch the customer walk out the door, or worse you can hide behind email. Close the sale today, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, that is the short game.

Long-Term Customer Service

Long-term customer service is much different from the short game. In the long game decisions usually are not made in a panic. They are made with the future at heart, the correct choices for the right now and for the long term.

Long-term strategy doesn’t come with panic. You fill the tank before you start the journey.

Unless you don’t plan to be around much longer.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

14
Feb 17
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Build Customer Relationships and Long-Term Wins

Tags : customer service long-term relationships win

Sometimes the problem with, “Get the deal now!” is that it doesn’t build anything. When you’re trying to build customer relationships are you focused on a short-term fix or long-term gain?

Get the dime in your pocket now and worry about tomorrow later might sometimes seem like the best tactic. After all, you’ve achieved a win. Leading early is often good, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll finish the race or win the game.

Short-Term Fix

Sometimes the short-term strategy creates a long-term loss.

You might push to close a sale even when it doesn’t align with the customer need. Perhaps you’ll persuade your way with a suggestion of scarcity.

Alternatively you might try to shove your way around with fear by pushing hard for the extended warranty. As a final stand, you might jump up and down, pitch a fit, or hold your breath until you get a yes.

When your short-term strategy is over will you still have any long-term customers?

Build Customer Relationships

There are a lot of businesses that don’t have continuous daily transactions with the same customer.

The realtor, the plumber, and the consultant, when they’re doing their job right it isn’t about a one and many, it is more about a one and done. With a job well done their customers might not come back around for many months or even years.

When you’re considering the customer experience, their satisfaction, and relationship longevity, it has to be built on long-term values, not on short-term wins.

Your culture and brand aren’t built overnight and neither is your reputation.

When you’re building a lasting impression, creating long-term value, and doing it with customers who trust you, you’ll create the kind of win you need. You’ll create a customer experience where the story of your quality and commitment are told, over and over again across time.

The thing of it all is people still talk, and more importantly, they get social, on-line. Some proclaim that word-of-mouth is now world-of-mouth. I think they’re right. What talk will you create?

Long-Term Win

A quick fix or short-term win to put a dime in your pocket today might not be a long-term win. In fact, it could have the biggest cost of all.

Build customer relationships and go for the long-term win.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

01
Sep 15
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Long-term Thinkers

Tags : goals long-term project management

Around the workplace people are often expressing concern about accountability. Of course, the accountability they seek is usually not for themselves but is directed towards someone else. Often there are well meaning managers who come up a little short on holding themselves or others accountable.

It seems that large numbers of people prefer the easier road in life, and of course there is nothing really wrong with that except that often those same people resent the fast-trackers, water walkers, and anyone getting ahead. By nature some people want to do the easy stuff first, the things that can be finished quickly, and require minimal effort to receive a check-off from the to-do list. Also, there is a belief that this is the stuff that gets noticed first, it’s the squeaky wheel, and what will make them appear most valuable.

Are these people short-term thinkers?

What about the hard stuff? What about things that can’t be done immediately or things that require multiple days, months, or some cases even years to complete? The harder to do stuff often faces procrastination and it is put off because it requires commitment, persistence, and focus. Most of all it requires a relentless pursuit of the goal to conquer and beat the odds.

What about that stuff? Perhaps we need more long-term thinkers.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker that specializes in helping businesses accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. Reach him through his website at http://DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: long-term

Nov 20

-

Weighing Alternatives is a Matter of Principle

Weighing Alternatives

Nov 20

-

Focus Matters and Changes the Outcomes

Focus Matters

Resulting Outcomes

Nov 17

-

Long-Term Customer Service, No Need to Panic

Short Game Panic

Short Game Risk

Long-Term Customer Service

Feb 17

-

Build Customer Relationships and Long-Term Wins

Short-Term Fix

Build Customer Relationships

Long-Term Win

Sep 15

-

Long-term Thinkers

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