saying no

Earlier this month I had a post on getting to yes.  I talked about negotiating to find common ground.  Sometimes getting to yes first takes learning how to say no. Last week our email delivery team was dealing with an inventory problem.  We sent three emails to our customer base and anything further would be perceived as spam by our clients.  Of course a request came in late in the week for an email blast.  The marketing team filmed an on location video of our customers getting the most of our services, and worked with public relations to have the video air on a local news program.  The station posted the video on their site and marketing wanted to promote the piece via an email campaign.  Well, the answer was no, but we can't just say, "No, we don't have the inventory."   So, how can we communicate no in order to get to yes?

First, I think some praise is in order.  "Congratulations!  You did an amazing job on the video.  That is great for our company!  I understand why you want to launch the campaign this week and we can certainly use the publicity, but I'm afraid the open rate on the email is going to be really low.  We've already sent three emails this week, and another one from the company is going to come across as spam."  That's how you say, "No."

Let's work on getting to yes.  "So, instead of having a blast from the company this week why don't I do this for you?  We'll create a template for the account executives in the market.  If the email comes from the account executive it is more personal and more likely to be opened.  If that doesn't work for you, we can send it first thing next week ahead of some of the other emails that need to go out.  Or, if you really insist we'll send it tomorrow, but I want to reinforce that it will most likely not have the desired effect.  So, what do you say?"

Saying no in the right way can help you to more easily get to yes.  First, offer well deserved praise or understanding.  Next, explain why you are saying no.  Finally, offer some options.  Sometimes your customers aren't from outside the company.  They're you're colleagues.  When you are a service provider you have to treat your internal customers as well as you would treat your clients.

what are you waiting for?

I was looking at a note that was passed around facebook a couple of years ago called 25 random things.  Number 17 on my list: When the kids are finished with college I’m going to build a computer program, learn to speak Mandarin Chinese, teach myself physics and climb a mountain.  When I reread that I said - what are you waiting for?  Am I getting the most out of my day? Why not start now? I was poking around amazon and came across How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. It seemed like a modern self help book title, so I was really surprised to find out it was written in 1910.  Here's a quote from the book taken from wikipedia. "Which of us lives on twenty-four hours a day? And when I say "lives," I do not mean exists, nor "muddles through." Which of us is free from that uneasy feeling that the "great spending departments" of his daily life are not managed as they ought to be? [...] Which of us is not saying to himself -- which of us has not been saying to himself all his life: "I shall alter that when I have a little more time"? We never shall have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is."

I'm going to take it on myself to get started with something new. I don't know if it's going to be one of the four on my facebook list, but it's time I get the most out of my 24 hours. It's easier today than ever before. Are you getting the most out of your life? Are you trying something new? What are you waiting for?

thunderbirds

Tonight I have a guest blogger. Ellie Charter is a friend and colleague of mine. She comes to work each day seeking to make a difference. She is an artist. Here what she has to say: I attended the Air Show at Offut Air Force Base recently. This was only my second experience at an Air Show. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I was amazed by so many talented pilots who showcased their skills. Most of these pilots flew one plane at a time and put on exciting solo flights. While the solo acts were very entertaining, the finale of The Thunderbirds really resonated with me.

Six planes, worth billions of dollars, flying at insanely high speeds with thousands of eyes on them – can you imagine the pressure? Flight formations so close that I was certain their wings would inevitably touch at some point and result in disaster. Yet, they performed flawlessly. How? How can 6 individual planes, with individual control panels and individual strengths and weaknesses pull together as a team and perform perfection?

• Communication
• Training
• Trust
• Expectation of Success
• Ownership of Responsibility

As I thought of these characteristics and continued to marvel at their performance, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander to my work. In the past year, we have continuously worked hard to improve on traits I just mentioned. All the while, we work at insanely high speeds to remain top of our game. We have several different departments, all using our own programs and controls. Thus, we depend on each other to communicate and avoid collisions and failures. The success of our team is not based on one solo performance, but the ability of all of us to look beyond challenges with our systems, beyond our own agenda and focus on the team goal. It really doesn’t matter that a team or individual gets to perform the spotlight fly by – it’s so much cooler when we all fly in formation, in sync, and blow the minds of our fans.

We must not look at the road ahead as being filled with unrealistic goals. Instead, we should step up our game - communicate more, take ownership of the jobs given to us, and expect success from ourselves and each other.

We are the elite Thunderbirds in our industry and intend on doing everything in our power to stay there.

--Ellie Charter

small wins

Have you ever stared at a project list and felt nothing but overwhelmed? It's like walking up the stairs to my attic. I get to the top, see the mess, quickly shake my head in dismay, turnaround and walk back down the steps. The scope of work is too overwhelming. The end goal is out of reach. I'll never be able to get this finished. Dan and Chip Heath talk about shrinking the change in their book Switch. Sometimes you only need to get started. Take 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there and eventually you have a series of small wins. In technology, projects are broken into epic stories; epic stories into user stories; and user stories into tasks. It's easy to look at a task, get started on it and finish it. Before you know it you've knocked out a user story, and all of a sudden these small wins start to snowball. The project doesn't seem as daunting.

This same method can be applied to any goal or change. If you have a sales goal that seems impossible, break it down and shrink the goal. I want to make 50 calls over the next two days and close 10% of them. Over the next two weeks I want to write a chapter of my book. Shrink your objective and earn some small wins.

Who wants to spend ten minutes with me cleaning the stairs of my attic tonight?

reputation

Repetition builds your reputation. Do you look up and smile as you walk down the hall or do you look down to avoid eye contact? Repetition builds your reputation. Do you always treat people with dignity and respect or can you be arrogant and belittling? Repetition builds your reputation. When you're under a deadline do you maintain a positive attitude or do you complain about expectations? Repetition builds your reputation. When a customer has a problem do you quickly respond or do you ignore them or pass the buck to someone else? Repetition builds your reputation. Do you complain about problems or do you try to solve them? Repetition builds your reputation. A friend of mine has a maxim, "Always do what's right, even when no one is looking." That is the essence of strong character. Reputation is character's shadow. If you concentrate on growing your character the shadow it casts will be long and wide. Be positive. Make the tough choices. Do the right thing. Be consistent. A positive reputation will surely follow.