Are you suffering from the “To Big To Care” bug?

We have all worked with that person, the one who is just phoning it in until they are no longer required to show up every day.  They are either just hanging around for retirement or they took the job just to get a paycheck.  Getting them engaged in the work is next to impossible because they really don’t belong in that job.  These people are littered throughout corporate America and have been factored into the cost of doing business.  But that isn’t the only place they show up.  Some small businesses have to deal with this quandary as well.

Take the professional that no longer cares about the service side of their business.  They just want to make the money and go home.  Get while the getting is good so to speak.  Some of these people have just stayed to long.  There was a time that they felt real passion for their work and were quite good at it.  But now they aren’t concerned with growing just maintaining status quo.   They take too long to return phone calls and they seem to no longer care how you are doing.

Some of these business professionals never really had a great passion for the work in the first place.  They just didn’t want to work for someone else.  These people just want to make a living and aren’t really concerned with expanding their business or yours.

Another day at another time these people would have fared just fine; but not now.  We have entered a time when transparency and downward pressure on price has made it next to impossible to remain mediocre.  The competition is fierce and you had better be ready to compete or don’t bother leaving the house.

Consider the current situation that attorneys now face.  The consumer now has the choice to use legalzoom.com or hire a paralegal for minor legal work for a fraction of the cost.  Both of these options are satisfactory and very cost effective.  The internet along with the various government agencies have made certain legal filings very easy to do online.  You can incorporate your business online for a fraction of the cost it would take to use an attorney.  So if your experience with the legal profession has been less than stellar you now have an option and probably for less cost.

What about the CPA industry.  Once again accounting software along with the ability of providing data and transactions over the internet seamlessly has given the consumer a plethora of options.  They can now manage their own accounting throughout the year and hire a tax professional to add the final touches.  In addition, in a very short time everything will need to be filed electronically.  This will further simplify the accounting process.  So if your accountant isn’t returning your phone calls when you need him/her too and your business dealings are fairly routine you may now question their fee.

Web developers are not immune from these changes either.  I just spent some time looking into getting my website refreshed and I was shocked at the quality and low price of some of the web templates that are out there.  These templates have already been developed and do allow for some customization.  A new service sector has developed that incorporates the template module with some additional tools (portals, forms, etc.) as well as the ability to host with them and get some technical help on an as needed basis.  These website templates have been written in such a way that you can do your own editing.  This is great news for the do it yourselfers; but what about the web developer?

Now more than ever it is important for the service sector to establish a great customer service attitude and make that their differentiator.  Because “A sale is not something you pursue; it is something that happens while you are immersed in serving your customer.”  Author Unknown.

So if you have been suffering from the “To Big To Care” bug…… don’t worry it won’t last.

Relax

Relax; it’s only business.  That’s right, take it easy, and goof off once in awhile.  Your employees will thank you and your business will be better for it. 

I just got off the phone with my husband who is a successful restaurateur.  He has taken a little time off with our youngest son.  They are on a Father Son trip that began in New Orleans.  The trip took them to Mexico and then back to New Orleans for the Jazz Festival.  For 7 whole days!  I could tell he was feeling a little unsettled about being gone so long.  But 7 days is not a long time.  Not really.  And he knows everything is running fine.  He also knows he has great employees who have been with him for a long time.

So what is that thing that makes us feel that if we disconnect for a time something bad will happen.  Things can go wrong with our without us present.  Problems will always be with us.

The truth is most of us never disconnecting from our work anymore.  We take our laptops and blackberries wherever we go.  We say it makes things easier.  We believe it makes us more productive.  We can immediately deal with issues as they come up. 

But I don’t believe that.  Maybe we do it because it allows us to not have to trust or depend on anyone else to handle problems for us.  You know that thing – “If I want it done right I might as well do it myself”.  Or maybe we think if we don’t answer that phone call, email or text right now the sender will move on to someone who is more available.

I was working on a deal recently and was having a conversation with someone who was a key player.  As it turned out he was still working on this deal while he was on vacation!  Thanks to his blackberry.  Bet his family was really happy!  The thing is everything I needed could have waited until he returned.

I know it is hard to turn off the gadgets and allow ourselves to take a real break these days.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.  If we don’t delegate our roles once in awhile we will burn out.  And being burned out isn’t good for anyone or thing; even business.

So shut it down, turn it off and relax….. “it’s all good – they got it”

It’s Just Business…… Right?

Something happened the other day that made me start thinking about how hard it is for old timers (like myself) in business; to accept change.  They convince themselves that “What got them here will get them there”.  We have hit a reset button in business and if you are still doing business the way you did it five years ago then you will not be in business five years from now.

Business owners must face the fact that the internet is here to stay and it has connected us all.  This new connection has made everyone more aware of each other in ways that we are not yet comfortable with.  Yet we pretend as if this touchy feely stuff has nothing to do with business.  We want to deal with people the way we use to be able to deal with them – detached and compartmental.  We only got close to a select few and well the rest – it’s just business.  

That won’t work anymore.  This connection has made it possible for an irritated employee or customer to tell the world in just a few clicks or a simple message via cell phone just how awful it is to do business with you.  There is now an instant accountability taking place and we all better get with the program. 

Well, how can a person turn on and off their basic emotions in and out of business?  Truth is they can’t and they never did.  We just conveniently ignored the signs.  Look I’m not saying that there aren’t employees or customers that you would be better off without.  I’m just saying that I think there are far more that can and should be saved with some effort on your part.  As a business leader having a high emotional IQ is more important than ever.

By not giving this the attention it needs we are losing customers and probably some good employees.  It cost 3 times an employee’s salary to replace them and it can run 8 to 10 times more to acquire a new customer instead of keeping an existing one.  So that ticked off customer who just decided to go somewhere else because of a misunderstanding that you didn’t want to deal with just cost you big time. 

Why would we continue to ignore the very things we need to do in order to retain that good employee or customer?  We do it because of fear.

I’m not talking about everyone sharing their deepest and darkest selves.  I’m talking about having the ability to facilitate an uncomfortable conversation or see warning signs well in advance of trouble and doing something about them.   Don’t get me wrong I know this takes courage to do.  Most of us would like to just brush this stuff aside and hope it all works itself out.  That sort of disgruntled customer or that problem employee just goes away.  Or worse yet we justify it by saying “I’m right and they are wrong so good riddance to bad rubbish”

We should be smart about this and use our emotional IQ to be better at business.  Books, consultants, trainers and coaches with varying levels of expertise in this area are only a click or phone call away.  They can help us understand our own behavioral make up as well as our customers or employees.  They have tools on the internet or in person that will enable you learn and have more confidence in dealing with these situations.  What if you could learn how to spot a problem and facilitate a conversation with a customer before things got so out of hand that they left?  How much more money would your bottom line reflect?  Why not find out more about what makes you tick so you can adjust your own behavior to further enhance these outcomes?

Technology has made these resources more accessible and affordable for smaller businesses.  This can translate into a better bottom line for your company and a more fulfilling life for yourself.  In the words of the Cowardly Lion “What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the mast on a flag to wave? Courage!  Find yours today and learn how to improve your emotional IQ; your bottom line will love you!