Customer Service Principle

Throughout business history, companies have introduced grand strategies designed to raise their levels of customer service. They soon discovered, however, that the strategies were the easy part. Getting employees to buy into the strategy and make it work proved more difficult. Not surprisingly, results were usually doomed to failure from the start.

This inability to "close the deal" has been a perennial cause of puzzlement and frustration to company executives. They assumes that once strategies are unveiled, employees will implement the program in such a way that customers notice an increased level of customer service.

Wrong. Not only do sales and service not rise; morale goes down with them! The reason? The assumption that customer service can improve without employee commitment. All too often, management forgets that strategies and programs start and end with their people.

This assumption is a throwback to the thinking of the American Industrial Age when employees were reduced to a component of production, not unlike a piece of equipment.
Industrial age thinking was based on the concept that employees did not want to work and were definitely not concerned enough to do quality work. Employees were given orders, and except for breakdowns (injury or illness), tasks were grudgingly completed. Of course time has proven again and again that employees DO want to work, they DO enjoy their work, and they want to care about the quality of their work. Research has shown that work plays a huge part in a person's self esteem, self worth and personal happiness.

To turn your strategy into reality, you must create an environment that builds employee pride and quality. It is absolutely vital that customer service be a long-term, everyday commitment that employees believe in. Otherwise, employees will think it just another passing management fad that will fade away after a brief flurry of activity like so many other programs. They've seen it all before and if they don't believe it, it won't succeed.

To illustrate the difference in employee attitudes consider this parable. An observer passed by two job sites and asked one employee from each what they were doing.
Employee one: I'm working like hell for too little money.
Employee two: I'm building a cathedral.

Notice any difference in attitude? One was sold on the project and therefore became part of it, while the other was merely a part of the machine. Which employee would you want representing your establishment?

Customer Service Principles:
•Commit to excellent customer service. Live it, breathe it, believe it, and reward it.

•Sell the employees on the whole, not just their part.

•Ensure that any Marketing initiatives emphasize your employees, not just your products. When morale and pride go up, you can bet services and sales will go up. Make your employees feel they are part of an elite group.

•Ensure all customer contact employees have autonomy to accommodate their customers, even if it means bending company rules. Then take a hard look at those bent rules, and see if they need to be discarded entirely.

•Be better than your competitor by knowing your competitor. Take your key people out to a competitor's operation, and talk about what works there and what doesn't (after you've left, of course.)

•Finally, keep the focus on your people: They ARE your business!

Quality Restaurant Service

Randall Turner, a dear friend of mine, dines out at least twice a week and knows good service; he also knows when the wait staff is indifferent. A recent experience at a restaurant in the area made the evening memorable for all the wrong reasons.

"I was there with business associates and wanted to try a new restaurant that had been touted", he recalls. "The place was cavernous and the eight servers outnumbered the customers."

It was a warm night and the small group decided to sit outside. After a long wait the server appeared. Filled their water glasses and disappeared. "We had to hunt for more water, bread and for the waiter so we could order," Randall complains. "There were only two other customers in the restaurant that probably sat 150 people. We knew the servers were out there but we could not see them. It was almost funny."

The service did not improve as the evening wore on.

"After the meal we ordered coffee and when it arrived sometimes later I tasted something strange and sweet in the brew," he relates. "When I asked the server what it was she replied, "I don't know what it is. It's something."

Having to chase down the waiter for the bill was the icing on the cake.

Although the food was good, the quality of service soured the entire dining experience. It was a new restaurant and perhaps the staff was working out a few kinks. But Randall says he likes to patronize a restaurant that will appreciate his business. "It is disappointing when the meal is superior but the service is not up to the same standards," he concludes. "That is what stands out in my memory."

Quality service is vital to the reputation of any eating establishment. It will make or break a business, and customers will not return if they don't get good service.

Not that providing quality service is easy. Customers can be demanding and the menu can be complex and ever changing.

Is quality service learned or is it fundamental to a person's nature? I think is a little of both. I think anyone can learn the basics of how to wait a table. but some people are naturally in tune with customers and how to go beyond just filling their needs, Those are the employees making the big tips.

Typically, servers earn minimum wages plus tips. Particularly hectic days can be costly, since a server is often too busy to provide the personalized attention to each customer that generates larger tips.

Experience providing good service anywhere can be transitioned into the restaurant industry. If someone worked as a telemarketer or a clerk, the same principles can relate to those in a wait staff or in other position in a restaurant.

Defining Customer Service: The Customer Perception is Our Reality

You might not be able to define service, but you know it when you find it, and so do our customers. Countless seminars, books, articles have been written on the subject of service. Every company touts service as its goal, but service is an elusive concept which is extremely difficult to measure and evaluate.

Service is elusive and intangible, but it is the life's blood of the hospitality industry so we must ask ourselves, "What is customer service?" In today's competitive marketplace service is the most important thing a company has to sell. It truly makes the difference when two businesses have the same product. If service was just smiling or getting food onto the table on time it would be difficult enough, but we know it is much more complex than that.

We've been told over and over, every time we come in contact with a customer, that we make a good impression or a bad one for the organization we represent. The gurus have taught us that these are called the "moment of truth". That being the case, the first moment of truth takes place with a genuine and personal touch as soon as the guest walks in the front door. This sets the tone for the rest of the experience, and it gets even better, the dining experience will be unforgettable.

If you consider the effect that one person can have on the entire experience, and multiply that by a dozen or more employees, the moment of truth have increased exponentially. The first rule of service is simply to find the right people with the right attitude, and then teach them the rest. Let's face it, serving techniques can be taught; sophistication has to be acquired. It baffles me that during the interview process more employers don't ask prospective employees what they think customer service means.

Customer service is difficult to explain, and difficult to understand. The people who know best what customer service is, are customers, because they are the ones who know what they want. And because they are the ones who know what they want, it is the customers we should be listening to. Simply by accommodating the requests of your customers you create a demanding customer. And a demanding customer is not a bad customer. When you accommodate requests and your demanding customers go to another restaurant, they'll be disappointed if they don't get the service equal to what you have created. Hence, demanding customers equal profits.

As we continue to try to define customer service we find that there are some basic truths. To understand those truth you have to realize that customer service has to always be define from the customer's perspective, not the operator's. In fact, we need to remember, the customer's perception is our reality.

We all know that successful service is not a one-time event; you have to work hard at it.It is only as good as your last encounter. It is a production and it goes on stage every day at the same time, and it's live. There's not practicing; there's no rehearsing.

Ambiance at your restaurant can be overwhelmingly beautiful and your food delicious, but when service suffers the dining experience will be mediocre at best. The importance of customer service is forever clear: even the most delicious lobster isn't good when service is poor, because poor service leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

I know not all chef owners will agree with this statement, but I'm a firm believer that a good server can save a bad meal, but a great entree can't bail out a bad server. In my many years in the industry I've found that when I took care of customers extremely well and made them a focal point, profits in evidently flowed.

Executives around the world recognize service as the most important tool a compant use to differentiate itself from the competition. Therefore, they also realize that the most important people in any company are those who provide service. J.W. Marriott Jr. said "Service people are the most important ones in the organization. Without them there is no product, no sale, and no profit. Indeed they are the product. Service is and should be a high calling."

It is important for us to remember that guests are at our restaurant to spend money, and we should not deprive them of that opportunity. This is an industry where we have to constantly train, and when we are done training, train again, and then train again. It is human nature to under-learn and over-forget. Hospitality employees will tell you, "I already know that one." That's great, but it doesn't matter if they know what to do, it matters if they do what they know.

We've all heard the phrase, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." The first thirty seconds sets the tone for the entire experience. The most important first step for anyone in our industry is creating a bond of trust and credibility with our guests. This is what we call rapport. The essence of rapport is commonality. People like people who are like themselves. If it's true that almost everything you become and accomplish in your life is with and through other people, then the ability to create rapport with other people is the most important skill you can learn. That being said, it is easy to understand why the main challenge in our business is to manage these millions of moments of truth every day. That means managing hundreds of encounters with customers each and every shift, because it is in fact service that determines how much money they are going to spend and how much you're going to make.

You can't sell something you don't know anything about, and you won't suggest something if you don't know anything about it. Closing a sale is actually a transfer of enthusiasm. It is hard to be enthusiastic about something you don't know anything about and you can only sell something to the degree that you believe in it. You impress your guests when you are able to answer all their questions with authority.

It is important to remember that in every service opportunity there is sales opportunity, and in every sales opportunity there is service opportunity. You can have the best product in the world, but if you don't sell it, you still have it.

In this industry, we throw word "service" around like it's a basketball. In the writing of this article, I feel like I'm preaching to the choir, but it comes back to that basic premise that it is not what you know that matters, but doing what you know that matters.

Caring is the golden key. You have to care that your guests get the best service and the best value, and that they have the best time they could possibly have. When the guests know you care about them, that's when they are on your team. There's nothing better than having the guests be on your team; it is a win situation for everyone.

Service is an intangible product. It's a commodity that customers pay big money for these days and it's a word that's way overused. I recently read where it's the most overused word in the world.

"At one time in my life I thought I had a handle on the meaning of the word "service", the act of doing things for other people. Then I heard the terms "internal revenue service", "postal service", "civil service", "service stations," and I became confused about the word "service".
This is not what I thought "service" meant. Then one day I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them mentioned he was having a bull service a few of his cows. Voila! it all came into perspective, and I now understand what service is all about. Now I know what all those service agencies are doing to us"--Orionsky (pseudonym for on-line humorist and contributor to unsolvedmysteries.com).

Service, service, service. We spend a lot of time and money on training and retraining our employees about the importance of customer service, but we really never tell them how simple it can be. In fact, it is so simple it's mind-boggling. I have what I call the Simplicity Rule of Customer Service and it goes like this: "All you have to be is hospitable".

Being hospitable is the act or practice of receiving strangers or guest in a friendly and generous way. It's really that simple. All we have to do is hire people that are hospitable, and the rest comes easy. after all, we all know it's easier to train the technical side than it is to train the personal side.

In this industry, profits are not made by focusing on the larger details; profits results from focusing on the small details and caring about guests. You need to forget the macro, and focus on the micro. After all, when you really think about it, "It's the small things in life that are big".

Leadership Skills - Part 3 - Lead Courageously

Today's environment demands that leaders make decisions that involve risk, and take their stand in the face of ambiguity or adversity. Managers who lead courageously confront problems directly and take action based on what they believe is right. They win the respect and commitment of others by standing up for what they believe; making decisions despite ambiguity; by supporting others who make difficult decisions; and by following issues through to completion in spite of adversity.
Valuable tips:

• Identify your most deeply held convictions. Use those convictions to guide your leadership.
• Give people the feedback they need even when it may be difficult.
• Openly acknowledge that your stand may be unpopular, and then explain why it is important for others to consider your point of view.
• Stand behind your people and back their decisions.
• Say "no" clearly and explain why.
• Attack problems, no people
• Identify the people in your organization or your team whose courage you most admire. Talk with them and learn how they act on their convictions.
• Talk with decision makers about how they arrived at their decisions and how they dealt with people's reactions. Incorporate some of their ideas and strategies.
• Use simple, clear language when communicating your position.
• When you see a need or problem that you wish someone would address, ask yourself if you could be doing something about it.
• In meetings, verbalize your concerns so they can be openly discussed.
• Determine if one of your veteran staff members has a chronic performance problem that no one has really addressed. Then deal with it.
• Identify the upper-level manager you find most intimidating or critical and make a conscious effort to be candid with this person during your next encounter.
• Honestly determine if you tend to avoid passing negative information upward.
• Report on both your successes and your failures with equal candor.
• Look at your staff and decide if you are spending more energy protecting them than holding them accountable.
• Step forward with a position of principle even when there is ambiguity regarding the facts.
• Take calculated risks. Ask yourself, "what is the worst thing that could happen?" and then decide if proceeding is worth the risk.
• After speaking up for what you believe is important, be gracious whether your ideas are accepted or rejected.
• Remember that being a manager is not a popularity contest. You may not always be liked, but you should be respected.
• Show the courage to let your people learn from their mistakes.
• Believe that you have the power to make a difference, and accept the responsibility of trying.
• Read books or watch movies that exemplify true courage in others. They can inspire you to strengthen your courage in dealing with work-related issues.

 

Leadership Skills - Provide direction - Part 2

The hallmark of an effective leader is clear focus and direction. successful leaders operate with a vision of where they are going, and they use this vision to inspire their people and their organization.
Some leaders generate this vision and direction from within themselves and then develop support for it within their organization. Others work with their teams to create a vision together. In either case, it is this clear vision and focused direction that allow leaders to align and direct the energy and resources of the organization to achieve desired goals.
Successful managers align their vision with that of the larger organization of which they are part. They then work with their team to identify the mission and goals of the team, out of which comes the roles and responsibilities of each individual. This process helps ensure that each individual’s objectives and decisions support the larger vision and eliminates many activities that are counterproductive.
I am providing suggestions on how to create and communicate your vision for your area to clarify each person’s responsibilities in creating that vision. It addresses the issues of:

-Fostering the Development of a common Vision:
the foundation of an effective organization and team is a common vision and mission that is understood and accepted by everyone.
A vision is a statement of the future state that is desired.Each part of the organization should have its own vision of how it will contribute to the overall vision of the organization.
An organization and its parts also need a mission. A mission statement clarifies the organization’s present state by defining:

• What business it is in
• What the boundaries of the business are
• Who its customers are
• How departments and individuals work together
• What needs to be accomplished
• How success is measured

Your team’s vision and mission will focus its energy, clarify its goals, and set priorities in place. It will also help you and your team to reach agreement on team members’ roles and team’s direction.

-Providing Direction and defining Priorities:
People are most productive when they have a clear of what is expected of them, both on a daily basis and over the longer term. Being clear about organizational priorities enables employees to make appropriate decisions about the most important issues to tackle. you can take steps to clearly communicate the overall direction of a team to both current and new team members.

-Clarifying Roles and responsibilities:
Clarifying responsibilities increases ownership, alleviates conflicts, and eliminates unnecessary ambiguity. Furthermore, letting other areas know who is responsible for what allows your area to be more responsive to customer needs and can keep things from “falling through the cracks”. Role clarification is an ongoing process in a dynamic organization.

-Linking the team’s Mission to That of the Organization:
Sometimes employees are unclear about how their work ties into the organization; or they may be asked to do things that seem meaningless or unimportant. tying individual goals and tasks to the organization’s objectives can help employees view their assignments as important. Your contribution as an effective manager is to ensure that you and your people plan and act in a manner consistent with what the organization intends to accomplish.

-Making the Team’s Mission and strategies Clear to others:
Once you have a mission in place for your team, communicate it to others who are important to the success of your group. Doing so will help you gain the understanding and support you need to get your job done.
 

Leadership Skills - Part 1

Leadership: the ability to make things happen by encouraging and channeling the contributions of others, taking a stand on addressing important issues, and acting as a catalyst for change and continuous improvement.


In the past, leadership was simpler. Yesterday's managers could demand performance. Today's managers are faced with more educated and democratically oriented workforce. Problems and opportunities are complex and challenging.

As a result, today's managers must encourage and apply the contributions of all of the company's human resources, both individually and in groups. You need the creativity and resourcefulness of everyone to find solutions and the commitment of all employees to implement these solutions effectively.

In this series I intend to focus in the following seven areas of leadership skills identified as essential to managerial success:

• Provide Direction: Fosters the development of a common vision;provides clear direction and priorities;clarifies roles and responsibilities.
• Lead courageously: Steps forward to address difficult issues; puts self on the line to deal with important problems;stands firm when necessary.
• Influence Others: Asserts own ideas and persuades others; gains support and commitment from others; mobilizes people to take action.
• Foster Teamwork: Builds effective teams committed to organizational goals;fosters collaboration among team members and among teams; uses teams to address relevant issues.
• Motivates Others: Encourages and empowers others to achieve;establishes challenging performance standards; creates enthusiasm, a feeling of investment, and a desire to excel.
• Coach and Develop Others: Accurately assesses strengths and development needs of employees; gives timely, specific feedback and helpful coaching; provides challenging assignments and opportunities for development.
• Champion Change: Challenges the status quo and champions new initiatives; acts as a catalyst of change and stimulates others to change; paves the way for needed changes; manages implementation effectively.

Avoiding The Perverted Inverted Pyramid

If you read from the works of virtually any recognized management guru, you will come across the notion of inverting the organization's hierarchy. The theory goes that by putting more decision-making into the hands of those closest to the "action", organizations will become faster, more adaptive and more effective. Inverting the organizational pyramid brings with it the notion of empowerment, in the service of better organizations.   

Well, that's the theory anyway. If you are a regular reader of our publications, you will be aware that we are firm supporters of inverting the pyramid, empowering staff, and moving responsibility and decision-making down to the people that are in contact with the recipients of government services. But, we do need to put these efforts into the context of real life, and to be aware of the pitfalls that are in our paths.   

The truth is that many organizations begin the inverted pyramid journey, but few actually succeed in reaping the benefits of the effort. It seems that far too many organizations are developing flat tires, or simply running out of gas, far from the envisioned destination. We are going to look at ways that organizations and managers end up perverting the inverted pyramid, so that if you are on the journey, you will be less likely to fail in your efforts.  

Structural Incompatibility  

There is no question that government is arranged in a hierarchical structure, with decision-making, accountability and responsibility vested first in senior executive, and then distributed down the line to other executives or managers. One only has to look at the chain of events that occurs when a public complaint is lodged. Often it will be sent to the Minister, who, with involvement of executive assistants, will pass the concern on to the Deputy Minister, who will, in turn, move the "investigation" to lower levels in the organization. The process is indeed hierarchical and traditional, moving from top to bottom. The bottom line is that, structurally, the Minister, and senior executives are ultimately responsible for what occurs in their bailiwicks. In a sense, since senior officials are held responsible, it is in their own self-interest to be involved in decision-making that may ultimately come back to haunt them, and to use their organizational power to satisfy their own needs and those of people at the top of the traditional pyramid.   

So, we run into a basic incompatibility. We have governments structured in traditional hierarchical ways, with power and responsibility at the top. On the other hand we know that customer service decisions are often best made by those at the bottom of the organization. Experience tells us that in almost all cases, where there is a conflict between the notion of empowerment, and the needs and wishes of senior executive, the needs and wishes of executive will prevail. This doesn't necessarily occur as a result of the actual people involved, but simply is a result of working in organizations that are traditionally hierarchical. This traditional structuring places limits on efforts to move power downward. The inverted pyramid can be perverted. The new way of doing things is quickly perceived as window-dressing.  

Management Limitations  

While structural incompatibilities make inverting the pyramid difficult, there are other powerful and important factors that pervert the process. Many of these, unfortunately, fall into the area of limitations, or short-comings on the part of individual managers and executives.   

We know enough about empowerment, team development and leadership to state that empowerment and pyramid inversion require some special qualities on the part of leaders and managers. When these qualities are not sufficiently developed, the process of inverting the pyramid can become stalled. We can identify a number of such competencies or attitudes:  

• perseverance in the face of frustration
• consistency in terms of decision-making processes
• trust in the abilities of the staff
• genuine desire to share power
• coaching abilities to help develop core skills on the part of the staff
  

Lack of Development Resources 

lnverting the pyramid requires new skill sets on the part of staff that are going to be empowered. The more hierarchical and autocratic an organization is before attempting to invert the pyramid, the more likely necessary skill components will be lacking. It isn't surprising. Some people think that empowering staff will be immediately welcomed by staff, and that given an opportunity, staff will take the opportunity like a duck takes to water. Experience tells us otherwise. Staff will show some degree of cynicism and even resistance. And they will founder at the start, particularly if they are not used to using effective decision-making, problem-solving and consensus building techniques.   

Further, staff in the inverted pyramid need different kinds of information, compared to those in traditional organizations. They need to know the "bigger picture" -- the goals of the organization, its purpose, and how they fit in to them. This enables their decision-making to be consistent with what the organization is trying to accomplish.   

When development resources are not allocated to build skills, or where staff are not given the information they require to make empowered decisions, flipping the pyramid will result in poor decisions. Poor decisions tend to force managers and executives to revert back to a top-down way of doing things. 

The Most Common Failure Pattern  

Generally, when pyramid inversions fail, they don't do so randomly but share a common pattern Generally, there are multiple causes for the failure, usually including many or all of the above factors.   

Usually, pyramid inversion adventures are initiated by a well meaning manager. The manager introduces the concept to staff, and may also suggest mechanisms to empower staff (eg. team structure, meetings, etc). While the manager may be enthused about the possibilities, often he or she has not thought out the implications for him/herself. Employee reactions tend to be mixed -- some will be enthusiastic, some neutral, and some cynical or resistant.   

Within the new structure, insufficient information will be provided, and as with most changes, some frustration and confusion will result. But what separates the successful inversions from the unsuccessful ones is the ability of the players to resolve the frustration and confusion early on. Failed attempts tend to create more and more frustration, the longer the process continues.   

Given insufficient information, and lack of core skills, employees have difficulty making decisions that are acceptable to the manager. What happens is that in most organizations, the fundamental structural incompatibilities regarding responsibility and accountability push the manager into reviewing and/or altering decisions made by staff, or rejecting many suggestions. Staff read this as being inconsistent, and lose faith in the empowerment process.   

The final stage of collapse occurs as the manager becomes more frustrated. Initially the manager felt that empowering staff would require less involvement in everyday decisions, since these would be taken on by staff. What really happens is that everything slows down. Decisions are reviewed and re-reviewed. Workload for everyone appears to increase, rather than decrease. At this point many managers eject from the plane.  

They begin to "take back" decision-making power, on the assumption that staff are simply incapable of making effective decisions. Sometimes this "taking-back" is subtle, and the empowerment strategy is slowly eroded until it disappears. Or, the manager simply announces that the experiment has ended. We might note that such defeats often leave the organization worse off than if they hadn't tried at all.  

Avoiding Perverting The Inverted Pyramid 

Such failures are often avoidable with proper preparation, and well thought out implementation strategies. We look at a few suggestions for engineering success.  

1. Recognize that you still work within a hierarchical structure. Lobby your executive for support and changes in the ways they interact with you. Further, when introducing your initiative to staff, indicate that there will be limits on what can be accomplished. In other words, don't create expectations that can't be fulfilled.  

2. Provide empowered staff with the tools they need to take on their new responsibilities. Be prepared, at least initially, to coach and support, or to bring in help from outside. Do not assume that staff will "figure it out".  

3. Persevere. These changes take time, and if you expect changes to occur too quickly, you may give up too early.  

4. Be as consistent as possible. The more often you take over the reins of a decision, the less likely staff will perceive you as being sincere. When you absolutely must make decisions without involving staff, explain why it was necessary.  

5. Make sure that frequent "checks" are made to see how the process is going. Don't just leave it. Encourage staff to assess and evaluate how the changes are going, and to make suggestions about how to improve it. Make it clear you don't expect everything to be perfect, but the goal is to improve continuously.  

6. Realistically assess your management style and interpersonal skills. Even your non-verbal behavior can derail a pyramid inversion. Be aware of subtle messages you may be sending.  

7. Listen! In the inverted pyramid, the managers listen more than they talk. if nobody wants to talk to you, then search out the causes and fix them.  

Are You a Builder or a Climber?

Over the years, many types of leaders have been identified. We have charismatic leaders, coach leaders, bureaucratic leaders, Machiavellian leaders, democratic leaders, authoritarian leaders, yadda, yadda, yadda. Like I said, dozens. Who can remember all that?

As one who believes simpler is better, I've boiled down all those styles to two basic types: Builders and Climbers.

Builders do just what their name says: They work to build a solid organization. They invest in their people. They want others to improve their skills. The keep the blueprints in mind and stick to them (parallel: company Vision/Mission statements) so no extraneous projects take over the schedule. Also, they keep an eye on quality because they know whatever they leave behind them will be a direct reflection on them.

Climbers are different. Like Builders, they want to achieve, but they're concerned about padding their own resume, not anyone else's. They seek the limelight, often at their coworkers' expense. In fact, they think nothing of standing on the backs of coworkers if they can get away with it. Climbers are often talented, but they use their talent to further their own career, not to build up the organization or others around them.

Climbers may look at the blueprints, but only to plan their next move. They're daring and aggressive. Their focus is on how they look, not on how the team performs. Also, they don't care what happens to an organization after they leave. It's "not their problem."

Frankly, I think it's safe to say that Climbers are selfish.

But here's an unfortunate problem: Many who are Climbers perceive themselves to be Builders. Even more unfortunate, this misstep in self-awareness is especially common at the senior levels of an organization. Ask people at the C-level if they're Builders or Climbers, and chances are good you'll hear "Builders."

Ask the next level of managers that same question, and they'll tell you they, too, are Builders. But ask that second level of management about the C-level and you'll hear something like "Oh my! Are they ever Climbers!"

The same phenomenon occurs as you inquire down through the management chain. Each level sees themselves as Builders, but those higher on the org chart are usually described as Climbers.

Since the only person we really have control over is our self, might I suggest that each of us stop and look within?

Warning to Climbers: This can be a difficult self-assessment, because Climbers easily rationalize how their efforts help the team. Accordingly, they see themselves as Builders.

Perhaps a few questions can help cut through any fog. Here are ten self-confrontation questions that can give you a clearer view of reality.

These are simple yes or no questions, but be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Your answer to a question might be "yes" 40 percent of the time, but that means you answer it "no" 60 percent of the time:

1. Do you encourage and even help other people work toward the same professional growth activities that you choose for yourself?

2. Do you sacrifice your time in the spotlight to train others to be better at what they do?

3. Do you ask for help on projects – and share the credit when accolades come?

4. Do you truly enjoy giving a boost to someone else's self-esteem?

5. Do you prioritize looking for ways to solve problems over looking for someone to blame?

6. When someone comes to you with a problem, do you listen more than talk?

7. Do you share new knowledge and information with those around you?

8. Do you look for ways to help others be better at what they do?

9. When things go wrong, do you take responsibility as quickly and to the same degree as you take credit when things go right?

10. When you do something for others, is it done without expectation of something in return?

If you can answer "yes" to these questions, chances are you are a natural Builder.

If you can answer yes to most but not all, that's a good sign, but there are still areas for improvement.

But if you answer "no" to most or all of these questions, chances are you're a Climber and you are unaware of the negative impact you have on your company. It's been my experience that some Climbers sincerely want to become Builders and genuinely contribute to a cause bigger then themselves.

If that's you, then revisiting the ten questions listed above is as good a place to start as any.

Training

When times are tough, smart business can pull ahead of the pack by investing in their employees. Now is the time to catapault your organization forward while others are floundering. If business is slow, you've got the time. It really is a very small financial commitment to make a big impact down the road.
There is a workable middle ground between the equally ineffective extremes of big business training bureaucracies and the "no-time-for-training-so-we'll-run-around-like-crazy-being-frustrated-all-day" approach of so many small businesses. It's called "Bottom-Line Training": YASE's training system that is designed for the real world for real small businesses that don't ever have "enough" time or people or training resources.

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