30 June 2014

THE MIDDAY NUGGET: Pay Attention To The Details



Pay Attention To The Details

You have heard people say it. It is nothing new but why do people have to keep reminding us of it?

We are reminded of it because the truth is excellence, professionalism, dedication and commitment find their roots in paying attention to the details. 
Ask yourself the following question: Is someone a true professional he does not pay attention to the details?
Now, replace the word "professional" with excellent, dedicated, or committed.  Does the answer to the question change?  Nope.  It does not!

None of it changes, those words represent going above and beyond the expectations of another and along the way to surpassing the expectations you are paying attention to the details.

Why is paying attention to the details important?

Everyone wants to be perceived as an excellent and dedicated professional.  Lacking the attention to the details, one would be hard pressed to be identified as a real professional.

How can you pay attention to the details?

You have heard of crossing the T's and dotting the I's.  That's it! 
That is what paying attention to the details is all about.  You cross the T's and dot the I's, every time no matter the situation.  For instance, a customer comes into your place of business and has to fill out a form before anything can be done.  Everyone in your organization must ensure that that form is properly filled the job out (crossing the T's and dotting the I's).  By doing that, you ensure that the customer has provided you with all the information you need in order to properly and professionally address the customer's issue or request and you do it right the first time.  The customer is happy, you are happy, and that's a very good thing.

What can you do to make paying attention to the details an everyday occurrence?

Training! You train yourself, you train your staff. You can even train your customers. You must train all your stakeholders. It is that simple and it is that difficult.

Train and Train until it becomes a habit. Then once it's a habit keep training. I have found out, the hard way, that while it may be a habit, paying attention to the details is so very easy to neglect. Once neglected you must start all over to re-create and sustain that habit. Hopefully, you can do it before any real damage is done.

Remember, You can do it!

Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

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visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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23 June 2014

The MIDDAY NUGGET: A word or two about Customer Service (again)


Hello and Welcome to the MIDDAY NUGGET.

This morning, I had the pleasure of a client giving my organization and I a compliment. He complimented me on the level of customer service my organization offers the customer.

After thanking him, I told him that it really is nothing; it is just what we do. He went on to add that since moving to the area, he has been frustrated with the lack of customer service and organizational follow through from the majority of the companies he has dealt with since arriving. He went on to explain that he has dealt with roofing contractors that are eager for the contract but take too long to complete the project. He added that they would show up one day and then disappear for several days with no notification (not even a text).

I could only imagine just how much of a half-assed job they do when they do show up.  Seriously, that is as far as I will go badmouthing the no-name roofing contractor. However, I feel confident that many of the homeowners reading this blog post know of or heard of a not-so scrupulous roofing contractor.

Enough about roofing contractors and back to the issue at hand: customer service.

During our conversation, we both came to the agreement that it is EXTREMELY easy and simple to offer all the organization's stakeholders.

It really is.

I know that I have instructed my staff they are NOT to behave in a manner that is less that courteous.  When they are face-to-face with a stakeholder, they are to give 100% attention and follow through. They are to own the interaction from beginning to end.  If they hand off the transaction to a co-worker they are still expected to do the follow-up (i.e., did everything get resolved?)

It is that simple.

However, it is when organizations and their managers refuse to acknowledge and expect from their employees nothing less than EXCELLENCE that problems start to come to the surface. The next thing anyone knows, that manager or business owner is reacting to something that a smile, a thank you, or a simple phone call would have prevented.

Yes, It Is That Simple.



Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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18 June 2014

A Story About 2 Tree Trimmers Who Got 3 Job Offers in 2 hours

Greetings,
I want to share the following video with you. In it I talk about two tree trimmers that the building owner hired to trim a 20-30 year old tree that is just outside the front door. Over the course of the two hours they were out there the Tree Trimmer received three job offers. Not bad for a couple of hours work. When was the last time you received 3 job offers in two hours?




What do you think? Are you doing what it takes to get noticed? Are you hustling so fast and so good that people will come to you while you are doing a job for someone else only to offer you more work? Are you?

I will step up my "A" game. Will you?

Thanks for watching,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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16 June 2014

LEADERSHIP: TEMPTATION AND INTEGRITY / A Tuesday Night with Lolly Daskal (06/10/14)


It's that time of the week. That's right, this past Tuesday night and every Tuesday evening from 8PM to 9PM EST, I participate in the #LeadFromWithin tweetchat hosted and led by Lolly Daskal, author of "Thoughts Spoken From the Heart: Over 500 thoughts that bring meaning to your life"

I invite you to join us every Tuesday evening.

On the evening of TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 the topic was "LEADERSHIP: TEMPTATION AND INTEGRITY"

Here are Lolly's Questions and My Answers:
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Q1. What does the word "integrity" mean to you? #Leadfromwithin
A1. Integrity determines what is right and how we use that to empower ourselves & others by leading by that example #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: Doing the right thing especially when no one is watching is excellent because people are always watching whether you know it or not.

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Q2. How would you identify "Temptation"? #leadfromwithin
A2. That which entices us to do something we don’t normally do. (it doesn’t have to be a bad thing) #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Temptation is everywhere. There are things that we don't normally do that others do. If it appeals to us at some level then it should be approached with caution.

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Q3. As leaders how do we balance temptation and integrity? #leadfromwithin
A3. We have to weigh the options of the temptation with the skills, knowledge and wisdom we gained in life #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Each temptation brings something new to our lives. Think about it, if it wasn't new then it would not be a temptation.

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Q4. When is temptation good and when is temptation bad? #leadfromwithin
A4. Let your moral compass guide you to determine what is a good and bad temptation #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Only you can tell when temptation is good or bad. Everyone is different and everyone's interpretation of what is good or bad is different. Respect that.

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Q5. Our integrity comes from where? #leadfromwithin
A5. Integrity is a culmination of past & current experiences, how we were raised, and what we choose to do with all that #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: It is that simple. It is our free-will that makes our integrity righteous or not-so righteous. Remember, you and only makes integrity happen.

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Q6. What temptations should we not resist? #leadfromwithin
A6. Temptations that we know are good for us, but most importantly good for those that call us leader #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Remember, there are some temptations that are good for us. However, we should not be selfish with those temptations. If it is good for the team, then go for it. 

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Q7. When can “Integrity” be merely a projection of our ego? #leadfromwithin
A7. When we tell ourselves that the temptation is not a temptation #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: It is when we tell ourselves and others that we can handle it, knowing fully well that we haven't a clue on how to handle it. That's when ego is in charge and not common sense.

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Q8. How do we establish a guide for Temptation? #leadfromwithin
A8. For everyone it will vary. We are all cut from a different cloth and none of us are exactly alike. Respect and all is good #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: A guide to Temptation is not a cookie cutter. What works for one might not work for someone else.

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Q9. How do we harness Temptation to enhance Integrity? #leadfromwithin
A9. We slow down to look at that temptation from all angles and approach with an open mind (avoid hasty decision) #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Avoiding the Hasty decision making will lead us down a better path. Sure something might look nice and, at first, may have what appears to be a good outcome but as we all know, looks can be deceiving.
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Q10. What wisdom to you have to share – balancing temptation and integrity? #leadfromwithin
A10. Listen to your inner voice. It is usually right. If you don’t want to listen then simply walk away #leadfromwithin

COMMENTS: Trust yourself.

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Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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13 June 2014

THE MIDDAY NUGGET: Ethics of the Business Owner


This one I have been thinking about for quite a long time. It is the ethics of being a business owner. There are some that get it and do the right thing all the time. Then there are some that get it and do the right thing some of the time. There are others that get it but do not do the right thing any of that time. Then, there are those that do not get it and do not do it any of that time.

For this midday nugget, I am talking about everyone, except for those that get it and do it right all the time. Because they know and they truly understand what it takes to be an ethical business owner. Everybody else there is no excuse.

What I am about to tell you is the truth and nothing but the truth.

Behind the building, that I work in is another building. Between both buildings is an alley. One afternoon I was walking from my building to the other building, which happens to be one of those small post office type shops. You know, the kind that you can walk up to buy stamps mail something, and it also has about eight or nine separate offices within that building that the owner leases out to various small businesses. I was on my way up to buy some postage stamps and as I crossed the alleyway, I saw somebody filling up one of those blue 5-gallon water cooler containers. Big deal right? There was no big deal if the guy was using his own water faucet but he was using my water faucet. That's right, the owner of the building behind my building was using my water faucet to fill up his 5-gallon water cooler container.

I stopped and looked this older man right in the eye and asked, "What are you doing?"

He said, “Nothing."

Expecting me to ignore what he was doing. I did not ignore it. I stood there and look at him and watch them until the finish filling his 5-gallon container of water, shut off my faucet, and return back to his building.

I just could not believe that this guy was blatantly stealing from me and really expected me to ignore it.

Now, as I am writing this the anger returns. I know it should not as this happened about 8 months ago but it still bothers me. It bothers me so much that I am writing this blog post now, all this time later.

What makes it worse is that this guy sells insurance, annuities, and financial packages to regular everyday people. These people come to him with the expectation that they can trust him to do the right thing by them.

Aside from owning the building, this individual also owns the post office contract and the service provided. He has done well for himself. However, after getting that response from him, I have to wonder at what cost? What or who did he sell out to get to where he is at? Who suffered so that he could be where he's at? Who was thrown under the bus and how often so that this individual could feel no shame, have no problem, and could care less about crossing the alley and taking water from someone else's faucet.

Now, I understand there are some that will say what’s 5 gallons? After all, isn't that the neighborly thing to do?

You are correct, what is 5 gallons? It’s just 5 gallons of water and it is the neighborly thing to do if he had ONLY bothered to come and ask for permission! He did not. That is certainly NOT neighborly.

He took it upon himself to do what he wanted to do and he did it.

Everyone, the take away here is to NOT be that guy because you will be caught! Do not try to cut corners because the corner is there for a reason. You are supposed to go all the way to the end and then turn. You cut corners and somebody is shortchanged. When you cut corners, you are cheating.

Since that day, eight months ago, the individual has yet to look me in the eye. I can only suspect that it is because he knows that I know who he is, what he is, and what he did. I can only imagine how long he had been taking the water without so much as asking. For the three years, I was there prior to this incident, he never asked for permission to use the water faucet to fill up his water cooler bottle. The water cooler bottle that his employees drink water from. I am not saying that tap water is bad but I am saying is that it came from an outside faucet. You tell me, who got shortchanged on that one? I wonder if the employees know where their water cooler water came from?

How do you think you would feel if you found out your boss was making you drink from the water cooler that he filled with tap water from the neighbor's alley water faucet? and did so without asking for permission.


Thanks for your time,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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10 June 2014

MANAGING CONFLICT WITH PEERS / A Tuesday Night with Lolly Daskal (06/03/14)

It's that time of the week again. That's right this past Tuesday night and every Tuesday evening from 8PM to 9PM EST, I participate in the #LeadFromWithin tweetchat hosted and led by Lolly Daskal, author of "Thoughts Spoken From the Heart: Over 500 thoughts that bring meaning to your life"

I invite you to join us every Tuesday evening.

On the evening of TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014 the topic was "MANAGING CONFLICT WITH PEERS"

Due to a family event, I was not an active participant in this week's #LeadFromWithin tweetchat. However, I am still going to answer Lolly's questions.
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Q1. What causes conflict between peers? #leadfromwithin
A1. Conflict comes from misunderstanding one another due to lack of thorough 2-way communication #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: Misunderstanding due to miscommunication is the root of all conflict.

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Q2. When is conflict good between peers? #leadfromwithin
A2. Conflict is good when focused passion about what's important is at the center aka problem solving not problem creating #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: Conflict is good when focused passion about a subject that is important to all is at the center (problem solving not problem creating) #leadfromwithin

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Q3. When is conflict destructive between peers? #leadfromwithin
A3. Conflict is destructive when the “us vs. them” or the “with me or against me” mentality is all that everyone has #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: The destruction comes from forcing others to choose sides and if they choose the "wrong" side then there is no turning back. Having an open end discussion, where no one is right or wrong, then the destruction is minimized.

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Q4. Why are emotional conflicts between peers uncomfortable? #leadfromwithin
A4. Emo-Conflicts will bankrupt any emotional bank account faster than any other conflict because it is rooted at a personal level #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: When the conflict gets deeply personal then raw emotions are exposed and stressed to a point that the relationship may never recover.

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Q5. What are some goals to achieve when in conflict with your peers? #leadfromwithin
A5. Some goals to achieve when in conflict are: 1) Win-Win 2) a definitive plan to achieve the win-win #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: Everyone wants to win. However, in a conflict every opportunity to create a win-win situation must be exploited.

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Q6. How do your values affect conflict? #leadfromwithin
A6. Values affect conflict in type, level, duration, and collateral damage #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: The individual's value system will determine to what extend and depth they want to take the conflict.

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Q7. How does power and politics affect peer conflict? #leadfromwithin
A7. Much like everything else, those with the power & politics will set the example for the rest to follow in a conflict #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: If those with the power want to set the right example on how to handle conflict then they will do so every time.

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Q8. What is the difference between bullying and peer conflict? #leadfromwithin
A8. It’s a fine line between bullying and peer conflict. One leaves people intimidated from trying something different the other encourages it #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: It is a fine line and sometimes the line is blurred. A leader must do what he or she can to keep the line well defined and to stay on the right side of that line.

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Q9. What are some good processes for managing conflict with your peers? #leadfromwithin
A9. Knowing that conflict is expected and can be good. Leaders must encourage “controlled” conflict & not an all out free for all #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: Realizing that conflict will happen a leader must do what she can to create positive results from the conflict and never let it get out of control.

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Q10. Do you subscribe to FORGIVE AND FORGET yes why or no why not ? #leadfromwithin
A10. I subscribe to Forgive and Move On. Bullies want people to forget so they can start up again. Don’t forget but don’t dwell either. #leadfromwithin
COMMENTS: You can never forget. You can however proceed with caution.

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Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

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02 June 2014

TIME MANAGEMENT FROM INSIDE OUT | A Tuesday Evening with Lolly Daskal (May 27, 2014)

It's that time of the week again. That's right this past Tuesday night and every Tuesday evening from 8PM to 9PM EST, I participate in the #LeadFromWithin tweetchat hosted and led by Lolly Daskal, author of "Thoughts Spoken From the Heart: Over 500 thoughts that bring meaning to your life"

I invite you to join us every Tuesday evening.

On the evening of TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014 the topic was "TIME MANANGEMENT FROM INSIDE OUT"

Due to a family event, I was not an active participant in this week's #LeadFromWithin tweetchat. However, I am still going to answer Lolly's questions.

Q1. Define good time management _____________ #leadfromwithin
A1. Good time management is the holy grail of all time management. It can be attained but at what cost? The ability to properly manage time is a skill that may take a lifetime to master. If I had to give an answer then time management gets as good as the individual that is willing to commit to getting their unique situation under control.

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Q2. What are some obstacles that hold us back from managing our time? #leadfromwithin
A2. An obstacle is our inability to say "No" when we are already booked solid. We start adding things to our already busy schedule and we start to drop those things we originally added to our schedule. Then who suffers?

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Q3. What are some suggestions for managing time with our busy schedules? #leadfromwithin
A3.  Sharing your calendar and keeping a public calendar for all too see will (hopefully) help when others want piece of your time. We can wish they will be considerate and schedule time that is good for you and them. Hopefully!

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Q4. How does procrastination become time management's worst enemy? #leadfromwithin
A4. Procrastination leads us down a path paved in urgency. Procrastination puts us in a place that creates problems because we cannot give the appropriate time, energy and effort to any task. Once we are in that place, it is extremely difficult to get out of and then that put everything else, down the calendar, at risk.

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Q5. What are the common mistakes when it comes to time management? #leadfromwithin
A5.  The most common mistake is that we truly "believe" that we can be all things to all people.

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Q6. In your opinion what is the best method for time management? #leadfromwithin
A6. I have discovered that the best method for time management is to actually create un-breakable events on your calendar that are solely for the purpose of catching up with overdue projects, email, meetings, and when all caught up (or close to it) you can use that scheduled time as personal time to reflect, meditate, and inspire yourself.

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Q7. What are some tools to get us back on track? #leadfromwithin
A7. Have ONE unified calendar. Having multiple calendars defeats attempting to "manage" anything. It's like trying to cook the entire Thanksgiving day meal in three hours. It just won't work. Plan, Share that plan, then stick to that plan but also have room to be flexible.

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Q8. What are your habits regarding time management? #leadfromwithin
A8. One habit is to create a list of things that must be done, every day. The list is comprised of the items in my calendar and those things that pop-up throughout the day. Completing the items on the daily list leaves you with a great sense accomplishment.

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Q9. What does time mean to you? #leadfromwithin
A9.  Many believe time is money. I believe that time is just a measure of our lives. We spend X amount of time sleeping, Y amount of time working, and "not enough time" spent with family and loved ones. If we can take less Y and we can create more time with family. However, the unfortunate reality is that there will be something that is perceived to be of great importance to fill in the Y.

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Q10. How can we value our time more? #leadfromwithin
A10. We can value our time by overtly and constantly work towards creating more personal time without professional time suffering. By putting greater value in that which is important we can minimize creating "urgent" situations because we are working towards addressing those "professional" issues quickly and effectively.

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Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. Tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

I invite you to
follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra
visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

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