This CareerJournal.com article probably falls under the “interesting item that only interests me” category. The article basically debunks the theory that multitasking is effective and efficient. It isn’t, which is something I have often contended. Great paragraph at the beginning: Multitasking, a term cribbed from computers, is an information age creed that, while almost universally sworn by, is more rooted in blind faith than fact. It’s the wellspring of office gaffes, as well as the stock answer to how we do more with less when in fact we’re usually doing less with more. What now passes for multitasking was once called not paying attention. We assess candidates and employees every… Read More
Continue ReadingHP’s Internal Fireworks
Typically, I am not a fan of Newsweek but I was drawn to this story from the Drudge Report link – Intrigue In High Places. This long article discusses HP’s chairwoman Patricia Dunn’s use of data mining to catch a leaker from the HP board of directors. The whole sordid affair sounds like a movie plot. According to an internal HP e-mail, Dunn then took the extraordinary step of authorizing a team of independent electronic-security experts to spy on the January 2006 communications of the other 10 directors – not the records of calls (or e-mails) from HP itself, but the records of phone calls made from personal accounts. That… Read More
Continue ReadingEffective Communication for Managers
Uncommon to most of our Labor Day weekends, we relaxed and visited with family instead of the usual getting kids ready to start school on Tuesday. So with that enjoyable break, I am finally catching up on my reading. One of my RSS feeds is from Keith Rosen, author of Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling. His post on The Best Managers Are Fully Accountable For Their Communication is definitely worth reading, but let me share his 7 Tips to Strengthen Communication with you. Am I taking full responsibility for the message being heard by the other person? (Remember that it doesn’t matter what you say, it only matters what… Read More
Continue ReadingAnecdote – Communications Major?
Is it Labor Day weekend yet? Let’s go with an anecdote for now. I received this email with only a resume attached for a position that was advertised on Monster. In the ad, candidates were asked if interested to call or email Lee. Our client needed a salesperson with excellent communication skills. Their sales cycle is 1-2 years and it is a complex sale requiring formal written and verbal presentations to multiple people. Here is what I received in my inbox: Lee- I am a Communications Major with more that 10 years experience. I am sending a cover letter and resume for your consideration to fill this position. Please contact… Read More
Continue ReadingDesperado
I’ve said it before, desperation is a tough sell. I received an email last night from a company that I have not contacted directly. I used their free service one time 3 months ago. Now the desperate-sounding rep sent me an email pushing for business. See if you can spot his approach (I removed some names): We are currently at the end of another month and I promised to catch up with you to let you know about Month End incentives, pricing discounts and free services. Forget what you know about company’s pricing as it stands now. We have lowered all prices on all services and even lowered minimum commits… Read More
Continue ReadingFuzzy Phrases
I came across an interesting article on fuzzy phrases in this week’s newsletter from Sales Vault and it is well worth the time to read. The author’s definition of a fuzzy phrase is something that really says nothing. You feel like you might have heard something of substance, but after analysis (usually after the call is over) you realize they just said nothing. They are his pet peeve as I am sure they are for all sales people. His suggestion is to ask for clarification. When you hear any statement that is vague or wishy-washy, ask for clarification. If it’s something that needs to be done or discussed, I’ll always… Read More
Continue ReadingRadio Shack’s Junk Mail
Ok, maybe electronic communication has gone too far. I posted some Termination Tips a week ago that apparently were not read by Radio Shack’s upper management team. Before that, I posted about Text Message Terminations – an employee was fired through her cell phone text messaging. Granted, it was from a body piercing shop, but the approach was still laughable. Now Radio Shack has decided to enter this infamous club by using email to terminate employees. This is no joke: Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters received an e-mail Tuesday morning telling them they were being dismissed immediately.”The work force reduction notification is currently in progress,” the notice stated. “Unfortunately… Read More
Continue ReadingBlogs & Recruiting
Blogs Could Become Newest Recruiting Tool from the SHRM website (membership required): Blogs offer businesses an excellent and interactive communication tool. For example Microsoft has close to 3,000 blogs posted by the company’s employees. Blogs can give an insiders view of a company’s work environment to potential job candidates. This is extremely important with the younger generations (ed.-see our article), it is as important to understand the culture as it is the responsibilities of the position. For this reason companies that don’t have employee blogs could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting. Honeywell Corp. is a good example of a company that uses blogs as a recruiting device.… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging Other Communication Styles
Monster.com posted this article last week – Adapting Your Management Style. There isn’t a lot of meat in this thing but it does address an important principle: Moniot helped the manager better understand different personality styles and then devised an innovative visual cue of a color-coded piece of paper, correlated with their assessed personality style, that was taped to the top of each worker’s computer monitor. This served as a reminder of each staff member’s communication needs as the manager entered their workspace. I suspect . . . no, I guarantee this manager has a High D style. The High D has long been cherished for management because of their… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Important is Customer Service?
Extremely important. I bet you knew that. Yet, it seems that many companies do not realize what type of customer experience they are providing through their customer service dept. Inc.com’s article – Companies Receive Poor Grades for Customer Service – is one of these annual surveys measuring customer perceptions. This following piece of information seems obvious, but…: The study also found that new technology is no substitute for helpful agents. Six out of 10 respondents said automated phone services, live online chat, and other customer-service technologies had not improved service quality. In fact, automated phone services received the lowest level of satisfaction among all customer service channels, while in-person services… Read More
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