What Do We Do Now?

The economic situation of 2009, with high unemployment, tight credit, and a rapidly changing regulatory climate has made selling to now tight-fisted customers that much harder.

How do managers lead their teams to not just survive these difficult times, but also increase their customer base? Below are some real world suggestions to come out ahead

Face it, we are working on mental overload. The work, government, and social environment is changing so fast that our ability to manage the possible outcomes is overwhelmed. Our customers are facing the same challenges and looking to reduce overall expenditures. This combination requires us to be indispensable to retain our customers. We figure out how to be indispensable by asking, watching, and doing. Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community. www.zecco.com

Asking customers about their level of satisfaction and what they really want is a great first step. Besides wanting products that are better, faster and cheaper, asking what they really want provides critical information. Maybe customers want your product found in more places. Maybe they want better customer service. Perhaps they just want to be recognized for their loyalty. Ask! While a fancy, expensive market survey may be nice, why not set up a blog or feedback area on your company's website and monitor the feedback. You will be surprised. Additionally, have customer facing employees ask at the conclusion of the customer meeting, preferably at the register, but also if the customer leaves without purchasing.



Watching your customers and how they interact with the product is also important. Ask your employees how they use the product. If your product is a service, is your customer able to rapidly integrate your service into their life or business? Is there something you can do to make that integration better? If your product is difficult to use or consume, now is the time to fix it. Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts

As I mentioned above, the current world we live in is very different from what most of us know. We lack the ability to think our way out of this. What we should be doing is trying new ideas, little ones, cheap ones, and see what works. If we have asked and watched our customers, we should be able to come up with simple improvements. Here is a simple, but great example. I bought a TV stand. It came with great instructions and the components were clearly labeled. The hardware came in two bags, one for each major assembly. I was pleased and assembled the stand with ease. I recently bought another stand, by the same company. This time, they packaged the hardware for each step, and numbered the bags, so there was absolutely no guessing. This change in packaging, a cheap, easy, action has me talking about the company and recommending it. The company is Slam Brands.

While it may be impossible to predict interest rates and net present value calculations aren't really helping us make decisions, we can survive by asking, watching, and doing. If we ask our customers what they think, watch how they use our products, and take action on that data, we will create lasting customers and better products. We can also use the same technique with our employees.

Manager 2.0, Part V

The post has finally arrived, the last in the series of five on management, Web 2.0 style. Through the previous four posts, we have discussed several topics, from Open-Book Management, compensation, and even Total Quality Management. In this post, we shall discuss items relating to deadlines and opportunities.

Item 13 states: "Deadlines agreed on and set by those doing the work." One could suggest that this isn't realistic, as it ignores both the internal and external customer needs. Consider home renovation. Does the customer allow the contractor to dictate how long the job will take, or is the schedule negotiated? Also, what if those doing the work are inefficient and their scheduling of the work promotes inefficiency? While a negotiated work schedule is best, no one side should have the scheduling power.

Item 14 states: "Employees create opportunities to learn and to be challenged." This is an excellent statement. Employees should be doing this any way! Suppose an employee has access to the company's online training resources. Shouldn't that employee take the opportunity to learn about new things in the business, or just improve other skills? It is always better to be proactive. Study the business, ask questions about the direction of the business, and be prepared to change.

As the Bible states, "There is nothing new under the sun." In each of the 14 topics, we have seen how the cultural phenomenon of Web 2.0 is causing managers to rethink how they operate their business and how they relate to their employees. Web 2.0 has brought acceptance of self-service, as well as acceptance of rapid change. While these elements have been demonstrated as positive for business, they have always required strong leadership. Let's hope that these Web 2.0 lessons will make for a more efficient, and stronger Manager 2.0

Manager 2.0 - Part III

In this post, I will discuss the next three items(7-9) listed from the Manager 2.0 diagram listed in the Web 2.0 for Business post. Allow me to first express my gratitude to Kathy Sierra for creating the figure, referenced in Web 2.0 for Business post.

Item seven states: "Employees have autonomy, responsibility, and authority." In this statement, the only word I have issue with is autonomy. In all things, there has to be a leader. No one can operate in pure autonomy. Perhaps a better way of putting this is to say that the employee is empowered to work inside a broad framework, to achieve business goals. To do this, they must be responsible, accountable, and have the authority necessary to direct action. However, authority implies an hierarchy of sorts, so there is conflict. If employees rotate jobs frequently, they may encounter a position that has certain authority, which may suit this model.

Item eight states: "Intrinsic motivation to do really good work." Respectfully, that assumes an inwardly motivated individual, which is not typical of the human condition. Most people don't want to go to work, like the old saying, "I work to live, not live to work." If the work one does is interesting, and provides psychic benefits, then motivation will be high. However, external rewards and incentives are very necessary to set both the tone and to enforce expectations.

Item nine states: "Users are king, but not at the expense of employees." I take issue with this point, to a degree. Customers should always be king, but employees should never be treated unfairly. Companies and management need tools to enable the workforce to serve customers and satisfy their needs. Policies, particularly those meant to meet compliance with external forces, need to be crafted in such a way that compliance brings a benefit to the company and not a hindrance to the employee.

Oh, I put the picture in there because its funny. These things can be kind of dry, but I do have a sense of humor, really.

Manager 2.0, Part II

In this second article in a series of five about managing in a Web 2.o framework, I will discuss points 4-6 of the figure found here.

Item four states: "Employees and teams challenge themselves. If one person or team succeeds, everyone wins." Employees should be give great latitude and more importantly, time, in their development. Management needs to insure however, that the development money spent rewards not just the employee, but also the shareholder. A good example would be an employee taking a basket weaving class. That class might really benefit an employee of Martha Stewart, but not necessarily ExxonMobil. Regarding rewarding "everyone" for an effort, hopefully, the work of the team or the individual is geared to the success of the company. In other words, a team win should, by definition, be a corporate win.

Item five states: "Informal job role created by employee, tailored to their strengths and interests, and changes all the time." Outside of the need of formal titles for compensation studies, this makes a lot of sense. As employees mature and become experts in their work, they should be able to move on to new positions, building on those strengths, and learning more about the business. Regular job rotation is widely regarded as a good thing and can be very manageable.

Items six states: "Emphasis on community." A company is a community of sorts, with different teams supporting the company as a whole. Good management practices are about aligning teams to create a well-organized and functioning business. While this corporate/community function is very important, arguably, customers should have the emphasis.

This discussion has left me with an interesting perspective. Web 2.0 concepts are generally positive, though strongly individualistic. While there is emphasis on team and community, much of these items focus on the individual and create tension with the natural and necessary authority in companies. Taking care of employees in general, and individuals in specific, is good for business. However, without a strong focus on customers and strong leadership, the Web 2.0 principles can lead to a lot of good work serving no purpose.