Commit to Your Educational Development

What are you doing to stay current and relevant as a leader? This is a question that so many leaders ask me, no matter what company I’m serving. How do we pay attention to our own educational development when, as leaders, we spend so much time working on everyone else? It doesn’t matter whether I’m working with the CEO of a major media company or an HR director of a pharmaceutical com. We’re constantly looking for ways that our leaders can stay current and relevant.

 

I think if we’re paying attention personally, it means we need to also look at our own educational developing and being committed to developing our skills, which means we have to schedule time and we have to pay attention.

 

Attend industry conferences.

 

What does your company offer that you might be able to attend? As a professional keynote speaker, there’s an organization called the National Speakers Association. I know. Go figure. A whole room of speakers. It’s crazy. But it’s so much fun. There seems to be an association for everything on this planet. What is your association? I even spoke for the American Society of Association Executives. That’s right. There’s an association just for people who run associations. I would encourage you to look at your industry conferences and see what would be a great way for you to attend, and allocate your time for the sessions to network and expand your horizons.

 

 

Schedule time for continuing credit.

 

For many of the clients that I work with, whether they’re accountants, lawyers, HR professionals, they need to do a certain number of CUs or continuing credits so that they can get their educational level higher. What’s your commitment to yourself? Are you an entrepreneur and you want to just set yourself a target of how many things you want to learn? Being able to schedule time and being deliberate in where you focus your time an attention will help you with your education and also help you stay relevant as a leader.

 

 

Listen and Learn.

 

Listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Tune into TEDx talks. Listen to your mentor. Seek training programs. Either way, just listen. Pay attention and listen. If you’re a person who commutes regularly, maybe podcasts would be great for you. Short on time? It only takes small increments of time to watch a Ted Talks. If you love to listen to books, maybe that’s a great way for you to increase your education. We have made available Attention Pays on a Kindle, and some people want the audio version. I’m working on that. But what are some ways that you can really listen to the advice of others and have that part of your regular development plan?

 

When I was in corporate, I made sure I attended every program that I was allowed to attend. I made sure I connected with my version of the internal university and scheduled myself on courses with my boss’ approval.

 

When I decided to do my MBA, I did that part-time while I was working full-time. In my own profession now, I make a point every week of reading new books, exposing myself to new podcasts, and listening to new Ted Talks. I love being able to participate in social media conversations around development, and it’s kind of the profession that I’ve chosen.

 

How are you staying current and relevant? How are you paying attention to your own development and committing your time, your attention, and your energy?

 

Do you know someone seeking to develop their skills and learn more professionally or personally? Share this video with them, or better yet, this post!

 

If you haven’t picked up a copy of Attention Pays, do it now! You’ll learn great strategies for you and your team to pay attention to what matters most at work and in life. At NeenJames.com, you will find hundreds of articles you can download for free, and you can also subscribe to our newsletter there. I believe that when you pay attention, attention pays.

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You Owe Your Friends and Family Your Focus and Attention

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Companies Don't Get a Free Ride on Paying Attention to the Planet

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You Owe Your Friends and Family Your Focus and Attention

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Companies Don't Get a Free Ride on Paying Attention to the Planet

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How to Pay Attention to Your Mind, Body and Spirit

Do you pay enough attention to your body, mind, and spirit? Consider these three ways to pay attention to the body you have, the mind you’ve been gifted with and also your spirit.

 

Or, are you too busy working to prioritize those things that matter most: your health and well-being?

Body – Make an appointment

 

Exercise, healthy eating, sleep and rest are critical for our bodies to operate effectively and efficiently each day. They are the essential tool we need to do our best work professionally and personally. It’s easy to come up with excuses to put your body’s needs last, and yet we need to switch that priority because they do matter! Start off first by creating a standing, no-excuses appointment for yourself. Choose your method of body focus, whether it means stepping out of the office for a walk, to have lunch, creating an appointment or to workout. Maybe it’s creating an appointment with your doctor for the checkup that you’ve been meaning to have.

 

In my case, there’s certain things that I love to do, to treat myself as well. And so I make sure I schedule appointments with those. My personal trainer is Jennifer Jacobs – a fabulously fit professional who also teaches cycling classes for Peloton. I have a regular appointment that takes priority on my calendar. She helps hold me accountable to my fitness goals when I may otherwise give myself excuses to skip.

 

No matter what you schedule your time for, commit to it as you would a client appointment, doctors appointment or meeting with your boss. No excuses.

 

Mind – Fuel your thoughts.  

 

Can you make quiet time where you read something that inspires you? Maybe the paper or a professional journal. Either way, really consider what you are doing to grow your mind and develop the way you think. Consider blogs that might challenge you, articles or white papers you may enjoy reading. Either way, make reading a priority. Set aside 15 minutes a day at first to develop the habit. Soon or later, you’ll find yourself reading more frequently for longer periods of time.

 

Spirit – Your soul is a temple. 

 

Spiritual might mean all kinds of things to all sorts of people. It might mean church, a temple, community, or maybe charity. I encourage you to consider doing something daily to feed your spirit.  Perhaps it’s lighting a candle to bring serenity to your space, or writing in a gratitude journal to help focus.  It might be saying 10 things you’re grateful for the moment you wake up, or perhaps it’s prayer or meditation. Consider getting involved in a charity, using your skills and talent to help benefit them.

 

Three ways you can pay attention to your body, your mind, and your spirit, so you can unleash your best self.

 

Know someone who could use inspiration to pay attention to their health and well-being? Consider sending them a link to this blog or have them watch my video:

 

If we’re not connected on social media, let’s fix that. You can follow me on Instagram, and all the stories and adventures that I share. You can follow me on Twitter. If you haven’t got yourself a copy of Attention Pays, we talk about how do you pay attention personally, professionally, and globally. So get your hands on a copy of this book as well. I’d love to hear what you would add below, so please share with me, how do you pay attention to your body, your mind, and your spirit.

 

I believe that when we pay attention, attention pays.

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Are You Committed to Your Educational Development?

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Drive member experience: 5 Ways to create members for life

Every Association wants to create members for life, Right?

Unfortunately, not EVERYONE is paying enough attention to that very big cog in their business engine.

I recently ran across this quote from former CIO and Senior VP of Dell, Jerry Gregoire, “The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.”  (I know you don’t call them customers in the association world.. but you get it). Isn’t it time to pay even more attention to your member experience?

 

When was the last time you looked at what YOUR members are experiencing from a lens OTHER than your own? It’s an important question to ask yourself and your team if what you really want is to not only compete in our world today. You know the old saying, “good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster?”  It’s never been truer than it is in a world where social media is front and center and consumer tolerance for less than perfect is slim to none.

 

So, what can YOU do to ensure that your members are raving fans and stay that way for the long haul? How can you make sure when their membership renewal notice comes they are excited to rejoin? How can you encourage your members to be great referral partners for you?

Step ONE – pay ATTENTION to what matters.

Step two – follow these five strategies:

 

1. Get out in front of social media. What are people saying about your association?  Have you checked Yelp? Twitter? Facebook? Trip advisor (if you’re in the hotel or travel industry supplying association executives)?  Are people saying good things or bad?  Are you responding to comments? Likes? Forwards? Reviews?  Are you reading the information with an open mind and looking for every little way you can improve the experience your members feel when they interact with your association? Every bit of information is valuable. Remember these wise words from Bill Gates, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” I loved how ASAE used their app to engage attendees at their annual event before they even arrived in Chicago.
2. Mystery shop or blind call your association head office. There are services everywhere that are experts at analyzing the member experience of associations. From sending in mystery shoppers to cold dialing your membership department to testing your technical team.  This can be illuminating on so many levels.  It’s easy to get myopic when it comes to our own team and what we believe to be an amazing experience, and often, your staff is on the money in terms of service and standards. But it never hurts to check in with an outsider’s perspective now and again to see what’s really a true member experience so you’ll know what to tweak and change.
3. Create focus groups. Pull a group of your active members together and ask them for feedback on what’s working and what’s not. Let them know your goal is to continuously elevate and improve their member experience.
4. Walk a mile. Ever hear that saying, “walk a mile in someone’s shoes”? When was the last time you purchased or experienced something from your association? From start to finish? From phone call or web portal, all the way to product in hand or service met? It can be quite enlightening.
5. Review your communications. Listen to your voicemail lately? Read your signature line? Hear your outgoing association messages? Update your website? Take a look at your business cards? Did you put all that together in 2000 and haven’t changed it since?  Our “signatures” in all the different communication forms they come in have affected the member experience.

When you brainstorm ideas to create an innovative, elevated member experience, that creates members for life, consider these ideas (just remember I shot this video for those of my clients who call them customers LOL… I know you call them members):

 

Lastly, take away this thought from Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Yes, Jeff! He’s got a perfect idea. Make your association a party people want to keep attending friends. They’ll be members for life when you do.   I’d love to hear from you! Share your ideas with us here!

If you will be at #ASAE18 in August, let me know – let’s meet up! I am sharing a session on how association executives can use contextual models to get (and keep) member attention and also use them as tools to share why people should join your association.

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Defend Against Distractions and Overcome Your Email Obsessions

According to McKinsey, 28% of a person’s workday is spent checking email. That’s over one-quarter of your entire business day! It’s a wonder any of us get anything done.

 

Other studies show 26% of employees admit email is their number one distraction. Implement these strategies to defend against email distractions:

 

• Invest time in 15-minute increments.  According to the University of British Columbia, limiting your reading of email to three times per day reduces stress and distractions by 47%, ultimately boosting productivity and focus. When you check email, only spend 15 dedicated minutes on it at a time. Set the timer on your phone to answer as many as you can in that concentrated period of time. As a result, you’ll give email your undivided attention at specified points throughout the day. In the end, it will save you hours of scrolling and prevent distracted, half-answered emails.

 

• Don’t reinvent the wheel. Create custom email templates to quickly and thoughtfully respond to regular or repeated requests.

 

Defend Against Email Distractions

 

• Use the latest apps to do the work for you. Go to neenjames.com/extras for my favorite Attention Resources to help you implement these email defense systems:
  • Unplug from the unwanted. There are apps available that will unsubscribe you from unwanted subscriptions filling up your inbox.
  • Block it out. Use a distraction management app to block social media sites and incoming messages. It’s the Internet version of a Do Not Disturb sign and ideal for creating uninterrupted time.
  • Create shortcuts. Smart apps create shortcuts for regularly used responses, words, and templates.
  • Bounce back. A nifty app allows you to bounce emails back to yourself when you want to answer them and schedule delivery for another time.

 

• Leverage your out of office message. If you have an assistant, leverage your out of office message by sending email requests to your assistant. Then, invite people to contact your assistant in your absence. Be sure to provide the best contact information. Imagine what you could do with your attention if your assistant were able to handle even 25% of your inbox. Better yet, you can leverage your out of office message to generate attention and show you are being thoughtful with your response. See the examples shared in the call-out box for more.

 

Remember, most emails you receive are requests from people who ultimately want your time and attention to accomplish their objectives. Email is an important tool. When used well, it assists communications. If not managed, it kills productivity. Don’t be the leader who gives half-responses. Worse still, a boss who sends emails full of spelling errors or emoticons. Be an influential communicator. I challenge you to dedicate the next 24 hours to being intentional with every email response.

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Next: Thoughts About Tomorrow You Can Talk About Today

As a leader, I have the next book for you to read. The book is actually called Next. I know. It’s written by one of my most favorite thought leaders in the world, and his name is Matt Church. Get your hands on a copy of this book called Next.

 

Now, Matt is famous for so many books that he’s written, and one of my favorites still remains his Amplifiers. But in this book, he truly is one of the global thought leaders on how we can really talk about things that are going to happen tomorrow, today. 21 chapters, well written, that are filled with models, ideas, commentary, discussion ideas, Specifically, questions as a leader you can then have conversations with your team.

 

Next by Matt Church is one of the best books I’ve read. If you really want to thrive during a time of incredible disruption, if you want to truly lead your team, check out this book called Next by Matt Church. You’ll be so glad you did.

 

If we haven’t connected on social media, let’s fix that. You can follow me on Twitter @neenjames. You can watch all of my adventures on Instagram where you can download hundreds of articles for free, and I also wrote a book called Attention Pays. If you haven’t checked it out, go there. But please, do yourself a favor. Pick up this book called Next by Matt Church. Like I said, you’ll be so glad you did.

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Why "Next" Should be the Next Book You Read! by Matt Church

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Why "Next" Should be the Next Book You Read! by Matt Church

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Stop being a Martyr - Take a Vacation! (My escape is Australia!)

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Stop being a Martyr - Take a Vacation! (My escape is Australia!)

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Professional Workplace Environment Awareness

Are you paying attention to your workplace environment? As a busy leader, your professional attention and commitment is to ensure the workplace environment creates productivity and team effectiveness.

 

Look around your office right now. Is there clutter everywhere? Does it seem a little crazy or chaotic? Are important files and papers easily accessible? Is it easy for people to collaborate on an idea? Is it easy for people to find where they need to be? Consider creating an attentive workplace by looking at the environment that you create. Do people have an opportunity to move into a quiet room or space, to get things done? Are your meetings productive by considering the environment, to maybe call in others or use video technology? How are you paying attention to your environment? But think about the environment as the wider context, as well.

 

What can you be doing, as a leader, to pay attention to our environment, meaning a bigger environment? Do you have a recycling program at work? Just maybe even recycling bins beside the printer. Can you offer refillable water bottles or water stations for people to avoid the plastic waste? Could you consider donating unused furniture from the office to charities that could maybe really use it? Do you encourage people to maybe use public transport instead of driving everywhere? There are so many ways, as a leader, we can pay attention to, not just the office environment, but also the wider environment, as well.

 

When a friend of mine was doing property development, he decided to make sure his building was LEAD certified. Now, while you might not be a big fancy property developer like he is, maybe there are things you can think about when you’re designing a new process, or product, or protocol, that allows you to be more environmentally friendly.

 

As an Australian, I get that I’m a little crazy about protecting the environment, which means, personally, I do carry refillable water bottles. I do try and use … Well, not always use public transport, but I do try to from where I live. I definitely try to reuse the towels when I visit a hotel, instead of using housekeeping all the time. I definitely try to donate things wherever possible. If I’m not using it, I’m sure someone else can use it.

 

What are some little ways that you could pay attention to the environment, both at work, and at home? I want to challenge you to just look around and have a think. In our book, Attention Pays, we cover this in the chapter on Global Attention, meaning, how are you paying attention to your community, to the world at large?

 

Now, you may not be a Tesla driving, environmentally conscious person, but there are little tiny things I bet you could pay attention to at work that would make the environment easier for people to get work done. Or maybe be kind to the environment with the way that you get things done.

 

Take a few moments to tune into this video, then share it with your team. Solicit their feedback on how you can improve the office workspace to make it more inviting and focus-friendly.

 

Are we connected on social media? If not, let’s do it. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook if you prefer, or if you really want to see my adventures, then follow me on Instagram. Have you got yourself a copy of Attention Pays yet? If not, there are hundreds of strategies in here that you can apply immediately.

 

How are you, as a leader, truly paying attention to your environment? I would love to hear your comments, so feel free to share them with me directly. It is my belief that when you pay attention, attention pays.

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How Peloton Has Built a Cult-Like Customer Following

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How Peloton Has Built a Cult-Like Customer Following

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Is Your Business Suffering a Summer Slowdown?

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Is Your Business Suffering a Summer Slowdown?

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Create Summer Strategies to Pay Attention to Business

Does your business slowdown in the summer? If so, summer strategies can create ways to pay attention to your team and your business during slower months. The summer is a wonderful time to take business outside, to meet clients outside when possible. This is a great way to mix up otherwise mundane workdays and create an exciting change of pace for everyone.

 

The first thing I would suggest is to take advantage of the weather. If there are opportunities to meet your clients outdoors, make the most of it. If you have a patio or a facility for team members to take their lunch outside, make the most of it.

 

Next, consider using this time to review where you’re at in the business. The six-month mark is a great time to review your business plan, to review your marketing plan and do a quick health check of the team you have in place. The results you’re getting, the productivity you’re enjoying, the sales you’re making, this is a really good time to dedicate time to actually do a review at the six-month mark.

 

Another idea would include doing a summer clean. For me and my team, this is a really good time for us to update policies, procedures, operations manuals, logistics, it’s a great time to just take a breath and have a look at how do we want to complete the next six months.

 

Also consider, this is a brilliant time of year to focus on your personal development. There might be conferences you can attend, put on by your industry, where you can develop your skills or maybe send some of your team. It’s a really great time to catch up on your summer reading. Hint, hint, if you haven’t read Attention Pays, great summer reading. There are so many books I recommend. You can find additional details on my blog.

 

But it’s also a brilliant time to invest in your team. Is there an activity you can all do together? Is there something fun you could plan, maybe you leave early on a Friday and you do something together. Maybe there’s a volunteering opportunity for a charity that you want to support.

 

The summer is a great time to review where you’re at as a six-month strategy. It’s a great time to do a summer clean and focus on your personal development and do something for the team. What would you add? I’d love to hear your ideas.

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Neen James Share Attention Pays Strategies with Virtuoso Travel

We are facing an attention deficit crisis within our businesses today. Professionals are feeling overtired, overwhelmed and overstressed. Everyone is trying to accomplish a productive day of work while facing a barrage of never-ending interruptions and distractions.

 

Before our time together in Las Vegas, I wanted to take a moment to share with you some tips for boosting your productivity by leveraging your focus. Let’s start with 5 common issues the Virtuoso team of professionals have shared as being their biggest challenge to focused attention.

 

#1. Overwhelming noise competes for your attention.

We are living in the age of over information. We struggle to get the attention of clients because they are inundated with requests for their time and attention, as are you. As leaders, we get wrapped up in working on other people’s priorities and not always our own. We try to clear our inbox as soon as messages arrive, attend meetings at everyone’s request, focusing on development and multitasking on webinars. The overwhelm from constant noise and demands for our time hurts our ability to focus on the right things that truly matter.

 

We must learn to prioritize the demands on our attention. When we try to work on projects of importance, we need to be intentional with silencing the other distractions that compete for our attention. For instance, use technology to help you avoid it.

 

The Freedom App: Allows you to block websites that are tempting to hop on but suck valuable time away from the day. If you find yourself going down rabbit holes wasting too much time on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and more, use this app to force better habits on yourself.

 

#2. A never-ending to-do list is frustrating.

When did we start living in the world of ‘crazy busy?’ Everyone we talk to is ‘crazy busy’ and barely keeping their heads above water. Why? Have our lives really ramped up to an unachievable pace of errands, tasks and chores each day? Answer is: NO. Professionals have fooled ourselves into believing everything is of the utmost importance and needs to be done right away. That’s just not the case.

 

We can tackle this challenge by changing the way we define priorities. Start each day jotting down three non-negotiable priorities on a post-it note. Place it on your computer as a reminder that my day is not complete until these non-negotiables are accomplished. Intentionally set aside time on your calendar first thing in the morning and honor it as if it were a meeting with a client. During that time, turn off your devices and silence alerts to give your concentrated focus to these non-negotiables. Once they are complete, I achieve a sense of accomplishment and feeling of satisfaction that boosts my productivity for the rest of the day. This also provides enough time in the rest of the day to handle any pressing issues that do truly require time and attention. As a result, you’ll end each day feeling like you’ve tackled what mattered most.

 

 #3. There isn’t enough time in the day.

Many of us are guilty of allowing issues that pop up last minute dictate the flow and time within our day. Meetings require much time, as do phone calls, appointments, emails and more. While none of us can evade these responsibilities, we can get smarter with the way we manage our attention toward them.

 

I’m an advocate of time-blocking. Time-blocking is where you set aside chunks of time on your calendar to allow for specific activities. For instance, set aside time first thing in the morning to address your three non-negotiable priorities for the day. You can use this same principle to block off time for making phone calls, working on special projects and checking emails. As a result, you’ll be able to accomplish more of one task type than hop around from task to task. You will be able to complete more phone calls, respond to more emails and accomplish more on your special projects than if you were going back and forth or trying to split your focus.

 

#4.  Clients rarely have the same sense of urgency.

When you’re working in a service industry, often the clients on a different timetable than you. Either they want what they want immediately, or they’ll take their time getting back to you when it becomes a priority for them.

 

One way to tackle this challenge is to talk time. Throughout your phone conversations with clients, recap how long you’ve talked and what’s been committed by when. Establish deadlines and reiterate them throughout the conversation. For instance, say to a customer, “In the 18 minutes we’ve been together, here’s some things we’ve talked about…” When discussing deadlines and needs you must complete their requests, say things such as “It sounds like you would require some proposal information by Thursday, if I get that to you by 4:00 East Coast time, will that work for you?”

 

This helps because they start registering an expectation. If they say, “No, no, no, my family’s meeting Wednesday night, I need everything for a family meeting on Wednesday,” then you now know what their sense of urgency is.

 

#5. Procrastination is crippling my productivity.

Procrastination is a self-inflicted paint point we bring upon ourselves for a variety of reasons. Either we don’t feel the project is important enough; or, we dread the mindpower it will take. As a result, we allow other priorities to come before whatever is on our plate.

 

Thing is, we are ALL guilty of it. It’s human nature to procrastinate. If we feel the habit is far too easy to fall back on, then we must start changing our patterns and self-expectations.

 

One trick is to go back to your trusty calendar and let it do the heavy lifting. If there are three pressing projects needing your time, block off time on your calendar to do them. Here are some rules of thumb to follow when it comes to determining how:

 

• Projects that require creative thinking and brain power need to be scheduled during your most productive work time of day. If your a professional who does your best thinking in the morning, mindfully schedule projects in need of your attention first thing.

 

• If it’s a project requiring a significant amount of time, tackle it in 15-minute increments. These types of projects tempt us to procrastinate because of the sheer volume of time and attention they demand. We put them off for a time we think we can accomplish it in one sitting. What winds up happening is we get super stressed and overwhelmed trying to finish it in the last minute. Try working in 15-minute increments. Set aside 15 minutes a day to work toward the project. Little by little, you’ll start to get through the project without feeling like you’ve invested a lifetime into it.

 

• Those items you put off merely because you dread them and the toughest to tackle. It’s not that they take a ton of brain power or time, they’re just not fun. These are projects that require accountability. Schedule a non-negotiable date on your calendar to work on the project – make it your own personal deadline. If you feel that’s too tempting to bail on, get an accountability buddy to help force you to finish. Knowing you have someone committed to your accountability is a great way to motivate you to do it.

 

 

I can’t wait see you in Las Vegas and make the most of our time together. If you’d like more ideas in the meantime, visit my blog at www.neenjames.com/blog and subscribe to my bi-weekly ezine. Connect with me on social media on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter with @NeenJames.

 

 

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Stop Living Life Through a Screen - WARNING Rant Ahead

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Professionals Should Embrace Summer Play

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Professionals Should Embrace Summer Play

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Pay Attention to Peer Departments

What are you doing to pay attention to other departments? That’s right. In today’s organizations, we have so many different business models, we have matrix organizations. Whereas a leader you might have virtual relationships with you, that don’t have a direct line to you but maybe they have responsibilities that impact your team. Or maybe you have other departments who have to get work done before you can touch it in order for you to proceed. We need to pay attention to other departments. So, today, what I would like to consider is how do we have that profession attention commitment to other departments?

 

The first step is an obvious one and that’s about building relationships. Now, building relationships sounds so easy but how are you doing it? Are you inviting people to your team meeting so that they can get an insight into what your team’s talking about? Are you shadowing people to understand what’s going on in their business?

 

One of my clients is a major media company, and they have an advertising and sales decision. Now in advertising and ad is called a “spot”, so what I was able to do was to follow a spot. Like a day in the life of a spot from the moment they sold the ad to the client all the way through until it was placed on television. What as fascinating about that was working with all the different departments to understand how everything impacts something else.

 

When was the last time you developed department relationships by reviewing end-to-end processes for efficiencies? What relationships could grow? What policies could you update?

 

The first step in truly paying attention to other departments is build relationships. This can often happen through things like affinity groups. Another one of my clients has major affinity groups for all kinds of different reasons that people meet. Can you build relationships through affinity groups?

 

The second strategy is to share success. That’s right. So what does that mean? Understanding objectives of other departments is really important because you can know how to celebrate when they get some great things happening. But in the same way, if another department has an implication, has and impact is probably a better word, on what you do, then share with them when that goes well. Share the successes and not just the challenges. Too often we only reach out to another department when somethings gone wrong.

 

Wouldn’t it be cool to proactively pay attention to celebrate success together? Share new stories, share customer experiences, testimonials, emails that are great. Share success stories with other departments, so they have a greater appreciation of what they’re doing and how it impacts you and vice versa.

 

The third strategy is to invite collaboration. When you have someone who comes into your team from another department, they have a very different perspective. They might look at the world more creatively. They might have a great idea so ask for their input, encourage them to share, openly, about anything they see that might improve the way you do things, might enhance the client experience.

 

I have one client where they do regular Lunch and Learns for other departments. It’s a great way for them to meet other people, to share success stories about what’s going on but also, to be able to collaborate on how they can perform better as a company overall.

 

Three ways that you can pay attention to other departments. Build relationships, share success and invite collaboration. What would you add?

 

You see I believe that when we truly pay attention to others, attention comes back over and repeatedly. You’ve heard me say it before and in our book, “Attention Pays”, that when you pay attention, attention pays, right?

 

What are some additional ways that you can really pay professional attention and commit to other departments? Other departments impact your success as a leader. Inspire other leaders to do the same by sharing this video with them and decide, as a leadership team, to prioritize each other’s departments. Recognize and reward.

Like I said, “When you pay attention, attention pays.”

 

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Book Review: Pay Attention to ‘A Friend of a Friend’ by David Burkus

I have always believed attention is about connection.

 

Networking is connecting.

 

David has shared powerful advice in a more meaningful and intentional way and I love how he backs up his social science with practical, implementable strategies to leverage our networks.

 

His differences between weak, dormant and strong ties were enlightening. The book is filled with examples of unique perspectives on how to successfully tap into hidden networks. I loved this line in the book ‘the bottom line is who you know affects how you think and it affects which friend of a friend you’re likely to meet”

 

I resonated with his super-connector information and will be sharing this book with my clients and colleagues – pick up your copy, read it and then share it with a team member or friend. A Friend of a Friend is a great addition to every business leader’s collection.

 

Check out this video review to learn more about how this book can help you increase your network and grow your business.

 

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David Burkus Friend of a Friend Book Review

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Pay Attention to Support Staff

Giving Behind-the-Scenes Staff the Attention they Deserve.

 

What’s your commitment to your staff? Are you giving your support staff of employees who are behind the scenes as much attention and recognition they deserve? I’d like to give you five ways that you can pay even better attention to your behind-the-scenes employees, and show them how committed you are to their success.

 

I’ve been privileged to work with my Maria for over 12 years. Now, my Maria is affectionately called the “Queen of Neen” by all of my clients. I could never do what I do without my Maria. I have a position where I am so fortunate to have several people who work with me on my team. Now, notice that they work with me, not for me. These talented team members need to be acknowledged and recognized for the value that they deliver. So, how are you doing that with your support team? Here are five ways I’d like you to consider where you can be even more professionally attentive and committed to your support staff as much as your front line of support.

 

#1. Train.  First of all, training employees on your mission, vision and values is as important as policy and procedure and the protocols, but in your mission, vision and values.  Send them to conferences and development seminars to help them in their daily work. Encourage them, and provide for them, industry and position-related books that will help develop them.  Share TED Talks and blogs. Training your support staff and committing to their development makes them better at their job and makes your life even easier.

 

#2. Meet. Maria and I have regularly scheduled one-on-ones, and the reason this is important is not just for me to share with her things I need to be done. It’s for us to talk about her development, our strategy, review all of these things. She drives the agenda, not me. Can you schedule one-on-one so that your support team gets that individual attention from you? Maybe it’s by phone, face time or Zoom. Maybe they actually get to be in your office, but can you meet regularly with your support staff?

 

#3.  Seek. Seek their feedback and input because they get an unusual view of the world that maybe you don’t get to see. You see, support staff talk to other support staff. People who know me well know that I often say that, “Assistants rule the world,” and assistants do business with other assistants. When you are looking at your process, procedures, sales, and protocols, can you seek their input too? Furthermore, seek their feedback on your ideas and how they may be perceived by others outside of customer-facing teams. Ask them if there’s a better way to do something, a more clever, a more productive way because they look at the world differently to you and their perspective is so valuable.

 

#4. Review. Now, review in our world means that every summer we take time to review the way the business is going. We look at all of the ways that we organize things for a checklist, for travel, for client work, for invoicing. The team and I review everything coming up in the next six months, operations manual, and more. The summer is better for us because it’s a quieter time for me when many of my corporate clients are on vacation. But review processes do you have in place to truly pay attention and commit to your support staff? We want to always make sure that we are delivering the best value for our clients, and so for us, that means we have to constantly be in review.

 

#5. Celebrate. Finally, celebrate with your support staff when you’ve had a great win or a fantastic year or closed a sale.  For instance, when we released my book, Attention Pays, we were so excited that it was number one best new release on Amazon. We were super excited that it became the number one bestseller for 800 CEO-READ that month. Now, that was a huge team effort, and my Maria who has been with me for a long time, she and I went out that night and we celebrated. Celebrate your wins with your team too; because they work so hard to help you do what you do.

In conclusion, ask yourself: How are you paying attention to your support staff? What are you doing to recognize and acknowledge the work that they do? For some, it might be just a handwritten thank you note. Others may need a shout-out at the team meeting. It might be tickets to their favorite concert or sending them to a conference or maybe sending them some great books to review. Either way, it’s time to pay attention to those you depend on, your support staff.

 

Need more inspiration? First, watch this video and share it with other department leaders. Then, join together and commit to shed light on top-performing employees. Take a look, share and then subscribe to my YouTube channel.

 

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Put Your Phone Down – WARNING: Attention Fireworks Rant Ahead

If you know anything about me, you will know my most favorite thing in the world, besides my honey, is fireworks. I mean I love them, I’m totally captivated by them.

 

And what you may also know about me is as an Australian, the only night that I get super homesick for Sydney is New Year’s Eve, because if you know anything about Sydney and New Year’s Eve, it’s summer, and I used to live on the harbor and I had an apartment that looked at the Harbor Bridge. So, can you imagine the fireworks display?

 

Every year when I’m freezing cold on the East Coast, I get homesick. So, one year my honey and I decided to go back to New Year’s Eve in Sydney, so that I could fix my homesickness. Just recently, I celebrated New Year’s Eve in Turks and Caicos, what a beautiful place.

 

But let me tell what happened that totally made me crazy. First, you should know,  I’m little.  I’m four ten and a half.  I have to work hard to see above the heads of others in a packed crowd. Can you imagine my horror when I looked up in the sky, only to have my view blocked by people’s outstretched arms holding up their cell phones? Every single person all around me pulled out their stupid devices in a crazy attempt to record the display.

 

It’s not just that it made me crazy because I couldn’t see, it made me crazy realizing they weren’t being present in that moment. There they were in the presence of the most magnificent fireworks display. I mean in Sydney it was incredible, and this year in Turks and Caicos it was right above me and spectacular. Yet all people did was record it on their cell phones, which, by the way they will probably never watch. And I asked my honey why on earth are they doing this, his response surprised me. “They just want to post it on social media and show off to their friends.” Sad, yes, and likely true.

 

I mean seriously, this has got to stop. This is crazy. We need to make the most of every moment. Start by putting away devices, be present and make the most of the moment.

 

So, if you ever watch fireworks with me I warn you now, put away your cell phone. I just want to be with you and experience the joy and the magic of the captivating fireworks. So, this year I challenge you, start paying attention. Join me in the attention revolution and realize distraction decays, but attention pays.

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Pay Attention and Create Exceptional Experiences for Customers

With Exceptional Attention to Detail

Do your customers know how important they are to you? And when I use the word customer I’m talking about your clients, patients, members,  students, team members, whatever word you use to describe them, let’s use the word customers today. How are you paying professional attention to your customers, whoever they might be?

 

I want to share with you what I call B.D.A, which is just my fancy name, for a process, that describes before, during, and after. When it comes to truly paying professional attention, and committing to our customers, I want to share with you an experience I had, and a great example of an organization, or really a hotel, that demonstrates what I call intentional attention through their B.D.A process.

 

I wanted to surprise a dear friend and she lives in North Carolina, and I had booked a weekend in New York as a surprise. Before I even got to New York I had the opportunity to go to their website, register my details, and it was quite a fun check-in process. And one thing they asked about was there any special occasion? So of course, I mentioned my friend Lesley’s birthday. I was thinking about what made it a really great attentive experience: before I even got to the hotel their website’s well designed, there are so many great pictures. All my questions were answered, their registration process was simple. And I had done quite a bit of research on them through social media.

 

The Exceptional Customer Experience

 

I had heard about this unique property called the Library Hotel, with endorsements from others who’d stayed there. I want you to think about what are your customers telling others? What are people looking at when they view your social media accounts? Are they sharing and seeing what you stand for? And do you make it easy for your customers to do business with you?

 

There are some ideas before you even get that customer interaction. Let’s talk about what happened during our stay at the Library Hotel. It was a very hot summer day, we had both got into the city in very different ways,  jumped in a cab to get to the hotel. It was a hot, sticky day. Imagine our delight when we were offered water by the attentive, kind staff who offered us water upon entering. We were early, so our room wasn’t ready for us at that time.

 

But, what was amazing was that they wished my friend a ‘happy birthday’ as soon as she walked up to the counter, which is incredible, and they offered us a hospitality suite to be able to change so we could then go and enjoy a luncheon. Not only that, the hospitality suite was equipped with lovely complimentary drinks and snacks, and it was a gorgeous beautiful facility.

 

We told them a little bit about our day’s plans,  shopping in Soho, and then lunch at Balthazar. Balthazar is one of my favorite French bistros in New York, and it is just a hustling and bustling very New-York-type place. I go there whenever I have a chance.

 

We had mentioned this as we jumped in our Uber to go out after leaving our luggage at the Library hotel. We had a lovely lunch and after returning from lots and lots of shopping, they told us our room as ready and they had sent our bags up to our room.

 

Now, here’s what’s interesting. When we got into our room there was a birthday card for Lesley, and little chocolates. There were two mugs from the Library Hotel so we can enjoy them after we left. And I looked across the room and I saw a bottle of one of my favorite champagnes. How did they know? What was even more remarkable was when I found a signed cookbook from Balthazar. Ah-mazing!

 

They had organized a copy of the book, including a lovely handwritten note from the manager about our experience. This is attention to detail! They gave us a beautiful room overlooking the New York Library – the hotel’s namesake.

Every room is on the Dewey Decimal System. Isn’t that interesting!? You might remember, if you’re as old as me, going to a library and pulling out the draws filled with little-indexed cards with the number and then you had to go find the book.

 

The Library Hotel is a fantastic case study in how, from the moment we set foot on their property, they paid attention, the staff was trained, everyone was attentive. They listened to our conversation and added little tiny moments that would make us remember it for a lifetime. We had an amazing time at the Library Hotel.

 

Interesting. After we left, (remember BDA, before, during, and after), they also reached out to see how was our stay. They asked for feedback. We got lovely responses, and obviously, we shared our experience on social media. What are you doing for your customers to make them feel seen and heard, before they interact with you, during their interaction with you, and then after they leave you?

 

Create Your Exceptional Experience

 

We work hard to get customers to support our business. There are so many tools available for you to you to pay attention and commit to your customers. Your website,  marketing collaterals,  advertising,  social media,  staff training,  policies, and procedures. And the experience of your physical environment if you have one.

 

What are all the things you could be paying attention to? All those touch points that leave an impact on your customers? I want to challenge you today to have a look at one of these areas, before, during, or after. Think about what could you do differently and commit to your customers in an even deeper way.

 

Need more inspiration to uplift customers and prioritize their needs? Watch my video and subscribe to my channel.

 

 

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Peloton: The Poster Child of Intentional Customer Attention

Create an Exceptional Customer Experience with Intentional Attention

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m obsessed with Peloton. What’s a Peloton, you ask? It’s basically a bike that goes nowhere. It is also a case study in my book, Attention Pays.

 

John Foley, the CEO, is the brainchild of Peloton, a stationary bike with a tablet attached. But what John will tell you is it’s a technology company, not a fitness company.

 

They are the poster child for intentional customer attention for many different reasons. John is very attentive to the community which has over 80,000 subscribers on their Facebook group. This active community posts questions about features they’d like, and then, the company incorporates them in the software.

 

They carefully choose instructors they know will resonate with riders. Their instructors have become so adored, they even have their own cult following. These instructors are like celebrities. Each very different and very talented, attracting a certain kind of customer. Instructors often times have their own Instagram and Facebook pages that riders can follow as well.

 

Peloton pays attention to their community, which is made up of home-riders. These home-riders use their bike in the basement, their home gym and on their patio while following instructors they love. Riders can choose to ride live recordings or ones previously recorded. They can select from many different scenic rides when the class model isn’t what they desire.

 

They even created the home rider invasion where riders leave the confines of their home and travel to New York. There, they get to meet their favorite instructors and do classes in the studio. Because their rider community is so strong, meeting each other in the home rider invasion is as much of a perk as meeting the instructors.  I a very loyal customer and any day I’m working from home, I take advantage of my Peloton. I love their instructors! Jennifer Jacobs is definitely one of my most favorites.

 

Peloton’s business model demonstrates how one leader paid intentional attention to the customer and created a revolution in the fitness industry. Are you ready to do the same in your business?

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Why You Need to Attend Content Marketing World 2018

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Why You Need to Attend Content Marketing World 2018

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Interview with Professional TEDx Speaker, Tamsen Webster

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Interview with Professional TEDx Speaker, Tamsen Webster

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Interview with Sadie Lincoln - World Renowned Barre Studio Owner

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Interview with Sadie Lincoln - World Renowned Barre Studio Owner

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Interview with Crowdfunding Expert, Clay Hebert

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Professional Attention to Your Support Staff

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Professional Attention to Other Departments

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Interview with Crowdfunding Expert, Clay Hebert

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Professional Attention to Your Support Staff

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Professional Attention to Other Departments

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Professional Attention to Your Environment

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Lauren Ziel Interview

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Tifphanie Hill - Personal Shopper for Nordstrom - Knows How to Pay Attention to Customers

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Professional Attention to Your Environment

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Lauren Ziel Interview

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Tifphanie Hill - Personal Shopper for Nordstrom - Knows How to Pay Attention to Customers

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Increase Summer Focus by Embracing Intentional Distractions

Boost productivity by embracing distractions.

 

Have you ever considered having summer hours? In my small business, we have summer hours that start in June and go all the way to the end of August. Well, what does that mean? It simply means we finish early on a Friday afternoon.

 

Now, what I know to be true about where I live is everybody wants to escape and enjoy the beautiful summer weather. Some people have shore houses or lake houses or they want to go to the beach.

 

Can you create summer hours? What about giving your team flexibility to be able to work from home, outdoors or remotely on a Friday? Could they leave the office a little earlier so they can enjoy the beautiful sunshine and maybe avoid the crazy traffic that starts on a weekend? Does your business allow people to be more flexible in the summer?

 

You see, what I think is important is if you want to boost productivity, if you want to pay attention to what needs to get done, it means you also have to make time for play. So often, our team works so hard, working and answering emails at night, taking meetings after hours, attending conferences, and yet we don’t always give them the time to play.

 

Take the Summer Challenge

 

Can you make your more productive summer more fun? Can you have more play? Now, the easiest way to do is book it in. Create easy things. Like maybe people can go home early every other Friday or maybe you have people who alternate so that something is also covered in your office, but that they get the opportunity to work remotely. What are some ways you can implement summer hours or intentional play? Book it in.

 

Create systems allowing your team can work remotely. Provide employees with a flexible work schedule so they are off every Friday, or every other Friday. Maybe they could even extend the weekend. It could go to Monday. You just need to find what works for you.

 

Turn on your “Out of the office.” Make the message fun so others know you won’t be around but would be delighted to help them when you return.

 

If you decide on summer hours, can you make it fun, make it playful? Maybe with a few systems in place, you can have meetings outside.  Allow the team to understand the systems, make sure the team understands the protocols and policies. Let’s redirect phone lines. Let’s put “Out of office” messages together, and let’s make sure we make the most of our summer. Step away from your devices. Hang up the phone. Get out in the sun and enjoy your summer.

 

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Pay Attention in a Matrix Organization to Achieve Results

How can you GET and KEEP People’s Attention in a Matrix Organization to Achieve Results?

Operating cross-functionally, across geographies, across business units in an ever-fast and complex matrix organization is challenging. It requires self-awareness, tenacity, patience and intentional attention.

 

To shine as a leader in a matrix environment you have a responsibility to demonstrate strong communication, networking, advocate building, influence, and powerful personal branding skills.

 

To leverage relationships, communicate across time zones, and recognize different company cultures in an environment where reporting lines are tricky, you MUST pay attention.

 

The benefits of paying attention in this environment include opportunities to meet (and impress) other leaders, attract and retain top talent, accelerated project completion and career advancement.

 

Implement these strategies and you will succeed in your matrix organization:

 

Build relationships – your ability to network across multiple business units and with different levels in your company will ensure your success. Do people see your name in their inbox and answer it immediately? Do others instantly respond to your text messages? Do people happily accept your meeting invitations? If not, you may need to invest time creating stronger relationsips and networking in a variety of ways.

 

Identify informal leaders – every team has an informal leader. Every team has someone that may not have the title of manager/ supervisor/ director but the whole team knows they are the ‘go-to’ person. Find them, network with them, and learn as much as you can about team dynamics and their leadership style. This person will help you navigate that team, company politics, and leadership and will also potentially became an advocate for you.

 

Create advocates – while improving your relationship-building skills, identify people with teams who can become your advocates. Someone who has an idea of your responsibilities and projects and is willing to help communicate your value, make introductions, and advocate in meetings and with senior leaders if required. This is a longer-term strategy that requires focus, systems and dedication to relationships building. I create an appointment in my calendar every month and reach out to my list of 20 advocates.

 

Systemize thoughtfulness – I believe that paying attention requires systems. Systems create freedom. Can you schedule a monthly appointment to reach out to people who you want to stay top of mind with? I have a list of20 people and I send them books, articles, TED talks, and if I am out and about and see something that reminds me of them, I pop into the post. How can you dedicate time monthly to identify relationships you want to build, create a list of advocates and then systemize thoughtfulness?

 

Articulate your role – learn how to quickly articulate your role, the value you add and provide a project update. You need to always be prepared to quickly share how your team is achieving results, how they are adding value, and sometimes defend timelines. Learn the skill of briefly describing how your work affects others in the organization so you are prepared in every meeting, teleconference, and town hall or if you run into a leader in the elevator. Look for opportunities to promote your team and build relationships.

 

Book 15 minute tele-coffees – a tele-coffee is where you make a coffee and I make a coffee, and we talk on the telephone (I do tele-cocktails on a Friday… love those). Scheduling quick catch ups with other leaders internally will allow you to build relationships, understand their objectives, focus on sharing your team value and quickly assess if you need their support and engage them in future.

 

Attend team meetings – offer to attend other’s team meetings (virtually or in-person) to learn about other’s challenges, objectives and workflow. Offer to give an update of your team’s projects or responsibilities to help educate others.

 

Know communication preferences – learning the best way to communicate others in a matrix organization will accelerate decisions and workflow. Do your internal clients prefer email, phone, instant message, and text or in-person meetings? Once you learn people’s preferences make a note and share this with your team.

 

Get creative – do you have to attend every meeting? Do you have to be on every teleconference? Identify the purpose of meetings and if your presence is required the whole time, or if you can send a team member, or if you can just receive notes? Be creative in the way you contribute to other teams and find ways to leverage technology.

 

Monitor time zones – be kind when scheduling across global time zones. Use a variety of timeframes so it is kind to everyone and not just the same time every week or month because it is convenient for one team. If the meeting time is going to impact you personally, have the courage to speak up and suggest alternatives.

 

Respect protocol – we have organization structures for specific reasons; don’t go over someone’s head or around someone when possible. Respect roles, responsibilities and hierarchy. If you aren’t achieving the results you need consider talking to people’s peers before you approach their leadership. Be kind. Show respect.

 

Demonstrate expertise – in all meetings, presentations, town halls, webinars, training sessions and social activities, look for ways you can add value to conversations. Be the subject matter expert and don’t speak up just so you can hear yourself speak. Ask yourself if that question or comment will add value to everyone in the room. If not, be quiet. If it will, share freely.

 

Make an impression – know the rules, strengthen your personal brand, develop relationships and navigate politics. When you are constantly thinking of others, prepared to promote your team and your project and willing to listen to others, you will be a successful, attentive team member in a matrix organization.

 

If you want more strategies on how to personally and professionally be more intentional with your attention, to grow your personal brand, develop your communication skills and accelerate your productivity, check out Attention Pays for many more ideas.

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