Month: October 2016

My bride and I saw a very entertaining movie recently called “The Secret Life Of Pets.”  This movie explains in unrealistic detail what pets do after we leave for work.  While the premise was entertaining I seriously doubt that any of our pets are superhero’s.  Possibly my Italian Greyhound but I digress.

What “Secret Life” do others think you lead as opposed to what actually happens? 

• People see Personal Injury Attorneys as just sitting in their office writing letters all day and being overpaid as a result.  The reality is hours spent researching cases, depositions, working with clients, fighting with insurance companies, working with investigators and otherwise doing the heavy lifting others refuse to do.
• People see Automobile Repair Technicians as those who connect a scanner to a car and it tells them exactly what to fix in exact detail.  The reality is researching recalls on cars, diagnosing noises, fixing oil leaks, working in 35 degree weather or 105 degree weather, cut hands, burned arms and trying to make heads or tails what the scanner has generally identified as an issue.

•  People see Coaches & Writers as those who sit around writing and coaching willing people who are proactive in everything they do.  The reality is I work with smart people who got where they are using uncommon levels of drive and determination and demand to get to the next level.  I am in the position of working with this person and helping change some of the ways of operation to get a different and ultimately better result.  I have to constantly stay abreast of their profession and its trends along with my own.  Very little of what anyone does is glamorous and I know very few Superheros.  I get a great deal of satisfaction with my chosen profession and I am blessed that I truly like each and every person and company I work with.  I promise that if I didn’t like and trust them I wouldn’t have anything to do with them.

       What’s your secret life like?  Who would believe you?  Does it get you out of bed in the morning with a sense of purpose?  No?  Let’s talk about that.

       My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential.  Are you in the stands or on the field?  Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate.  For these people results matter.  Tired of results less than you know you can produce?  Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com

 

      I work with someone who has multiple audiences that are more or less the same audience.  Or so it appears.  On the surface they have many of the identical issues, needs, fears, pain and drivers.  I made the decision early on to separate these audiences using the experience I have in this area.  The results are both fascinating and expected.
The most recent marketing communication we sent to these groups were identical down to what time they were sent..  The only difference is the grouping we used.  Group A opened the marketing piece up at a rate of 41.8% and Group B opened up the piece at a 23.9%.  This is a stunning difference.  Reading the piece we sent tells us a lot about the issues that Group A is having that is impacting Group B with much less urgency.  When we talk to the recipients in Group A we now know what their issues are, what to focus on and what solutions will matter to them.
Got an idea what solution your customer really wants?  Talking about what they really want as opposed to what they tell you they want will get them to listen very closely!  What do you want to say?
My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential.  Are you in the stands or on the field?  Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate.  For these people results matter.  Tired of results less than you know you can produce?  Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com

     Wells Fargo finally figured out what happened and got rid of the executive in charge of the offending division.  Good call for Wells.  The action was a better result for Carrie Tolstedt, the executive that was in charge of that division as she walked out with over $124 Million in exit compensation.  What Wells Fargo did next defies explanation!
In one of the more “Big Dumb Company” moves I have ever witnessed, Wells removed all sales goals from all employees in that division.  Brilliant move if you desire your largest group of workers coming in on a daily basis with no goals at all.  Think about this…  Athletes measure how fast they can run, how much weight they can lift or how far they throw a ball.  If you are dieting you measure how much weight you have lost.  If you are driving you likely measure your speed or how long it takes to travel from point A to point B.  Wells has decided the best way to work is to eliminate all sales goals starting January 1, 2017.
Removing goals will never be the answer to getting behaviors that work.  It didn’t work when we wanted our kids to clean their room and will never work with staffing.  Removing incentives removes the desire to excel.  This is where participation trophies started and we know how that turned out.  Want more out of your staff?  Let’s talk.
My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential.  Are you in the stands or on the field?  Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate.  For these people results matter.  Tired of results less than you know you can produce?  Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com

The polling company Gallup recently published a study showing that over 75% of everyone who quits their job has as their primary reason for quitting to get the hell away from their boss.  They don’t leave for more money, better schedule, more time off or any of the other reasons we want to use.  They just want to escape!
So be it right?  No worries as we will find a replacement.  Think that through before you get too overly confident.  The first thing to consider is the actual cost to replace that person is between $5,000 and $30,000 dollars depending on how long they have had the position and the institutional knowledge they leave with.  They also leave with everything you have taught them and if they move to your competitor be prepared for that as well.  If they are quitting the boss is there a potential area of litigation you need to be concerned with?  What about the cost of training the remaining people to take over fore the person who quit?  Running ads, interviewing people, adding them to the payroll and then hoping they work out.  This list goes on and only gets more expensive.
Why not address the problem of the actual boss?  The ability to manage differing personalities will take it’s toll on the best among us.  Taking this stress home every day is mind numbingly difficult and when you don’t have an outlet the stress will arrive either at home of work.  Work is the default position and this gets expensive.  If someone’s only tool is a hammer everything needs to be a nail?  Need more tools to fix your problems?
My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential.  Are you in the stands or on the field?  Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate.  For these people results matter.  Tired of results less than you know you can produce?  Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com

      Wells Fargo was in the news over the last for days and they explained the fired over 5300 employees and were fined $185 Million Dollars.  That’s pretty heavy duty and what caused this is pretty obvious for most anyone in the corporate world.
I went into my local pharmacy recently to pick up a prescription and they asked me if I wanted a flu shot.  I explained that I have never had a flu shot in my life and also that I will never have one in my life as a result of the research.  No big deal.  My scientific reasons aside I also pay attention and it’s August, 90 degrees outside and no one I know has had the flu.  I asked why they were asking so early.   The clerk explained that the parent company required them to give 8 shots per day, every day and when they don’t it causes a warning from the head office and people lose their jobs!
It’s pretty clear to me that someone not wanting a flu shot in August or at all is a shitty reason for someone to lose their job or even be reprimanded.  I wonder what happened at Wells Fargo?  Doing minimal research I was able to find an interview with a previous Wells Fargo employee who was one of the 5300 who were fired and she said the pressure from above was so great that it was all she focused on and her actual job became secondary to getting a new account.  All she talked about were Home Equity Lines, Credit Cards, IRA’s, Overdraft Protection and anything Wells made money on irrespective of customer need.  This past employee had a child to feed and felt that to be pretty important.
Prior to writing this I reached out to several people I know who work at about the same level on the totem pole as a teller and was told stories similar to what this terminated teller told.  Yes, this happens.  Company Greed over Customer Need is not good for any of us and hurts all of us from a credibility point of view.  I wrote recently about what to say and this is about what to sell.  Trust takes time to build and moments to destroy.  How much time will Wells need to rebuild what they lost with their corporate tactics?  Is there that much time?  Got an idea what your customer really wants?  Selling them what they really need as opposed to what upper management forces you to sell?  Start listening to them even more closely!  What does your customer actually need?
My name is Steven Clauson and I coach people who want to come out of the stands and onto the field or are already on the field and demand to work to their potential.  Are you in the stands or on the field?  Winners are on the field playing full out and dominate.  For these people results matter.  Tired of results less than you know you can produce?  Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com