Why The lowest Paid Employee Could Have More Influence Than The President

 I called the “customer line” instead of the ‘back line” of a new client yesterday. What I heard horrified me. I’m 100% certain its costing them money in many different ways. The person answering the phone was overly distracted and had no way of knowing if the person I wanted to talk to was even on-site. I asked a friend to call them a little later and their experience was much the same. My friend was of the opinion my client needed a new person on the phone. I dug a little deeper. The companies initial training plan was to give the receptionist/admin an anchor and ask them to swim. This plan is used far more often than most want to admit!
     The real issue that has to be dealt with is training, standards and follow up. Typically the lowest paid person in an office is the one answering the phone. This person is the first voice representing the company callers hear. For many of these staff members their entire training program boils down to “Here is the phone. When it rings answer it!” That completes all the training you will have now good luck!  Heck, these team members often aren’t even invited to attend the staff meeting/complaint sessions the company has! This happens when we fail to inspect what we expect.
     Just imagine your favorite NFL team designating the center as the lowest paid and least valuable member of the starting line-up. The center touches the football more than the quarterback who is typically the highest paid member of the team. The logic defies explanation and yet it exists. I often hear the argument “if I spend money training them I’m afraid they’ll leave” and the most useful response to that is “if you don’t train them I’m afraid they’ll stay” and that is a far greater risk.
     Little hinges swing big doors is a phrase I’ve said for years. An untrained, overworked and forgotten receptionist/admin may be the best example yet and one that consistently proves the point. When your home is for sale you spend time and money to improve your homes curb appeal to entice them to look deeper. For many businesses the person answering the phone is their curb appeal.  
 If I you want to talk let me know at www.speakwithsteven.com      
     

The World Has Changed… What Skills Will You Need Moving Forward?

For many people in the pre-pandemic workforce required skills boiled down to remaining relevant. Could you do those things that were minimally required of someone in your position? With the overly stressed labor pool that existed in 2019, if you were minimally competent you were pretty well set. It was Woody Allen who so accurately said that 80% of success was just showing up. My suspicion is the post pandemic world will change a lot of that.

The shift for many from in-office work to working from home sounds great on the surface and it also brings with it the statement “Be careful what you wish for.” Working from home while being both productive and busy will be a real test for most people. Learning to do a Zoom meeting is just the beginning. Being comfortable with new tech will be critical and self-learning will likely define tomorrows leaders in these new and uncharted waters. The rules will be made as we go along and unless you’re one of the lead dogs the view will never change…. Neither will your paycheck!

Self-learning will not revolve around watching a YouTube video or Ted Talk. Self-Learning for many will come down to a return to reading and starting to re-invest in your personal education along with the development of a personal library. Books will once again matter in my opinion the sooner this starts the better. You can either resist this shift or embrace it but make no mistake the shift is happening as we speak. What’s your plan?

My name is Steven Clauson.  I coach people who want help getting where they want to be.  The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact.  They aren’t afraid to ask for help.  How can I help you?  What actions are you taking?  Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack.  Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you are  one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often.  People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the playing field because they play 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

Most People Work On The Symptom Not The Problem…

I spoke to a business group recently and ended by taking questions. This was a group of legal and accounting professionals and their questions were many of the same questions general contractors ask. All questions were symptom related and avoided the actual problem. A symptom question would be “How do we get busier?” and a problem question would be “Our director of outreach is getting more potential customers in the door and I want to know how to change the demographic they are reaching?” Symptom as opposed to problem.

To make the shift from symptom to problem requires better questions. Great questions define the actual problem. Poorly framed questions produce only tactics. Tactical answers don’t have the ability to change the result but make you feel like progress is being made toward a worthwhile goal.

Here’s cheat sheet on asking better questions. Start with a question that outlines the actual thing you need to repair. Once you have a clear and true understanding of the actual thing work on simplifying the thing to the greatest extent possible. The last action is to expand the different ways you can get there. In 1958 Dr. Robert Schuller needed to raise $1 million dollars to build his church and that was a lot of money in 1958. If he could find 1 person with $1 million it would be easy… Finding that 1 person would be very difficult. Then he looked at 2 people at $500,000 which was still hard and he finally settled at $100 from 10,000 people. He outlined what he needed, simplified what was needed and expanded the possibilities until he got the right answer.

What is your right answer and how much more time will you spend asking the wrong question?  

My name is Steven Clauson.  I coach people who want help getting where they want to be.  The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact.  They aren’t afraid to ask for help.  How can I help you?  What actions are you taking?  Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack.  Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you are  one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often.  People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the playing field because they play 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

If You’re Motivated By Weekends And Vacations Something is Missing!

When you start Monday looking forward to Friday something is missing. Time off is great until that’s what driving you. When that happens everyone knows it and can feel it. It’s the feeling you get when you talk with someone who must make a sale to stay alive.  

I was promoted to foreman for Home Building Center in 1978. The person whose position I was promoted to left behind a sign that said “If you want to kill time try working it to death.” Like so many people who are initially hired to do a job I was unqualified. I knew it was up to me to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. I spent evenings in the local library reading books on project management and logistics. This made for long weeks and weekends. I looked forward to Friday to arrive because I had the weekend to immerse myself in what I was going to implement on Monday. This drove me and motivated me to want more. This was time well spent. Within just a few months I was driving a new car and my sales numbers were the best the company had ever had.

Fast forward to 2020. I see too many uninspired people largely just going through the motions. Long ago they decided to quit reading, they decided to quit challenging themselves and in many respects they decided to just give up. It appears that some of the people get out of bed to share their defeat with others… no need to keep their level of sadness and defeat to themselves when we we’re all told that misery loves company.

I spend my weekend with friends doing what’s important to me. I read every day to sharpen my axe and never turn off my cell phone. I’ve learned to either fix most any problem comes up or who to call if I can’t get the job done myself. What motivates you and actually gets you out of bed? If you aren’t excited when your feet hit the floor we need to talk!

My name is Steven Clauson.  I coach people who want help getting where they want to be.  The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact.  They aren’t afraid to ask for help.  How can I help you?  What actions are you taking?  Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack.  Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you are  one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often.  People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the playing field because they play 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

You Can Only Learn When You Listen

Who loves to learn? Who loves to listen? I’d argue fewer hands went up with the question about listening. One of my best friends has an alphabet soup of degrees from Associates to Bachelors to Masters to Juris Doctor. His education level is almost intimidating. When he talks I listen. He has a wealth of information in many areas and he’s willing to share what he knows, what he learned, how he applied the information  and how it shaped him as a man and as a professional.

Who can you learn from and what can you learn? I have learned from my wife to be less serious and more fun. From my children I learned patience and that they will surprise me more every day. I learned unconditional love from my 3 dogs. I learned to ask for help when I hit a roadblock. In asking for help I’ve learned I don’t know everything.  

I know business owners and entrepreneurs tend to ask for help when their car breaks. I’ve also learned they will call a roofer to repair a leak. Sadly, many owners have too much self-esteem to ask for help with their business. Many think it’s simple or easy and they can do it alone. I have a friend who is a cardiac surgeon who specializes in bypass surgery who swears what he does is simple. I’ve watched him do 4 surgeries and it appears simple. Bypass surgery is simple if you know what you’re doing. He knows. What are you oversimplifying and how can I help?    

My name is Steven Clauson.  I coach people who want help getting where they want to be.  The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact.  They aren’t afraid to ask for help.  How can I help you?  What actions are you taking?  Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack.  Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out and you likely to hear the word yes more often.  People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the field playing because they play 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

What Do You Need To Stop Doing To Get The Things You Want?

The majority of instruction I’ve read about how to be more successful and how to get more of what you want center around things you need to do. These are well intentioned and helpful to a selected few already inclined to take massive action. We love these people and want to be more like them. The reality is most people aren’t. If you’re in the group that won’t add something to your to-do list there may be a better way….

Take a minute and ask yourself what you need to stop doing in order to have the things you really want? Eliminating something is much easier for the human brain to understand. The brain provides less resistance to eliminating an action. If you feel sluggish in the morning try eliminating overeating and eliminating going to bed late. Eliminating just these two things will tend to help you lose weight and get sufficient sleep.

If you want to have a better frame of mind during the day eliminate watching the Evening News and instead turn on a mindless sit-com. My drug of choice is Two And-A-Half Men. I watch a few minutes every night. There is very little other than bad news on the Evening News and eliminating this has been a net positive for my clients and myself. The occasional person I work with who still watches the Evening News has yet to tell me what they get from the News that’s a net positive or instructional.

If you want to stop losing money or market share in your business eliminate complaining about how bad things are. Just eliminating complaining is a big win for your brain chemistry. When you replace complaining with Massive Imperfect Action you may become a force to be reckoned with. While complaining, overeating, being depressed from the News and not getting sufficient sleep may seem easier you need to know there is a better way. If you want my help just let me know!

My name is Steven Clauson.  I coach people who want help getting where they want to be.  The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact.  They aren’t afraid to ask for help.  How can I help you?  What actions are you taking?  Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack.  Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out and you likely to hear the word yes more often.  People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the field playing because they play 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