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Delivering the Tough Message – Necessary Update

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on Delivering the Tough Message and I used real life examples to explain the 5 Rules of Delivering the Tough Message.  Today I want to post an update to that article.  Why an update?  Well, I heard first hand disturbing story from a company that messed up on the key rules.  Unfortunately this was one of the companies from the first article.

Delivering the Tough Message

The current economic climate is tough, that's not news.  In these tough times we see more and more companies making cuts and reductions in headcount.  Reducing headcount is a difficult business decision but it is an even more difficult message to deliver from one person to another.  Yet it is a fact of business and something all managers and organisations should be very capable of doing effectively.

Two recent situations and one past experience remind me of how not to deliver a tough message and what the people involved could've done better.

How To Be Successful

In most walks of life people want to be successful or have some degree of success.  Pretty much everyone has success in varying forms whether that is personally, professionally, privately or publically.  But what makes someone successful, more importantly what makes someone more successful in a specific field or discipline than someone else?

Customer Service – Doing It The City Inn Way

There has been more written about customer service than just about any other business topic, so I’m not about to re-write or re-hash customer service words of wisdom that you have all heard many times. Instead I’m going to tell you about a personal experience I had recently which reminded me of some key lessons for customer service. This experience happened at the City Inn hotel in Birmingham.

Get Ready For Next Week - Choosing Your State

Here’s a quick exercise for you.

Partner up with someone, a friend or a colleague.  You are both going to tell a real story and read each other’s mind!  The story is simply a short 60-90 second story on how you arrived here today, your journey.

When telling your story I want you to pick a playing card in your mind without telling your partner what the card is.  You both do this.

Next I want you to tell your story in the style of that playing card, Ace is high and is positive, upbeat, confident, etc., 2 is downbeat, low, uncertain.  All others playing cards are somewhere in between with the appropriate styles.  Now tell you story in the style of the playing card you chose.  All your partner needs to do is guess what playing card you have in mind.  Once you’ve done this one way, switch over and let your partner tell their story while you guess their card.

How did you do?  Did you guess their card or at least guess just one card out?  Easy isn’t it.

Easy to guess the card and read other peoples state and even easier to choose your state at will.  In fact you were so good at choosing your state your partner guessed it within 60 seconds.

As you prepare for next week take time to consider the optimum state you want to be in the key meetings, projects, conversations, emails, commute, etc. next week.  Which playing card do you want to act out for each of these?  Once you have it, do it.

Be Your Own Superbrand – Leadership

We know that superbrands have three common traits – clarity of vision, consistency in what they do and finally leadership.  Take a moment now to consider what leadership is and to do this think of the following:

Which global organisation do you consider to be a leader?

Who did you think of?  Why them?  In what way(s) do they lead?  Ask others the same thing and see if they come out with the same things?

I would guess that with such a simply question you get many different answers.  There’s no surprise there, but did you argue with anyone?  Did anyone come up with an organisation in the same business area that was different from yours?  Can they both be leaders in the same field?

Be Your Own Superbrand – Consistency

Consistency is the most simply thing to do and be – simply be consistent.  How hard can it be?  Well actually it could be quite hard if not very hard.  Why?  Because we change our moods and states of mind almost every second.  Being consistent when there is an ever changing starting point can be tricky.

Be Your Own Superbrand – Clarity

The key to clarity of your own brand is a simple as the 3Cs – Clear values, Consistency and Clarity.  Master the 3Cs and you will achieve clarity in the brand that is you – people will know what you stand for and what it is you do.

Be Your Own Superbrand

The UK recently announced it’s Top 10 Superbrands:

1.       Microsoft

2.       Coca-Cole

3.       Google

4.       BBC

5.       BP

6.       British Airways

7.       Lego

8.       Guinness

9.       Mercedes-Benz

10.   Cadbury

I’m sure you are aware of all or at least most of these companies and of most or some of their products.  You probably even have or use some yourself.  But what is a superbrand, what makes a superbrand?  Perhaps more importantly, could you be a ‘superbrand’?