The Power of Having Effective Meetings

When we take the time to get a group of people together, we need to be VERY FOCUSED upon making the experience very productive. Insure that we focus on what it will take to drive an effective meeting.

• Sharing Information - Only focus upon what you need to cover so that you keep everyone engaged in what you are covering. You want to follow an agenda so that you can stay focused upon the most important elements. Each player needs to come prepared for each meeting.

• Build Morale – you want to find the balance between energy and urgency. The meeting should provide the right amount of engagement so that each participant is energized by participation. It is important to keep score and celebrate the success that you have. You want each player to have full responsibility for making their numbers in advance.

• Change Behavior – at least 50% of the meeting should focus upon what will be different going forward. You want to insure that you are working upon either problem solving, planning or skill development in each get together. You want to be sure to document conclusions and hold yourself accountable for moving forward in a positive way.

Bob Coulter

Reinventing the Customer Experience

As we work with organizations around North America, everyone is trying to better serve their customers and the marketplace. Karl Weber wrote a great book around hospitality Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough. It would be interesting to see how each of our companies is responding to these concepts.

Look for ways to provide customers with both simplicity and flexibility. Consumers want to be empowered. We need to be sure that we find ways to turn a commodity product into a unique customer experience. This comes from really looking at each touch point and what is taking place with your clients. There is great power of linking together customers into groups and communities.

People love customized products so long at they don’t become intrusive. They will pay a premium when they are perfect for them. They need to believe that they control what is taking place. It is important that we understand that technology needs to be a resource in making this happen.

Companies that organize their customers as advisors provide themselves with perspectives that are beneficial to the organization. They have found that the greatest ideas continue to come from their top customers. Companies like Harley Davidson have decided to dedicate 80% of their marketing funds to their existing customers because they see these customers as driving future sales. It is important to look at who the brand ambassadors are for your organization. It is important to look at the lifestyles that your customers keep and become a part of who they are.

Bob Coulter

WHAT IS STOPPING YOUR FUN?

Right now, What is stopping you from having fun? You have too much to do! Then pretend like what you have to do is fun. Too much on your mind . . . enjoy thinking of only one thing at a time and have fun. BUSINESS IS TOUGH? Enjoy the journey and think of all of the fun you COULD have on the other side of all of this toughness if you WOULD just have fun today. I believe what might keep you and me from having fun is we forget how good it feels. We forget that it is a choice. We may have not fully comprehended the incredible power behind having fun, and projecting fun into our entire organization. For twenty years we have been talking about fun. In our seminars we have fun . . . you know how I know our seminars are fun . . . people come back. At a conference, they may hear me speak in the morning and then go and find the rest of their team and bring them in to hear me in the afternoon because they want them to have fun too. Our partner here at JP HORIZONS, Bob Coulter, often says, "If it is fun, people will want to participate." YOU SEE . . . FUN IS GOOD and it transforms lives and businesses.

Even though 99% of the people we work with or speak to LOVE the having fun part, there is always that one person . . . you know sitting somewhere in the back remember this is a BLOG so we can be a little more blunt in our commentary). They try to smile, but instead look like they have eaten something that has given them terrible gas and they are afraid if they loosen up then they may do something that embarrasses them and those around them. So they sit there, in their own pain, and when it is time to fill out the evaluation they are the ones that will give the line that they feel is very original . . . "It was just a bunch of RAH RAH!" Back to bluntness, What does RAH RAH mean? I translate that as this . . . "EVERYONE AROUND ME WAS ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING AND TAKING NOTES AND LAUGHING. They would even do those team building things and open up and talk about how they can improve their companies or make more of a contribution in their career. What we really need is something I can take back and use today. . ."

That person would not recognize something they can use to day if it was staring them in the face. I am not making fun of this back-row sitting, non-fun addict. As a matter of fact, I am grateful for them; they gave me the idea about the two characters, BUILDER and DESTROYER. I feel for them, because what we have found about this destroyer is they do not feel good about themselves. They are hurting inside and cover it up by being way above this RAH RAH thing. . . So why did I bring them up in this blog? Because that person can be you or me at any given time. If we are not feeling good about who we are and what we are doing, we will not allow ourselves to truly have fun. THAT IS WHAT MAY BE STOPPING YOU RIGHT NOW . . . So the real question is, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT?

JIM PALUCH