http://mergespeaks.com/blog/">Turning Managers into Leaders

You might have already read about the public relations nightmare that Papa Johns, the international fast-food pizza chain, faced recently.  But if you haven’t …

Last Monday, on January 7, Minhee Cho stopped in to pick up a pizza at a Manhattan location of this chain.  The young cashier rang in the sale, and then typed in a description on the receipt to identify the customer.  The description – “lady chinky eyes”.  Ms. Cho, not surprisingly, was a tad bit offended and posted a picture of the receipt on her Twitter account with the following text: Hey @PapaJohns just FYI my name isn’t “lady chinky eyes”.  Also not surprisingly, the photo went viral.  In fact, last I checked, it had been viewed 244,843 times.

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A couple of weeks ago I was having dinner with several clients at a popular eatery in Chicago.  The atmosphere was lively and the conversation animated, and while emphasizing a particular point, one of my dinner partners accidentally knocked over her drink.  A staff member rushed over to clean it up and our waitress offered a refill.

“Yes please” replied my colleague, “but this time, could you put it into a short glass instead of a tall one.”  “I want to make sure I don’t spill it again,” she said with a smile.

Imagine my surprise when the waitress’ brow furrowed and she replied, “I don’t think I can do that.  We only make this drink in tall glasses.  I’ll have to check with the bartender, but I can’t make any promises.”

Seriously?!  Our collective jaws dropped as the waitress left to determine whether such a breach in beverage protocol would cause havoc and consternation in the kitchen! Read the rest of this entry »

When you get agreement from an employee on a particular course of action, increase the likelihood that the employee will follow through on the commitment by asking him or her to summarize the decision in an email and send it to you.  This seemingly small action is very powerful because research has shown that people are much more likely to follow through on commitments that they have made when it is in writing.  This concept was first demonstrated in an experiment conducted by Delia Cioffi and Randy Garner and published in the February 1996 issue of the Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin.  A group of undergraduates was asked to volunteer for a AIDS education project by filling out a printed form and affirming their choice.  A second group volunteered for the same projects but this time by leaving blank a form stating that they didn’t wish to participate.  So the first group volunteered by saying yes (active choice) and the second group volunteered by not saying no (passive choice).  Later, when the volunteers reported for duty, approximately three-quarters of those who showed up were the students who made an active choice to participate.  Since this original experiment, subsequent research has continued to demonstrate that people are much more likely to live up to what they have written down.  Worth keeping in mind if you have a situation where you want to ensure follow-through.

What do you think?  Have you seen this phenomenon to be true in your workplace? Share your experiences by clicking on the Comment link below.

On May 27, I fractured my foot as I (mis)stepped off the stage after delivering a keynote at a conference in Penticton, Canada.  Unfortunately, I did not realize I’d fractured it (I thought it was just a nasty sprain) until May 30.  Between when the break happened and when it was diagnosed, I had traveled 9,390 miles and 23 hours across the Atlantic, over Europe and Asia, and was now in New Delhi, India.  Definitely not the ideal time to discover that I needed medical attention!  For the next two weeks, I was scheduled to be in four different cities in India, and my timetable involved a fair amount of walking, both on stage as well as on uneven terrain.  A broken foot was definitely going to put a crimp (or should I say gimp) in my plans.  This was my first visit to India in almost thirty years, so it was with some trepidation (even though he came highly-recommended) that I went to see an orthopedic surgeon.  I need not have worried.

Dr. Seth took the time to ask several questions and gather relevant information; he took ownership of the (in this case, my) problem; and then he acted decisively to produce a solution.  He examined my foot, sent me for x-rays, and listened while I told him about my business and leisure plans over the next two weeks.  His thoughtful questions and genuine interest in my concerns made me feel like he understood my apprehensions about my various commitments in India.  I could tell that he was exploring alternatives to support my foot and help the fractures heal, while still letting me manage my obligations in the upcoming days.  The final solution: a lightweight fiberglass walking cast with a waterproof liner.  Within moments of receiving my concurrence, my foot was being cast.  Less than one hour later, I walked out of his office, pleasantly amazed and utterly impressed with his focus on getting things done.

So what can a leader learn from Dr. Seth about getting things done?  Three things – take the time to gather relevant information, take ownership of the problem, and then act decisively to produce a solution.  Not that difficult, is it?  Then why do so many people get it wrong?  Your thoughts?

Most leaders will tell you that they value independent thinking and initiative. Yet, inadvertently, many supervisors and managers discourage such behaviour. How? By taking over instead of pushing back.

Consider this scenario. An employee comes into your office with an issue regarding some aspect of his job responsibilities, looking for you to resolve his predicament. And like any good manager, you, the person with the experience, the knowledge, and the job title, give him the solution. But is that necessarily the best approach? By taking over, you are discouraging your employee from thinking independently and showing initiative.  Good leadership requires that you push back: that you withhold your response and curb your action; that you push the employee to take ownership of the problem and thus also, ownership of the solution.  For four compelling reasons, and tips to make it happen, read the entire article in the March/April issue of CGA Magazine here.

Topes in the Mexican village of Chilahuite

The Mexican state of Veracruz is bordered on the east by endless stretches of dark sand beaches that gently flatten into the Gulf of Mexico.  To get from the main coastal highway to the beach, you usually have to travel through one or more sleepy villages on your way to the ocean.  One such small village (pop. 500) is Chilahuite.  Like most small coastal communities, the single road that runs through town is also where everything happens – children play, friends meet, daily trade is conducted, beverages are sipped and gossip exchanged sitting on plastic chairs on the side of the road.  But as Mexico has commercialized and grown, city folk from the large urban centres are increasingly visiting the beaches, and traffic in these small little villages has multiplied.  Not only has the number of vehicles increased exponentially, but most newcomers ignore the posted speed limits of 30 kms/hr (about 18 miles/hr), creating dangerous situations for the townspeople who are used to a much slower and sedate pace.  In Chilahuite, the complaining has been endless.  For at least two years (if not more), I have heard people grumble about how “someone should do something”, each hoping that the municipality would either install los topes (Spanish for speed bumps), or increase patrols to enforce the speed limit.  Unfortunately, despite the complaining, no visible action has been taken.  It took a fatal accident earlier this year for the villagers to finally take matters into their own hands.  Because asphalt and concrete are expensive in Mexico, the townspeople devised another solution.  They obtained heavy rope (made from natural fibres) and laid it across the main road at frequent intervals – instant topes.  As they were able to raise enough money, they covered the ropes with a thin layer of asphalt to create a more permanent solution.  “I don’t know why we waited this long,” commented one of the old-timers.  “We should have just taken action ourselves a lot earlier instead of waiting for someone else to do something.”

Are you grumbling about how so-and-so should do this-and-that?  Are you waiting for someone else to get things done?  Perhaps it’s time to become the doer instead of the observer, to step up and act.  Stop waiting for someone else to do it, take action and do it for yourself!

The storm raged for two days. The wind gusted furiously and thunderously as the ocean waves boiled and seethed, crashing endlessly upon the shore. For two days, intimidated by the power of the ocean, neither swimmers nor fishermen dared go into the water. But then finally, on the third day, the weather gods came to the rescue. As I walked out on to the patio of the beach house, the sun was inching up over the horizon, and the deepening blue sky held promise for a clear and sunny day ahead. Read the rest of this entry »

So on Saturday I got an iPhone.  Now you should know that I’ve been putting off the decision to purchase a mobile device for a while now.  It’s not that I don’t see the value; after all being able to check email or surf the Internet instantly without having to wait to fire up my laptop plus find a wi-fi network holds great appeal, as does having an immediate GPS at my fingertips to find a client’s office when I’m running late.  It’s just that … well … it would take time to learn how to use it, and let’s face it, time is something that always seems to be in short supply in my office!  So I’d been postponing this purchase for months, until of course on Saturday.  With dogged determination and tenacious persistence, my husband, no doubt tired of my repeated grumbling, managed to steer me into the phone store.  An hour later, with some trepidation, I walked out with an iPhone in my hands.  And then, for the next 48 hours, all my anxieties and apprehensions began to come true.

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