The Milkshake Moment E-Book

Steven S. Little

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 167

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Growth is the central focus of every business, yet many businesses continually find ways to shoot themselves in the foot. In Milkshake Moment, Steven Little shows you how to identify and overcome the stifling behaviors built into your organization and get you back on track to substantive change and real growth. Read Milkshake Moment and find out how to ditch the pointless policies and stupid rules so you can give your customers what they really want; they'll reward you for it.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Section 1 - The Milkshake Moment

Chapter 1 - It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter 2 - Half Empty or Half Full?

Chapter 3 - This Is Not a Customer Service Book

Section 2 - Foster “Grow” versus Status Quo

Chapter 4 - A Brief History of Organizations and Man(agement)

Chapter 5 - Toddlers and Trust

Chapter 6 - Some Shocking Behavior

Chapter 7 - Lessons from the Cubicle Farm

Chapter 8 - The Managed

Chapter 9 - The Led

Section 3 - Put Purpose Before Profit

Chapter 10 - It’s Never about Money

Chapter 11 - The Wizard of Westwood

Chapter 12 - Profit Pushers

Chapter 13 - NoClu Motors, Inc.

Chapter 14 - Purpose in the Plan

Chapter 15 - You Gotta Serve Somebody

Section 4 - Insource Crucial Judgment

Chapter 16 - Edicts Made on High

Chapter 17 - Peeves from Below

Chapter 18 - Participatory Policy Making

Chapter 19 - How ’bout Them Pomegranates?

Chapter 20 - Come Harter or High Water

Section 5 - Address the “People Problem” Problem

Chapter 21 - The People Problem Polka

Chapter 22 - Eric’s Excalibur

Chapter 23 - Why People Work

Section 6 - Care for Customers

Chapter 24 - Home Team Drops the Ball

Chapter 25 - The Big Secret to Great Customer Service

Chapter 26 - Even Geniuses Struggle to Serve

Chapter 27 - It Takes a Hero

Chapter 28 - The Future Is Already Here . . . Some Folks Just Aren’t Getting ...

Index

Copyright © 2008 by Steven S. Little. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN 978-0-470-25746-3

To Tyler, for making us all so proud.

Acknowledgments

First, I need to thank everyone who is included in this book. Whether you are a client, an acquaintance, a hero, a friend or a family member, I sincerely appreciate you letting me tell others about your Milkshake Moments.

I also owe a great debt of gratitude to the entire 2007 Pow-Wow Posse. Jane Atkinson (who is indispensable), Todd Sattersten (who is thoughtful), Tom Ryan (who is hilarious), Dan Heath (who is clever), Lora Plauche (who is unique), and Barbara Cave Hendricks (who is inspiring) all helped me learn to finally embrace my inner milkshake. Tim Leffel was also in the Nashville tee-pee and continued to be my daily sounding board and heavy-lifter for this entire project. If patience is a virtue, Tim Leffel is destined for sainthood. Muchas gracias to his wife and daughter for sharing their hubby and daddy again this year.

Speaking of saints, Violet Cieri is the Marketing Maven, heart, soul, and tireless voice-of-reason for the entire “Steve the Speecher” team. Nothing, including this book, would be possible without her persistence and professionalism. The fact that she is also a true friend is like a dollop of whipped cream. Her laughter is the cherry on top. Ashley Novasad is also a friend and colleague who becomes my Wilmington eyes, ears, and, most recently, even nose. Please don’t leave us Ashley . . . who else is going to listen to my “Jiggly Wiggly” stories? TinaMarie Goesswein keeps us all organized with a smile.

I am in great debt to my editor and amigo Matt Holt and all the other great folks at Wiley such as Miriam Palmer-Sherman and Kim Dayman. Matt, I really appreciate your ability to see with my point-of-view every now and again. I know it can be a chore. Shannon Vargo went well beyond the call of duty. Her edits have significantly improved this book.

Sister Jenny, mother of the incredible Fletcher, was an early rough draft reader who helped me whittle away the superfluous. Mother Susan, daughter of the legendary Tom, provided much of the Paw-Paw details.

My new friend Joanne Berk also contributed immensely to this final product, with both a keen eye for continuity and a thorough understanding of why Milkshake Moments should matter. Thanks for working on such a tight time crunch Joanne. See you in Seattle.

Finally, I would like to express immense gratitude to Lora, Alaina, GG and Tyler for helping me see “everything,” even when the dreaded deadlines clouded my vision. Like Violet says, I am now officially the luckiest man in the world. Sooner!

Section 1

The Milkshake Moment

Chapter 1

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

The story you’re about to read is true. Of course everything you will read in this book is true, but this story is particularly true because it happened to me. A few years ago I traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, for a speaking engagement.

Anyone who travels for business knows that it is hardly glamorous. After 9/11, however, it became even more frustrating, and it keeps getting worse. I don’t think I’d be overstating it to say that business travel today is horrific: irretrievably lost luggage, annoying security searches, perpetually oversold flights, infuriating rental car policies, frazzled counter staff . . . I think you get the picture.

Despite all the traumas of travel, I decided a few years ago to always keep a smile on my face. The way I look at it: if the business travel industry gets the best of me, they win and I lose. I just can’t allow that to happen.

I keep a smile on my face by keeping my eye on a prize. My prize at the end of every business travel day is a vanilla milkshake . . . a thick, gooey, luscious, indulgent vanilla milkshake. I’m talking a hand-dipped, old-fashioned, malt-shoppy kind of milkshake. I don’t just like ’em; I love’em. Both my career and my mental well-being literally depend on them. The image of that milkshake is the proverbial dangling carrot that gets me through even the worst travel day.

It had been a particularly difficult day of planes, trains, and automobiles. I was to arrive at the Baltimore/ Washington International (BWI) Airport at 7:00 P.M. for dinner with my clients at 8:00 P.M. Unfortunately, I arrived at midnight. In other words, there was nothing out of the ordinary so far.

I grabbed my bags and stood in a long taxicab line to take the 20-minute ride to Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor. I was cold, wet, tired, and hungry, but smiling, because I was going to get that vanilla milkshake. Pulling up to the hotel at this late hour, the thought occurred to me, “At least there won’t be a long line to check in.” But once inside I realized I wasn’t the only one having a difficult travel day. Apparently the entire Eastern seaboard was similarly inconvenienced, and it appeared most of those travelers were also staying at my hotel. I faced a 30-minute wait just to check in. Keep your eye on the prize, Steve . . . keep your eye on the prize.

The thought of that milkshake was still working its magic. I could almost taste it. Everyone else in the lobby must have been wondering why I was smiling.

Eventually it was my turn and I was given one of those plastic magnetic keys for room #809. I put one bag on each shoulder, trudged over to the elevator banks, pushed the button for the eighth floor, and found my room. After deciphering the electronic door handle schematic, I repeatedly swiped my plastic key—but to no avail. It didn’t work. The room remained locked. So close, yet so far.

As any business traveler knows, getting a plastic key that actually works is always an iffy proposition at best. In my own personal experience, the incidence of hotel key failure is directly proportional to the cumulative road hassles of that given day. Rehoisting my bags, I shuffled back down to the lobby.

Keep your eye on the prize, Steve . . . keep your eye on the prize. See your milkshake. Be your milkshake.

I returned to the front desk and got in line with the other people holding faulty room keys. I was still the only one smiling.

I returned to room #809 with my second key and this time it worked. Yes! I didn’t even put the bags down. I hurried straight to the phone and immediately hit the button for room service. As soon as I heard the ring on the other end, my mouth began to water. The moment had arrived. It was time to claim my prize.

“Good evening, Mr. Little, this is Stuart in room service. How may I help you?” Stuart’s voice brimmed with enthusiasm. He was so chipper, filled with the idealism of youth. Quite the eager beaver for one o’clock in the morning. Yet he sounded quite polite and well trained. At this point in the transaction, I was relatively encouraged . . . at this point, anyway.

“Stuart, I’d like a vanilla milkshake, please,” I said. A seemingly simple request, right? Well, not quite.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Little, but we don’t have milkshakes,” Stuart replied regretfully.

I was crushed. In that instant, my smile flickered. Quickly I regrouped.

“All right, Stuart, let me ask you this: Do you have any vanilla ice cream?”

“Yes, of course!” he responded with renewed enthusiasm.

“Okay, Stuart, I’d like a full bowl of vanilla ice cream.”

“Yes sir, right away, sir! Is there anything else I can do to serve you?” Stuart asked.

“Yeah . . . do you have any milk?”

“Yes, we have milk!” he replied confidently.

“All right, Stuart, here’s what I would like you to do. Please send up a tray with a full bowl of vanilla ice cream, half a glass of milk, and a long spoon. Could you do that for me, please?”

“Certainly, right away, sir,” Stuart responded triumphantly.

I hung up the phone and a few minutes later there was a knock. Sure enough, at my door there was a tray with a full bowl of vanilla ice cream, half a glass of milk, and a long spoon—everything needed to make a vanilla milkshake. But of course they didn’t have vanilla milkshakes.

Now let me ask you an important question. Is Stuart stupid?

Chapter 2

Half Empty or Half Full?

Seriously, is Stuart stupid? It’s a legitimate question. Certainly an argument could be made for Stuart’s stupidity.

However, for all I knew, Stuart could just as easily have been a certified genius. After all, he did manage to pull together precisely what I ordered, down to the half glass of milk (a somewhat unusual request).

Frankly, Stuart’s IQ is beside the point. For the purposes of this book, let’s assume Stuart is not stupid. It’s the system that’s stupid.

Stuart’s behavior is not unique. Like the vast majority of employees everywhere, Stuart wanted to do a good job. To this day, he probably still thinks he did.

In Chapter 1 I promised to tell you the full truth, and here it is: out of the 100 or so hotel rooms I stay in every year, I run this experiment approximately half the time. It’s not every night, as some hotels don’t offer room service, while others specifically offer milkshakes. I conduct this experiment only when a milkshake is not on the room service menu. More often than not, they do have all the ingredients to make me happy. Yet I usually end up with the same full bowl of ice cream, half a glass of milk, and a long spoon (some assembly required).

Why does this keep happening? Why can’t individuals like Stuart deliver Milkshake Moments? I’ve had plenty of time to ponder that question now that I’ve received over 200 do-it-yourself vanilla milkshakes from America’s leading business hotels. Let’s take a look at some of the underlying causes that lead to these systemic breakdowns.

Stuart is standing at a point-of-sale screen popping in orders with his company-issued plastic access key. For all intents and purposes, his key is as dysfunctional as my original room key. If his screen doesn’t say “milkshake,” then a milkshake simply does not exist, and the most magical key in the world can’t make one appear. The supposedly foolproof system is designed to ensure that Stuart can’t make the organization appear foolish. Yet even a casual observer can see that the system has pushed the organization well beyond foolish. It is now sitting squarely in the land of lost opportunity. How’s that for irony?

Think about this. I represent the mother lode for the business travel industry. Remember, I stay in over 100 hotel rooms a year and I’m not exactly price sensitive. Stuart could have charged me $25 for that milkshake and I would have been happy to pay it.

I actually feel sorry for the major business hotel chains. In an effort to standardize their systems, they’ve taken individual judgment out of the equation. They spend billions of dollars in marketing to get people like me through their doors and billions more in staff training to make my kind happy. Yet they continually blow it, due in some part to a stupid point-of-sale system. But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It goes much deeper than that.

Let me ask you this: Do you think there was a blender in the kitchen? No, it was in the bar. And as anyone who has ever worked in the hospitality industry knows, the bar staff and the kitchen staff don’t always play nicely together. For them, sharing is often a challenge. I want “food and beverage,” and they’re offering me “food” and “beverage.” They’re like the Hatfields and McCoys, two warring factions that have been doing battle for so long they have forgotten what they’re fighting about. In fact, many times they’re not even working for the hotel: The two functions have been outsourced to competing organizations. Now, that’s a stupid system.

Legend has it that Stuart arrived on the front lines at the height of the Great Blender Wars of 2004. He got caught in the crossfire and is still a little skittish about approaching enemy lines. Maybe his commanding officer warned him to avoid the minefield of “special orders.” Undoubtedly, his trenchmates have convinced him that keeping his head down is the only way to survive.

Any time there is a breakdown like this, the root causes go well beyond the obvious limitations of a third-party point-of-sale system or the internal politics of blender access. Despite my feelings to the contrary that fateful night, Stuart’s inability to deliver a Milkshake Moment is not the end of the world. It is, however, symptomatic of a much broader organizational malaise.

This milkshake story is not just another example of bad customer service. It’s much more than that. This is a larger tale of lost opportunity. Invariably, the root cause can be traced back to factors that are much more fundamental. Peel back the bureaucratic layers of any organization and you will find a broad range of self-imposed limitations, from antiquated hiring practices to poor workspace design to short-term financial myopia.

Here’s another way to look at it.

Imagine, if you will, a championship football game that has come down to its final seconds. Your team, behind by two points, has managed to move the ball into field goal range. With the clock stopped, out trots your team’s rookie field goal kicker, Shanky Wydewright. A hush falls upon the 80,000 in attendance as millions more watch anxiously at home. The moment of truth has arrived. Everything hinges on this one kick. If Shanky makes it, your team scores three points and walks away with the championship trophy. If he misses it, your season comes to a sudden and heartbreaking end. Come on, Shanky! Shan-ky! Shan-ky!

Be he hero or goat, the headlines the following day will pin the victory or defeat on the narrow shoulders of Shanky Wydewright (“Wydewright Delivers Delight” or “Fans Cranky Over Bungling Shanky”).

Like Stuart, our kicker Shanky is just the visible manifestation of a much larger organizational undertaking. Any coach will tell you that winning or losing a game is about much more than a single kick. An infinite number of variables leads a team to this moment.

How well did they draft offensive linemen four years ago? Did the newly hired strength training coach make a difference in this year’s team stamina? Did two second-quarter penalties keep your team from having a larger halftime lead? How many season tickets did the front office sell? Did increased attendance lead to increased enthusiasm? Did that increased enthusiasm subsequently contribute to one extra victory in the regular season, thereby guaranteeing home field advantage in the play-offs? Did home field advantage ensure that you’re playing inside a dome in December, taking weather conditions out of Shanky’s equation?

In either instance, be it Shanky or Stuart, the outcome largely depends on position. For Shanky, if the team can get the ball down to the 15-yard line, his success is pretty much a given. Put Shanky at midfield and his chances of splitting the uprights are very unlikely. In Stuart’s case, organizational shackles keep him out of position. He is so far removed from the organizational purpose that he can no longer see the ultimate goal. In order for an organization to truly succeed, the Stuarts of the world need to believe that they are in a position to deliver Milkshake Moments.

Consider your organization. When are you saying no when it would be much better and just as easy to say yes? Are you really putting people in the best position to grow? Do your current policies, procedures, and systems enable you to truly deliver?