Most of what is good

November 19, 2021 Fabrizio1 Comment

You need to be able to discern between different shades and understand that most of what is good happens in the middle.

You can support a candidate even if their thinking does not match yours 1:1.

You can have a conversation with someone even when you do not share the same view of the world.

You can be committed to a project even when it’s a cause of stress and disappointment.

You can love someone even if your heart does not beat faster every time you see them.

You can appreciate a person even though you would not give them certain responsibilities.

Idealizing and romanticizing is the enemy of contentment.

Give meaning

November 18, 2021 FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s not that the ideas for ways to keep your team engaged are scarce – in fact here are 37 of them.

The point is that managers struggle to understand that these days – perhaps most of the time, but these days in particular -, people do not get excited for a new work project, for the last quarter extraordinary results, or for the announcement of the new CTO.

People seek meaning, and enabling connection with peers and colleagues is one sure way to give it to them.

The fact that with remote work the task is more difficult should merely be an incentive to explore new and creative ways.

Post-sale nuisance

November 17, 2021 Fabrizio1 Comment

One thing many customer service professionals fail to understand about customer service is that their work is not fixing issues.

It might be that a customer reaching out for a late delivery, an unexpected charge, a faulty product actually wants that rectified. But that’s only on the surface. What matters infinitely more is for them to find somebody to connect with. Somebody who can chat with them through a bad customer experience – and sometimes something more that goes on in their lives. Customers want to be heard and respected. And that’s why sharing ten possible solutions to their superficial problem is often ineffective, even when one of the ten might actually help them.

For companies to not look at customers as post-sale nuisances, they need to invest in a customer service that starts with empathy and does not immediately falls prey to problem solving. A customer service that says I am sorry, that explains what is going on, that asks smart questions, that forgets about the script, that takes the customer by hand and guides them towards what’s next – which, by the way, might be a non-resolution.

Of course, that will mean some of the metrics will be off.

And in that case, just make sure you are measuring the right ones.