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Tips for leaders: 4 steps to avoid embarrassment

Too many headlines are littered with the names of leaders who have been caught in embarrassing situations. We call them “embarrassing situations” but they have many other names like theft, affairs, lying, or even adultery. Some leaders begin to think that they are invincible or above the law and think that they will never get caught.

Here are a few steps to help you avoid being caught in these embarrassing situations.

Avoid putting yourself in compromising situations. Guard your agenda. Know who you are with, and where you are going. If there is a doubt, make sure someone you trust is with you when you are in a meeting. Let me say it in words we can all understand – “Keep your nose clean and your clothes on.”

Don’t be a phony- be real. Don’t pretend to know something or to be someone you aren’t. It is much easier to be consistent instead of always putting on a show.

Try to be as open as possible, within reason. Tell the truth when asked. If it is sensitive information,
let them know that you cannot share that, just don’t lie to get them off your back. This way you don’t have to remember what you told others because you are always telling the truth.

Don’t expect other people to cover up for you. Never ask anyone in your team to lie for you. This is degrading to them, and is unacceptable in leadership. You are a coward and have just lost all respect with your team. They know you are a fraud.

I know you are a good leader. You know you are a good leader. Are you in a situation that could embarrass you? The good news is that there is time and you can still make it right before you are found out. Turn around and make it right- today.

6 steps to improving your communication skills.

I enjoy speaking. In fact it is perhaps the part of my job that I enjoy the most. I especially enjoy being able to train, share, and challenge the booksellers that I run into so very often. I have had the opportunity to speak in front of audiences of all sizes and ages, in English and Spanish.

Many times I am asked how I do it by different colleagues. The truth is I’ve done it for quite some time and have picked up a few tricks to help put both myself and the audience at ease. Here are a few tips I use for speaking in public.

Know your audience. Do your homework here. Find out ahead who they are, how many, and any other information you can get. Do some online research about the people or industry you will be speaking to. You will be amazed at how much you can learn about an audience online. Once there I try to get there early and just blend in with the group and interact and ask a ton of questions and get 1 or 2 names to use in the speech and gain eye contact with later.

Stay focused with your audience. Keep the audience and yourself focused on the subject at hand.
Work ahead on your flow of the speech. Tempo, wording, and illustrations will help keep the focus. I always try and leave one or two stories with the audience.

Respond to your audience. Great speeches are interactive. Feel the audience when you speak. Pay attention to the responses you are getting on the first, the middle, and the last row. Watch for the agreements, the nods, and the snoozers as well. Find 3 or 4 key people to watch for how you are doing.

Get the help you need. If you need help with speaking, get training. If you use PowerPoint and you need help – get it. Ask others to help evaluate you, and then work on the areas to improve. I had to work on my stuttering issues, my confidence, and my closure.

Over prepare. I always ask how much time I have and then I prepare for and extra  50% of the time given- If I am told I will have 30 minutes I bring 45 minutes to the presentation and cut during the speech depending on the audience reactions. I also prepare thinking that the audience already knows more than I do. This helps me dig a bit deeper and give my best.

Be authentic. Be who you are. Don’t change to try and be someone else on stage or in front than who you are in person. And definitely don’t try to imitate anyone else. Just be yourself. You are the best one at being yourself.

I would love to hear some of your tips for speaking in from of people.

4 keys to building your team.

The other day I was asked how I hire people. My answer is always the same. “I hire good people and find something for them to do.” I know that sounds simple, and perhaps I do oversimplify it, but that is the way that I see it. Let me expand on my “simple” answer a bit with these 4 keys.

Make sure everyone fits together. Be sure that the chemistry works between the people on the team. Too many of the same personality type eventually stagnates the team. You need thinkers, dreamers, detailers, visionaries, leaders, creators and managers. I am a visionary type person. I don’t care how it gets done. But I also have people on my team like Graciela Lelli, our chief editor, who are very detailed and organized and understand what it will take to get to where we are going.

Look for honesty and loyalty. In an ever expanding world, if you cannot trust your team, you are lost.
I look for these two qualities first and foremost.

Overlook personal quirks. Overlook the little personality traits that may aggravate you initially. Some of these quirks may just be nerves, or habits that do not reflect their real ability. And remember your dislikes are just that- yours.

Choose qualified people. Above all, if you set the bar, or the standard, of what you are looking for in the position high, keep it there. Do not lower your standard based on personal preferences or taste in personnel. Make sure that the position is filled with people who can help you grow, not ones that you will find yourself apologizing for within months.

It costs a lot of money to recruit, hire and train for a position. Do it right the first time.

Local Christian Bookstore versus Local Church Bookstore

As I was wrapping up a conference in Buenos Aires I did as I normally do and just walk around to the different lunch tables and thank everyone for all they are doing in their region or country. It is usually a time where we try and out complement each other with words of gratitude for the other. 9 of the tables this was the case. Then I got to my 10^th table.

I was quickly asked to sit down and to be the definitive answer on (in their words) “why the Local Church Bookstores where unfairly practicing a trade and where undermining the Local Christian Bookstore.” OK, hornets’ nest, not a topic that usually ends with happy people on both sides. So I took a look around the table and saw that it was 3 Christian Bookstores versus 1 Church Bookstore. The three were convinced that the 1 was taking away customers from their stores and had hugely unfair advantages such as rent, salaries and utilities that were all covered by the church.

So I was told- “what should we do about them?”

And after a thoughtful deep breath, here is what I answered.

Are you still solving others peoples problems?

Last week I had breakfast with a fellow industry colleague in Buenos Aires. His name is Rolando Gonzalez and he works for Lifeway International. Rolando is one of those guys who is way smarter than I could be in two lifetimes. He frankly is overqualified for the work that he is doing and if you get to know him a bit better you quickly realize this.

I was happy to get together for breakfast because I knew we would start a quick dialogue about the industry, our families, issues, and what we are learning. It was during this time that Rolando reminded me about something as he was sharing what one of his mentors had taught him. It had to do with problem solving.

As a leader, do you ever feel as though people use your desk as a drop off spot for their problems? They seem to walk in carrying a heavy load, and glide out a bit lighter. And when you turn around to look at yourself and your desk it seems that it is beginning to buckle under the weight of so many problems that you have inherited.

I was reminded of a couple of the illustration where workers would get the “monkey off their backs” and let the problem become yours and after a short time you look like a zoo keeper trying to solve everyone’s problems. Here is how it happens:

What I am learning about communication: Speaking without a voice

I went to the doctor this last week because my voice was losing its power. I had no strength left to enunciate and project when I was speaking. In fact after just 30 minutes of regular dialogue I was worn out. Forget about trying to talk on the phone, that always ended with what either sounded like a bad connection or my quickly trying to wrap up the call because I was tired. So I gave in and went to the doctor.  I wish I had done it some 6 months ago, but I didn’t.

If you know me I am quick to give my opinion, quick to hold a conversation, and love a good debate. My confidence had been slipping because I was straining to speak, pushing my voice past were it should have naturally gone. I started to keep my opinions to myself, speak less at meetings, and even put off non-critical conversations. Not good for business or personal moral.

So my doctor took a look at my voice box, saw that it was inflamed and scared. He then proceeded to put me on voice rest for a while and started me on a pretty strong dose of steroids. Now you know I have trouble staying quiet, so I have limited my voice to a soft whisper in the office and only during critical times. And that is when I started to learn a bit more about my communication.

•  I have relied too much on my emotional adrenaline to convince many in the past.
• I have spoken too much and listened too little.
• I have used too many non-value words in the past.
• I have spoken without thinking every word out.

Even just in these last few days I have found that I can improve my communication three ways.

• By listening completely first.
• By choosing my words wisely.   
•  And through stronger written communication.

So over these next few weeks and months may I be found slower to speak, quicker to listen, more guarded with my words, and more open with my smile.

What is the role of the salesperson in the near future and long term?

Several months ago a member of our sales team asked me about the future and how it related to him as a sales person. It was a very good question and one that, if you are in sales, (remember—we are all in sales) you should pay attention to. The issue at hand- electronic downloads of both audio and video content from our authors as well as the next phase, which is well underway, digital downloads of the written product via Kindle and PDF’s.

 

If you have been anywhere but under a rock, these were some of the same issues that heavily affected the structures of the music industry, forever erasing the lines of ownership and distribution. I have included the three questions asked- but save your time- jump to the third question- that is the key question.

 

• 1.    In the Thomas Nelson website (our corporate site) we are selling downloads but are we the ones getting the sales, (meaning Thomas Nelson) or is it any other company? 

[>>>LAD]       We are as Thomas Nelson though our internet channel, they are also available through Audible, iTunes, i-amplify and many others.

 

• 2.    If our distributors would like to develop the idea in their own website, can we help with the technology to do it? If not how can it be done? Will we sell the license so they can have the product to be download by their customers?

[>>>LAD]     We already have developed the technology for them. And they can start selling tomorrow / actually today. Note that I am testing it on my blog. I simply followed the quick and easy steps – though I am doing mine as a freebie only directing everything to TN. But they can fill out the form and get a certain share of the sale. We hold the server. Check out the upper right column of my blog to see example. But we will not create new technology for them- they just need to become an affiliate (no, they don’t get a normal discount – it will be much less - but no inventory at all J) and copy and paste into their site- they can literally be up and running today.

 

• 3.    This question came to mind as I was doing these questions. How do you think this initiative will affect our roles as sales people in the near future and in long term?

[>>>LAD]      First of all “Near Future and Long Term” let me just say in the future. We are changing to quickly right now to differentiate much past 18 months. For right now- sell, sell, sell! But shortly - In the future we (as sales) will need to become providers of content for different vertical groups. You MUST become an expert in an area. That is to say- how do I begin to understand all the needs of specific groups of consumers, and how do I get them connected to my author’s content. Example: Leadership Books – driving down to business groups , Small Business Associations, entrepreneurs, managers, and many more… how do we reach them and make them fans of Maxwell and business content. Could we see a day shortly where they eventually sign up to be “mentored” by Maxwell daily with our content? Right now we are Horizontal as a publisher and even more so as an industry. We sell a wide variety and it is displayed widely in a bookstore waiting passively for people to come in and browse- scan the horizon. We must become Vertical – that is we must know:

1) who is our authors core customer base, we must know

2) how they want it delivered to them, we must know

3) when they want the product delivered to them,  and finally

4) at what price they want the content delivered to them.

This may be 5 years off- or it may be 18 months off. These are exactly the questions that the “digiready©” team at Thomas Nelson is tackling right now.

The most important phrase in all of customer service.

As I continue reading WOW: Deja al cliente boquiabierto con un servicio fuera de serie – I am struck by the chapter that focuses just on saying thank you. This is such a very important phrase that we often take for granted. No matter the country, the culture, or the language; a simple “thank you”, “gracias”, “obrigado”, “danke”, “merci”, “na som”,  “grazie”, “arigato”, “tack”, or “cheers”, it is a powerful connector that we have often overlooked.

Here is a reminder of several opportunities you have to say a simple heartfelt “thank you” to your customers.

• When they buy from you
• When they compliment your company
• When they offer comments
• When they try a new product
• When they recommend you
• When they are patient, and when they are not
• When they help you serve them better
• When they complain
• When they make you smile

And here are 5 often overlooked “thank you’s” within the company:

• Your co-workers
• Your boss
• The other departments you work with
• Your vendors
• Yourself- yes you- you do a great job, thank yourself.

And just a quick additional tip I learned from what I read and am working to put into practice: The most effective “thank you’s” are the ones that are:

• Immediate
• Specific
• Sincere
• Special

Who do you need to say thank you to today?

Six quick tips for creating trust with your customers.

Customer trust grows slowly and develops over time. Conversely, trust can be smashed in a single thoughtless moment or action. The truth is; customers actually grow in trust through perceived fairness.

Here are a few tips from a book on customer service that I am reading now called WOW: Deja al cliente boquiabierto con un servicio fuera de serio. These tips will help us understand their view of trust and fairness, and then how we can act to grow such trust.

How does the customer interpret fairness?

• When they feel listened to and respected.
• When the transactions with you are painless.
• When you keep your promises or over deliver.
• When you treat them ethically.
• When you acknowledge their uniqueness.
• When you put their interests before those of the business.

What are some practical actions you can take to build trust?

• Frequent communication with the customer.
• Be truthful.
• Be open to hear them.
• Be warm and genuine.
• Be confident, not arrogant, but confident.
• Keep your promises, even if it hurts.

Try these actions, and let me know how your customers react to the new you.

Four personal tips for marketing in today’s ever changing environment.

Earlier we talked about the fact that our industry is changing quickly and that one of the fastest changes really is happening inside of the marketing arena. We are moving quickly from a tradeshow driven industry to a social media evolution market. Below are 4 quick tips to help you as you march your way through the ever changing jungle of social media marketing hunting down your elusive consumer.

• 1)      Start a dialog: For many years we have told people about our products or company. We need

to start a two way conversation with our consumers. Yes this will take more of your time. Take the time to listen and then respond and listen again. Build a relationship network.

• 2)      Get your team involved: Its starts at the top. Real company buy in will necessitate your boss getting involved. If your boss isn’t convinced, go to this blog post by Michael Hyatt. We are working hard to get all of our back office as well as front personnel involved in all sorts of social media – from Facebook to Twitter to Blogging.