The Pedestal Group

Last night I attended a dinner event and left the house at about 6:45.  Until then, I was at my desk.  A client called at 7:30 and when he didn’t reach me, waited about an hour and then called my cell.  When I answered, his first question was, “are you on vacation?”.  Obviously this is an extreme example and I did question his assumption immediately (which he recognized was silly).  But, the point is, when something happens that is out of the norm, what assumptions are your customers making?

With this particular client, it is extremely rare for him to call and not get me.  Or if I can’t answer right then, he hears back pretty quickly.  So when he didn’t get me and he needed help, he immediately went to thinking I wasn’t available.  And actually, this example isn’t as far out as it sounds.  I often get voice mails at the end of the day that start, “you’re probably gone for the day” and it may only be 4:30.

So, take a look at your process.  What are those norms customers come to expect?   Pay close attention to those things you pride yourself on – fast turn around, responsiveness, etc.  What if you have a situation where your normal response isn’t possible?  Can you do something to let the customer know everything is okay but in this one instance things are different?

In my case I promised the client if I were going on vacation he would get notice.  In fact, all my clients would.  In the past, I’ve been able to manage the calls quickly and still enjoyed my vacation so that works too.  But it was really important that we have that conversation so he is confident he can get help when he needs it.  What confidence do you need to ensure?

It is so weird how things come up in themes for me.  Recently, several meetings I’ve attended had speakers who have said everything happens twice; once in your mind, and then once in practice.  When the first person said “everything happens twice” my first thought was he was going to talk about how to get things right the first time so you don’t have to screw it up once.  So imagine my surprise when it wasn’t a criticism, but a positive!

In my second encounter, the person who said it then followed up with a description of a program he put together. It was amazing to me because what he was saying was he THOUGHT about each step of the project but what I and another woman in the group heard was DO.  Two different styles that are so ingrained we couldn’t even hear it described differently.

This led me to several discussions with people to see if that is true.  I know there are tons of situations I walk into without much of a plan.  I’ll go to a networking event with a goal to meet 3 or 5 people, but not necessarily knowing who I want to meet or much about them.  Or I’ll start a project that has an outline but isn’t fully flushed out because much of what we discover needs to be done can be managed on the fly – definitely more my style.

And then I started a project with someone who is definitely a thinker.  For him, there is no question everything happens at least twice. And it may be more because after the initial think, he takes the first step and then thinks through it again.  My inclination is to yell, “ready fire aim!!!” a couple times but in reality, he just has a different work style and he’s been successful with it.

So what do I do with this information?  Well first, I respect my client and understand he has a different work style.  To help him do his planning, rather than have an open discussion, I’m giving him concrete examples to look at to direct his thinking.  That also gives me actions I can take making me happy.  As I interact with people, I’m definitely putting them on the “thinker/doer” continuum because I don’t believe people are either/or in most cases, but fall on the line somewhere.  It helps with how I work with people on committees and as clients.

So are you more thinker or doer?  How do you deal with the other?  I would love to hear from some thinkers because right now, nothing is happening twice for me!

As many of you know, I have a dog named Fritz.  Fritz is very worldly in the ways of business and periodically weighs in on things.  Today, he wants to discuss the games Fetch and Fetch 2.0 (for lack of a better name).  Most dogs play fetch – you throw the toy, the dog gets it and brings it back.  Not unlike your customers: you put out a product or service, they buy it and then come back for more.

Fritz, on the other hand, plays a different game.  When one throws the toy to Fritz, he goes to it, and then you are suppose to go to him so you can play a little tug, and then he runs away.  The game is then to follow him to the next place where you get to throw it again. Now some would say that Fritz never learned to play the game (or that we are over-indulgent with our dog but we won’t mention that) but I say this game is better and is more like your customers today.

Why is it better?  Well, as the person throwing the toy, I throw the toy, hang out for awhile and then get to throw it again in traditional Fetch.  With Fritz, sometimes I’m throwing, sometimes I’m chasing, sometimes I’m tugging, but I am always interacting with him. And sometimes I go the other way and get in front of him which changes the direction.  I get as much out of it as he does.

Sure there are days I wish he would just play fetch and let me do something else while we play. But the reality is that isn’t his game and he isn’t going to play it.  Neither do my clients.   The best days with my clients are the ones where I get to change the direction and show them something new.  But the days I still get to interact are important too.

So what are you doing with the new game?  Are you still waiting to see if someone will just play fetch?  Or are you ready to join us in playing this new game – and adding to the interaction?