Travel Tricks 3: Hunger Pangs

I’ve shared a few hotel experiences in my last post, but I did not mention that I have a few times arrived at hotel after midnight to find no restaurant open and no vending machines on my floor. Many times, I have been lucky enough to stay in hotels with good restaurants or with chains I like within walking distance. I’ve also been at ones where I had to go several miles to “downtown” to get something to eat or settle for stale looking options in vending machines. I really like ones where they provide some sort of breakfast as this saves me having to spend time before an engagement looking for a place to eat. I have also been in a few hotels where the summer heat resulted in ice machines that contained water or were empty.

Have you ever gotten any of those airport food vouchers when having unexpected layovers? I have a few times and it’s better than no food at all! I’ve been in a few airports so small they had no café or public vending machines. Those are the times I was grateful I went ahead and took the offered snack of airline pretzels or nuts.

What did I learn? Always carry at least 2 energy bars (1 for trip to and another for return). And always buy a bottle of water or drink at airport once past security. Yes, it cost more than at the local station or 7/11, but you can’t bring those through security anymore plus it will be a lot less than what the bottles in most hotel rooms will cost when you arrive at your destination.

I have never had anyone other than airline personnel offer me food when I was hungry. However I have had other passengers show me kindness in other ways. I’ll let you know more about that in my next post.

Travel Tricks 2: Hotel, Motel, No Tell

In my last post, I talked about getting lost driving to my hotels. This time I’d like to share some of the things I found once I arrived at some of them. Sometimes I book my hotels based on costs and ratings on websites, sometimes I get ones recommended by locals, and other times it is booked for me by clients or organizations for which I will be speaking or training. Sometimes they get a discount if they book a room at the same place they have their meeting or training booked for. This is nice for them because it is cheaper and nice for me because I don’t have extra drive time. When I book, I try for chains I am familiar with so I come closer to getting what I expect.

Regardless of who booked the room, I found that there are differences in what is listed at the hotel than what I read on a website. Even so, I recommend checking star ratings and reading a few comments before booking to get a better feel for the place. I’ve stayed at some where they say there are hair dryers and irons with ironing boards, but what they have is a sad looking option that you pick up in the lobby to use for an hour and must return. Other times, the web promised a shuttle but the hotel no longer had a driver.

I went to a hotel that was in the next town from the airport (1.5 hour drive) and was given my key. I drove around to the room and let myself in and checked to make sure I had everything I needed. Everything was there, plus a broken mirror and 2 holes in the wall of the shower. Judging from the looks of the place, I decided to ask for another room as I was afraid of what might crawl out of that wall at night. I was told that they would change rooms but that my current room was the only one available on the ground floor. Having not asked for the ground floor, I was willing to carry my luggage upstairs. After I got to my 2nd floor room, I found it smelled smoky. So I guessed my request for non-smoking is what put me on the 1st floor. Oh well, at least there were no holes. The only other odors I remember in hotels is the smell of sweat coming from the work-out room, chlorine smell if near the pool, or musty smelling if hotel is on the beach. But those were strongest in the hallway or lobby, not my room.

I’ve also stayed places where in addition to all the locks, I placed chairs against doors where it was in shady-looking areas or where arguments can be heard through the thin walls. If you travel much, you probably have experience continued fights and parties outside your room as well. These aren’t the only noises you hear, often there is traffic noise. I once stayed in a really fancy 17 floor high-rise hotel in a large city. (Have been in higher as well) It was just off the freeway and the traffic was so loud I didn’t sleep - even on their “executive” floor, which I was lucky enough to be booked into although I got there too late to enjoy any of the benefits.

Of course I’ve stayed in some really wonderful places too. However, they don’t seem to stick in my memory as well. I do have a favorite hotel in a Texas city I visit often. It sits on the edge of a mall parking lot. Of course, even favorite hotels have problems, once my reservation was lost due to computer problems and they charged my credit card twice for the stay. I like that hotel because it is very nice, has a good in-house restaurant, and after I finish my work day I can walk to the mall for exercise and do a little shopping too. Of course one time when I chose to do this, it started pouring rain while I was in the mall. So I waited as long as I could for the rain to stop. Then I had to walk in a slower rain to get back to the hotel before dark.

Next post I will reflect on food hassles when traveling. It will not include restaurant reviews as you can find them lots of places on the web.

The Perils of Productivity

Can't you just see the airline senior staff meeting around the conference table with the American Airlines chairman reveling in this cost reduction? Some eager beaver in accounting is proudly announcing how he has carved out more savings from the AA passengers. Just an olive here and a can of Coke there back in coach and pretty soon, we're talking about real savings. The AA press release proudly trumpets these savings and receives wide attention and publicity. This is good - right?

Actually - no. First, consider all the first class airline passengers reading that article and angrily considering how some nerd in accounting has just cheated them out of an olive they paid dearly for. Whether they left the olives on their plates or not, customers don't like services taken away.

Then think about the much larger group of passengers who would love to fly in first class but now see it diminished in value. The question all passengers must ask is if they cut out the olive, where else have they cut corners. On-Board Service? Maintenance? Back office? In fact, as I was flying to DC last week, seated in humble Row 9, with the hoi polloi, I was tempted to sneak into First Class and poll the denizens there as to which of their food items we could remove to cut costs. I would suspect not many would be swayed.

What I think we can learn is that programs that cut services to customers probably have only a short-term value to an organization. Customers remember, and when they do, they make other choices. Or if not choosing other companies to do business with, often regard the offending company with suspicion and disdain.

What we have to remember in productivity is what happens with the programs and processes we initiate. The key words to consider are ""efficient and "effective". Consider this definition of efficient.

In the 80's, we liked to think that we were "efficient". Consolidations were rampant and CEO's spouted out phrases like "redundancy deleted" and "economy of scale efficiencies accomplished." The result was the merger of unlikely companies where holding companies suddenly owned divisions that made air conditioners and produced food items. Tasty eh?
Our run for "efficiency" left staff and customers confused and often underserved. In luxury retail, we cut back on our service staff and found that customers still expected a hand to carry big packages to their cars. When store general managers had to leave meetings to do carry out, we took a second look at that efficiency.

Then in the 90's, we began to discover "effective" and what we found was that programs that served customers "effectively" left them feeling well served while still providing cost reductions. The era of computer availability at the consumer level was now easily accessible and customers jumped in with both feet. So we accomplished a lot in this transition.

But, you have to be careful with words like "accomplished". Do you want your savings initiative to be the "missing olive" equivalent of standing on an aircraft carrier and stating "mission accomplished"?

Consider the guiding words of the dictionary regarding effective and you can see the difference. For me, I would rather be effective and know that the plans I have made encourage growth and service. And that would be the best plans I could make.

Are Your Rules Driving Your Customer Crazy?

I recently went to a vacation resort whose rules drove me crazy! They had a requirement that you had to make reservations in advance for their three restaurants. The problem is that they did not have the menus available until around 11am in the morning. By that time you might have to eat either real early or real late. We also missed a couple of tours because we didn’t let them know a day in advance. Just what you do not want to do on vacation…think and plan ahead!

You may be thinking, well they have to make sure they have enough seating and food to accommodate everyone, so these rules are not that unreasonable. Of course I see that point too. However, I would think that they would be able to have a pretty good estimate of eating patterns and demand after being in business for a while so as to not to drive their more spontaneous customers crazy.

What drives you crazy as a customer and what companies make it easy to do business with them? Here are a couple of examples:

Think about movie theaters. They offer newly released movies more often and in more theaters anticipating that the demand will increase at that time. You don’t need a reservation to go to a show but you have the option of purchasing tickets ahead of time if you want to make sure you have a seat. They use their experience and options in serving their customers.

What happens if you have to go to a new doctor? They require about 3-5 lengthy forms to be completed on your medical history and other requirements. Quite often they expect you to arrive at your first appointment about 30-60 minutes early to complete the forms. Not respectful of your time. The last two new doctors I consulted had their forms on their websites. You could download them and fill them out when you had time avoiding adding extra time to your first appointment. Their process was much more customer friendly.

Now examine your rules. Do your rules drive your customer crazy or do you make it easy to do business with you? Here are a few tips:
· Examine the Purpose of the Rule: Was the rule designed for your benefit or the benefit of your customers? Some rules are put in place to track internal productivity or to give feedback to employees which is great as long as it does not impact the customer experience.
· Legal Requirements: Some rules are put in place to ensure your company complies with state or federal laws and regulations. Ask your legal department to examine whether you can comply with the regulations without the type of “fine print” that people usually do not read anyway and that drives customers crazy.
· Look at the Rule from a Customer Point of View: Take turns playing a “customer for a day.” Experience your sales and service process as a customer and honestly ask whether your rules would drive you crazy if you were a customer.


If you offer a unique service or product, your customers will put up with tiring rules. However, if there are many competitors in your industry, your customers will have buying choices. I prefer companies that make it easy to do business with them. Who would you rather do business with?

Your Questions on Coaching Are Answered

Have you ever wondered why some leaders have coaches and other don’t? Want to know what the investment in coaching might be for your organization? Then check out the survey results at http://www.sherpacoaching.com/SherpaExecutiveCoachingSurvey2009.pdf to get the answers to the following questions and more.

· Who are executive coaches
· What do these coaches do?
· When is coaching needed?
· Where is coaching used?
· What is the cost of coaches?
· Why hire or train coaches?
· How are services and training delivered?

Travel Tricks 1: Driving Directions

I love traveling to new places and sharing knowledge with others, but I dislike driving, so I avoid that whenever I can. Unless I have multiple engagements in the same area, I try to use hotel/airport shuttles or have someone pick me up whenever these options are available. This way I can reduce both travel expenses for my clients and stress for me. How? I avoid car costs and the possibility of getting lost. If you have to drive, I recommend that you always get a cell phone number for your contact at the new destination. Having their office phone is not enough because they may have left for the meeting place by the time you realize you need their help or want to follow-up on something.

As far as driving goes, I am directionally challenged and prefer to know if I need to turn left or right instead of North, South, East, West (N/S/E/W). From experience I know the driving instructions you download from the internet can tell you to turn right when you should have turned left. Then you end up miles out of your way (or the next town) before you stop to find someone to ask or pull out the cell to call your hotel or contact for directions. However, I learned to remedy this problem by making sure the instructions also include directions like N/S/E/W. Since the highway system uses compass directions on their signs, you can follow the signs to be sure you are turning the correct way. Remember, if you do get lost: (1) do not panic and put a fun spin on it by trying to think of it as an adventure (2) do not be embarrassed everyone gets lost occasionally so pick-up the phone and call for help when you need it.

I find most driving directions work great if you can arrive at your destination city during the daytime. However, driving after dark can be a little scary in a new place. Detours for out-of-towners can get us lost in the dark. I’ve also been in towns where I would swear they turned all the lights off by 10 PM, even on the highway signs. So I could not tell which exit was my road. I had realized I missed my turn when I saw my hotel go by. So of course I had to take the next exit and try to go back. Missed it again! I kept seeing it to my side or in rearview mirror. Once it took me 3 circles and 2 phone calls before I finally figured out how to pull into that hotel parking lot. Sometimes it helps to find out what the street before the one you need is so you can be looking for the correct turn as soon as you pass that one. That time, if I had just known MLK (it did have a light) was 3 streets before my hotel’s and that I needed to turn under the overpass (not right per my downloaded instructions) I would have found my hotel the first time.

I know some of you think with new technology, why download directions anymore? Instead why not just get yourself a GPS? I have tried multiple GPS products. Yes - most of the time these gadgets are great, but they too can make mistakes. I once had a GPS tell me to drive across a small lake to get where I wanted to go - the lake had no bridge! Most of the time the GPS tells you to drive on major highways and toll ways when you can sometimes get to your desired location in less time and miles using other roads. For this reason, I try to always pick up a map at the rental car place and check out the best possible route before driving off. You can verify your chosen routes with a local working at the rental car desk, in the hotel lobby, or call your contact. Another problem I had with one GPS was that it kept popping off the window and under the passenger seat at just the time I need to check a street name. If anyone knows of a GPS that will tell me the upcoming turn street names and exits rather than making me read them – I’d love to know about that product! Also, please share any other travel tips you may have for driving in an unknown area.

The next post will be some of my hotel experiences.

Do you know how fast the world is moving?

If you think the internet/technology growth and the changing times are not important to your business or career – you might want to think again! Take 5 minutes and review the video called “Did you know?” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9nmUB2qls and see what is here now and coming soon!

Listening: The Cure for Ongoing Conflict

What happens during conflict? Usually people stop listening while each person tries to convince the other person, and/or other people that their position is the correct one.

Wikipedia defines conflict as the: “actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests.” Interesting that the definition includes the word perceived. Quite often we’re so busy trying to state and restate our own point of view, we neglect to listen and if we did, we would find that maybe we are really on the same side, just stating it differently.

Put any two or more people together day in and day out and there is bound to be conflict. Conflict does not always have to be a negative event. By questioning the status quo and having an alternative point of view, positive change can occur. How we handle conflict is the key to whether conflict is constructive or destructive to our relationships. The author Max Lucade, says: “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” We have a choice on how we handle conflict and how much time we spend talking and how much time listening.

Consider the following conflict situation between two executives. One manages the quality function and one the operations department. There is a natural built-in conflict between these two groups which provides the checks and balances which are important for an organization. But in this situation, the two leaders let their personality differences interfere with their ability to listen and resolve differences. They were in an endless cycle of finding fault with the other’s ideas and actions. After a while they involved other people in their conflict by criticizing each other in company wide meetings and with each of their employee groups, forcing people to “take sides.” Six months into the conflict the organization now had two “camps” each trying to find things to complain about the other department in an endless game of “I am right and you are wrong.”

After several coaching sessions where each leader learned and practiced listening and conflict resolution skills, they jointly developed an action plan on how they would interact in the future. At the conclusion of our rather short session, since they both agreed so easily, one manager asked: “is that really all there is?” The solution seemed so simple. When they started listening and supporting each other, the destructive pattern of behavior had stopped.

Here are a few of the skills they learned:
· Manage Nonverbal Behaviors Effectively – Be aware of body language, inflection, tone, and facial expression. Do you appear open to other ideas? Remember it is not just what you say but how you say it.
· Benefit of the Doubt Approach – Giving someone the benefit of the doubt means that you don’t draw conclusions about what was said or did until you truly understand the situation. This helps to defuse defensive reactions.
· Inquiry Methods – Encourage others to explain their data, assumptions, and reasoning. Ask probing questions to make sure you understand their point of view before stating your own.

The two leaders are now in the process of becoming listening role models and coaches for the employees on their teams.

How Strong is Your Foundation?

You have probably heard the old saying about the foundation for success in building a retail store or food service operation…location, location, location. With the advent of the internet and the changing world of business this old axiom may need to be rethought.

But there is another saying that is still very true for the foundation of success for any business. It states the obvious yet sometimes forgotten importance of the human side of business…relationships, relationships, relationships.

When people ask what I do in my role as a business owner and entrepreneur my reply is simple; we help organizations attract, develop and retain their leaders of tomorrow.

Do we provide training programs, coaching and consulting? The answer is YES! Do we sell and service a well-known and highly respected line of learning products that augment and build on the programs we deliver? YES! Do we provide a wide variety of human resources, valuable information and e-technology to meet the needs of our clients? The answer is again, YES! But most importantly, all of what we do revolves around thriving relationships that begin with personal or shared benefits for all people involved.

What does that mean? It doesn’t mean going into a formal documentation nor a legal agreement of how we will interact and relate to one another. It doesn’t mean I won’t spend time with someone if I don’t quickly see some kind of personal benefit for me in it either.

What it does mean is that I am constantly looking for ways that I can bring benefit to the other person without bringing harm, loss or problems to myself. It does mean I have to consider what is ‘the ultimate good’ for both of us so that a short term or front end sharing doesn’t turn into a long term ‘being used’. We’ve all experienced that and it’s not something we want to repeat.

With all good relationships there are two people who must share some common goals and/or values and have a reason for starting and continuing in the relationship. There can be a variety of types of relationships; some business and some personal. Some will lead to long-term relationships that are extremely profitable, and more than just in a monetary sense. Some might be short term but nonetheless of benefit to both people.

The bottom line of any relationship is akin to the sage advice handed down to me many years ago. A very wise and prosperous business and life mentor said, ‘a good deal must be a good deal for both people or it’s not a good deal’. The same principle holds true in any relationship.

The question and challenge comes with “how to make it a good deal” for both people over the long term so that the relationship grows, deepens and enriches itself with time.

How that is accomplished could be the focus of a future posting on this same subject. Keep reading and come back often.

Can the neighborhood reading club complement training initiatives

Companies are downsizing and focusing on cost containment and reduction. Team members are seeing their workloads increase as they see their pay decrease. Training organizations are shrinking and limiting what they offer. Managers are searching for new ways to educate their team.

Sound familiar? It should, and yet as leaders in our organizations, we still must keep our people educated and motivated.

As a training leader, I have peers ask me all the time for ideas that don't require travel, don't require multiple days, and aren't always web-based. One idea we have been testing actually goes back decades. I remembered it as an option while speaking with my mother. It sets up as a nice complement to more formal training.

A while back I received a call from my mom. During our conversation she mentioned that she had just attended her monthly reading group. As she excitedly talked about the latest book they were reading, it occurred to me that this concept would also work in a more formal setting. In fact, not long after that call, a management team I was part of, used this concept as a way of addressing some issues we faced with employee retention and team building. We selected a book, assigned chapters and discussion leaders, and spent time reviewing each chapter and its applicability to our world. It was informative, educational, and inexpensive. The only expense was buying copies of each book for everyone.

I took the concept and implemented it with a group of fellow leaders in a monthly leadership study group. We follow the same process. We select a book, establish a timeframe for completion, and set aside time at each meeting to discuss what we have learned, its relevance to us, and how we have or will apply the lessons learned.

So, does this idea work in a corporate environment? Can it serve as a supplement or complement to more formal training offerings? And, in times like these, can it substitute for some missing elements of the formal process?

My answer is yes. With the thousands of books available on the hundreds of business topics, there is a book that will work to address a particular issue you might be facing.

Here is what you need to do. First, determine the challenge or issue you want to address. Then select a book that addresses the issue. Buy a copy of the book for each person who will be participating. Note that some books include a separate workbook. Break the book into reasonable segments and assign them to a calendar. Pick discussion leaders and schedule when you want to meet for review. Have everyone read the book and come to the meetings prepared to share how they are going to, or have, applied the lessons learned in their role.

Try this and see if it works for you. So far it is working for us, especially for assisting fellow managers.