April 4, 2012

Is Your Inbox Ruling Your Life?

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Some of the most organised and professional people in our industry somehow operate with between 200 and 4000 emails in their Inbox. You’d be amazed at how productive a person can be with so many emails but at any level this kind of Inbox holds a level of distraction every time they touch their computer that is annoying at best and paralyzing at worst. Have you ever got up early to start working on your business and shouted – “I just can’t wait to open my email?”. Where personal productivity is the foundation of a fitness business, email can be a killer.

It is this distraction from something so unimportant as email that is taking clever and productive people away from actionable work in pursuit of more meaningful objectives. Let’s talk a little about the reality of email and a very simple strategy for putting email it its place in favour of actionable work which progresses you towards personal (and therefore professional) success.

Email is often mistaken for work. Sending an email rarely progresses anything actionable in an effective or efficient way. Receiving and reading email wastes more time than it saves particularly in the 21st century when it comes to you on your mobile device. It is more often a tool for incredible procrastination where you can avoid getting an immediate response and therefore not have to continue working on the issue because it is now in someone else’s Inbox and is there problem. The issue for your personal productivity is if you are waiting on a response you have no idea how many emails that person has in their Inbox. If it is 4000 in line before yours, you are going to be waiting a long time or making that futile follow up phone call – “Hi Pete, its Shauna. Hey, did you get my email?”.

Personal productivity is at the heart of success in the fitness industry owing to the high level of self-employed and owner/operator business people. Personal productivity has been defined as “…in its simplest form, completing action.” (McGhee,S. 2005, Take Back Your Life. p.20). Questions about productivity often elicit responses like “getting more done, meeting my objectives more effectively, using my time more wisely and being more proactive not reactive.” However, you can achieve all of this and still not be productive. If this is so, what’s missing? Continue reading →

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March 15, 2012

Association Value & Vision not Command & Control.

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Working for, consulting to and volunteering in Associations is especially rewarding when you see your peers have lightbulb moments that you know will be a defining point in their involvement. Often these come after long periods of stagnation, frustration and mind-numbing repetition. It is how you sustain your vision for creating value during these periods that is a significant measure of success as an association executive.

Right now, and on a number of fronts, I am engaged in deep and meaningful debates about how best to create value for association stakeholders. On one front it is about how the Association should segment its “member” audience to create categories and fee schedules. On the other it is more deeply rooted in a Board seeking to break the shackles of its command and control style to freely engage its industry. On both fronts I am finding my involvement to be both motivating and frustrating at the same time.

There is no value in trying to explain to a “member” what they get for their money. If you are having that conversation I feel you have done a bad job engaging them in the vision for the industry. your vision for the outcomes that the association’s work will bring; and, how their vision for a vibrant, dynamic (and mostly) profitable environment can come by supporting the industry association each year. Continue reading →

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February 1, 2012

Thanks but No Thanks and My Feedback Promise.

Today I received two “thanks but no thanks” letters to two separate submissions I made. I replied asking for feedback as I genuinely would like feedback so I can do better with similar opportunities in the future.

No really, despite what most know about me, this time I do want the feedback and I do want to do better. I realise though with so many submissions The Rejector is unlikely to respond to my request.

It reminded me how many times over the years, particularly as an employer, I too have not just shied away from giving feedback but I have blatantly ignored their request and moved on with my work. Now, I feel bad as feedback might have just given this person the jumpstart they needed. I dont want to be The Rejector. I want to offer someone a chance to improve and succeed.

I really enjoy listening to The Manager Tools podcasts and I particularly like their Feedback Model (http://manager-tools.com/2009/02/starter-feedback-model-part-1) . I am going to take the time to renew my learning on this model and use it effectively again with my team. I am also going to make sure that any time someone asks me for feedback to their job application, their project submission or their written work I am going to take the time to provide it in a constructive way that I hope is accepted in the spirit it is offered.

For once, just once, it might be the difference between that person taking a mighty step forward or not. I would like that opportunity however I can’t control that so I will act on what I can control and hope it offers someone a new opportunity to get ahead.

It is s simple ingredient added to any opportunity.

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November 25, 2011

What can Associations learn from Airline Customer Service?

I travel a lot. And, I don’t mind having an opinion about my travel experiences. I am also very heavily influenced by customer service experiences that I witness or have personally. This is a post about an experience I was afforded yesterday and it made me think about what we could do in Associations to create some WOW for our members.

About a year ago I wrote a post about the opportunity @QantasAirways had on a LAX – SYD international flight to WOW their highly credentialed frequent flyers. There were Gold and Platinum Frequent Flyers on that flight sitting near me in Economy seats not far from empty Business Class seats. I felt Qantas squandered an opportunity to give those customers a taste of the upgrade experience and create raving fans from already committed customers.

Most everyone, and particularly frequent flyers, will know the Qantas brand has taken a hammering in 2011 with now two botched social media campaigns under its belt on top of them shutting the airline down during significant periods of industrial action.

So, it is pleasing to be able report an airline taking advantage of an opportunity where it matters most – directly with their customer; and, in this case that customer was me.

Having recently joined the Board of a small professional association (#SMAANZ) I was required to attend their Annual Conference & AGM in Melbourne travelling there from my Sydney home at my own expense. So, I was thrifty and paid for the cheapest airfare on the market at the time which happened to be a @VirginAustralia flight.

Now, I normally fly @QantasAirways without fail having earned Gold FF and with Qantas Club access. It was opportune to try @VirginAustralia knowing they are actively seeking the engage people like me – frequent flyers and normally loyal @QantasAirways business customers.

On the way to the airport I even tweeted that I was looking forward to the flight being on time and “on brand” meaning a little fun with great customer service that @VirginAustralia pride themselves on.

I was booked on the last flight of the day DJ895 to Sydney arriving back in Sydney at 2155hrs.With Velocity Gold status I enjoyed the premium check in and security line but was not expecting what happened when I boarded the plane. However,  With the cheapest fare ticket I did not expect my seat number to be changed to 2C. I was seated in Premium Economy on the new 737-800 aircraft.

The seat was comfortable, plenty of space. Food and beverages were included and Bec the flight attendant was excellent to the four of us; none  of whom had experienced Premium Economy before.

Kudos @VirginAustralia for:

  • knowing enough about your guests to know that I had never travelled Premium Economy before but was a Velocity Gold member;
  • taking some initiative and using the space on the plane to put the question in my mind about which airline I will travel for the many flights, domestic and international, I have coming up in my schedule.
  • being savvy enough to time your initiative right given the woes of your major competitor but doing it with some class by not outright trying to poach my business.

I am confident there is something in this for Associations to learn about managing data, listening across all communications channels and delivery high performance customer service.

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November 20, 2011

Never been prouder.

Since Thursday last week Nicole and I have witnessed our children displaying talents they certainly did not inherit from either of us.
Keeley, 6, performed four dances at the National Institute for Dramatic Art in her dance company concert. Lockyer, 9, completed weekend band camp and performed four music pieces on Alto Sax at the senior band concert this weekend.
I am proud because not only have they chosen these pursuits on their own but they have worked hard to perform as well as they do because they ain’t inheriting talent in either music or dance from either Nicole or my side of the family.
It is amazing to watch and as I would tweet – #enoughsaid

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November 4, 2011

My Mental Health needs a Regular Debrief

For some reason it has taken me quite some time to decide it is OK to write this post. Not sure why. It is not as if I am revealing anything earth-shattering but on the other hand it still feels a little self-indulgent. I am hopeful that sharing on this particular topic will actually be helpful to others but it is more personal than most of my other posts. Nevertheless what else is a personal blog other than a vehicle to externalise that which dominates the mind  and do so among friends.

So, the purpose of this post is to share with you an experience which has become somewhat of a tradition after all these years. Without it I find that life starts to get out of whack. No, really. Without a regular ‘debrief‘ with my closest mates my mental health starts to suffer. It was only after discussing this with my wife Nicole did I realise how important the ‘debriefs’ were to me but also it was important to her that I have them.

‘Debrief’ is always punctuated as such because my wife and my mates’ wives always have a wry smile when we say we were having a debrief. It represents a not even thinly veiled code for us simply getting together to talk. The tradition of the ‘debrief’ has come about as a result of a renewed commitment to our health and fitness. A re-commitment to exercise was for our physical well-being. Little did we know how much our mental well-being would also benefit from the tradition also. Continue reading →

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September 13, 2011

What’s really outside the Association business model box?

 

 

 

 

 

Damned thinking outside the box!

Just when you think you know everything someone or something comes along and opens your eyes, mind and heart to a whole world of stuff we don’t know. I am a fan of quoting “what we don’t know and can’t do will always be more than what we do know and can do.” If only Associations would embrace this premise. Never before has this quote been more true for Associations than in the 21st Century Information Age.

I am enjoying watching the online discussions & posts from some of the world’s leading Association thought leaders (aka Jefff De Cagna, Jamie Notter et al) and inspirational Association Executives like Tom Morrison around business model innovation. While the debate can lend itself to being interpreted too simply in terms of the way an Association works or engages its members; it is in the underlying premise that the real interest for me lies.  Continue reading →

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