Service Ambassadors

It's amazing who some business owners and managers allow to represent their company. On a recent trip, I stopped at a sandwich shop to order some lunch. After the employee told me they ran out, I asked for her favorite choice; to which she promptly replied "None of the sandwiches here"! Wow. Perhaps it did not occur to her that by suggesting one of her company's sandwiches, I may actually enjoy it, return, and potentially refer others...all of which translate into additional revenue (plus more job security).

To customers, the person serving them IS the company. That employee's actions, words, and everything in between are a direct reflection of the company. In general terms, an ambassador is someone who represents something or someone. For example, the U.S. ambassador to Brazil is the chief representative of the U.S. in Brazil. This means that everything the ambassador does and says is a reflection of the U.S. When Brazilians see the ambassador, they are actually seeing the U.S. The ambassador IS the U.S. Whether you like it or not, you are the company you work for. Your customer does not care what department you work in or how long you have been working there. All your customers know is that you are an employee, therefore, you should be an advocate of the business.

I cringe when employees refer to their place of employment as "they" or "them". You are the company, so who exactly is "they" or "them"? On a recent trip, I stopped at a well-known airline's ticket kiosk to print my boarding pass. As I approached the kiosk, three of the ticket agents were embroiled in a heated discussion about an extremely important and critical topic...their work schedules for next week. For the entire 3-5 minutes that I was at the kiosk, not one ticket agent stopped their debate to offer assistance (let alone acknowledge that I existed). Towards the end of my time at the kiosk, one employee finally removed herself from the employee discussion, and asked if I was checking in luggage. I thought for a moment, and decided to keep the bag with me. She then said, "Good, because I wouldn't give ‘them' any more money that I had to. Have a nice day". Again...wow.

A culture of world-class service flourishes when your entire team has a sense of ownership. As a leader, be sure to instill that feeling of personal ownership in every employee from the recruitment phase and on through the remainder of the onboarding process. Tell employees that their presence and contributions matter. They should know that their team is (and will be) better because of the talents they bring.

Of course, all this talk of having ambassadors also means that your company must be worthy of being represented. Is your business a place where people are proud to work and represent? Why or why not? Being an ambassador is an esteemed position that should not be taken lightly. Each action at every touchpoint has specific consequences (both positive and negative). So if you are a manager, ensure that everyone on your team is a great representative. From sandwich shops to spas to hospitals to hotels, world-class service begins with ambassadors. Ambassadors who are proud of their company and eager to provide exceptional serve with consistency and conviction.

Supplemental section for leaders

The best way for leaders to build a team of ambassadors is to be a shining example of how ambassadors are supposed to act. Beyond being a role-model, here are four practical tips for leaders to implement:

Set high performance and service standards - Be clear about what those standards are. Give vivid examples if you need to.

Communicate those standards - Use multiple resources like pre-shift meetings, newsletters, email signature blocks, screen savers, bulletin boards, daily voice mail, etc

Give performance feedback - This is one of the biggest opportunities for improvement amongst leaders. Your team needs to know how they are performing in both good and bad times.

Reward excellence - Be careful how you reward performance. I've seen many managers celebrate when performance expectations are met. It is fine to acknowledge when expectations are met, but reserve your praise and celebration for when expectations are surpassed (or at least consistently met).

WHAT GIVES A MAN OR WOMAN THE RIGHT TO LEAD?

It certainly isn't gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank, or degrees doesn't qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn't come automatically from age or experience, either. No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be given the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned. And that takes time.

The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go. As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:

Let go of your ego.

The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, "Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."

Become a good follower first.

Rare is the effective leader who didn't learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first - and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

Build positive relationships.

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today's generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.
Work with excellence.

No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

Rely on discipline, not emotion.

Leadership is often easy during the good times. It's when everything seems to be against you - when you're out of energy, and you don't want to lead - that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

Make adding value your goal.

When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership - and its highest value.
Give your power away.

One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You're meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

In The Right to Lead, you will hear from and read about people who have done these same things and earned the right to lead others. Because of the courage they found and the character they displayed, other people recognized their admirable qualities and felt compelled to follow them.

The followers who looked to these leaders learned from them, and so can we. As you explore their worlds and words, remember that it takes time to become worthy of followers. Leadership isn't learned or earned in a moment.~John Maxwell

Power of Money, By Adam Khoo

Inspirational ! SHARE IT WITH CHILDRENPower of Money, By Adam Khoo( Singapore 's youngest millionaire at 26 yrs.)

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and Suzhou ( China ). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is traveling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.

This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth(which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires' ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that they earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.
Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).

I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur' s Orgn)a few years back (YEO) is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota 's and Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, BMWs.

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation

Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.

Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life..

Instead, what makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.

What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone's life.

What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing,trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaninglessness.

Recognize and reward

In a strong service culture, "recognition and reward" must come frequently from the company. Why? Because it doesn't come very often from the customer.

A service provider who calms an angry customer, listens patiently to his complaint and acts quickly to resolve the issue surely deserves appreciation. But how often does an angry customer say, "You did a great job of calming me down and taking care of my needs. Thanks for such great service!" (Answer: Not very often.)

Recognition is a powerful form of reward. Salespeople respond to financial incentives. Product engineers work hard to prove a new technology. But most service people are "people people". Personal recognition from their managers and peers means a lot.

Recognition can be given many ways: in private or in public, in person or in writing, with or without a physical or financial component.

Recognition can be given to external service providers, for most customer compliments, extra-mile efforts, best service recovery.

Recognition can also be given to internal service providers, for most improved department, most helpful colleagues, best effort to upgrade service, systems or standards.

Recognition can be given to others, too; best service from a supplier, most appreciative customer, most helpful and responsive government agency, most supportive family members at home.

Want your team to give better and more creative customer service?
Then get better and more creative with your service recognition and rewards!

Accept Your Limitations and You’ll Expand Your Potential

One of the biggest reasons many leaders fail is their unwillingness to accept their limitations. Ego gets in the way. They feel they’re smart enough to do it all, and mistakenly feel that what they don’t know they can learn “on the fly.” So many times it’s a recipe for disaster, especially for entrepreneurs.

Walt Disney failed many times early in his career. He had brilliant ideas, but his ability to execute them was painfully lacking. He also, believe it or not, was a lousy artist. So after the third failure, Disney was finally convinced that to succeed he must surround himself with great artists who could bring his animation ideas to life. He also needed his brother Roy to handle the financial side of the business. These two moves made all the difference and freed Walt up to do what he did best, which was using his imagination to plan their future.

I can definitely relate to the Disney story. From 1991-1993 we were on a roll at Successories. We had gone from $5 million to $45 million in three years. Then came 1994, and Murphy’s Law hit us like a ton of bricks. We had grown too fast and no longer had the right people or infrastructure to handle it. Early in 1995, I realized that I had to make significant changes. After a lot of soul searching, I realized my strengths were people skills and creativity; however, my weaknesses were operations and accounting. To grow the business and rebuild the infrastructure, I had to hire good people who had been there and done that, people who could complement what I did best. This was a very painful wake-up call, but I learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life.

I heard a quote the other day that offers every manager and entrepreneur food for thought:

“If your company mission is to climb a tree, which would you rather do:
Hire a squirrel or train a horse?”