About This, About Writing

13 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, April Fools Day, Branding, Business, Club Leadership, College, Communication, Crime, Education, Employee Retention, Ethics, genealogy, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Health, Higher Education, History, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Opinion, Panama, Photography, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, racism, Relationships, Religion, Rotary, Science, Science Fiction, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Space, Taxes, Technology, Tom Peters, Travel, Universities, US History, Writing

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Blogging, Paul Kiser, Paul Kiser's Blog, PAULx talks, rebranding, Wordpress, writing

In the Beginning

Eight years ago I started writing this blog. I had assumed that writing a blog would put me in front of a broad audience anxiously awaiting my next post.

It didn’t….but I kept writing. I wrote about business, human behavior, human resources, management, social media, my personal life, Rotary, public relations, history, time, blogging, travel, Nevada, global warming, spaceflight, politics, my stroke, April Fool’s Day, religion, science fiction, science, photography, media, more history, Panama, gay marriage, the future, great people, not-so-great people, education, Moffat County, patriotism, more politics, and fantasy.

There were a few bright moments when I touched upon a topic that caught some attention, but for the most part, my writing has simply been an expression of my opinions and ideas. I’ve discovered, writing is more important than being read.

Writing, For Me

A blog is like writing a diary or a book. It is meant to a personal statement. Someday, my children or my children’s children may read it and know more about me. I find comfort in that thought.

My articles became less frequent in the last few years, but recently I have experienced a rebirth of writing. I suspect that my sleep apnea may be one of the issues causing the decline in writing. My brain was starved of oxygen and sleep every night for many years. Now that I am being treated for it, my cognitive functions seem to be reengaging.

Writing a blog has improved my communication skills, and has helped me organize my thoughts. This, this thing I’m doing, is an unfinished novel about the world from one perspective. I’m not a great writer, but I’m better than I was eight years ago.

For the last month, I have been publishing a new article every day. I don’t know that I will keep up that pace, but it is forcing my brain to think, and that is the goal.

Rebranding My Writing

I have decided to rename my blog. First, the term ‘blog’ has developed a negative meaning to many people, so I needed to drop the term. Second, my last name is not as relevant as it was a year ago, before I discovered that biologically, I am not a ‘Kiser.’

I tried several title ideas but finally settled on PAULx talks. It is the 2.0 version of Paul Kiser’s Blog. I don’t have a destination in mind for my writing. I never have, but I’ll see where this takes me.

The Joy of No

01 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by Paul Kiser in Aging, Business, Club Leadership, College, Communication, Consulting, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Education, Employee Retention, Ethics, Generational, Government, Higher Education, Honor, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Universities

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bosses, committees, dictators, Human Interaction, meetings, No, organizations, Social Interaction, workplace

No is a perfectly acceptable answer….providing,

The idea or suggestion lacked thought or had no basis in fact. (e.g.; Would Donald Trump be a good President?)
The idea or suggestion has obvious flaws. (e.g.; Should we let a gun be in a room with a bunch of 2nd grade children?)
Is a matter of personal opinion or seeks personal approval. (e.g.; Would you go out with me?)

But when an idea or suggestion doesn’t fall under any of these categories, the “no” answer becomes a potential weapon of personal destruction for the person saying it, and a beautiful opportunity for the person on the receiving end.

Being the youngest of four boys, my brothers and parents became accustomed to telling me ‘no.’ I was constantly asking questions and making suggestions, and the ‘yes’ answer was likely to encourage me. In those situations where I actually had a good idea, it was enough that as the youngest member of the family, a ‘no’ answer was valid.

As an adult, I never had any expectations that my ideas and suggestions would be better received, so hearing ‘no’ was an irritation, but I accepted it as part of life.

However, I as grew older I noticed that some people seemed to enjoy telling other people ‘no.’ Often these people were in leadership positions and their tactic was to dominate and/or intimidate others. In some cases people would act as a dictator within the organization, silencing the ideas and opinions of others with a type of ‘no’ answer that implied dire consequences if the person didn’t drop the subject, or the idea was treated so lightly as if the person was unintelligent for making the suggestion. For years I thought that part of being a good manager was to have the privilege and responsibility to tell others, “NO!”

Then several years ago I joined a service club and became very involved in the organization. I served on several Boards and committees. I discovered that I could manipulate some people because I always knew their response to whatever I suggested would be, ‘no.’

It was then I realized that when someone says ‘no,’ it is a gift. The “No-ee” has done all they are required by making the suggestion or asking the question. The “No-er” has put their reputation and respectability on the line. The ‘no’ answer gives them all the responsibility, and, as a situation plays out, their failure to consider someone else’s idea or suggestion may be the fatal decision that brings them down.

I still find enjoyment of sometimes asking a perfectly legitimate question of someone I know will give me a ‘no’ answer. It is even more interesting to do this when I have more information about the issue or situation than they do and they can’t help but give me an answer that will eventually haunt them.

Still, I have learned that organizations and relationships with ‘no’ people are typically doomed. There’s a time to experience the joy of ‘no,’ and then there are times it’s best to walk away and shake the dust off your sandals.

A Cup of Like

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, Branding, Business, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Travel

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Airlines, Coffee, hotels, Lady Gaga, like, people, Starbucks, tea

Grande cup of Like

I don’t feel it’s appropriate for a business to ‘love’ its customers. Loving someone is a personal bond that shouldn’t be related to business, (unless you’re Lady Gaga, then you can love your ‘monsters.’)

However, I do feel strongly that a business should ‘like‘ its customers. When I go into a coffee house I can tell if they are serving drinks, or if they are offering a cup of like. Anyone can serve a drink, but serving like requires more than the mechanics of taking an order, knowing how much milk to put in a cup, and/or yelling, “I have a Venti Latte with two shots on the bar!”

My home Starbucks on 7th and Keystone in Reno, Nevada has ‘like’ down. They seem truly happy when a customer walks in the door. That doesn’t mean they don’t have their down days, but most of the time you will get more than your drink from the staff.

This is not what I experience when I travel. It’s easy to pick on airlines, because if there is one group of people who don’t ‘like’ their customers, it’s the air travel industry, but even finding hotel or restaurant staff that makes you feel liked has become harder and harder to do.

In fact, a business that likes their customer is so rare that a genuine friendly person stands out among the ugliness of customer service in most businesses. The opportunity to beat the competition is to simply like your customers.

The place to start is with management. Managers have to like their staff and like their job. If their not happy then how can the staff possibly be?

One more thought: In a world of Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp, how can any business not afford to like their customers?

Management Study for God

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Fiction, Generational, Government, History, Human Resources, Management Practices, Opinion, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, Relationships, Religion, Sports, Tom Peters, Women

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analysis, females, Gender, God, humans, implementation, males, management study, men, recommendations, review, Women

WORLD MANAGEMENT STUDY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On March 1, 2014, Kiser and Co. was retained by God to perform a study of the world management. After a thorough review of the processes and effectiveness of the current management practices on Earth we submit the following analysis and make the following recommendations.

ANALYSIS

FINDING ONE: Ineffective World Leadership
Our researchers found the world leadership to be largely ineffective, self-promoting, and in some cases cruel and corrupt. In most advanced civilizations we would expect to see leadership to evolve into higher quality leaders as lessons learned from poor leadership would be applied to avoid repeating past failures. In fact, we have seen the reverse is true in many situations.

Key examples are Russia and North Korea. In both cases, the eventual failures of past leaders who used military force, prisons, politically controlled media, covert police enforcement, and corrupt practices have not deterred the current leadership of these countries to return to, or continue those practices. In addition, religious-based organizations seem to be among the worst offenders in promoting policies and practices that marginalize people and encourage hate and violence.

Immediate changes in world leadership will be required if management of the planet is to move forward.

FINDING TWO: Lack of Vision
There seems to be a lack of concern for the future of the world. Consistently we saw an attitude that can best be described as “What’s in it for me?” Companies focus on next quarter’s profit, not long-term viability. Governments tend to lack any sensitivity toward the underprivileged, tending to blame them for their problems while passing laws that benefit the privileged at the expense of those who cannot afford the basic necessities to survive and prosper.

Again, immediate changes in world leadership will be required if management of the planet is to move forward.

FINDING THREE: Obstruction of Progress
Many in leadership positions use propaganda and destructive techniques to prevent effective management. By focusing on meaningless, but highly controversial issues, some leaders have been able to keep discussions away from relevant issues and waste time through generating anger on topics among key population groups. The result is wild, pointless discussions on issues that cannot be resolved unless everyone works together. The key element in the obstructive leadership’s tactics is to announce that any compromise is a failure. In this way they create an “all or nothing” situation that effectively stops progress.

Again, immediate changes in world leadership will be required if management of the planet is to move forward.

FINDING FOUR: Inequality
We were shocked to discover the issues of inequality. The gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” is vast and continues to grow. People are grouped and identified with certain expectations that determine their treatment by the world’s leadership. Slavery has become replaced with subtle tactics of discrimination that tend to become more bold over time. In many cases, the discriminatory practices have become accepted as normal.

Again, immediate changes in world leadership will be required if management of the planet is to move forward.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Despite the scope of the problem, the solution is surprisingly simple.

PROPOSAL 1: Downsize the Male Gender
Among the four major findings, men were found to be the principal source of the problem. The current ineffective leadership group (Finding One) is overwhelmingly male dominated and they tend to be the people who demonstrate a lack of vision (Finding Two,) an inability to compromise (Finding Three,) and promote inequality (Finding Four.) Without men almost every current issue disappears without any further action.

Eliminating all males will also result in many benefits. The world population will be dramatically reduced, sexual harassment will virtually end, most, if not all, wars will end, and most pay equality issues will cease. Issue after issue becomes smaller, or disappears completely without men on the planet.

COUNTER FINDINGS
It is difficult to find negatives to this solution; however, here are some of the areas that may feel the impact of downsizing the male gender:

Reproduction — A lack of males would seem to create an issue in the propagation of the human species; however, there is believed to be enough frozen sperm available to continue reproduction on a smaller scale and the new males will be raised in a female-dominated environment, which may weed out the personality and behavior issues of the current male gender.

Male-dominated jobs — There are few jobs that truly require a male worker. Just because females have been excluded from many jobs doesn’t mean they can’t be trained to perform the work effectively.

Sports — Without males, most competitive sports will end. We cannot find a downside to this issue.

IMPLEMENTATION

It is believed that a 100% downsizing of the male gender may not be necessary for an effective change in world management. It might be more advisable to put all males on a 30-day Improvement Required Action. At the end of the 30-days those who have not demonstrated a clear reversal of the findings of this study should be downsized. The remaining males could then be re-evaluated at 60 and 90 days to determine if the initial downsize resolved the problem or not. It is suggested that the changes required should be permanent as a condition of continued existence.

We do have recommendations about downsizing certain females; however, those may be handled on a case by case basis in a closed meeting with Human Resources.

10 Things To Decline From An Employer

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Health, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Pride, Privacy, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Technology, Tom Peters

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Affordable Care Act, benefits, company car, company cell phone, company email, Email, employment agreement, employment contract, free speech, Heath Benefits, Intellectual property, NDA, Non-compete, Pay for Performance, retirement benefits

No longer can anyone expect to build a lifelong career with one organization, nor is that considered healthy for the individual or the company. A person is now his or her own commodity. He or she must expect to build their own skills and reputation as an individual on the open market rather than as corporate employee number 8675309.

In this Brave New Working World a person should be prepared to say ‘no’ to antiquated elements of 20th Century employment, not only because they are inappropriate, but because they indicate that employer is unaware of their failure to be competitive in the 21st Century. Benefits and perks that were meant to tie a person to one organization no longer make sense in a world where ‘permanent employee’ has been replaced by ‘contract labor.’

Here are ten employment offers and requests that should be declined from an employer and cause you to re-evaluate your working relationship with a company:

No. 10 – Retirement Benefits
It should be obvious that any company offering retirement benefits either does not understand today’s working world or is trying to offer something that they know you will never receive. Better to have the money now and invest than pretend you’ll still be with the company when you retire.

The Company Email is always the company's to give or take away

The company giveth and taketh away access to your email

No. 9 – The Company Email Account
You many have to use the company email when corresponding with others in the company, but always ask yourself, “If the company decided to lay me off today and they ended my access to my email account, what information would I lose?” What about that email from the senior executive that ordered you to overcharge your customer? Every email sent to your company email account should be forwarded to a private account and blind copy any company emails you send to your private account. This protects you and the company from the unethical corporate manager.

No. 8 – The Company Car
When I was growing up my uncle worked for an oil tool business and he had a company car. I thought that was the coolest perk in the world. While it is a rare perk in today’s world, it should be declined in most situations. The problem with the full-time company car is that it becomes a liability if a better employment opportunity arises. Suddenly you’re faced with buying a new car in order to accept a better job.

The company cell phone comes with chains attached

No. 7 – The Company Cell Phone
Many people fail to realize what a company cell phone represents. It is a chain that ties the employee to the employer 24/7/365. A boss may hesitate to call a private cell phone, but have no problem calling the phone they are paying for at 3 AM. Many jobs require an employee to be accessible, but you are better off with your own phone than be indentured by a company cell phone.

No. 6 – Giving Your Employer Your Social Media Passwords
There are questions as to whether it is legal for an employer to demand an employee’s passwords to his or her Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Media passwords. The bottom line is that you do not want to work for a company that wants this level of control on your life. It will only go downhill from there.

No 5 – Restricting Free Speech (The NDA)
In an exercise with students in a graduate program, I purchased the fictional company they worked for and I was interviewing them to determine who to keep and who to let go. As part of this exercise I gave each of them an outrageous NDA contract (see Kco NDA) to sign. In almost every case, the Master’s program students signed it, most without question.

A company’s has a right to protect its reputation, but employers should be under the burden to gain the loyalty, trust, and respect of their employees so that they would not dream of talking smack about their workplace. If an employee is ready to bad mouth the source of their income then either the employer hired the wrong person, or the employer has failed to treat their employee as an important asset. In either case, it is the employer, not the employee who shoulders the burden of the failure.

No. 4 – Intellectual Property
If you have been consigned to produce something tangible for someone, then you have agreed to surrender it once it has been created and delivered; however, many companies are claiming ownership of any work done by an employee as their own intellectual property. Nothing could be more disrespectful to a human than to treat them as a machine that is only useful as a tree from which they pick and enjoy the fruit. A business that values their team would never have to be concerned about the issue of intellectual property because each team member’s work would be a source of pride and celebration. The important element in any organization is the person who creates the work, not the work itself.

Before you sign away your right to maintain ownership of your work you should ask if you want your give away your legacy of achievement to those who didn’t do the work?

The Affordable Care Act is emancipation for the worker

No. 3 – Health Benefits
America has millions of people who continue to work for an employer primarily because they need or want the health insurance offered by the company. As an employer do you want people to only be working for you because of the health benefit perk?

The biggest impact that the Affordable Care Act will have on America is to free people to work for people they want to work for, not those who have the critical health care benefit he or she needs.

No. 2 – Pay For Performance
When someone attempts to quantify a job or project they sacrifice common sense for greed. The need to meet the measured goals forces an employee to ignore important aspects of work that can’t be measured or quantified. Pay For Performance assumes the Ends always justifies the Means, which is rarely true in the business world, despite what greedy executives and investors think. Almost always customer satisfaction is at risk under Pay For Performance standards because a customers true satisfaction cannot be measured by questionnaires, surveys, nor sales. In every case the wise employee will figure out how to exploit the system and defeat the true purpose of the evaluation tool.

Pay For Performance systems are lose-lose scenarios for everyone and a company that relies on them does not understand how to truly motivate and reward its team; therefore, you should avoid the trap they are setting for you, your customers, and themselves.

No. 1 – The NCA
The non-compete agreement or NCA is the one indicator that proves only fools work for the employer, and there are plenty of fools out there. You shouldn’t be one of them.

An NCA basically eviscerates your career by not allowing you to continue working if you leave the current company. In today’s world that can be a death sentence. Your skills and experience are laid to waste by an NCA and you should never agree to it, nor should you consider working for someone who asks you to sign one.

Re-Imagining Rotary

16 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Club Leadership, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Tom Peters, Website

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Club Members, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

In 2003, Tom Peters wrote Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. In that book, Mr. Peters takes a visionary look at business and our culture that confronts the traditional…and remarkably stupid concepts of the modern working world. His words have foretold many of the new realities we see unfolding around us.

Recently I have had to face up to some hard realities about Rotary. Rotary is a great organization, but the organization is being held back by an old skin that needs to be shed. Rotary’s membership issues cannot be solved unless RI’s President Ray Klinginsmith’s suggestion of ‘keep what works and drop what doesn’t,’ is absorbed into the organization’s DNA. It’s time we Re-Imagined Rotary, so I will offer up my view of what I would change about Rotary to re-vitalize the organization from bottom to top.

Rotary International (RI)
Club Members should be RI members. Currently Clubs are members of RI, but the Rotarians in the clubs are not. I’m sure there is a rational legal reason for the wall of separation and I know the history, but there is a negative symbol created by the divide between Rotarians and the parent organization.

Council on Legislation (CoL) should be abolished and organizational changes taken directly to Clubs. Currently the Council on Legislation meets once every three years. In a world of rapid change and flattening of hierarchical structure, the CoL is a dinosaur. A significant problem with the CoL is that to be a representative you must be a Past District Governor, and while we have some very smart and forward-thinking Past District Governors, we also have some Past District Governors who see themselves as Cardinal’s in the Church of Traditional Thinking. Change needs to come from the Clubs and a handful of amendments could be presented to the clubs on a monthly basis for voting via the Internet. Discussions for and against the amendments could be made via linked blogs.

Decentralize most of RI. Face-to-face contact is valuable, but often an organization’s headquarters develops a ‘bunker mentality’ which does not serve in the best interest of the whole. VoIP phones, the Internet and webinars can bring people around the world together as well as people in cubicles, in fact, often the Internet tools do a better job in creating an environment of sharing ideas.

Every RI employee has to be a Club member. I don’t know if this is currently required or not, but my feeling is that the paid staff of RI can serve the organization of better if they see Rotary from the viewpoint of being a Club member.

Zone and District
Eliminate the PDG monopoly. Rotary has a wealth of knowledgeable people but all the significant discussions and decisions are made behind doors labeled, “Past District Governors ONLY.” It is not a system of decision-making that brings all the talent to the table. Some of my best friends are PDG’s and I have great admiration for what all of them have contributed to the organization; however, when tackling a problem such as years of declining membership, the people who have dedicated themselves to Rotary and have been rewarded with significant prestige of office, may not be the best people to address why others don’t ‘get’ Rotary.

All Zone and District Leaders must write blogs. Rotary is great in sending out emails and finding people to speak at meetings, but the organization is still in the dark ages when it comes to communicating. Emails just fill up the Inbox and get buried among all the other emails. The concept of ‘just-in-time’ information is not well understood in Rotary. Blogs put information that is Google searchable and readily available when someone needs it. Blogs can offer information, ask questions, or begin a discussion. Blogs allow each club to absorb the information at their own pace.

Zone and District Leaders are consultants, not Lords. This really isn’t a problem for most Zone and District Leaders because most of them approach their position as a consultant for the organization; however, we still have a few leaders who are insulted when some insolent Rotarian suggests a different concept or idea from their own. I have a list of them in our District, and I know I’m on their list.

District Conference and Assembly to be held on the same weekend. It is such a basic idea to increase participation, give respect to the member’s time, and improve the value of both functions that it shouldn’t be an issue, yet it is vehemently opposed by some Past District Governors.

Clubs
No Club to be chartered without a website. Today, no business or non-profit is taken seriously as a legitimate organization unless they have a website. Any club that wishes to be chartered should start with a website for the provisional club to answer questions, inform, and create methods of contact with the organizers of the club. Once a club is formed the website becomes the 24/7/365 presence for the club. It is so basic to survival it has to be mandatory.

Club member immersion in Social Media. Rotary has always been about creating connections between people and Social Media is the greatest tool ever invented to do exactly that. It is not about one Social Media savvy member creating a Facebook page, but about all members logging in and using the page. All committee meetings, announcements, social events, and projects should be posted on a Facebook page by the person in charge of that activity. The fear that many of our members have about Social Media is a telling indicator of how quickly Rotary is falling out of the real world.

Absolute adherence to the no religion and no politics policy established in the Constitution. Rotary is an organization of business professionals and that should be our public image. Unfortunately, some clubs have a public image of being a sub-organization of a certain religion or a certain political view. If people want to join a church or a political party they can and will, but Rotary is not a place for members to further their personal religious or political beliefs.

A greater focus on Vocational development. Rotary should be a place where smart business people get smarter. Incorporating business seminars into to Club meetings and District Conferences should be standard practice. Rotarians can and should be experts in the latest technology, management and business practices. Some clubs do this, many do not.

Clubs must have a significant focus on the inclusion of family members. Our organization tends to ignore business professionals with children because we have so many members without children. Many Club social activities don’t involve ‘kid and/or teen-friendly’ activities. The status quo is a great way to keep Rotary’s membership in decline.

Club members must be interconnected with other Area clubs. In any community all Rotary clubs should offer a united and coordinated front. I think Rotary is getting better about creating connections between clubs, but this connection should go deeper than just the Club Presidents. Every club member should recognize that they are part of a larger force in their community that includes all Rotary clubs. Good natured competition is great, but petty rivalries between local clubs should be dealt with immediately by District and Area Leadership.

Do or Die Time
I am absolutely convinced that Rotary driving towards a cliff. We either have to make a major change in direction or we will go off the cliff. We are being eaten alive by a monster that is consuming our will to change. We either confront the monster or we die.

Rotary played a major role in my life for the last 9 1/2 years and I have come to appreciate the beauty that arose out of a simple concept of business professionals joining forces for good. I have a profound respect for what Paul Harris created with this simple concept but I fear that he would be very anxious about the fact that Rotary has failed to attract young professionals in most clubs. For Paul Harris and the good of all Rotarians, Rotary must change. It is time to Re-Imagine Rotary and shed the old skin that encumbers the organization.

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Starbucks is Re-Imagining the business…again

22 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Traditional Media, Travel, Website, Women

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alcoholic drinks, Bars, Beer, Blogging, Blogs, Coffee, Customer Loyalty, Digital Starbucks, Executive Management, Free Internet, Free WiFi, Internet, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, New York Times, Newspapers, NYT, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Selling, Social Media, Social Networking, Starbucks, tea, The Wall Street Journal, Tom Peters, USA Today, Value-added, wine, WSJ

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

This week Starbucks continued to add value to its stores and more Re-Imagining seems to be in the forecast. A few months ago Starbucks did the smart move of offering free WiFi for everyone (see article below) and on Wednesday they took it one step farther with a Digital Starbucks that features free web content if you sign on to their WiFi service while you’re in the store.

(Free WiFi at Starbucks)

Now when you use the free WiFi service in any Starbucks you can also read a digital version of the day’s Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or the USA Today. The New York Times requires software download of a reader, but the USA Today loads up its own reader and retains the exact look of the paper copy. The site also includes Yahoo! news and GOOD content.

In addition to news, the Digital Starbucks offers access to a selection of entertainment, wellness, business/career, and local online resources. There is also a page to access most of the functions found on the Starbucks website. It seems apparent that Starbucks has teamed with AT&T, the WSJ, NYT, USA Today, and several others to offer this value-added service. Recently all Starbucks stores received new labeled newspaper stands with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today in the top three shelves with the local paper given the bottom shelf. In my October tour of stores in Houston, Boston, Denver, and Reno I have seen more papers sold out than I have ever seen at a Starbucks store. Obviously the collaboration is a win-win.

A screen shot of the DG Wellness page

While some information has been sent out regarding the new online features most people have not caught on to the major remake of the log-in page and the new free media resources. That will change over time and I expect Starbucks will see a positive increase in store traffic as customers become aware of what they can access for free at their local store. I have already noticed high occupancy of the key ‘power’ tables (tables next to a power outlet) in almost every store I’ve visited since the free WiFi service started on July 1st.

Starbucks After Hours
The value-added virtual Starbucks is small change compared to what may be coming to some Starbucks locations. As reported in this Monday’s USA Today, the company has been testing wine and beer service at a Seattle location. The three-month remodel of a standard store resulted in a cafe-type look and feel, moving away from the glorified fast food feel of most coffee houses. The move is designed to generate more late day revenue when coffee sales die down. There is little doubt that local bars may find a Starbucks too much to compete with as it creates a middle ground for those like getting out in the evening, but seek a relaxed atmosphere free of loud music and single men on the hunt.

While I remained concerned that Starbucks is allowing accountants have too much say in store operations, I have to congratulate them on bringing value-added service and innovative ideas into the forefront. The winner is the customer … the only person that matters.

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Social Media 3Q 2010 Update: Who Uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & MySpace:

08 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Traditional Media

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Age, Blogging, Blogs, Demographics, Facebook, Gender, Internet, LinkedIn, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, TweetDeck, Twitter, USA Today

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

The third quarter 2010 demographics of Social Media users according to Google’s Adplanner services has a few surprises. Facebook actually dropped from 550 to 540 million users in the third quarter, and Facebook users over age 54 dropped from 16% to 10% in the last six months. Based on the data from the 2nd and 3rd quarters there is a significant slowing in the growth of the major Social Media tools.

Among the numbers are the interesting age group distributions of each of the networking sites. The data gives important clues of what each site is being used for in addition to who is using it.

Facebook’s Fire Cools
No one can dispute Facebook’s impact on the world. It is BIG, and with millions of posts and interactions each day, the influence of its users is the envy of every marketing professional. Traditional media professional and other old people will be tempted to look at the 3rd quarter data and declare that the Social Media ‘fad’ is over and on the decline. That would be a statement of ignorance.

Facebook 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

Facebook’s growth could not continue indefinitely and its amazing growth in users from 2008 to the start of 2010 was being fueled by a viral exploration of a new media that allowed people to connect in a way they never had before. Now that exploration has calmed and I believe we are seeing the coming of age of Social Media.

The drop of 10 million users during the third quarter is only significant in that it shows a leveling off of the growth. The average time on the site is over 23 minutes, which is much longer than the other three major U.S. Social Media tools (MySpace 14:40 mins., Twitter 13:10 mins., LinkedIn 9:50 mins.) That is important as more time spent means more interaction and more influence by users and advertisers.

Facebook reaches almost 57% of the people in the United States (35% worldwide) which is a staggering statistic. If USA Today could reach 57% of Americans (without giving the newspaper away to every hotel guest) and know that the readers were spending over 23 minutes looking at their paper they would probably be the only newspaper in the United States… and mega rich. As of March 2010, USA Today has a circulation of only 1.8 million compared to Facebook’s over 65 million visitors (based on cookies.)

3rdQ Facebook Users by Age

1stQ Facebook Users by Age

One statistic that keeps bouncing around in the Social Media world is that “women over 55 is the fastest growing group of Facebook users.” That it is old data. While the over 55 group had climbed to 16% at the end of March 2010, it is now the fastest shrinking age group and Facebook users under 18 years old have been the fastest growing group during the last six months.

Finally, 57% of the Facebook users are women, which is about the same as six months ago. That seems to confirm that Facebook is about ‘social’ networking and making personal connections. Facebook continues to be the place where buying decisions are influenced through small group interactions. Business and Marketing people will find that if they try to manipulate these discussions it will eventually backfire on them. Facebook is where business should LISTEN, not talk.

Twitter 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

Twitter Continues to Pause
The biggest surprise in the 3rd Quarter with Twitter was that it did not break the 100 million user mark. At the end of the 2nd Quarter it was at 96 million users, which was up by 16 million from the 1st Quarter. However, Twitter only grew by 2 million and now stands at 98 million users.

Twitter’s daily visits have leveled off for the last six months, and some might see this as an ominous sign for the hyper-fast post Social Media tool; however, this is deceiving as many Twitter users, (like myself,) don’t go to the Twitter site to use the tool, but rather use an application, like TweetDeck, to interact on the site. Thus the visit count would not be recorded as a site visit.

Twitter’s lack of significant growth in the number of users may be do to a continued lack of understanding of the value of the Tweet world and a period of constant ‘Fail Whales’ in the 2nd Quarter and early 3rd Quarter. The service has seemed to address the major problems in system overloads, but lately has had a return of a few service interruptions in the past few weeks. Obviously, if Twitter continues to have problems it won’t be able to survive in an environment where reliability is oxygen to users.

As for the lack of understanding of the value of Twitter, the service will struggle to grow until people can learn that the impact of Twitter is not in the posts, but the conversations and the URL links to other blogs and webpages. Twitter is like Headline News for new ideas and concepts. Often posts reveal a new approach or cutting-edge information that won’t be in the traditional public arena for months. That is why I still see Twitter growing if they can rid themselves of service interruptions.

3rdQ 2010 Twitter users by Age

1stQ 2010 Twitter users by Age

One interesting development in the latest data is the shift in the age demographics. Twitter seems to have made a shift to younger adults. The 18-34 age group is up by 16%, while the 35-64 age group is down by 9% from six months ago. Also, teenagers (under 18) have dropped by 6% since the 1st quarter and now make up only 4% of all Twitter users. The apparent dislike for Twitter among teenagers is a clear age defining characteristic. I have had two separate teenagers say to me “You’re not on Twitter, are you!?”

Apparently Twitter gives you cooties. Who knew?

MySpace Back From the Brink?
I have predicted the end of MySpace for sometime, but in the 3rd quarter it did something bizarre … it gained users. It had dropped 14 million users from the 1st to the 2nd quarter and then it gained one million users back in the 3rd quarter. MySpace now stands at 67 million users. Not earth-shaking, but certainly noteworthy. LinkedIn would sacrifice several interns to have that many users. MySpace also has more women. Female users consist of 64% of the MySpace population.

MySpace 3rdQ 2010 DAILY visits

The reason? Well, no other major Social Media tool lets you search by gender … and age … and height … and race … and body type … and sexual orientation … are you getting the picture? MySpace is a social dating site as much as anything else and lonely people make up a lot of our world’s population. So maybe MySpace has found its niche as a romance network and that will stop the freefall of the past two quarters.

3Q 2010 MySpace users by Age

3rdQ 2010 MySpace users by Age

Yes, there are more teenagers on this site than most (14%), but 63% of the users are between 18 and 44 years old. One caveat. MySpace has limited the ‘find-a-friend’ search function to give the results of people age 18 and over. That is a smart move to protect minors; however, some teenagers have simply listed themselves as an age of 18 or older to circumvent the limitation. I caught a few teenagers that list themselves as 19, but on their main page description they indicate their real age. This is likely why the number of ‘under 18’ users have dropped from 34% to 14% in six months.

LinkedIn Drifting in Niche
The 3rd quarter statistics show that despite millions of people looking work, the business person to business person website of LinkedIn is not growing. It is at 41 million, which is actually higher than the end of 2nd quarter, but the same as the end of the 1st quarter.

LinkedIn 3rdQ DAILY visits

Like MySpace, LinkedIn has found its niche. Essentially, LinkedIn is a business-oriented website that provides a job exchange service. Most users are using the networking website as their digital résumé in order to attract job offers. In the Tom Peters ‘Re-Imagine’ business world where branding is a key element of survival, LinkedIn is Mecca for self-promotion.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn is not as successful as Facebook and Twitter in two-way interaction. Both of those Social Media tools do not have as much as of an ‘agenda’ by individual users as LinkedIn. Users of the business-oriented network seem to spend more time professing what they know and don’t spend as much time listening to others. This is the traditional media model of one-way communication, which is the style of communication that Social Media has displaced. For some, the self-promotion run amuck style of some LinkedIn users is a turn off that may hurt the site in the long run.

3Q 2010 LinkedIn user by Age

1stQ 2010 LinkedIn users by Age

It will be interesting to see how LinkedIn will fare as the business-caused Recession of 2007-09 eases and people are employed again. LinkedIn could be a key to a sudden labor shortage in 2012 as those companies with the best opportunities will be able to target and recruit candidates through LinkedIn, leaving other employers to either compete or settle for what’s left over.

Age and gender on LinkedIn reinforce the business-world orientation as more males (57%) are users and the distribution of the age groups reflects the working world. Interestingly, while LinkedIn still has more users over 54 years old (15%), this is 7% drop from the 1st quarter. That is offset by an 8% jump of the 24-34 year old users in the last six months.

4th Quarter Predictions?
I believe we are seeing a refinement of each of the big four Social Media tools. Facebook has become the social sharing network, Twitter is the thought-provoking, learning network, MySpace is the social relationship network, and LinkedIn the branding and résumé network. The demographics are settling in to reinforce the existing nature of each of the networks. Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn will likely end 2010 about where they are now unless something viral either cause a rush of new users, or sends people running away. Twitter still has potential significant growth, but I don’t see that happening in the 4th quarter.

The volatility of the Social Media networks have made it difficult to understand what they will eventually represent in our world; however, now that there seems to be a calming of the major networks, the value and purpose is becoming clearer. That will allow the big four to lock in their market; however, it will also open the door for other networks to identify areas of opportunities and weakness. My prediction is that 2011 will be the entrenchment of the Social Media, followed by more competition by other networks seeking to improve or offer alternatives to the established services.

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Richmond Embassy Suites: The best at true Hospitality!

01 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Honor, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Rotary@105, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Travel, Women

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

In August I stayed in hotels in seven different cities (Dallas, TX; Bloomington, IL; Chicago,IL; Minneapolis, MN; Norfolk, VA; Richmond, VA; and Virginia Beach, VA..) In a previous post I expressed my displeasure with pay-for-Internet at the Millennium Hotel* in Minneapolis, which was slightly unfair as the hotel was a pleasant, although completely expected, experience. As a people warehouse the Millennium Hotel fits the mold that is typical of most business traveler-type hotels. However, out of the seven hotels of which I was a guest, there was one that made a big impression on me, the Embassy Suites in Richmond, Virginia.

(*Millennium Hotel: Go Away)

The main entrance the Embassy Suites in Richmond

The Embassy Suites hotel in Richmond, Virginia is not a flashy, Vegas-type hotel. From the outside it is a modern, yet modest building tucked back from busy streets; however, access to the Interstate is nearby. Like many hotels it is surrounded by a massive asphalt parking lot; however, the entrance is behind a landscaped island of trees. The great thing about the foliage is that it creates the sense from the outside that this hotel is not just a people warehouse like so many others.

After entering the hotel one doesn’t have to hunt for the Registration Desk as it is positioned in such a way that it oversees the entrance area, but it doesn’t intrude into the path of a guest walking to their room from the parking lot.

The Inner Courtyard

The striking feature of the hotel is the inner courtyard. I have seen this design before, but it was a refreshing change from institutional interior designs of most people warehouses. The open interior gives a community feel to the hotel rather than the impression that you just walked into a U-Store-It facility, as is the feel of most hotels. The interior landscaping and flowing water features create a tropical environment. This hotel was number six for me during my August travels and it was a refreshing change from the five previous corporate institutions of I had visited.

My room was also vastly different from my previous guest experiences. This was a true ‘suite’ and not just a room with a bed. There was a clearly defined living space with a television, desk, couch, and bar area. The bedroom was in the rear of the suite with a door that would allow privacy if two people were in the room and one wanted to watch television or work while the other one slept. The bedroom had a counter with running water and its own television. The bathroom was in the transition area between the living room and the bedroom offering easy access from both rooms. The entire suite is a brilliant design.

Of course the Internet was free (my minimum requirement) and I had no problems making a connection. If needed, I could have easily made the suite my home base. It is a comfortable living and working environment. I would have had no concerns about hosting small meetings in my room. I had everything I needed except for my Starbucks Chai Tea.

The Embassy Suite's Dining/Reception Area

One of my issues with most hotels is the assumption that people don’t want to interact with other people when they stay in a hotel. I’m as reclusive as most, but to visit a city and never come out of my hotel room is what creates that ‘warehouse feeling’.

At the Richmond Embassy Suites the open feel of the courtyard was put to good use by encouraging guests to congregate twice a day for a free manager’s reception each evening and free breakfast each morning. The reception offered adult and non-alcoholic beverages along with a variety of choices of snack items (hors devours.) The breakfast was as good or better than the breakfasts I’ve eaten at eaten at most Sunrise Rotary Clubs. Those who have eaten a breakfast at a Rotary Club may think that may not be saying much, but I typically pay $14 to $15 to eat a Rotary breakfast and this was free. The free gatherings were the most ‘value-added’ service I have experienced in a hotel.

From the few interactions I had with the hotel staff it was obvious that the Chief Executive of this property, Kathleen Lyons, and her staff understood the meaning of the word ‘guest’. I was always treated with respect and a smile. It was apparent that they were pleased that I choose their hotel over the other options in Richmond.

Giving great customer service is not that mysterious, but it requires that everyone from the bottom (no offense intended, Ms. Lyons, but in my world that means you) up to the top (the maintenance and housekeeping staff) must enjoy what they do and enjoy working with people. It was clear that the Embassy Suites in Richmond is not run by ‘management’, but managed through leadership. Bravo to Ms. Lyons and her team!

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Millennium Hotel: Go away, spend your money elsewhere

27 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Travel

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Blogging, Customer Loyalty, Executive Management, Free Internet, Free WiFi, hotels, Internet, Management Practices, Millennium Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Value-added, WiFi

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

This week I spent a couple of nights in the Millennium Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Now this is a good hotel and it has everything you would expect for the business traveler. The rooms are clean and reasonably updated. The staff is pleasant. It has a restaurant and a bar (although it struck me that maybe both were afterthoughts in the lobby design.) It has a pool on a fitness room (I didn’t go to hunt for them, but I’m assured that they exist.) It has a television with a selection of stations and optional pay-for-movies.

They have everything you might expect, save one item. Free WiFi/Internet. To access the Internet in the Millennium Hotel in Minneapolis you must add $10 (okay, $9.95) to the daily room rate.

Some business practices reflect old ideas.

This means one of two things. Either they decided to contract out their Internet service and they are getting some kind of kickback, or they have a bean-counter in their organization that has said to management, “Hey, we can boost our room rate by $10 if we charge for the Internet!”

It doesn’t matter why they charge for Internet service because what it says to me is simply, “We would prefer that you go elsewhere for Internet service.” In my case, I go to Starbucks where I can get online for free…and buy my tea with my extra $10…and then, rather than go back to the hotel to eat I find a place near Starbucks. Is that what they want their guests to do? Apparently.

A better place to spend $10/day

Next month I will be going back to Minneapolis and I will find my hotel on Priceline.com. That may land me back in the Millennium Hotel and once more I will go outside the hotel to connect to the world…and spend my money. I wonder if they have a clue? I seriously doubt it.

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Is it time to fire yourself?

27 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Business, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Government Regulation, Higher Education, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Tom Peters, Universities

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

One thing I have observed in government, hospitals, universities, and small business management is that all of those fields tend to be people collectors. What I mean is those particular fields have a high incidence of people who have passed their expiration date.

Why?

Government, hospitals, and universities tend to: 1) pay their employees well, 2) offer good to great benefits, 3) offer prestigious positions, and 4) have incompetent human resource professionals. A person who lands in any of these three fields may be an excellent performer for several years; however, every human being needs new challenges and after five to seven years they lose the excitement of the job. The problem is that because they have moved up to the top of the pay scale (pay scale: an example of HR incompetence) the person discovers that if they were ever to leave that job they would have to: 1) take a pay cut, 2) risk losing their excellent benefits, and 3) not find as prestigious position as what they have in their comfy current job.

Now that excellent performer is trapped like a caged animal in a job that has no challenges for them. The result is what we have in America today. Government services, hospitals, and universities that are operated by uninspired people who’s most important priority is to go home at the end of the day. And where is the human resources professional? Standing there preaching that all those systems they created that cause employee burnout are absolutely vital for retaining employees. People collectors.

Show me an organization that prides itself on long-term employees and I’ll show you a group of people who shoved innovation and creativity into a file drawer decades before.

So why did I include small business owners in with this unhappy, unproductive group of people?

For small business owners the trap of mediocrity is different, but it has the same result. Initially, a new business owner is excited by the challenge of creating a business from nothing. If they are successful they find the satisfaction of beating the odds, which is like a drug to a business owner. Then comes the fear of losing everything they built. That fear always, always, always leads to becoming conservative. Don’t take chances and don’t risk failure. But it doesn’t stop there.

Eventually, the intelligent business owner realized that his/her business has become stagnant. He/she then tries a series of half measures that stirs the pot but doesn’t make anything new happen. They shake up their sales team, join a peer group (they serve the same function as HR), purchase clever productivity software, or…God forbid, hire a consultant. The result is a temporary change in activity that fails to address the real problem. Fear of failure. Thus, the small business owner becomes a people collector, and they are the one collected. Stuck in a place they can’t get out of and yet, don’t want to be.

My best advice I can give to a small business owner who is stuck in this trap? Fire yourself. Put someone in charge of your company, expect that they will drive it into the ground, and go out and build a new business. At the very least you will no longer live in fear, but you will more alive than you have been in years.

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How Rotary can…must…will plug into Social Media

28 Wednesday Jul 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Traditional Media, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Social Media (sO-shul mE-dE-ah) – 1) any Internet function that allows user comment or input, 2) interconnected Internet tools that promote participation in the sharing of ideas, concepts, and information between users or members, 3) a type of interactive communication on the Internet that bypasses the non-interactive, one-way, broadcast-type communication of traditional media (e.g.; newspaper, magazine, radio, television, books, etc.) 4) an evil plot devised by mostly young people who seek to destroy traditional media, end all privacy, and rule the world by talking to each other.

Paul Kiser

Rotary is not an organization that reacts quickly to change. The parent organization meets only once every three years to discuss and propose major policy changes and even then the meeting consists of senior representatives (Past District Governors) from each Rotary District. Rotary clubs themselves often consist of members that disproportionately represents males over 50, (of which I am one,) and that group is not normally known for its adaptation skills in changing environments. In many ways, Rotary is the poster child for rigidity, rules, and tradition.

The problem is that we don’t live in a world that rewards the slow or unadaptive. We have moved into a period of rapid change that is similar to the Crusades ‘convert or die’ philosophy and nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of Social Media. Never before have we seen a key function of our world, namely communication, advance in such a short time period. We now live in the Peter Drucker and Tom Peters world of Ready, Fire, Aim!

Consider the revolution of computers. From the introduction of personal computers from 1975 to 1985, the personal computer at home and in the office was a novelty. It was an interesting device, but limited in its usefulness. By 1985, the personal computer was starting to become a staple in business and by 1995, the computer was firmly entrenched into our everyday lives. It took approximately 20 years for computers to go from ‘a toy’ to staple of life.

Compare the computer revolution to the Social Media revolution. Just over six years ago Facebook didn’t exist. Just over four years ago Twitter didn’t exist. In the past three years the way we communicate has so drastically changed that email is considered on par with snail mail by most people under 30 years old.

Social Media Revolution

(What’s changed? See the Social Media Revolution Video)

So what does this mean for a world-wide service organization like Rotary? Change. Change like our organization has never experienced in its 105 years. But it will be good change…for most of us.

Open Discussion of Issues
The Social Media revolution is characterized by open discussion of ideas and concepts. Over the next 18 months we should expect to see more members who are passionate about Rotary writing personal blogs. These individual blogs will not be sanitized messages approved by Rotary International, but personal viewpoints (like this one) discussing current issues at the Club, District, and RI levels. Sometimes the ideas and opinions expressed will be uplifting, sometimes awkward and/or uncomfortable, and sometimes they will just be wrong. The point is that there will be discussion of Rotary…good…bad…or both, and we should expect it.

The leadership of Rotary, from Club Presidents to the RI President, can either pretend it is not happening and hope it will go away, or they can decide to participate. My vote is participation. A District Governor may serve her or his District for a year and speak once at every club, but a blog is forever and is accessible to everyone in the world. Wise input from knowledgeable leaders can help promote positive discussions, and discourage inappropriate discussions. The worst thing to do is to allow a single Rotarian to create misguided impressions of Rotary by not correcting or responding to incorrect statements.

This must be done with care, as we are all aware that in the 1980’s Rotary International (RI) took a stand against a California club that allowed women to join, thus beginning a fight that ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court where RI ended up on the wrong end of the law.

Still, we do have key principles that must be protected as was the case in 2006-07. A California club began promoting a project to buy special ammo clips for U.S. soldiers at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and was pedaling this program to other clubs. Clearly, this was a violation of Rotary’s peaceful mission to serve and of RI’s Constitution. Such violations of our principles must be addressed and corrected by the leadership of Rotary.

Rotary leadership must take care in participating, but they should not only comment, they should write their own blogs. A more open discussion of Rotary related issues will serve to make our organization stronger and will help guide the leadership to address true member issues, not just what filters up through the Chain of Command.

Better Communications – Smaller Chunks, Targeted Audience
In the 1960’s a newsletter was vital information that couldn’t be accessed anywhere else. As copy machines in the 1970’s and 80’s got better the quality of the newsletters got better. The spread of color inkjet printers (HP made a killing on color ink) of the 1990’s brought newsletters to the height of their glory and anybody and everybody put out newsletters about anything. Today, a newsletter is only slightly higher on the value scale than junk mail. The problem is that few people have time to spend 15 minutes reading it and much of the information is not of interest to the reader. In addition, the quality of the editing and design of a weekly club newsletter goes from professional grade to…well, not so much. Often the editor is a volunteer who is passionate about the club, but may or may not agree with the current priorities of the club leadership.

Enter Facebook and Twitter. Most clubs I’ve been involved in regarding incorporating Facebook or Twitter into club communications have included this statement, “But most of our club members don’t use Facebook.” If there is a defining remark about the state of a club’s recruitment situation, that is it. Over 500 million people use Facebook and Rotary clubs don’t think it is relevant because their current members don’t use it. If your membership is not using the most current methods of communication, that should tell you why people in the real world see Rotary and your club as out-of-date and out of touch.

Facebook and Twitter provide information in small readable chunks. No one has to read all 10,000 words in the newsletter to get the information they need, they just read what is of interest to them and they read it in a format that gives it to them when they are ready to read it. Those that don’t use Facebook or Twitter will find that they know less and less about what is going on in the world around them and ignorance is not a Rotary value. The club that doesn’t have an active website and Facebook Fan Page within 12 months will most likely be the club that is consistently struggling to maintain membership. It that simple.

Fortunately, I know that Rotary clubs will adapt to the new Social Media whether anyone wants it or not. They will adapt because those clubs that don’t will waste away, while those that embrace Social Media will begin to see new, younger, smarter members fill in the ranks. It’s the way change works according to Darwin.

Paul Harris began Rotary to make connections with other people. Paul Harris would have loved Social Media.

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To Believe in the Better Me

22 Tuesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Ethics, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Random, Relationships, Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

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Blogging, Blogs, Mythology, Purpose of life

by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser and Family

I have a friend who was recently dealt with one of those unfair blows that we get in life. My friend is handling it well; however, even though the act was unfair, most people would still ask, “Did I fail?”

What you need to know is that this friend reminds me of a younger version of me. This person is crazy enough to view the world with a vision that sees through the masks of false conventions and questions behaviors, rules, and ideas that are silly, immoral, ignorant, or are just plain wrong. We are the type of person to tell the King that he’s wearing no clothes and then continue by telling him what he should be wearing. “Just because.” or “Because I say so!” are not good enough reasons for people like us, and that makes us a target to those who think that unquestioned obedience is a sign of strength.

(See Article on Becoming the Target)

PR Pro and fellow blogger, Jules Zunich, recently mentioned that she was a Purple Cow, which was a reference I didn’t get until she explained that author Seth Godin has written several books that promote the idea of being remarkable and indispensable; however, by standing out like a Purple Cow among the black and white cows, as Jules puts it “…certainly makes them a target for not fitting in.” Standing out doesn’t sit well with some people, especially with people who thrive on hierarchy.

(Catch Jules Zunich’s Blog by clicking on this link)

My guess is that my friend has been questioning what could have been done differently because in any negative situation there is option of not participating, thus avoiding any conflict. Drawing on my own experiences I can imagine there is a mix of anger, frustration, and self-doubt, all emotions that wear us down and can be more destructive than motivating.

The difference between my friend and myself is that over the years I have tried to stay embedded in the journey of life. Focus on what I do today and know that conflict will occur. When conflict does occur I will fight the battles I need to and walk away from the battles that have no value to me. My attitude towards life involves a mythology where I hold the hope that at the end of life there is a Better Me.

Signs of life

I don’t believe in mythological deities, but I do subscribe to the idea that in the end of life (or time) everything I’ve done (both good and bad) will be apparent to all, and likewise I will know all that was said and done (both good and bad) by others. In this mythology I hope that the Better Me can help guide me through the conflicts of life, but it will be my choices that will determine how proud or ashamed I will be in the end.

It is a mythology that has given me comfort and motivation to try to do the right thing, while not getting too hung up on those who misuse their power or authority, because I believe their actions will only reflect on them, not me….or the Better Me.

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How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in College, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Higher Education, Independent Studies, Information Technology, Management Practices, parenting, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Universities

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by Paul Kiser

Mom!

A Future Phone Conversation Between Mom and her Son
Mom! I just got a flash from Dr. Ramjan..HE ACCEPTED ME!!!!…Yes!…I start his program right away….for crepe’s sake Mom, it’s not like when you went to college. I don’t have to go sit in a classroom and listen to some no-name drone on about stuff nobody cares about!….No, I’m not slamming your education, but honestly Mom why did you put up with it? Going to classes, paying for parking, student fees, and being told what professors you had to learn from, etc., etc….

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

Tomorrow’s College to Be Professor Based, Not University Based?
Brick and mortar universities have created elaborate rules and policies (and fees) that tell a student what classes they must complete (some required, a few elective) to obtain a degree. Many of the classes will have facts based on outdated research that must be memorized for tests. In the end the student has a degree that includes course work that had little to do with what is going in today’s working world, but was forced on him or her by a system of Higher Education that is designed for the education of a group, not of an individual.

Social Interactive Media (SIM) tools create new options for Higher Education that could overcome many of the shortcomings of the current University environment. Here are a few issues with the status quo and how Social Interactive Media offers solutions to these issues:

Less Education at a Higher Cost – Universities are slashing budgets as they are being given less money with which to operate. This means larger classes, fewer professors, and older facilities and equipment.

SIM Solution: Eliminate the major costs of massive campuses and administrative overhead using Social Media as a student’s access to the professor. The classroom can be anywhere in the world, including in the field or in the student’s home. This is not a new idea and the use of the Internet for teaching is becoming widely accepted.

Lack of Choice – In the University environment the student has little say in what classes they will take and even less choice in the professor. The professor might be a graduate student with little or no teaching experience, or a tenured professor that has years of teaching experience, but has not performed any research in his or her field for a decade or more.

SIM Solution – Allow the student to choose the seminars and the instructors based on the information and reputation of the professors through blogs and references online. This may create a new classification of the Education Coach who advises and recommends professors and course work. Perhaps Education Coaches will be individually accredited and specialize in certain fields, or perhaps they will be accredited to help a student define a general studies (liberal arts) type program.

Inflexible Scheduling – University classes are based on the concept of group teaching, which requires all students conform their lives to the schedule determined by administrators.

SIM Solution – Individualized studies where the professor works with the student schedules programs that are mutually beneficial.

For decades there have been versions of independent study programs and in the past decade, many legitimate Internet-based colleges programs; however, the negatives of the existing University environment, exacerbated by funding shortfalls open the door to Re-Imagining higher education as a Student/Professor centered system that is relevant, rather than an administrator/bureaucratic centered system that is insensitive to the individual.

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United and Continental Airlines: Merger with the Devil

03 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Customer Relations, Customer Service, Human Resources, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blogs, Customer Service, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser – CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

They are not too big to fail and personally that is the only viable option I see for United Airlines. I apologize for my tone, but United Airlines is the worst of the worst and I’m not alone in my opinion.

Today it was announced that United Airlines and Continental Airlines are officially merging. What a dumb move on Continental’s part. Here are some of the comments I picked up about this merger:

“United is nothing but a mediocre airline, I don’t think I want to be combined with that work force. Continental has better customer service, it has a better product.” (1)

A Continental Airlines pilot that didn’t want to be identified

This is a sad day…united sucks…continental is an awesome airline. Some asshole will get a HUGE bonus for this and we travelers will get sh*t for service and surly b**ches at check in from united. I really hate American business nowadays. (2)

Comment to a Blog (I masked the worst of the vulgarity)

The worst kept secret in the airline industry is that United is a dysfunctional, uncaring, arrogant, and consistently bad air carrier. It has the public image of GM when Congress was considering bailing the car maker out in 2009. Songs have been written about United’s poor customer service.

(Listen to United Breaks Guitars by David Carroll)

United Airline service can best be summarized by this slogan: “We don’t care, we don’t have to.”

United is destined for failure and this merger seems to confirm that UAL continues to take action for all the wrong reasons. This merger is done for one purpose and one purpose only: a desperate attempt to show the investors that it is doing something, anything, to avoid certain death.

United demise has been a slow, painful process of false promises, betrayals, and really, really bad management. United employees have been jerked around so many times that they no longer care about customer service. I have interacted with them enough to see that UAL has institutionalized poor customer service.

One example happened to me last year at Denver International Airport. I was flying with my four year-old boy and we were checking in for a flight from Denver to Reno on United. As we approached the ticketing area we walked past 80 or more ticket kiosks that were wide open. They were all reserved for the handful of passengers with no baggage or for international travelers, while passengers with baggage were only offered ten or so kiosks and a 30 minute wait in a long line. They had more people directing traffic for the long line than they had assisting passengers. That is not poor customer service, that’s customer loathing. United employees have heard it all, seen it all, and they see no reason to care.

My guess is that new employees at United are trained by people who are so cynical about their management and customers that they drive out any spark of hope in the rookies. That level of institutionalized hate for your job can’t be fixed without massive changes in staff. It would take a complete wipe of all levels of management and dismissal of almost all rank and file employees to excise the environment of customer hate that exists at United. A merger may make investors happy but it changes nothing in the poisonous environment that will spread to Continental after the merger.

Is there any hope? Not likely. The company name will stay United, so people will associate Continental employees with the sour employees at United. That’s not good. Jeffery A. Smisek, the CEO of Continental, will be the CEO of the new company, but United’s headquarters in Chicago will be the HQ for the new organization, which means the United ongoing leadership attitudes and problems will be retained.

Regarding the merger, Smisek said, “This combination brings together the best of both organizations and cultures to create a world-class airline with tremendous and enduring strengths.” and added, “Together, we will have the financial strength necessary to make critical investments to continue to improve our products and services and to achieve and sustain profitability.”(3)

Note that Smisek says nothing, not a word, about the 800-pound gorilla in United’s Operations, which is bad, really bad, customer service. United Airlines wouldn’t be out looking for a merger if it wasn’t a house of cards ready to collapse, but the new CEO seems blissfully ignorant that most flyers would fly anything but United.

All this is good for the customer because it will probably lead to the demise of a mega airline within 36 months after the completion of the merger and the equipment will be sold off to smaller carriers.

However, I can see a small opportunity for a turnaround, but it would be a miracle. First, it is that Public Relations professionals dream because they can go no where but up. Second, all public image is local, so it would take massive retraining of the staff to do a Tom Peters’ Re-Imagine! of the company. The extreme makeover would have to happen at the rank and file level. If they don’t buy into a 10.0 seismic shift in customer service the makeover is doomed. Investors be damned, everything would have to be done to make the passenger a VIP. No baggage fees, no accountants counting nickels and dimes.

Realistically the dynamics at United make the task impossible. Labor unions, cynical employees, authoritarian managers, accountant infestation and investor worship, all would work against the goal of excellent customer service, so that leaves the obvious option: let United die. It is unfortunate that United will take Continental down with them, but I guess they asked for it. Dumb move.

(1) Top News Article: http://topnews.us/content/218898-continental-airlines-worried-about-merging-united-airlines

(2) Joe.My.God Blog: http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/05/united-and-continental-airlines-to.html

(3) American Headline News: http://abh-news.com/united-and-continental-airlines-merge-2738.html

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Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

30 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Auto, Auto Dealerships, Camry, Car, Car Dealerships, Carson City, Carson City Toyota, Nevada, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Recall, Rotary, Starbucks, Tom Peters, Toyota, Value-added

by Paul Kiser

Car Dealerships: A Scorpion on the Fox’s Back

The world revolves around certain truths and we hold these truths to be self-evident. One absolute truth is that interactions with a car dealership will leave the customer feeling soiled, dirty…robbed. It’s bad enough to buy a car from a dealership, but then to have to go back for regular servicing is rubbing metal shavings in the wound. Bad customer service at a car dealership is a fact, like the sun rising in the morning, or traffic lights always being red when you’re late for a critical appointment.

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Last year we bought a car and admittedly the experience was not what I expected. I attributed the unusually positive experience to the fact that we had our loan pre-approved through USAA and to already completing an Internet search for the car we wanted. The dealership we finally did business with was located in Carson City, Nevada and they were willing to close the deal over the phone (and fax)…with no haggling. I gave them the results of my search through USAA and they found a car with most of the features, gave me a price that was close to what I expected and we were done. It was a freak situation.

However, regular servicing on the car would still force us to go back to the dealership, so despite our positive experience, I set my expectations appropriately low for return visits. I should note that our car is a Toyota Camry and yes, part of the service I had done this week was the accelerator assembly recall work. I didn’t get upset about the recall. Cars are incredibly sophisticated systems and I’m amazed that we don’t have more problems. I know other people are outraged, but honestly, if this had been a problem with GM cars we would have all said, “GM cars still suck.” But because is was Toyota, we all had higher expectations.

I am confident that our Camry is a quality product, but experience has trained me to expect the dealerships to behave like the scorpion who stings the fox. The story is about a scorpion hitching a ride on the fox so that both of them can cross a river, but partway across the scorpion stings the fox, dooming both of them. In one version of the story, when the fox asks why the scorpion stung him he answers that it is in his nature. Likewise, bad customer service is in a car dealership’s nature.

Carson City Toyota: Do They Not Understand? Their Supposed to be Bad!

On Monday I called to make an appointment. They asked me when I wanted to bring it in. “Thursday,” I said, expecting a response that this week was booked, maybe next week. Instead he responded, “What time do you want to bring it in?” This guy had to be new, because he didn’t understand how the game works in the auto service world. He apparently didn’t know that the customer doesn’t schedule the appointment time. The dealership always schedules the time and they always manage to find the most inconvenient time of the day to drop the car off. But I wasn’t going to tell him his job so I said, “10 AM?” He said, “That will work fine.” Now I knew this guy was not only new, this was probably his first day.

My plan was to go in and drop off the car and go to a Starbucks for the rest of the day. They said it would take three to four hours, which is car dealership speak for six to eight hours. I hoped to drop it off and get out of there as quickly as possible. Most car dealerships can be scary places and the Service Waiting Area is usually a modified storage room with an old TV that is tuned to Fox News or a Soap Opera.

Carson City Toyota just prior to opening the new location.

I knew that Carson City Toyota had just moved into a new facility and I expected to be a new version of the same old thing.

My first shock was that instead of parking the car outside and turning over the keys to some overworked and poorly paid clerk at a counter, this dealership has a huge, fully enclosed car drop off area. I pulled my car inside and the service person immediately met me, introduced himself (Greg), asked all the questions, looked over the car, and then took me to his office to enter in all the information needed to pass to the service staff. I decided that he must be the new guy I talked to on the phone because he was entirely too attentive and efficient for a seasoned car service professional. He confirmed it would be three to four hours for all the work to be done.

I told him I was going to walk to the nearby Starbucks and he said that would be fine, or if I needed a shuttle somewhere he could have me dropped off. He showed me how to go through the new building to get to the front but as he walked me into the heart of the dealership we came to the ‘Waiting Area’.

A Waiting Area for VIP’s…the Customer?

I looked over the room and thought, “Mother of God!” This was not what a Waiting Area in a car dealership is supposed to be! The waiting area was the size of two or three Starbucks. There was a floor to ceiling stone wall with a fireplace and a large flat screen TV. In front of the wall were 12 or so sofa-type chairs with a desk-like arm on the side, all facing the fireplace/TV wall. To one side was a cafeteria-style refreshment area with a variety of coffee/tea offerings and free small pastries. I was impressed!

I walked through this beautiful tiled lounge area only to discover that I had only observed half of the waiting area. On the other side was the mirror image with another 12 or so sofa-type chairs. The only difference was that instead of a refreshment station along the wall they had installed a laptop computer counter with power outlets and bar stools. They even had free WiFi!

Carson City Toyota is a car dealership that obviously values their customers and treats the customer with kindness! What is wrong with them!

I was committed to my Starbucks Chai Tea, so I walked the block to the store and settled into my normal routine. At three hours on-the-dot Greg called and said, “I’m sorry Mr. Kiser, but they do not have the car ready yet.” Yep, he’s new. Rule No. 1 in the world of auto service is that you don’t keep the customer informed because if you do it once, the customer will expect it all the time. I told Greg that I was settled in and it was not a problem. He told me he would call me when it was ready.

A little over an hour later Greg called me again and said that the car was almost ready. I wrapped up what I was doing and walked back to the dealership. When I got there I learned that my car was being washed…at no charge. I settled the bill and a few minutes later my car was ready for me…parked as close as possible without driving it into the waiting area.

It’s been 24 hours and I’m in still in awe. One thing I know is that the experience we had last year when we bought the car was not a fluke. Customer Service is not an accident at Carson City Toyota.

For decades Tom Peters has been preaching about things like ‘taking care of the customer’, ‘creating a new paradigm’, and rising above the customer’s expectations. Peters wrote the book on Re-Imagining the business. It appears to me that Carson City Toyota has read the book and is writing their own chapter.

(This blog was not paid for, nor solicited, nor approved by Carson City Toyota.)

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Social Media 2020: Keep it Personal

19 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Human Resources, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

≈ 4 Comments

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Employee privacy, Employment, Facebook, HR, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Marketing Yourself, New Business World, Public Image, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Part of the challenge in learning new things is getting enough information until you can hit that magic ‘A-HA!’ moment when the information starts falling into place. Most of my ‘A-HA!’ moments occur when listening to someone who has insight on the topic AND they can frame the information in such a way that it makes everything else I’ve learned fall into place.

For over 20 years many of my A-HA! moments have come after reading Tom Peters, but recently my A-HA! moments on Social Media have come from listening to people like Dr. Bret Simmons.

(www.bretlsimmons.com)

Dr. Bret Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com

He is well ahead of me on the learning curve of Social Media, but I am finding my course in the digital jungle easier by the path he is blazing for the rest of us common fools. He has a unique perspective that I appreciate, and it doesn’t hurt that we both share a mutual distaste for archaic human and public relations management practices.

A few months ago I listened to him talk to a group of young professionals. During the talk he caused an A-HA moment for me. He said, “use your name” in the Social Media arena. That seems terribly simple, but it is a foreign concept to many. He went on to say that the message that a person conveys to him by not using their real name is that they don’t value him enough to share his or her identity.

(Listen to Dr. Bret Simmons talk about Personal Branding)

I go farther than Dr. Bret, because when someone doesn’t use their own name..full name..I wonder what they are hiding. I can certainly understand situations where using a full first and last name may be a personal security issue; however, if you’re in the business world and you want to build your individual brand then you must use your real name.

My father’s generation expected to work for one or two employers during their career. In the past 40 years that concept has died. What has replaced it is an attitude by employers of a one-way contract. They want the employee to pledge complete loyalty, but in return they have no obligation of offering the employee job security. Building your personal brand is the only job security you have in today’s market.

In today’s environment your name should be the address for your website, the title of your blog, and identify you on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your resume is not what you have on paper, it is what you have out on the Internet and the quicker you accept that fact, the faster you can start working on developing your public image and engage in the today’s market.

Does that mean you risk embarrassing yourself? YES! Get over it. With each embarrassment you will become a little better at self-monitoring, both online and face to face. We are human beings and if you don’t get a job because of something you said two years ago then you have dodged a bullet. Any employer who is looking for the perfect employee is going to be staffed with people who don’t risk failure and that is not the company to be associated with in today’s world.

You owe it to yourself and the rest of the world to create your own personal brand. If you don’t then expect your tag line to be, “would you like fries with that, sir?”

Other Blogs about Social Media and Public Relations

Social Media 2020: Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010

13 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Human Resources, Information Technology, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

≈ 1 Comment

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Book, Facebook, HR, LinkedIn, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Image, Publicity, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter

A lot has changed in the last nine years in regard to the world of Public Relations. In Part One I compare the fable presented in the Late 1990’s book, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson to the reaction towards today’s new world of Social Media. In Part Two of this series I compare how we looked at Public Relations in 2001 versus how we look at it today.

Paul Kiser

(Read Part One of this series – Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?)

Public Relations 2001: The Power of Third-Party Media

In 2001, Public Relations was more distinct. A person could easily identify the roles and responsibilities. Publicity was defined as earning the attention of third-party media of an organization through free media channels. Promotion described the use of paid third-party media advertising (newspaper, radio, TV, phone book, mail, etc.) to gain public attention. It was easier to define Public Relations in 2001 because it consisted of three distinct roles: 1) The organization seeking publicity/promotion, 2) the third-party media, and 3) the target audience.

Of the three roles, the third-party media was considered a deity. The goal of PR professionals (and non-professionals) was to gain favorable attention of those key people in the third-party media so that they would talk about you to their audience. You could buy your way into the hearts and minds of the media, but the goal was to seduce the media and gain their favor. Journalists, newspaper editors, television news directors, and other media professionals had the power to make or break the public image of company and/or influence customers purchasing habits. The people in the media were the gatekeepers to the public.

In 2001, the Internet was not new, but it was still primarily a place of email and websites. PR professionals were promoting websites as another tool in their arsenal to reach the public, but many organizations still had their doubts about the importance of how a website could increase their business. A few could see beyond the existing uses of the Internet. Some of those gifted few might have imagined a world where junk mail and the yellow pages would become obsolete, but the idea of masses of people in continuous connection to each other was hard to fathom by almost everyone, especially PR professionals.

The New Cheese: The Individual

Tom Peters - author of Re-Imagine! New Business Excellence in a Disruptive World

One person who saw something brewing in the early part of the new millennium was Tom Peters. In his 2003 book, Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, he devoted a chapter to Individual Branding. He suggested a future where the skills and experience of the individual would be key to ‘New Business’. A world where a person isn’t swallowed up as a commodity in the belly of a corporation, but rather as an independent professional that companies would compete to have on their team.

(Go to Tom Peters Re-Imagine! website)

In 2003, it seemed hard to imagine how an individual could become relevant in a business world that often captured employees and then made them sign non-disclosure, non-compete, we-own-you agreements. The ability for someone to market themselves was severely restricted, if not, banned outright by the corporation that made no promises of job security, but demanded total loyalty.

Perhaps Peters could see that the blogging sites of 2001-03 were signaling a new age of individualism; perhaps there were trends in place that Peters could project in the future; or perhaps (and this is my theory) that Peters has the ability to travel in time; but with the development and massive growth of Social Interactive Media in the last five years, Peters accurately predicted a new world of branding of the individual that is now a reality.

The Individual Trumps False Corporate and Media Gods

The rapid growth of Facebook and Twitter are two of the significant factors that changed the world of Public Relations. Facebook made Social Media acceptable to millions. Social Media allowed an individual to connect with hundreds of other people without the approval or denial of a third-party media deity. Ideas, opinions, and knowledge were now being shared and it all bypassed the traditional gatekeepers. It is hard to say what was the critical mass flash point that pushed Social Media into the mainstream, but once Facebook exceeded 100 million users there was no doubt that the Age of the Individual had dawned.

Twitter’s contribution to the age of the individual was two-fold. The 140 character limitation for Twitter messages created a need to link to blogs, articles, and websites to fully convey new information and ideas; therefore, the practice of embedding links into a Tweet became commonplace. That spurred a new connectivity of an individual’s ideas and opinions to the rest of the world. Prior to Twitter, a blog was primarily found via a Google search, but a Tweet brought more attention to the general public without relying on a deliberate search, AND, the Tweet put new information out to an audience that was already interested in the topic.

The second impact of Twitter was a continuous flow of connectivity. As a Social Media tool it put people in touch with each other 24/7/365. While other Social Media tools could make a similar claim, Twitter encouraged users to stay connected and placed a priority on real-time interaction. This was a pace of communication that corporations, with layers of control and approval, were not equipped to handle. The corporate practice of running every statement or concept by a Public Relations professional before it goes public was not possible in the world of real-time information. Twitter was designed for communication of individuals, not corporations, which is exactly the way users wanted it.

A Different Flavor of Cheese

Nobody will deny that Public Relations is still not a viable function in today’s world, but the old concept of the worship of third-party media like newspapers has been lost. Discussing the Internet and Social Media when a newspaper professional is in the room is like discussing a new girlfriend in front of someone who used to date her and got dumped. Public Relations is no longer an effort to make the best possible impression with the public as it is about being genuine. Users of Social Media can spot a fake PR effort and anything that smacks of a corporate sell job is rejected…permanently.

To survive in a world of ‘Social Media Relations,’ corporations no longer can hide behind the perfect façade of Public Relations. A business will be judged by the sum of its individuals and that means less control and manipulation of its employees. The successful company will unshackle its people to dazzle its customers with their expertise of the business, and their competitors will tremble in fear. It’s a new world, but not for those who don’t adapt and adopt.

Tom Peters world of New Business is here and Public Relations can no longer hide behind the curtain in New Oz.

Other Blogs on Social Media and Public Relations

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?

Fear of Public Relations

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!

Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Re-Imagining Starbucks

02 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Tom Peters

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Coffee, Facility Planning, Re-imaging, Remodeling, Starbucks

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

One last discussion about Starbucks and I’ll cross it off my list.

When I originally planned to write about Starbucks it was to indulge myself in exploring “What if”. I agree with Tom Peters, author of Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, who thinks we need to rethink the way we do business. I think it is important exercise for all organizations to look at where they’re at today and boldly experiment with new ideas, services, and products.

Tom Peters book, Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age

As I discussed in my last post on Starbucks,

(See Starbucks: A Tradition in Surprising the Customer)

there is a need to constantly surprise the customer with value-added products or services. Starbucks has a history of giving the customer a strong value-added product and service; however, the company has gone through a phase of retreat, which if continued will be a slow downward spiral that will eventually lead to the demise of Starbucks.

So the next logical phase is to leap forward with bold new ideas. When I say bold, I mean the kind of stuff that leaves people firing Facebook posts and Tweets to their friends about the crazy new product, service, or experience.

Starbucks Next Generation
If I were designing the next generation of Starbucks locations. Here are some of the key elements I would consider:

Maintain the anchor as a fresh Coffee/Tea retail outlet
Expand the customer base with focus on Women and Business customers
Value-Added changes that enhance the Third Place concept
Increase traffic and time spent in store
Diversify the revenue base in ways that make sense
Develop partnerships that make sense, but in line with the Starbucks ‘feeling’
Remodeling to improve the technology and use ‘Green’ building design techniques.

The Starbucks Center

Starbucks in Reno, Nevada at Keystone and I-80

I think most existing Starbucks locations are too small to initiate any advancement of a value-added service. In addition, after five years any store layout becomes stale, so some type of remodel is needed. My idea would be to take twenty percent of the existing stores and remodel them into three-story facilities. A sub ground level, a ground level, and an upper deck.

Sub-Ground Level
Part of this level should be a kitchen/storage area, but the rest could be:

Meeting rooms for public use or Starbucks Life Center programs*
Public office space (renting by the hour)
Kitchen area for grill type service
Hourly child care play room

*Starbucks Life Center would be a revenue-producing program of classes/seminars/training at minimal cost on any subject or skill; however, sales-type programs/training would be forbidden. This might be a program run by Starbucks or merely approved and schedule via Starbucks.

Ground Level
This level would be the main coffee/tea bar area with the following enhancements:

The Public area(s) would be known as Conversation Zone.
Noisy equipment should be recessed and sound deadening used to minimize intrusion into Conversation Zone
Electronic order pads in Conversation Zone. Customers could order and pay via e-pads or at a self-order station.
Stores offering made-to-order non-traditional fresh grilled food would have a Maitre d’ who would oversee the Conversation Zone and assure quality of service.
The Drive Thru would offer drinks and prepared food only.
Whole beans/bulk teas and Starbucks specialty items (cups, etc.) would be in a gift store area known as the B&B store.

Top Deck
In my vision of the next gen of Starbucks, the top deck would be known as the Fourth Place. Plants and partitions in some stores to create a pub-like feel would be one option, or a glass enclosed central deck with an open deck surrounding the central deck. It could be reserved for parties, but mostly it would be a quiet area to drink your coffee, talk, and re-engage in life.

Partnerships
In addition to expanding the Starbucks store I would enlist key partnerships or new Starbucks Divisions that would create adjacent enterprises to a Starbucks location where the Conversation Zone/Top Deck could be shared. One thought is a Wine or Pub Bar. Another is a Children’s Library or a Children’s Experience Center where parents could sign their child up for a class that supplements the Public School curriculum. The parent could relax with friends in the Conversation Zone while her or his child is taking a class.

Back to Reality
The point is not about the substance of the ideas, but about the need for every organization to periodically dream or Re-Imagine! Customers like consistency and familiarity, but the also like to be pleasantly surprised. What will Starbucks look like in 2014? I don’t know, but I believe they will either look boldly exciting and different, or they will be irrelevant.

Other Paul Blogs in this Series

Starbucks One

Starbucks: A Tradition in Surprising the Customer

All Paul Blogs @

Paul Kiser Blogs

Starbucks: A Tradition in Surprising the Customer

30 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Tom Peters

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Coffee, Starbucks, Value-added

Starbucks One in Reno

The survival of any organization depends on the ability to satisfy…no, surprise the customer. Satisfying the customer is a major challenge, but surprising the customer separates the Disney’s of the world from amusement parks. Surprising the customer takes many forms but it all comes down to offering a value-added service or product.

Paul Kiser - CEO of 2020 Enterprise Technologies, inc.

The economic definition of value-added is the difference between the actual cost of producing a product or service and the price the customer is willing to pay. However, author/speaker/ranter extraordinaire Tom Peters uses the term value-added to describe the satisfaction a customer experiences with the product or service that exceeds their expectations. This is a point that most organizations (for profit or not) fail to understand.

The Lesson of Starbucks
Starbucks is a good example of a company that has traditionally succeeded in giving ‘value-added’ products and service. Many people forget that in the 1970’s and 1980’s coffee was on it’s way out. Younger generations were choosing sweet soda drinks and mocking their parent’s addiction to coffee.

While it was Peet’s Coffee that pioneered specialty coffee in the 1960’s, it was two of Peet’s customers, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, who started a little company called Starbucks that copied Peet’s idea of selling quality specialty coffee beans. But Balwin and Bowker couldn’t visualize how coffee could become a new staple in a world that was done with drinking coffee.

It was Starbucks Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, Howard Schultz, that saw how coffee could establish a new market that was almost non-existent at the time. Schultz couldn’t convince his company that a retail specialty coffee outlet (not just beans, but fresh, made-to-order coffee drinks) was realistic.

The lesson of Starbucks is that Howard Schultz could understand how a customer could love the uniqueness of providing fresh specialty coffee when no one else could. Somehow Schultz knew that he could provide a value-added experience to his customers even before there was a market of specialty drinking customers. Peet’s coffee didn’t get it…even the owners of Starbucks didn’t get it…but Howard got it.

So what happened? Like in every great success story the champion quit. Howard Schultz quit Starbucks. He started his own specialty coffee retail outlet in 1985 using coffee beans he purchased from his former employer, and then in 1987, Schultz bought Starbucks from his former employers and the rest is…well, a lot of brewed coffee.

Customers liked Starbucks because it was different, because it was a good product, because it was convenient, because it made them feel special, but mostly because the experience of Starbucks exceeded her or his expectations. It was a value-added product that surprised the customer…and everyone else.

Next time: What’s next for Starbucks?

Best Practices: Become a Target!

24 Wednesday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Tom Peters

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Breaking the Mold, Champions, In Search of Excellence, Robert Waterman, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

I just read Dr. Bret Simmons blog post, Give Yourself Permission to Be Excellent. Excellence is a topic I fell in love with back in the 1980’s when Tom Peters and Robert Waterman wrote the iconic book, In Search of Excellence. In that book I finally found someone who confirmed that business as usual is not good enough.

In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman

Fortunately, the President of the hospital I worked at then had also read the same book and for two years I experienced what business could be when unleashed from the confines of the unimaginative and uncaring. All the ‘can’t-be-done’ stupidity had to face the light of day and it didn’t fare well when the control was removed from those who saw themselves as the ‘protectors’ of traditions. The hospital (run by a strict religious-based organization) grew and flourished under the new leadership. The facility kept it’s core values while eliminating most of the dysfunctional ideas that held it back.

But there was a price for those who pioneered the concept of excellence over authority. Those people came under scrutiny. Any mistake or failure was seized as proof positive that the people involved in effort of change were flawed….not that their ideas were flawed, but that the people were.

In Dr. Bret Simmons’s Blog he talks about the risk in striving for excellence and helps us understand why ‘risk’ happens.

(Click here to read Dr. Simmons Blog)

Dr. Bret Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com

Dr. Bret states that mediocrity abides by the current rules and to strive for excellence means defining new rules. Most people wait for someone in authority to define the new rules and in most cases those in authority fear risking his or her position by breaking new ground. Thus it takes a ‘champion’, as Tom Peters liked to call them, to step forward and make the new rules for everyone else.

However, once a person steps forward to lead the way they make themselves a target. Their peers ask, “Who are you to do this!!!” and they wait for the person to be struck down by someone in authority. The person in authority is embarrassed that they weren’t the one who took the bold action and so is predisposed to ‘put the person in their place.’ The result is that the person who leads the way is disliked…personally…by others in the organization.

The organization that lacks great leadership destroys champions, and make no mistake it takes GREAT leadership to love a champion. Good leadership toys with champions like a cat toying with a mouse. Good leaders are entertained by champions, but once they make an error the champion is lunch.

So why take the risk? Why not play it safe and color within the lines? George Carlin said, “Life is what we do while we are waiting to die.” It’s a matter of choice, but one can find purpose by being a champion and that can be a great feeling! So go ahead…put those red circles on your back and move out in front of everyone else. They can see the target easier when you’re in front…but then they have to live with the fact that they are always behind you.

Management by Coup 2: Eliminate Job Standards and Job Descriptions

24 Wednesday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Human Resources, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

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employee morale, HR, job descriptions, job standards, performance standards

Being the Boss is more than wearing a suit and looking important

by Paul Kiser

It seems like a very rational idea. Create job (or performance) standards for every employee that dictate their responsibilities and define the expectations (or for performance standards, defines ‘does not meet’, ‘meets’, or ‘exceeds’) for all aspects of every job. That is the only way an employee knows what is expected of them and the only way a manager can “objectively” measure performance.

Very rational…very, very rational….

News Flash: We don’t live in a rational, sterile world where we can put down on a piece of paper an adequate description of intangible concepts like:

Taking care of the customer.
Thinking outside of the box.
Anticipating unforseen problems

Paul Kiser - CEO - 2020 Enterprise Technologies, inc.

I used to think that I could write objective performance standards that covered the intangibles of the business world, but it is really like the Schrödinger’s Cat paradox. The more objective a set of performance standards, the more impossible it is to accurately and appropriately measure. Likewise, the more subjective the performance standards, the less accurate the measurement tools and the more a manager’s personality, mood, bias, etc. will influence an employee’s score.

In my first Management by Coup blog I proposed that employee evaluations could and should be eliminated. Now I want to go further and propose that performance standards are also unnecessary….But wait there’s more.

I propose that companies can also eliminate job descriptions as well.

Someone is saying “You CAN’T do that!! Job Descriptions are required by LAW, you idiot!!!” To that I say, BS. There is no Federal mandate for an employer to have a job description.

There are some caveats to this statement:

In certain situations (government contracts, state government positions, etc.) job descriptions are required.
Job descriptions are also often subpoenaed as evidence in an employee relations case.
If you have job skills, educational requirements, licensing, etc., then that needs to be listed in some type of job description.

However, all the other things in a job description (job duties, reporting to, etc.) are all optional. So maybe you can’t realistically eliminate a job description, but you can slice it down to the bare bones, and I recommend doing so. Why?

First, anything a company puts in a job description can and will be held against them. Like employee evaluations, the job description is often more useful to the employee’s lawyer than it is to the employee or the employer.

Second, like performance standards, job descriptions can’t possibly describe everything an employee does 2080 hours a year. For this reason almost every job descriptions has the phrase, “Other duties as assigned,” in it. So why not have a one line job description: “Other duties as assigned” and skip the hours wasted on writing and re-writing job duties?

Third, management is about talking to your staff. When a piece of paper is more critical to your company than talking to the employee on a regular and frequent basis, then that is the moment to close up the business and let your competitors take over the market.

Here’s a test. Write a job description for the expectations you have of your child (if you don’t have a child, try a pet, or your significant other). Then at the end of a week measure how well the job description improved your relationship and if the job description had any value over just not writing it up in the first place.

I rest my case.

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Fear of Public Relations

21 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Crisis Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Tom Peters

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New Business World, Re-Imagine!, Social Media, Tom Peters

The fog of Social Interactive Media is burning off

There are two approaches to Public Relations. The first is to live in fear of it and tremble at the prospect of screwing up. Take only measured steps that are carefully calculated and planned.

The other approach is to dive in. Risk mistakes and live and breathe being real and human.

The old school of Public Relations is the former. It is controlled by the Chain of Command. No one is authorized to speak unless cleared by multiple levels of authority and even then, to say or do anything that is nothing less than perfect is to fail. It is that Public Relations of which the world has become accustomed. Anyone who mars the perfect image risks banishment from the corporate world. Nightmare situations such as the current Toyota recalls reinforce the fear that Public Relations is a beast that must be closely guarded and heavily controlled.

This is why the new world of social media terrifies the old school. The unprecedented access to expressing our individuality on Facebook, Twitter, or even our own blog is the worst possible situation for those who believe that control of the message is the alpha and omega of Public Relations. Many companies are establishing strict policies for their employees on using Facebook, blogging, and all other avenues of professional or personal expression. Most of this comes from the management attitude that employees are a necessary evil and potentially a major embarrassment to the company.

What the old school of Public Relations doesn’t understand is that social interactive media (SIM) is creating a new model of business that is being driven by a desire of the consumer to do business with real people, not corporations. In today’s interactive world the branding of the individual is now becoming a driving force to he branding of the corporation. This is 180 degrees from the mission of most Public Relation professionals in major companies and it gives indigestion to old school managers that live in fear of employee self-expression.

Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age

In 2003, Tom Peters came out with a book called Re-Imagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. If you understand that the book was published before Twitter and Facebook were available to the public, you have to wonder if Tom Peters can travel into the future and back again. Today everyone throws around the term ‘Branding’ but few know that today’s usage of the term originated from Peter’s 2003 book. On page 232 of Re-Imagine! Peters explains a new world of people who develop her or his individual brand separate from the corporate world. Now, in 2010, social interactive media has provided the vehicle for individuals to show off who they are and what they know and Peters has become the Moses of the new business world.

Like all business, the winner will always be the one who can embrace change before others. Companies that can adapt and use social interactive media to promote and showcase the quality and expertise of the individual within their ranks will have the advantage over the competition. In those companies the new role for the Public Relations professional is to help employees brand themselves instead of trying to muzzle them.

Still, the old school will loudly point out every slight misstep or mistake made by an employee that may reflect poorly on a company’s reputation. What they don’t understand is that errors make us human and that can deepen the bond between the company and the customer. An error is the opportunity to make things right and that is the key to all long-term relationships.

Passionate People Can Save a City

16 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

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Peter Drucker, Re-Imagine!, Reno Aces, Tom Peters

Rick Parr: A Force of Nature

Last night I sat in a back room of a restaurant in downtown Reno (that shall remain nameless) at the Rotary Club of Reno New Generations meeting. The restaurant had decided to pack the back room with patrons who were not part of the meeting and who seemed to be oblivious that someone was trying to speak to the group. Despite all of this distraction the club members were focused on the man standing up. To everyone it was apparent that this man was passionate about his job and all the noise around him didn’t keep him from making it clear that he loves what he does.

The man is Rick Parr and he is Passionate about his ball club. Rick is the General Manager of the Reno Aces and last year the new Triple A team came to Reno and erased all doubt of whether this town could support the Arizona Diamondbacks ‘farm’ team.

Rick Parr - General Manager of the Reno Aces

The Reno Aces exceeded all expectations for a first year club with a season attendance approaching 500,000 fans. But that achievement was nothing compared to what happened during the first four months of 2009.

On February 1st of last year the ballpark looked more like the first phase of a major construction project rather than a state-of-the-art baseball stadium only 10 weeks away from the first pitch of the first home game. But on April 17th all, and I mean all, were amazed. For anyone who was paying attention it was a miracle.

http://www.renoaces.com

Rick doesn’t look like he has 30 years in baseball management. When you talk to him about the Reno Aces he sounds like the person who was just hired to take a job that he has dreamed of all his life. He loves baseball and he loves his team. You get the sense that the miracle of last year’s opening day was due in large part to the force a nature known as Rick Parr.

But Rick’s passion doesn’t stop with baseball. He is passionate about redeveloping downtown. Like Denver’s Coors Field, the new Reno Aces Stadium is located in an area that has had little economic benefit to the city in recent history and like the Colorado Rockies, the Reno Aces are bringing in people and new development to revitalize the downtown area.

Rick has only been in Reno for 18 months, but as the designated hitter for the Front Office he taking the vision of the team owners, Jerry and Stuart Katzoff, and bringing home a Re-Imagined* downtown that offers more attractions than just a baseball team. This year the Aces will open up the next phase of new dining and shopping with the Freight House District’s first retail offerings. There is no doubt that this area will become a ‘Mecca’ for tourists and local citizens, bringing new jobs and revenue for local businesses and to the City of Reno.

Even before the completion of the full Freight House District retail project it is obvious that the Reno Aces have changed Reno for good. Rick would probably be the first to credit the work of many others for the success, but there is one common factor in all that is happening in the downtown area and that is the passion of Rick Parr.

Rick is a great example of how one person can change a city by having passion and vision. Peter Drucker wrote, “Wherever you find something getting done, you find a monomaniac with a mission.” Rick Parr is Reno’s newest monomaniac. Just in time!

(*Re-Imagine! is a 2003 book by Tom Peters about rethinking business in a new world.)

Reno Aces website is at http://www.renoaces.com.

Management by Coup 1: Eliminate Employee Evaluations

11 Thursday Mar 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Human Resources, Management Practices, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Employee evaluations, HR, job standards, performance reviews, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

I have worked many years in Human Resources and at one time my job was to help managers write employee job standards and performance evaluation tools. I would like to now publicly apologize for playing a role in the dark side of management.

HR people can give you dozens of reasons why employee evaluations are absolutely necessary. You need to give the employee feedback, you need to let the employee know your expectations, evaluations are documentation of the employee performance, documentation is needed for disciplinary actions, blah, blah, blah, blah…it’s all BS. Here are four myths about employee evaluations:

Myth #1: Employees need periodic feedback
WRONG! Employees need constant feedback. Respectable HR people will tell you that there should be nothing discussed during the employee evaluation that they were not already aware of; however, in actual practice the employee evaluation is the moment many managers use the GOTCHA Management Technique by dredging up hearsay and listing new expectations that the employee has never heard before the evaluation.

Tom Peters discussed a technique known as MBWA or Management by Walking Around. The basic idea is the manager stops wasting time sitting in an office and spends it by interacting with his or her employees and customers. This brilliant 21st Century management technique was first discussed in the book, In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman in 1982! For over 25 years managers have been told to get out of her or his office to manage and yet some people still don’t get it.

Myth #2: Evaluations are needed to support disciplinary action
While some managers use the evaluation as a GOTCHA moment, others will minimize a negative performance issue in order to maintain a positive working relationship; therefore, an employee’s evaluation often fails to support disciplinary action taken against them. Time after time an employee’s lawyer seizes on a lack of evidence in the employee’s evaluation to justify disciplinary action by the employer. A manager is better off having written documentation of a problem at the time of the incident rather than trying to use the evaluation to document an issue regarding the employee’s performance.

Myth #3: Evaluations are needed to determine pay increases.
Pay increases need to be fair and equitable, but many organizations find that withholding a pay increase based on performance causes more potential legal problems than is solves, and punishment destroys employee morale rather than improves an individual’s performance. Pay for performance was a novel idea that never delivered on the promises of improved productivity by the HR department.

Myth #4: If a manager is not required to do periodic employee evaluations they will never give the employee the information they need to excel at their job.
An evaluation does not a good manager make! If a manager is not giving constant feedback to their team, then what good are they?

Life Without Evaluations
I know it seems unthinkable for some, but evaluations are an HR imposed control system that is completely unnecessary. In fact, evaluations do more harm to teamwork because they create a formal “Us vs Them” situation between the manager and the worker. Evaluations can make a manager feel superior and that is not a good foundations for positive employee relations.

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