By Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
As a young person growing up in rural Southwest Virginia, I was a bit more sheltered than those who spent their childhoods in urban environments. I had wonderful experiences, grew up with many good people, and honestly, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. That being said, once I got into the “real” world, I encountered a number of experiences I initially considered unusual, or even abnormal. For instance, my wife grew up on Long Island. The first time I traveled to New York, I found the people to be very…well…blunt. They seemed to say whatever came to mind. In the genteel south, we preferred to show face-to-face kindness and share our honesty behind people’s backs. It seemed like the thoughtful thing to do…bless their hearts. Another sheltered experience I had related to the safety of tuna salad. In the 1970’s, my family was a bit suspicious of seafood since we lived so far from the ocean. So, whenever we went out to lunch, my mother would never order a tuna salad sandwich because, she said, “We don’t know how old it is.” Oh, it was fine to eat it at home where the tuna could go from tin can to fridge in a matter of seconds. But restaurant tuna salad was…well…fishy. In hindsight, I have come to appreciate both the directness of my brothers and sisters from the north as well as the deliciousness of tuna salad sandwiches. These experiences are now familiar to me and thus, they seem perfectly normal. Over the past few years, our world has become more divided. Many people are intolerant of ideas that are different from their own and are equally intolerant of the people who express them. I suspect we see our own people and our own views as “normal” while anything else is considered abnormal. But perhaps normalcy is the wrong way to look at our differences. Maybe we should think in terms of unfamiliarity instead. When our son turned seven, he was the only white American at his birthday party. His closest friends had a variety of darker skin colors and most had parents who were born in other countries. While this was normal for the diverse communities in the Washington DC suburbs, it was unusual for me. I did not see a lot of differences while growing up in Southwest Virginia. My exposure to diversity was limited to black, white, Baptist, and Methodist. And even though we Methodists saw things quite differently than the Baptists, we were nice to their faces. Just saying. One of my son’s friends was born in the U.S. but his parents were born in Egypt. Every time I went to pick him up from their house, his friend’s mother loaded up a plate of food for me and implored me to take more. I was not accustomed to this kind of mid-afternoon welcome meal. But when I learned that this was part of their culture, it was no longer unfamiliar—and I ate without hesitation. That is, unless she offered tuna salad. Finding myself in unusual circumstances has continued throughout my life. I once visited a Rotary Club in The Netherlands where no one spoke English. Yet their welcoming handshakes and warm smiles spoke to our similarities rather than our differences. Several years ago, I had the privilege of doing a presentation at the White House. I was unfamiliar with the protocols for addressing high ranking officials so I simply asked for guidance from my host. Once I learned a few rules and understood that I would not be thrown out for making a mistake, I became more comfortable. And more recently, I visited a community that was heavily populated by those who follow Orthodox Judaism. After wondering out loud about the history of the town, I was given an overview of how the community evolved. It was not only fascinating but I found the differences in our backgrounds much less unusual. Due to my innate curiosity, I seek to make the unfamiliar more familiar. I believe there is a humanity that emerges when we try to understand another person’s experiences. This can lead to greater tolerance of both ideas and people—even though we might not share the same beliefs or perspectives. Now, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking I am accepting of every person or situation that I encounter. There are a few things that still seem abnormal to me. Like drinking buttermilk, preferring cats over dogs, and liking The Princess Diaries 2. But I’m willing to entertain the idea that I may just be unfamiliar with the reasoning behind the attraction to these things. By the way, if you are a buttermilk-drinking cat owner who loves The Princess Diaries 2, I offer my sincerest apologies for hitting the trifecta with this particular example. I think we live at a time when we need to see our differences not so much as abnormal but rather just unfamiliar. In doing so, perhaps we can become more understanding of the things that baffle us and ultimately see many more similarities than differences. I believe that the less unfamiliar the world looks, the more normal everything might seem. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Shep Hyken
Let’s go back to physics class for just a moment. Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states, “For every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” I admit to struggling in physics, but this was one principle I understood. The other day, a friend quoted Newton’s third law, and it hit me. Not only does this happen in physics, but it also happens in business, specifically when there is bad customer service or a bad customer experience (CX). So, with that, I bring you Shep’s Law of Customer Service, which is: For almost every bad customer experience created, there is an opposite reaction by the customer. They don’t come back. Notice that I put the word almost in the definition. Let me explain. A company wants a customer to buy its product or service. Then the customer has a bad experience. Perhaps an employee was rude or there was a problem with a shipment and the company didn’t handle it properly. Let’s call that the company’s “action.” The “equal and opposite reaction” comes from the customer choosing not to come back, which is the opposite of what the company wants the customer to do. Where customer service and CX differ from Newton’s third law is that it’s not always an exact equal or opposite reaction. It doesn’t happen every time, but almost every time. What if almost all your customers, as in almost nine out of 10 of them, were to leave after experiencing bad customer service? That’s exactly what we found in our latest customer service research, that 86% of customers are willing to switch brands or companies because of a bad customer service experience. And the company doesn’t even have to deliver truly bad service – just not “good enough service.” Eighty-three percent of customers are willing to switch because another company will give them better service. Now let’s remember that perfection is not reality, so it’s not quite as grim as it may seem. I have emphasized the word almost, and for very good reason. Our research also found that most customers give one or two chances before leaving deciding to leave. While not quite an equal and opposite reaction, it’s close enough to make the point. And mistakes don’t count if they are managed well. A mistake or complaint handled well actually reinforces that the customer made the right choice to do business with that company – sometimes even more than if the mistake had never happened at all. Let’s summarize it this way. When a customer chooses to do business with you, there are two future outcomes. They come back, or the opposite happens, and they don’t. So, manage for the reaction – not the opposite reaction – that you want to happen, which is to get the customer to say, “I’ll be back.” Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
While many of us associate retirement with lazy mornings, afternoons on the golf course, and evenings playing bridge, a gentleman I met several years ago took a different path. Instead of slowing down upon his retirement, Pat Hyndman embarked on a second career and became an executive coach. Pat and I met when I spoke at a monthly gathering of business owners he coached. Several of his friends had prepared me that Pat’s health was failing. Almost a year of struggling with stage four cancer had taken its toll. Knowing this, I did not expect to encounter such vitality and passion from a man who was receiving regular chemo treatments and who on that day, was turning ninety-eight. Yes, ninety-stinking-eight! But when Pat saw me enter the room, he stopped speaking midsentence, put his pad of paper down, and said in a loud, welcoming voice, “Everyone, our guest John O’Leary has arrived from St. Louis. Let’s welcome him!” He walked over, looked me in the eyes with a big smile, shook my hand firmly, and thanked me for making the trip. During my three-hour session with the group, while every executive took notes and engaged in the presentation, no one was as dialed in as Pat. He soaked up every word and vigorously took notes. After the session, we celebrated Pat’s ninety-eighth birthday. As we sang “Happy Birthday,” he looked as joyful as a kid, wearing a playful smile and using his hands to spiritedly conduct our singing. After he blew out the candles on the cake, Pat went around the room and celebrated each person in attendance. One by one, he thanked all twenty-five business owners by name, complimented something he respected about them, and shared specifically why he was grateful they were a part of his life. And although I’d met him just four hours earlier, he included me in this celebration. Pat thanked me for waking up early, catching the flight from St. Louis, leaving behind my wife and kids, and joining the group that day. He made each person feel as if the entire party was for us, rather than him. At the end of the evening, as Pat was putting on his coat to go home for the night, I asked what fueled him each day. What allowed him to keep going to work with such energy and enthusiasm, keep fighting through chemo, keep showing up for life? “You know, John,” he said with a smile, “life is a gift. And I treasure each day I’m given. I’ve discovered that a person begins aging only when they stop learning and stop loving. “Plus,” he added, “I made a promise to my wife, Bonnie, seventy-three years ago to stay by her side. I intend to keep that promise.” He winked at me, gave me a hug, and then headed out the door, saying, “I better get home soon or she’ll think I’m running around on her!” Less than two months after that conversation, Pat went home for the final time. But not before keeping his promise to Bonnie, and being by her side when she passed away three weeks before him. For nearly a century, Pat Hyndman showed us how we could live our lives with childlike awe. He knew that life was a gift, that every person matters, and that each day was packed with limitless possibilities. My friends, today, let’s also seek to reveal these truths through how we live our lives. This is your day. Live Inspired. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Donna Cardillo
A few years back during a loss of power after a storm, I went to a convenience store that had electricity to get coffee and ice… essentials during a power failure! A customer (a man in his 40s) saw me trying to juggle several bags of ice and picked one up to help me out to the car. A woman who works there and apparently knows him says, “Leave it to a Marine to help!” On our way to my car, I said, “Thanks so much for your help. That was very kind of you.” Him: Just pay it forward. Me: I always do. I’m a nurse! Him: (Throws his hands up in the air and smiles) Why didn’t you say so? (Nurses, law enforcement folks, first responders, and military folks have a close bond). Me: So you’re a Marine? Him: Yup. 27 years. Me: Thank you for your service. Him: Thank you. I appreciate that. He then puts his arm out to hug me and as I reciprocate he kisses my cheek, we hug and wish each other a great day. And this is what life is made of, these small moments of connection and support. Reach out to another human being with kindness whenever you can, even in the seemingly smallest way. You may make their day as he did mine. You might even unknowingly be throwing a lifeline to someone, often a total stranger, who unbeknownst to you is in a dark place in their life and desperately needed that connection to pull them back into the light. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
If your recruiting efforts include hiring Gen Z, now is a good time to review your hiring practices. “I can get a job anywhere. I’m looking for a culture.” This statement was made by a bright and talented Gen Z woman at the top of her graduate class. Her education and qualifications make her a desirable candidate for just about any organization. It was clear that she will have her pick of jobs. Here is what I gleaned from our conversation:
WHAT’S IN A CULTURE? Like many millennials and Gen Zs, she wants:
MAKE THE MOST OF THE INTERVIEW I was recently talking with an experienced manager who was having difficulty hiring for open positions. In our coaching conversation, I asked her to walk me through a typical interview. “Carla” described her process for reviewing the resume with the candidate and having them review the job description. There are a few major flaws in this approach:
A great employee relationship starts with a single interview. How are you making the most of those precious interview opportunities? Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Incorporate these habits into your regular routines to stay focused on what is most important. 1. Plan a trip. It turns out that even thinking about a vacation is healthy. When people plan a trip, they envision the activities, the places they visit, and even the views. That planning helps our brains relax as though we were there. Planning is like a mini vacation for the mind. As leaders, encourage people to schedule vacation time, plan the vacation, and take the vacation. 2. Care for health. Encourage your teams to stay fit with good nutrition, lots of water, exercise, and restful sleep. It sounds basic, but many of us sacrifice our health when we get busy with work. Make sure it is easy for your teams to be healthy at work. Some workplaces have free filtered or bottled water available, and others bring in health lunches for special occasions. 3. Show pride in the workplace. I recently watched a CEO stop to pick up trash on his way to the office in the morning. It was a windy day, and a plastic bag and papers had blown across the grass. He walked over and took it to the trash. “Everything counts” he smiled. He is right. He sent the example that everyone is responsible for the appearance of where we work, and everyone’s actions matter. He instilled pride in the organization by being willing to do what was needed at that moment. 4. Clear the clutter. I struggle with managing clutter, because I work in piles of projects, and my piles expand to fill the space I have. Every week, I schedule cleaning the workspace. I take everything off the desk and then file it, toss it, or organize it. It is easier to be productive and switch gears when my workspace is neat, clean, and organized. 5. Monitor team self-talk. Speak kindly to yourself and request that your team members do the same. Use encouraging words. One of my managers used this phrase to overcome negative language in the workplace toward ourselves. She said, “if you would not say the words you are thinking to your best friend, you should not be using those words toward yourself.” 6. Clarify your vision. Spend team-time brainstorming about what you want to accomplish and how you want to put that into action. Get the team together to figure out what everyone is thinking and capture innovative ideas. Ask your team what you want your legacy to be and craft the vision based on where you want to go. 7. Engage in meaningful activities. Devote your time and energy to projects that matter as a team. Use your specialized skills to help your community. 8. Stay positive. Peter B Stark, author of the amazing leadership book, The Competent Leader says, “As leaders we don’t have the luxury of negative thinking.” As leaders, it is our responsibility to search for the positive aspects and possibilities of every situation. We must look for the opportunities the challenges bring and find ways to make a tough situation better. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Steve Gilliland
The way in which organizations work is drastically changing, and it can get challenging to keep up. Change is inevitable and widespread; employees are tasked with a high workload while having low control over the environment. This can result in frequent burnout, stress, and a high turnover rate. As a leader, work to the best of your abilities to ensure employees are motivated and comfortable. Here are some tips to help you make a difference in the workplace: 1. BE TRANSPARENT A great leader is honest and vulnerable. Employees gel better with a leader who is accountable for their mistakes and their team. When things don’t go your way, remain transparent with your team and give them accurate details about the current situation. This can prevent miscommunication and help ensure that everyone works collaboratively toward one common goal. 2. ASSIST A NEW EMPLOYEE Remember how challenging your first few weeks at work were? Along with learning your job, you also had to understand the office environment and meet new colleagues. Being a leader doesn’t only mean you’re responsible for decision making. Ensuring all employees are comfortable is also the work of a good leader. Make a new employee’s day by helping them find their way around and feel welcome. 3. REMEMBER: YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE YOUR STRENGTH Although client satisfaction is important, your employees are the backbone of your business. They are the ones who can truly help your company flourish. Ensure that they receive constant help and support whenever needed. Sometimes work can get overwhelming; talk to them to ensure they’re not in burnout mode and are maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Focus on setting a better retention strategy and improve the work environment overall. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
By the end of the second week of January, 29% of us will abandon our New Year’s resolutions. By the end of the year, only 9% of resolutions will remain resolute. Sobering. So many of us resolve to change, only to have those commitments meet an untimely death. A single, small temptation can lead us astray, causing us to conclude that our resolutions have crumbled. Better luck next year, we tell ourselves, as we regress to our old ways. A key problem with resolutions is their all-or-nothing nature. These immovable rules suggest that any deviance from perfection is an act of total destruction. Since few of us are perfect, we slip once and then terminate our commitment to change. To combat this trap and enjoy meaningful progress, I suggest you set a New Year’s theme instead. Your theme isn’t a rigid, binary, unrealistic promise but rather a direction that can be sustained over the next 12 months. Two years ago, my theme was Health. There were moments that I ate peanut M&Ms, to be sure, but I also managed to read several books on the subject, listen to dozens of podcasts, drop 20 pounds, and reduce my lipid profile by 40%. If it were a weight loss resolution, I’d likely given up after the first bite of a hot pepperoni pizza (my weakness). Since it was a theme, however, I realized that each decision on each day was a guilt-free, independent opportunity to align with my broader objective. This year, my theme is artistry. My focus will be to inject creativity into every problem I confront and every opportunity I pursue. When I send emails, I’ll try to make them more artistic. I’ll try to inject inventive thinking in weekly team meetings. To support the theme, I plan to expose myself to great works of art in many categories ranging from spoken word poetry to business invention. I’ll also be mindful of this theme when walking into a room, giving a speech, or having dinner with my family. How might an artist post a blog, negotiate a deal, or take out the trash? My theme will be ever-present, guiding my behavior rather than holding me to an unrealistic metric. Your theme could be a personal one such as compassion, kindness, better listening, or helping others. Or your theme may be a pragmatic business skill such as finance, PowerPoint mastery, or enhanced communication. Your theme may center on a passion or hobby such as music, art, or fly-fishing. Simply put, a single theme for the year has a far better probability of delivering the progress you seek compared to those vapid resolutions that most of us quickly dismiss. Once your theme is established, brainstorm rituals, reinforcements, and rewards to keep your theme front and center. Share it widely, as your public pronouncement creates its own accountability mechanism. Allow your theme to seep into daily life, and mastery will soon follow. Here’s to your tremendous success in the New Year, and to hoping your annual theme serves as a powerful guidepost along the journey. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Roger Crawford. This was originally published on Roger's blog.
While a winning mindset along with motivation is undoubtedly the key to success, one important factor individuals and organizations sometimes overlook is consistency! When people learn I became a division 1 college athlete despite having four impaired limbs, they often ask, “How did you do that?” Certainly, the element of surprise worked in my favor. When my opponent realized they were competing against someone with a “disability,” the pressure for them to win increased significantly. I remember playing a match in college, and since it was chilly, I was wearing warmup pants. The person I was playing was clearly frustrated and thought losing to a guy with three fingers was unbearable. After the competition was over, I removed my warmup pants, my opponent said, “What, you have a fake leg?” Once he realized besides having three fingers, I also had an artificial leg; he took the loss a lot harder. On the tennis court, I wasn’t the most powerful or the fastest so I focused on what I believe can be your superpower, and that’s consistency. Here’s why, “If you hit the ball over the net one more time than your opponent, you win the point and if you remain consistent, you’ll likely win the match! Isn’t this true in life as well? To build a consistent mindset, it’s important to prioritize progress over perfection. While a winning mindset along with motivation is undoubtedly the key to success, one important factor individuals and organizations sometimes overlook is consistency. I’ve found that consistency can overcome obstacles and is more important than ability. Many people with immense talent fall short of reaching their potential because they are inconsistent with their efforts. Your skillset alone does not determine success; what you do with your skillset consistently determines success. No matter how much natural ability you have, your true potential won’t be realized without consistent action and consistent discipline. If you apply the principle of consistency, it will beat the inconsistency of others and become your competitive advantage. It’s what we do repeatedly that will shape our lives and determine our future. Consistency is what separates those who succeed from those who don’t. Your ability to stay consistent is greater when you are crystal clear on your goals. If you only have a vague idea of what you want to achieve and the action it takes to get there, you will struggle to maintain persistence over time. Establish clarity on what you want to achieve, scale up on your efforts, and most importantly, stay consistent. Being persistent will give you the courage to never give up, and being consistent will elevate your level of success. As we begin a New Year, commit to being the person who consistently hits the ball over the net one more time every day! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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