Phil's Customer Service blog

Leadership lessons from Richard Branson

Richard Branson has just published a new book, Business Stripped Bare. Hot off the press, here are a couple of insights from it:

“Inspire people to think like entrepreneurs, and whatever you do, treat them like adults. The hardest taskmaster of all is a person’s own conscience, so the more responsibility you give people, the better they will work for you.”

“One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes. When you are pushing the boundaries this is inevitable—and it’s important to realize this. Even when things are running well, there is always the prospect of a new reality around the corner. Suddenly, all the good decisions you made last week are doing you untold damage. … Failure usually occurs when leaders avoid the reality of business. You have to trust the people around you to learn from their mistakes. Blame and recriminations are pointless.”

And my favourite one…

“There are many ways to run a successful company. What works once may never work again. What everyone tells you never to do may just work, once. There are no rules. You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over, and it’s because you fall over that you learn to save yourself from falling over. It’s the greatest thrill in the world and it runs away screaming at the first sight of bullet points.”

Hat tip: Michael McKinney’s Leading Blog

Great article in Tyler Brule’s column in the FT.

Apparently making people wait for a meeting to show how important you are has gotten out of control in the US. And it shows a culture that simply doesn’t care about the time of people who have come to see you, whether they be a general business appointment or a customer who is left clicking their heels in reception. Here’s a brief extract:

“On a recent trip to New York, a colleague and I were on the brink of getting in the lift without a word and leaving: our host had showed no interest in keeping her appointment and the receptionist was more interested in running a nail bar behind her big desk than playing the role of mistress of first impressions.

But at the moment we were about to leave, an attentive gentleman rescued his colleague and his company’s reputation with a tactful show of diplomacy and charm. It shouldn’t have been necessary.

“As the ailing economy chokes business and consumers, only those companies that take a cold hard look at how they are treating the people that keep their coffers full – and act accordingly (by improving service) – are the ones that deserve to survive.”

More from Brule’s column on the link below. On the same subject, I spotted this in the FT over the weekend, which is a good eight-word rule to solve the problem:

“Be gracious with people and ruthless with time.” – Martin Addison, MD, Video Arts

More from Tyler Brule here: Tyler Brule’s FT column

“Good timbers do not grow with ease;
the stronger the winds, the stronger
the trees…”– Williard Marriott

The one good thing about a downturn is that it makes you stronger as an organization. Or, at least it should. Most organizations just cut mindlessly, in which case it doesn’t.

Use this time to spot which of your frontline people are most resilient. It is likely that morale and motivation will flag among most, as that is natural in a downturn – people are worried about their own prospects, their spending power outside of work and so on. What you want to try and avoid, of course, is that mood being reflected in your relationships with your customers.

Role model the most resilient frontline employees – those who can continue to smile and provide good service and think proactively of the customer’s needs, rather than be distracted by their own concerns – and use their profiles when recruiting. Also, hold them up as ‘heroes’ to the rest of the organization.

But, don’t dismiss the concerns of those who don’t smile and stay buoyant through down times. Part of your role as a customer-centered leader is to become even more engaged with them and keep them inspired and motivated. That is in stark contrast to what most leaders/managers do in a downturn – become more distant, shut the manager’s door and spend time in meetings with those ‘on high’ which seem to the front-line to be all about which of them are to lose their jobs to cut costs.

So, it’s time for you to step up and show your true colours/colors as a manager and leader that keeps a focus on the customer and on communicating with your frontline people to keep their morale up.