From the category archives:

Business

Lip Service Is Not Customer Service

by Daria Steigman on March 2, 2012

LIke a fresh coat of paint, an alluring offer is just the facade.I wrote recently about the gap between empowered customers and many sales and customer service teams. That post dealt specifically with the disconnect between what a company is offering online and what they’re telling you when you call them.

And that doesn’t even factor in referrals, reviews, or word of mouth.

Internet service providers (the example in that post) have a captive audience. My options, like most people’s, are limited by geography. So my choice is less about where to shop as it is about which company is least problematic right now.

There is no Amazon ISP.

Your business, though, probably can’t get away with price gouging or being crappy. And a pretty Web site with alluring offers, like a fresh coat of paint, is only the facade.

Your prospects are doing their homework:

  • They’re asking around about you before they pick up the phone.
  • They’re Googling your name.
  • They’re reading reviews on Yelp, Angie’s List, and other sites.

If your store, restaurant, clinic, or kiosk doesn’t meet expectations, I don’t walk in the door. Or I don’t buy. Or I don’t come back. Or–worse–I tell everyone how disappointed I am.

My business can’t afford to have that happen. Can yours?

Photo by Scott Robinson (Flickr).

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Is Internet Access a Human Right?

by Daria Steigman on February 28, 2012

In Internet Access a Human Right Under Article 19?Is Internet access a human right?

A United Nations special report last June on “the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression” talks about the indispensable nature of the Internet:

“Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access… should be a priority for all states.”

The author, Frank LaRue, also writes:

“States have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from Internet access, regardless of the justification provided… to be disproportionate and thus a violation of Article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

I agree that Internet access facilitates connectivity. It’s certainly good for business. I wrote a post two years ago about how data democratization and the democratization of access have transformed the way we do business. The Internet has also been a critical tool for political activism, perhaps no more starkly evident than in the groundswell of online-organized activities that followed the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi.  Most recently, it’s enabled Syrians in cut-off cities to show the world what’s happening inside their country.

The Internet levels the playing field. And it gives voice to the voiceless. But is access a right?

I’m not sure.

Vinton Cerf, a VP at Google who is considered one of the fathers of the Internet, says no. In an op-ed in the New York Times, Cerf writes:

“Technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself. There is a high bar for something to be considered a human right. Loosely put, it must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience. It is a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we will end up valuing the wrong things.”

I think he’s right. But what say you?

 Photo by Val Kerry (Flickr). 

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Your Employees Are Not Your Friends

by Daria Steigman on February 21, 2012

Blurring the Lines at Work Has Unintended ConsequencesYears ago, my friend Ellen* confided in me that she wasn’t sure whether to accept a promotion because it would put her in the role of supervising her friends. My question to her: If you don’t take it, will one of your colleagues snag the job?

She accepted the position.

What Ellen understood was that her work relationships were going to change.

You blur the lines between boss and friend at everyone’s peril.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen colleagues make in the workplace is to blur the lines between boss and friend. Trying so hard to be liked that they can’t hold people to deadlines, critique poor or incomplete work, or effectively stop people from undermining their authority in often subtle but always troubling ways.

Your employees are not your friends:

  • If you’re the boss, people are dependent on you for their livelihood. That’s a power relationship, not a friendship.
  • If you’re a manager, people rely on you to guide them, teach them, and shield them from the corporate winds swirling above their pay grades. That’s a subordinate (and sometimes mentoring) relationship, not a friendship.

I read recently that Tiger Woods is upset that his former swing coach has written a new book that talks about their relationship. Woods reportedly said, in part, that he was disappointed because it was someone he “trusted as a friend.” You don’t pay your friends.

Have you seen the lines blur in the workplace? Have you blurred them? What were the consequences?

*Not her real name.

Photo by Jenny Downing (Flickr).

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3 Tips for Managing Introverts

by Daria Steigman on February 14, 2012

Do Not Disturb: Introvert at WorkNo one would call me an introvert. I’m the person who will almost always choose the room where I know no one over the room where everybody knows your name. All that moving around the world growing up made me comfortable talking with strangers. But I also have the (introvert’s) need for a close circle of friends and a lot of “me” time.

In The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership,  Lisa Petrilli makes clear that the introvert-extrovert divide isn’t clear cut–and that many of us share traits from both categories. And we need to understand these, and understand how to use our strengths to thrive.

The book is at heart, however, a primer for introverts on how to thrive at work:

Being an introvert is not a disadvantage… Being an introvert can be a real advantage in business and leadership. Introverts love the world of ideas, we love to reflect, and we thrive on deep relationships with a small number of people who become pillars in our life.

Read my complete book review here, including Petrilli’s 3 tips for managing introverts in the workplace.

Photo by Chris Brown (Flickr).

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Would Your Business Survive the Shark Tank Intact?

by Daria Steigman on February 13, 2012

How a Great Product Ended a BusinessI was watching Shark Tank the other night when entrepreneur and inventor Eric Corti walked in pitching a balloon pump designed to take the air out of an open bottle of wine. He was looking for cash in return for a stake in his business.

I’m no oenophile, but I know that wine lovers and wannabe snobs will pay a lot of money to preserve their vintages. A friend of mine even installed a temperature-controlled wine chiller in her kitchen, telling me that “everyone has one.” (My mom quipped, “Yes, it’s called a refrigerator.” But I digress.)

The sharks liked the guy’s product, with one of them calling it “a better mousetrap.” Kevin O’Leary offered more money than Corti had initially requested in return for a 50-percent stake in the business—on the condition that he was coming in solely to help negotiate the sale of the wine balloon to the competition. Lori Greiner offered $500,000 for 100 percent of the company. Mark Cuban joined her—upping the buyout offer to $600,000 but only if Corti said yes immediately.

The sharks’ interest gave me three valuable pieces of information:

  1. The product was salable.
  2. The potential value of the product was significantly higher than where Corti had valued it.
  3. No one valued the inventor—just his invention.

Point #3 is significant—because most investors bank on the entrepreneur and count on that passion, drive, and smarts to result in a great product and a successful business. Here they had a product they believed was bankable and didn’t need (or want) the entrepreneur.

It’s decision time. What would you do?

First, I give Corti credit. He tried to negotiate a small (3-percent) royalty for his wine balloon. It backfired, but it was still the right move. And it got instant pushback (which actually reinforced data points 1 and 2). Cuban dropped out (and the offer dropped). At the end of the day, Corti accepted $400,000 in a revised Greiner-Cuban buyout.

I walked away thinking that Corti had allowed himself to be robbed—especially after the price dropped by one third. Sure, $400K is a lot of money. But there are other investors out there. Probably other buyers too. And attracting that much interest from the Shark Tank crew had to worth something. Plus there’s nothing to say that Greiner wouldn’t have brought the product to QVC anyway. Or that you couldn’t perhaps leverage her obvious interest in the product to pry open the door at rival HSN.

What would you have done?

Photo by floodllama (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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