Ducks v's Eagles

 Pls read this an excellent sharing....................................

 No one can make you serve customers well.....that's because great service is a choice.
 Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

 He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

 He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

 Taken aback, Harvey read the card.. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment...

 This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

 As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice...'
 Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

 Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

 As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

 And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of  the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

 'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

 Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always.. In fact, it's only been in the last two years.. My first five years driving, I spent most  of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

 He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll  rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd..'

 'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change  my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the  customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

 'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

 'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were  lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering  machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

 Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and  told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting..

 Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

 How about us?  Smile, and the whole world smiles with you... The ball is in our hands!
 A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up... let us do  good to all people.

 Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.

Retention Tips for a Less Talked-About Employee Segment

By Tom Silver

Since February, the number of professionals voluntarily leaving their jobs has outstripped the number of layoffs and discharges in each month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In spite of the fact that the U.S. unemployment rate is near 10 percent, retention is becoming an issue for companies, particularly in their technology departments.

The recession of the past two years might have produced a nation of security seekers, but the opposite appears true: We are becoming a nation of job hoppers.

Frustration runs especially high in technology departments, which are often the first place management teams turn to drive company productivity in a recession. The near constant strain to do more with less creates high turnover and low loyalty. For tech, this economic recovery will be a retentionless recovery.

According to the Dice Retention Survey, the majority of technology professionals (51 percent) said they intend to move to a new employer in 2010. The key influences on their decision to leave included the search for better career opportunities, increased competition and frustration with the lack of recognition for their accomplishments.

Current employers are still benefiting from the perception that it might be hard to find a new position, as only 27 percent of technology professionals believed it would be fairly or very easy to switch companies.

Still, employers shouldn't be fooled - that perception will change as opportunities pop open across the United States. On Dice, a career site for technology professionals, hiring managers and recruiters have posted 50 percent more jobs year-over-year for technology professionals.

Likewise, more than two-thirds of employed technology professionals (69 percent) have been approached at least once by headhunters since the beginning of the year. It's no surprise that increased salary is the incentive most frequently used by headhunters to spark the interest of technology professionals in considering a job switch. That carrot is followed by better career opportunities and work on new or emerging technologies. Right now, green technologies and mobile applications are the fields capturing the strongest emerging interest from tech talent.

While headhunters are circling, it appears employers may be in the dark. More than half (53 percent) of frustrated technology professionals said they are not vocalizing their career issues with their current boss.

In this new high-turnover, low-loyalty environment, leaders have to plan ahead and make pre-emptive strikes against the retentionless recovery.

Identifying critically important talent and understanding what incentives are important to those individuals is key.

While more money goes a long way, individual technology professionals may value flexible work hours, telecommuting, a new job title, or reimbursable education or training programs. The point is to take the time to ask and to customize retention programs.

In fact,  just 15 percent of technology professionals report that their company has taken positive steps to deter them from moving to another firm. That statistic must change as the resurgence of full-time hiring only amplifies the challenge of retaining top technical talent.


[About the Author: Tom Silver is a senior vice president at Dice North America.]

So which one's urs?

 

How to Be a More Effective Communicator

How to Be a More Effective Communicator

Success as a supervisor, manager, or staff level employee is dependent on the ability to communicate effectively. Communication is about more that just works; it is about body language. facial expressions, posture, actions, reactions, and demeanor. Every twitch contributes to the concept one is communicating.
 

Instructions

Step 1

The first step to effective communication is to determine whether written communication is required, optional, or unnecessary. Typically it is only required when one is communicating something highly complex, lengthy tasks or directions, or to someone what has a history of not understanding or following through with spoken communication. It is also critical when one is attempting to create a paper trail for disciplinary or promotional actions.

Step 2

Now clarify the ideas prior to the communication. This means that one should clearly and thoroughly understand the problem, idea, and messages that one wants to communicate. This requires significant analysis of the situation. It is often helpful to outline what one seeks to convey. If one is emotional it is helpful to organize the thoughts prior to communicating them to minimize the emotional context in the communication.

Step 3

Now ascertain the purpose of the communication. Think about what the goal that you want to accomplish with the message is. Do you want information, action, paradigm shifts, or just to present a message. Tailor your approach to serve this object and be cautious about trying to accomplish too much with each communication. The more objectives you present the more diluted your message becomes and the lower the chance that your message will get across to the reader.

Step 4

Next consider the setting and try to choose the best environment to present your idea. The timing is critical if the listener is having a bad day he or she may be negative opinion that could be difficult to change. Think about the setting and if it provides privacy, if needed. Consider the current and past practices and whether or not you conform to these. Consider the medium, is the message best communicated in person, by memo, or by mail.

Step 5

Now be conscious of unintentional and unintended communications. The tone of your voice, your expression, your mannerisms, and your receptiveness to others can greatly influence your audience. If your voice is condescending or harsh, you expression negative, your mannerisms negative, and you show no receptiveness to others then the audience may take a dislike to you and regardless of how much sense you point makes, the audience may automatically go against you.

Step 6

Next make sure that you include something of help or value to the recipient. This will make them more responsive to your point of view and most likely more receptive. Even if you are telling the employee something negative such as counseling them on taking too much time on a project make sure to note how much you appreciate the effort

Step 7

Next follow up on the communication. Ask for response and reactions. This is a critical part of communicating because it enables you to adjust and take corrective actions.

Step 8

Think about the long range goals. Typically people communicate immediate needs, however communicating long range needs is just as important. It helps show how vital the idea is and how it is consistent with long range interests and goals.

Step 9

Remember that actions speak louder than words so ensure that your actions support your message. If you talk about the importance of arriving to meetings on time, yet show up to meetings late it is unlikely that people will follow what you say.

Step 10

Last but not least try to be a good listener. Communication is a two way street. The purpose of communication is to both give and receive information and feedback. It only works if both parties are open to listening and ask for feedback to ensure that the message is correctly interpreted by both parties. In order to be an effective listener one should concentrate on the works expressed, implicit meaning of those words, and attitude of the speaker.

By Cinda Roth