World Travel Market 2007 London
Friday, 23rd November 2007
It could be the colourful sight of a giant rustic paella in a Spanish seaside town or the smell of a warm bagel on a New York street - But whatever the dish it seems food is something an increasing number of us remember from our travels.
Like never before, holidaymakers are choosing where they go by what they can put in their stomachs - and catering for them is now top of the menu for tour operators and destinations.
Fiona Jeffery, Group Exhibition Director of World Travel Market, who undertook the independent research with 2000 people throughout the UK of all ages and socio economic groups, said: "Food tourism today is where eco-tourism was 20 years ago; people are starting to take an interest.
"Although the research was carried out on behalf of World Travel Market was in the UK, we believe it is representative of a new and growing phenomenon within the international industry.
"The industry needs to take note and use the opportunity to its advantage. Holidaymakers want a hands-on experience and food is a manifestation of a destination's culture.
"You can open a different door with every meal."
"The last five years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are marketed and it's all because people are demanding authentic experiences, said Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism Association, a non-profit group representing more than 500 tourism businesses in 19 countries.
" For the first time, the true extent of food tourism has been measured in the UK by World Travel Market, the premier business event for the international travel and tourism industry, with research revealing more than half (53%) ranked eating traditional dishes as a 'very important' or 'important' part of their holiday.
Meanwhile, a staggering 86% of Brits quizzed said they enjoyed local foods when abroad.
The trend is not just limited to those on specialist tailor-made breaks either, with 83% of people who typically go on half- or full-board holidays admitting they willingly miss meals in their hotel or resort to try out local restaurants.
International chef Gary Rhodes, whose TV programmes has helped open up the world's traditional dishes and ingredients to a hungry audience, has recently opened a Rhodes restaurant in Calabash, on the Caribbean island of Grenada and onboard P&0 Crusies new liner Arcadia. He said:
"The potential for tourism through dining is enormous and what better way to learn about a country than at the table! My experience is that travellers are becoming both more sophisticated and daring about what they eat."
Changes in Weekly Shop
Supermarkets have played a major part in the shift in attitudes, making foreign foods more available.
One supermarket chain, Waitrose, for example, recently unveiled a range of tapas and Greek dishes that customers might have tried on their holiday.
"The world is becoming a smaller place and we are seeing our customers' tastes change to reflect this. Dishes from all corners of the globe are becoming mainstream additions to the British dinner table," said Waitrose communications manager Gill Smith.
"Flavours people have sampled on holiday are becoming more popular. As they travel to further afield, customers are more willing to experiment with new flavours. Our oriental range now extends beyond Chinese dishes to Japanese, Malayasian and Thai foods.
"We're also finding that as people travel more, they are more knowledgeable about regional trends within countries. Instead of simply wanting Indian foods, we're finding that customers are aware of Goan and Keralan food and want to buy these dishes at their local supermarket."
In the research, the growing trend to change what they put in their supermarket trolley because of holiday experiences is evident. A total of 42% said this affected their weekly shop choices.
Wolf said that some tourist offices are beginning to highlight food as a way of promoting their country to foreign visitors. This trend though must grow still further.
Chicago Led the Way
Chicago led the way eight years ago when it appointed former chef Judith Hines as director of culinary arts and events.
She oversees 275 annual food-related events, including its summer-long Stirring Things Up festival (May 1-Oct 31), which features culinary tours, food festivals, farmers' markets and concerts. Special hotel rates are available to visitors during the period.
Although it's impossible to know how many visitors are drawn by food alone, Hines said millions come for the festivals, including the 11-day Taste of Chicago in July, where 3.5 million people consumed 70,000 pounds of ribs and 250,000 slices of pizza last year. That helped boost hotel occupancy to 90% last summer.
"Food certainly helps boost tourism. While cultural events like theatre might be a good hook for tourists, it won't appeal to all; the attraction of food is universal" said Hines.
"The misperception is that it has to be all five-star fine dining. We have 76 different ethnic neighbourhoods and promote them all. Having really authentic food is part of the attraction."
Chicago's focus on food includes a food concierge in one of the city's largest tourist offices adjacent to a large theatre booking agency. "It's a great tie-up. We explain the food scene to people who are looking for somewhere to eat on their night out."
Hines also offers city tours with a difference, with a bus stopping at four local restaurants with diners having a course in each. "It's a fun way to find out about the city's culture and heritage," she explained.
Operators claim the last five years has seen a significant change in the eating habits of Brits abroad, with clients shunning the 'chips with everything' restaurants and seeking out more local flavours.
This is borne out by World Travel Market's independent research which indicated that 62% of those questioned shunned "glamorous" foreign restaurants and wanted to eat in rustic surroundings with the locals. Only 7% said they would prefer to eat in glamorous surroundings when overseas.
Only 15% of those questioned would plump for international cuisine rather than food typical of the area in which they were staying.
Demand for Authentic Experience
"People want an authentic experience," claimed Chris Orme, general manager of Far East specialist Travel Indochina.
"We are talking much more about food to people when they book and make it a central part of the holiday, going to local restaurants and experimenting. The availability of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food in the UK means clients want to try the authentic stuff much more.
"People have booked particular holidays with us on the strength of the food. We're certainly not an operator that deals with food tours, but eating has certainly become a big interest for our clients."
Long Travel, a specialist in rural Italy and Sicily, claimed around 85% of its clients now asked specifically for food advice when booking.
Contracts manager Laura Bell said: "Customers have very high expectations of the food in Italy because it receives so much good press and is always featured in cookery programmes.
"Getting back to nature and trying out dishes in a traditional setting is a must for our clients. Even the larger hotels we use grow many of their own vegetables and produce wine now."
Restaurant Concierge Service
Mercedes Fehler, marketing manager at upmarket specialist Harlequin Worldwide said demand for local cuisine was so high among its customers the operator had introduced a 'restaurant concierge' service. Customers can contact the operator before departure and the concierge will recommend and make reservations at restaurants around the globe.
"The concierge contacts the hotel the customer is staying in to get advice about the places to eat nearby and will make bookings. It's a very popular service in long-haul destinations," said Fehler. "Short haul, people tend to get out and look themselves. Hunting around for a place to eat in Europe is something people are more comfortable with."
Meanwhile, Caribbean specialist Carib Tours runs a 'food evening' each year for regular clients to showcase the best local restaurants.
"People in the UK have access to some of the best restaurants in the world and so they won't settle for poor food when they're away," said Carib Tours managing director Paul Cleary.
"The four aspects of a holiday that are important to our clients are weather, beach, luxury and food.
"The trend in the Caribbean has been for 'big name' European restaurants and chefs to open in the last few years. Clients want to eat in them, maybe as a special occasion. They also want to get out and eat locally. In Barbados, the Oistin's Fish Fry is a great example, but then it also has The Cliff, one of the world's best restaurants."
The DIY trend has even started to spread long-haul, according the Martin Grass, sales and marketing director of Rex Hotels., which has nine properties in the Caribbean and two in Kenya.
"The Caribbean ahs been dominated by the big all-inclusives in the past and people had no need to go out to eat. While that is still very popular with the US market, people from the UK are a bit more adventurous, especially to the eastern Caribbean.
Islands such as Barbados and Antigua have fantastic local restaurants and are seen as safe to venture out at night. The vast majority of our business from the UK is now room-only, because people want to sample the food and it is comparatively cheap to eat out."
But food has become a central part of the overseas marketing for nations around the world. Earlier this year, Portugal teamed up with Harrods to promote its national dishes through the upmarket stores famous food hall.
For the European destination, the message aims to attract not only those on traditional packages, but also the major villa holiday market predominantly served by the low-cost carriers, since these people eat out more.
Portuguese National Tourist Office director José António Preto da Silva said: "Our cuisine is now one of the key attractions for UK visitors, with each region of Portugal offering unique cooking style as well as local specialities.
"Mealtimes are highly valued by the Portuguese, providing a leisurely opportunity to indulge in good food and good wine while catching up with family and friends, and this is a tradition we encourage visitors to join in to capture the true essence of our country and people."
The Rise of Food Festivals
Similarly, Singapore hosts an annual food festival each July celebrating a different aspect of its culture. This year (it's 14th) marks the 40th anniversary of the country's independence, majoring on what it is perhaps best known for by foreign visitors - its hawker (street) food.
Tee Yen Chew, Singapore Tourism Board's Area Director for Northern & Western Europe said: "Singaporeans are passionate about food and eating. In almost every corner of the island, you will find an endless variety of food served hot or cold at any hour of the day or night. Singapore's cultural diversity is very much reflected in the variety of local food it has to offer - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan and Eurasian. It is very important to communicate this to people thinking about visiting Singapore. It's not just a fusion of east and west, it the country's unique cultural tapestry."
Closer to home, VisitScotland has begun to promote food alongside its mainstay messages such as golf and outdoor pursuits. The country has also introduced a national quality assurance scheme, Eat Scotland, aimed at raising standards and educating hoteliers and restaurant owners about the important part food plays for visitors.
Key Driver in Scotland
Sector development manager for VisitScotland Ewan Fairweather said: "Food is a key driver in the holidaymaking decision. We want those in the industry to shout about their food, be proud and enthusiastic. That will enrich the visiting experience."
Las Vegas, meanwhile, is a good example of how destinations have changed the emphasis of their food product as tourism has changed.
Food has always been part of the gambling city's attraction from the opening of the first all-you-can-eat buffet - the $1 Midnight Chuck Wagon at the El Rancho hotel. But it was quantity over quality promoted to its original domestic clientele. Very often, food and drink was considered a loss-leader by the casinos, with establishments giving it away to attract gamblers. The arrival of high-rolling punters, overseas tourists and large business travel contingent means it now boasts some the best restaurants in the US. Today, Las Vegas is home to three restaurants that have earned the AAA Five Diamond rating: the Bellagio's Le Cirque and Picasso and The Mirage's Renoir.
"Dining in Las Vegas has evolved significantly from the days of the all you can eat buffets," said Melanie Jones, of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau in the UK.
Las Vegas has now become synonymous with gourmet cuisine and most of the top chefs have now opened restaurants in the city from Wolfgang Puck to Alain du Casse. Even Guy Savoy who allegedly vowed, in the past, that he would not consider opening a restaurant in the US."
For further information telephone Jane Larcombe on +44 (0)1892 785071 or email jane@janelarcombecommunications.comm
www.wtmlondon.com
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Is Counting the Root of All Evil?
Sunday, 18th November 2007
The love of money isn’t the root of all evil; arithmetic is the root of all evil- More specifically - counting. Don’t get me wrong; counting was a wonderful invention. It has its uses. We can keep track of kids: “Are all 5 kids here? Let’s see, 1… 2… 3… 4… where’s Billy?” We can keep track of time.
“He’s working overtime in the salt mines, honey. Instead of 12 hours, he’s working 14 hours today. He’ll be home at … 9, 10. Yes, 10 p.m.” And we can keep track of money: “He gets paid $1.49/hour working overtime, so our bank balance will be $11.37 … $12.37 … $13.37 … $13.86 after Billy gives us his share.” In fact, they remind us over and over in MBA school that “What gets measured, gets managed.”
So where’s the problem? This is evil? This gave us the industrial-friggin’-revolution. This sounds great!!
We measure the wrong stuff
Well, the problem starts when we choose what to measure. We often measure what doesn’t lead to our goal, and expect the measuring to magically create the managing.
Want profit? Let’s count expenses. Tell all managers to submit weekly reports of their team’s expenses. Let’s call it a TPS Report, and count how many TPS reports people send, to make sure they’re doing their job (which has silently morphed from “running a profitable business” to “submitting TPS reports”). Well, whoopie. We’ve added a whole layer of useless counting, and then another layer to count who is and isn’t counting. Since we don’t actually know what to do with the silly TPS report, we slide further from profitability. We’re counting the wrong thing.
Or how about sick days? There’s a hoot. “You only get six sick days.” Nice. Like that’s controllable. If you’re sick for seven days, come on in and give it to everyone else in your department, so everyone has to take six days off. You can measure sick days, but the measure is useless.
Seemingly meaningful measurements … aren’t
Then we make up measurements that mean nothing and try to manage those. “Let’s rank our employees. Then we can fire the bottom 10%.” Sounds easy; isn’t easy. (Sadly, however, it is a much-publicized Jack Welch policy.) How much time will managers spend on this ranking exercise? Do they apply consistent standards that are directly related to the company’s goals? Do we fire the 10% of managers whose ranking skill is in the bottom 10%? Who decides that?
Ranking is hard. Really hard. In fact, in 1963, psychologist George Miller’s famous paper “The Magic Number 7 +/- 2″ presented results showing people can make ranking distinctions between 5 to 9 items, and then we pretty much lose track. If you think you can accurately rank a 250-person department, you’re deluded and thus in the bottom 10%; it’s time to pack your bags.
Even if you can rank, can you use the rankings for action? We want to punt the bottom 10% of the company. We can’t really compare an accountant against a design engineer, so our fresh new Harriford MBA, Darren, suggests we eliminate 10% of each department. That will add up to 10% of the company.
But what if our 30 design engineers rock, while our 30 accountants all suck eggs? As a company, we want to fire six accountants (10% of 60 employees) and no design engineers. But firing 10% of each department means we leave three mediocre accountants standing, and three rockin’ design engineers out of work. That’s clearly wrong. But we get one benefit: we know Darren didn’t understand the logic of firing, so we know he’s in the bottom 10% and should be fired. Success! We have at least one confirmed cost savings from this exercise.
Measurement turns us evil
I know you’re asking: what in heaven’s name does this have to do with spirituality, morality, and/or the rest of our lives? (If you weren’t asking that, don’t worry, just go with the flow.)
Here’s where the evil comes in. We only measure so we can make decisions about those measurements and change our behavior. But we do this by judging the measurements as “good” or “bad.” When we’re measuring a “bad” trend, we panic. We’re afraid. We’re angry. We get frustrated, anxious, mean, jealous, violent, and nasty.
How do people act when they feel anxious, mean, jealous, violent, and nasty? Fortunately, we live in a Highly Evolved Society, so we meditate for five minutes, do some yoga, and we’re fine. NOT! Most people want to get rid of the bad feelings. Some fudge the numbers and play financial games. Think Enron. Some people hit something. Some people treat everyone around like crap. And some people blame.
Yes, they blame. They blame colleagues. “Sales are down! Sally distracted me so I lost the big prospect.” They blame loved ones. “I went over my sick day quota since I had to take Billy to treatment for his Black Lung disease.” They blame the government.”If it weren’t for the (Republicans/Democrats), (the economy/the occupation/global warming/life/love/happiness) would be better.” And they blame themselves. “I’m just a failure.”
All because they counted, then got emotionally wedded to the counting.
What counts and what doesn’t?
I’ve been talking so far about business, only not really. We count the wrong things in business, we count the wrong things in life. We go to pieces when our business counts go off-track, we go to pieces when our real-life counts go off-track. And remember, real life counts more. Where do you get caught in the counting?
Some of us count who’s done more housework, us or our spouse. Some of us count the dollars in our savings account. Some of us count what someone does to prove they love us. Some of us count how pious our neighbors are. It all turns into judgment, and from there, into emotion. When the counting is going the way we want, we think life is good. When the counting goes the other way, we get upset.
The upset is extra, though! It’s our reaction to the counting. The counting doesn’t cause the problem; it’s our stories about the counting that cause the problem.
Let’s fix this. Let counting be counting. Let emotion be emotion. All this score-keeping, counting, and measuring is made up. It’s all fantasy. It’s a convenient tool for making decisions. But it’s not real. And it’s certainly not worth turning yourself into an ogre, feeling horrible, and abusing yourself and your loved ones.
What if you count and discover your bank account isn’t high enough to send your kids to college? Don’t get upset. Use it as information and change your savings plan. But don’t beat yourself up. You can’t do anything for your kids that way, except set a bad example. Use the information to stay centered and work with the people you love to fix the situation.
What if you count and discover your spouse overcharged on the credit card? You can fly into a rage, or you can sit down with your spouse, love each other tremendously, and decide from that place how you’ll deal with the situation. I used the “fly-into-a-rage” method several times. It didn’t pay the bill, nor did it make me an attractive snuggle partner, even to our stuffed animals. The counting-as-information plus love-then-problem-solving works way better.
What if you count pounds, and discover you have more than you want? You can get depressed and eat a chocolate cake to help yourself feel better (Stever’s diet advice: learn to distinguish “sugar rush” from “feel better”). Or realize the number’s just information you can use to change your diet. If you’re going to diet, doing it from a place of fun makes it … well … more fun. And if you’re not going to diet, then at least enjoy the chocolate cake. But don’t let counting trick you into not-dieting, and also not enjoying the cake. That’s plain foolishness!
And what if you count and discover you’re not as rich as Darren, despite your superior skills? Or you’re not as rich as the goal you set at age 23? You can call yourself a failure and jump out of a plane without a parachute. That’s one solution. But maybe you can notice that a number is just a number, while you’re an entire human being who has much more to offer than a number.
Counting is optional. If you stop counting and look around, you just might find you’re warm, dry, full, and reading the web. And that’s not such a bad place to be. So count only when it’s useful, don’t take it too seriously, and feel good either way. Move your attention from counting to living. Put your attention on the things that make you feel happy, joyous, and grateful. If you must count, count those, and every day, count a little higher. It’s your life, and only you can make your counting count.
© 2006 by Stever Robbins. All rights reserved in all media.
Stever Robbins is founder and president of LeadershipDecisionworks, a consulting firm that helps companies develop leadership and organizational strategies to sustain growth and productivity over time. You can find more of his articles at www.LeadershipDecisionworks.com. He is the author of It Takes a Lot More than Attitude to Lead a Stellar Organization.
The love of money isn’t the root of all evil; arithmetic is the root of all evil- More specifically - counting. Don’t get me wrong; counting was a wonderful invention. It has its uses. We can keep track of kids: “Are all 5 kids here? Let’s see, 1… 2… 3… 4… where’s Billy?” We can keep track of time.
“He’s working overtime in the salt mines, honey. Instead of 12 hours, he’s working 14 hours today. He’ll be home at … 9, 10. Yes, 10 p.m.” And we can keep track of money: “He gets paid $1.49/hour working overtime, so our bank balance will be $11.37 … $12.37 … $13.37 … $13.86 after Billy gives us his share.” In fact, they remind us over and over in MBA school that “What gets measured, gets managed.”
So where’s the problem? This is evil? This gave us the industrial-friggin’-revolution. This sounds great!!
We measure the wrong stuff
Well, the problem starts when we choose what to measure. We often measure what doesn’t lead to our goal, and expect the measuring to magically create the managing.
Want profit? Let’s count expenses. Tell all managers to submit weekly reports of their team’s expenses. Let’s call it a TPS Report, and count how many TPS reports people send, to make sure they’re doing their job (which has silently morphed from “running a profitable business” to “submitting TPS reports”). Well, whoopie. We’ve added a whole layer of useless counting, and then another layer to count who is and isn’t counting. Since we don’t actually know what to do with the silly TPS report, we slide further from profitability. We’re counting the wrong thing.
Or how about sick days? There’s a hoot. “You only get six sick days.” Nice. Like that’s controllable. If you’re sick for seven days, come on in and give it to everyone else in your department, so everyone has to take six days off. You can measure sick days, but the measure is useless.
Seemingly meaningful measurements … aren’t
Then we make up measurements that mean nothing and try to manage those. “Let’s rank our employees. Then we can fire the bottom 10%.” Sounds easy; isn’t easy. (Sadly, however, it is a much-publicized Jack Welch policy.) How much time will managers spend on this ranking exercise? Do they apply consistent standards that are directly related to the company’s goals? Do we fire the 10% of managers whose ranking skill is in the bottom 10%? Who decides that?
Ranking is hard. Really hard. In fact, in 1963, psychologist George Miller’s famous paper “The Magic Number 7 +/- 2″ presented results showing people can make ranking distinctions between 5 to 9 items, and then we pretty much lose track. If you think you can accurately rank a 250-person department, you’re deluded and thus in the bottom 10%; it’s time to pack your bags.
Even if you can rank, can you use the rankings for action? We want to punt the bottom 10% of the company. We can’t really compare an accountant against a design engineer, so our fresh new Harriford MBA, Darren, suggests we eliminate 10% of each department. That will add up to 10% of the company.
But what if our 30 design engineers rock, while our 30 accountants all suck eggs? As a company, we want to fire six accountants (10% of 60 employees) and no design engineers. But firing 10% of each department means we leave three mediocre accountants standing, and three rockin’ design engineers out of work. That’s clearly wrong. But we get one benefit: we know Darren didn’t understand the logic of firing, so we know he’s in the bottom 10% and should be fired. Success! We have at least one confirmed cost savings from this exercise.
Measurement turns us evil
I know you’re asking: what in heaven’s name does this have to do with spirituality, morality, and/or the rest of our lives? (If you weren’t asking that, don’t worry, just go with the flow.)
Here’s where the evil comes in. We only measure so we can make decisions about those measurements and change our behavior. But we do this by judging the measurements as “good” or “bad.” When we’re measuring a “bad” trend, we panic. We’re afraid. We’re angry. We get frustrated, anxious, mean, jealous, violent, and nasty.
How do people act when they feel anxious, mean, jealous, violent, and nasty? Fortunately, we live in a Highly Evolved Society, so we meditate for five minutes, do some yoga, and we’re fine. NOT! Most people want to get rid of the bad feelings. Some fudge the numbers and play financial games. Think Enron. Some people hit something. Some people treat everyone around like crap. And some people blame.
Yes, they blame. They blame colleagues. “Sales are down! Sally distracted me so I lost the big prospect.” They blame loved ones. “I went over my sick day quota since I had to take Billy to treatment for his Black Lung disease.” They blame the government.”If it weren’t for the (Republicans/Democrats), (the economy/the occupation/global warming/life/love/happiness) would be better.” And they blame themselves. “I’m just a failure.”
All because they counted, then got emotionally wedded to the counting.
What counts and what doesn’t?
I’ve been talking so far about business, only not really. We count the wrong things in business, we count the wrong things in life. We go to pieces when our business counts go off-track, we go to pieces when our real-life counts go off-track. And remember, real life counts more. Where do you get caught in the counting?
Some of us count who’s done more housework, us or our spouse. Some of us count the dollars in our savings account. Some of us count what someone does to prove they love us. Some of us count how pious our neighbors are. It all turns into judgment, and from there, into emotion. When the counting is going the way we want, we think life is good. When the counting goes the other way, we get upset.
The upset is extra, though! It’s our reaction to the counting. The counting doesn’t cause the problem; it’s our stories about the counting that cause the problem.
Let’s fix this. Let counting be counting. Let emotion be emotion. All this score-keeping, counting, and measuring is made up. It’s all fantasy. It’s a convenient tool for making decisions. But it’s not real. And it’s certainly not worth turning yourself into an ogre, feeling horrible, and abusing yourself and your loved ones.
What if you count and discover your bank account isn’t high enough to send your kids to college? Don’t get upset. Use it as information and change your savings plan. But don’t beat yourself up. You can’t do anything for your kids that way, except set a bad example. Use the information to stay centered and work with the people you love to fix the situation.
What if you count and discover your spouse overcharged on the credit card? You can fly into a rage, or you can sit down with your spouse, love each other tremendously, and decide from that place how you’ll deal with the situation. I used the “fly-into-a-rage” method several times. It didn’t pay the bill, nor did it make me an attractive snuggle partner, even to our stuffed animals. The counting-as-information plus love-then-problem-solving works way better.
What if you count pounds, and discover you have more than you want? You can get depressed and eat a chocolate cake to help yourself feel better (Stever’s diet advice: learn to distinguish “sugar rush” from “feel better”). Or realize the number’s just information you can use to change your diet. If you’re going to diet, doing it from a place of fun makes it … well … more fun. And if you’re not going to diet, then at least enjoy the chocolate cake. But don’t let counting trick you into not-dieting, and also not enjoying the cake. That’s plain foolishness!
And what if you count and discover you’re not as rich as Darren, despite your superior skills? Or you’re not as rich as the goal you set at age 23? You can call yourself a failure and jump out of a plane without a parachute. That’s one solution. But maybe you can notice that a number is just a number, while you’re an entire human being who has much more to offer than a number.
Counting is optional. If you stop counting and look around, you just might find you’re warm, dry, full, and reading the web. And that’s not such a bad place to be. So count only when it’s useful, don’t take it too seriously, and feel good either way. Move your attention from counting to living. Put your attention on the things that make you feel happy, joyous, and grateful. If you must count, count those, and every day, count a little higher. It’s your life, and only you can make your counting count.
© 2006 by Stever Robbins. All rights reserved in all media.
Stever Robbins is founder and president of LeadershipDecisionworks, a consulting firm that helps companies develop leadership and organizational strategies to sustain growth and productivity over time. You can find more of his articles at www.LeadershipDecisionworks.com. He is the author of It Takes a Lot More than Attitude to Lead a Stellar Organization.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
How To Avoid The 5 Laws Of Defeat Of Business Leadership
Even the most successful business leaders make mistakes, sometimes minor missteps, other times poor judgment which sends a business reeling and forced to play catch-up to recover. Organizational strategist and leading business consultant Steven Feinberg, who has helped major companies such as Wells Fargo, Visa and Sun Microsystems, says mistakes don't 'just happen,' but are the direct result of poor timing, interaction errors, perceptual problems, and organizational deficiencies.
'These mistakes are based, in one way or another, on what I call the 5 Laws of Defeat,' says Feinberg. 'Knowing what to avoid when it comes to leading is just as important as knowing what to do.'
Feinberg, author of The Advantage-Makers: How Exceptional Leaders Win by Creating Opportunities Others Don't, identifies the 5 Laws of Defeat as:
1.) Opportunity knocking - do not disturb
'Opportunity myopia,' notes Feinberg, happens when narrow thinking rules behavior.'
'Leaders get so focused on established goals, they often miss opportunities because they don't understand the strategic context in which they can see a way to win.'
Feinberg cites Sears as a classic example. Sears passed on the opportunity to purchase the Home Depot chain because of their own financial problems, without seeing the value of the proposal to acquire Home Depot.
2.) Perceptual bias - we think we are thinking, but are we?
'One of the easiest mistakes leaders make is confusing perception with reality, they don't see what they don't want to see,' says Feinberg. 'Stepping back, removing oneself to see a true picture of your decision making is difficult to do. In my work, I make leaders aware of perceptual biases and errors that cloud clear, accurate judgment.'
3.) Competing against yourself - at cross purposes
'Businesses shoot themselves in the foot by competing against themselves, and they are rarely aware of it,' adds Feinberg. 'Some examples include: pushing for growth while pushing for cost savings, promoting innovation but punishing mistakes, giving mandates to people in your organization, but not giving them adequate decision-making authority to carry it out.'
4.) Stuck in your persistence - making sticky problems stickier
'The adage: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again' isn't always good business,' notes Feinberg. 'We can get stuck in our own persistence, whether repeated interpersonal conflicts or pushing projects we believe in, even though they are not working after multiple attempts. The road to hell is paved with mishandled interactions. Recurrent problems leave clues-the repeated attempted solutions that don't work. Changing the game, by first stopping the game is a good initial move.'
5.) Reactive tendency - playing to avoid losing
'When a leader is outcome-oriented, the emphasis is on achieving the outcome, you play to win rather than complaining or blaming circumstances,' says Feinberg. 'Reactive mishandling of situations almost always guarantees lower outcomes.'
'What I call 'Advantage-Makers' are those rare leaders who win more often because they know how to consistently transform challenging situations into the best possible outcomes,' notes Feinberg. 'They see opportunities where others see problems, influence outcomes where others are stuck, and create advantages where others are challenged. move forward when others are stuck. If you are not an Advantage-Maker you will probably lose to someone who is.'
Dr. Steven Feinberg, author of THE ADVANTAGE-MAKERS: How Exceptional Leaders Win By Creating Opportunities Others Don't, has spent more than thirty years applying the study of human behavior to performance efficacy and has advised senior executives on key leadership, team, and organizational issues, with an emphasis on advantage-making. Clients range from Fortune 500 firms to start-ups including Wells Fargo, Visa, Citibank, Symantec and Sun Microsystems. Dr. Feinberg graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo, received an MSW at Tulane University, and his PhD from Professional School of Psychology, San Francisco. He is on the faculty of the University of San Francisco's Department of Organizational Behavior and Leadership.
'These mistakes are based, in one way or another, on what I call the 5 Laws of Defeat,' says Feinberg. 'Knowing what to avoid when it comes to leading is just as important as knowing what to do.'
Feinberg, author of The Advantage-Makers: How Exceptional Leaders Win by Creating Opportunities Others Don't, identifies the 5 Laws of Defeat as:
1.) Opportunity knocking - do not disturb
'Opportunity myopia,' notes Feinberg, happens when narrow thinking rules behavior.'
'Leaders get so focused on established goals, they often miss opportunities because they don't understand the strategic context in which they can see a way to win.'
Feinberg cites Sears as a classic example. Sears passed on the opportunity to purchase the Home Depot chain because of their own financial problems, without seeing the value of the proposal to acquire Home Depot.
2.) Perceptual bias - we think we are thinking, but are we?
'One of the easiest mistakes leaders make is confusing perception with reality, they don't see what they don't want to see,' says Feinberg. 'Stepping back, removing oneself to see a true picture of your decision making is difficult to do. In my work, I make leaders aware of perceptual biases and errors that cloud clear, accurate judgment.'
3.) Competing against yourself - at cross purposes
'Businesses shoot themselves in the foot by competing against themselves, and they are rarely aware of it,' adds Feinberg. 'Some examples include: pushing for growth while pushing for cost savings, promoting innovation but punishing mistakes, giving mandates to people in your organization, but not giving them adequate decision-making authority to carry it out.'
4.) Stuck in your persistence - making sticky problems stickier
'The adage: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again' isn't always good business,' notes Feinberg. 'We can get stuck in our own persistence, whether repeated interpersonal conflicts or pushing projects we believe in, even though they are not working after multiple attempts. The road to hell is paved with mishandled interactions. Recurrent problems leave clues-the repeated attempted solutions that don't work. Changing the game, by first stopping the game is a good initial move.'
5.) Reactive tendency - playing to avoid losing
'When a leader is outcome-oriented, the emphasis is on achieving the outcome, you play to win rather than complaining or blaming circumstances,' says Feinberg. 'Reactive mishandling of situations almost always guarantees lower outcomes.'
'What I call 'Advantage-Makers' are those rare leaders who win more often because they know how to consistently transform challenging situations into the best possible outcomes,' notes Feinberg. 'They see opportunities where others see problems, influence outcomes where others are stuck, and create advantages where others are challenged. move forward when others are stuck. If you are not an Advantage-Maker you will probably lose to someone who is.'
Dr. Steven Feinberg, author of THE ADVANTAGE-MAKERS: How Exceptional Leaders Win By Creating Opportunities Others Don't, has spent more than thirty years applying the study of human behavior to performance efficacy and has advised senior executives on key leadership, team, and organizational issues, with an emphasis on advantage-making. Clients range from Fortune 500 firms to start-ups including Wells Fargo, Visa, Citibank, Symantec and Sun Microsystems. Dr. Feinberg graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo, received an MSW at Tulane University, and his PhD from Professional School of Psychology, San Francisco. He is on the faculty of the University of San Francisco's Department of Organizational Behavior and Leadership.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Knew What She Was Talking About
Respect Your Customer, For Better Or For Worse
Everybody jabbers about their excellent customer service. Think, however,
the bad experiences you have had during the past few months. They are probably too many to count. Serving customers with courtesy and dedication is not a difficult concept. So why do so few people seem to get it? It's a lack of respect-for themselves, their companies, and their customers. This lack of respect leads to laziness, poor language, an inability to see customer problems as opportunities, and a pointless concern with being right.
Laziness. We all know what it's like to be served by someone who sees customers as an annoying interruption to a coffee break or an unwanted illustration of the fact that they do not really know how to do their jobs. Lazy people and lazy organizations go through the motions of work, but actually spend more time and energy complaining about it than doing it. They do not understand that they would be much happier if they took pride in their work and made an effort to be productive. They lack respect for themselves.
Poor language. When was the last time you brought a legitimate complaint or issue to the attention of a customer service person, only to be told that your issue was not very important? Here's an example of one that occurred to me. A pet sitter that had cared for my dog while I was away for the weekend refused to return my key, even though she had been paid in full. I called up the people who had referred her. They started to worry, suspected something un-kosher, and advised me to change the locks as soon as possible.
I went straight to my apartment complex office. There was one staff member present (let's call her Paula) was with a new customer. I told her that I had an urgent issue, she told me to come back later. I excused myself to the new customer and explained my predicament. The first thing that Paula said was that my problem was not a 'maintenance emergency.'
Aside: Paula loves this phrase. She used it when my shower plug (in a one-shower apartment) broke in the shut position during 110 degree weather, leaving me with an impossible bathing situation. That was on a Wednesday. She thought that classifying my problem as a 'non-maintenance emergency' was justification not to fix it until Monday.
Back to the present situation: I started getting angry when I heard Paula's answer, but I knew by then that she simply did not know how to speak. I told her that the problem was serious (and the new customer agreed). I asked when it would be fixed. Tomorrow morning, she replied. That was all I wanted in the first place! Paula, however, did not say this from the beginning because did not respect me as a customer. Speaking properly, however, is not only about respect for the customer. It is also proportionate to one's self-respect.
Inability to View Customer Problems as Opportunities. At The Hamister Group, we have seen that magic can happen when we respond positively and respectfully to customer needs, especially emotional needs. Let's continue with the Paula example. Since a person exhibiting suspicious behavior had the key to my apartment, you can guess that I was rather emotional. All Paula needed to do was eliminate that awful phrase 'this is not a maintenance emergency' from her repertoire and replace it with. 'Oh, that's terrible! The maintenance man has already left for today. If I can take care of it by tomorrow morning, would that be ok?' She would have become my hero and have made a positive impression on the new customer. This is about respecting your customer's position and yourself as a problem-solver and service hero.
Pointless Concern with Being Right. The customer is not always right. In fact, we all know that the customer is often wrong. But he is still the customer. And, as Mark Hamister says, you won't have to worry about who is wrong and who is right if you don't have any customers.
My high school and college employer, a garden shop in Williamsville, NY, gave me a wonderful lesson in this philosophy: one day an older man came to the shop and complained that a plant we sold him had died. This plant was in its original container, which had a size and shape that we did not use. I politely told him that he had made a mistake: the plant had come from somewhere else. The customer became furious and insisted that he had bought it from us. I took the plant to one of the owners and explained the situation. He said told me to replace it and not to mention again that the man had not bought his plant from us. 'Why?,' I asked. It was from another store. 'It doesn't matter where he bought it. If he believes that he bought it here and we don't replace it, he'll tell people about his bad experience.' This is about respect for your company and your paycheck-which you won't have if your company turns away all of its customers.
There are times when being right are important. We must be right when dealing with laws, brand standards, company liability, etc. Most customer concerns, however, are not related to such issues.
RESPECT. Respect yourself, your customer, your company, and your paycheck. Show that you care at every opportunity. This will make you refreshingly different from bad customer service representatives.
Stop worrying about getting your way because you are right: even if you are right, you can still lose. All customers, right or wrong, can take their business elsewhere.
Show respect when you speak. Word your responses to customers carefully when facing difficult situations. A good answer to a complaint about the way you do things would be: 'That's a very good suggestion.' Validate your customers' emotions, even though it is best not to validate an unjust complaint: 'I understand how you must feel.'
Ask positive questions that lead to issue resolution: 'What can I do to resolve this for you?' 'What works for you?' 'What do you think would be a reasonable period of time to get this resolved?' Most people will not give absurd answers. They will appreciate your attention and may even become your most loyal customers . . . all because you showed them, yourself, and your company a small amount of respect.
And when you have a difficult a customer in front of you, just pretend he's Aretha (although you might want to replace 'kisses' with 'services'):
'Ooo, your kisses
Sweeter than honey
And guess what?
So is my money
All I want you to do for me
Is give it to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T'
Nektaria Hamister is Corporate Director of Communications at The Hamister Group, Inc., a rapidly growing assisted living and hotel management company. Feedback can be sent to her at news@hamistergroup.com . For more information on The Hamister Group, Inc., see www.hamistergroup.com.
Everybody jabbers about their excellent customer service. Think, however,
the bad experiences you have had during the past few months. They are probably too many to count. Serving customers with courtesy and dedication is not a difficult concept. So why do so few people seem to get it? It's a lack of respect-for themselves, their companies, and their customers. This lack of respect leads to laziness, poor language, an inability to see customer problems as opportunities, and a pointless concern with being right.
Laziness. We all know what it's like to be served by someone who sees customers as an annoying interruption to a coffee break or an unwanted illustration of the fact that they do not really know how to do their jobs. Lazy people and lazy organizations go through the motions of work, but actually spend more time and energy complaining about it than doing it. They do not understand that they would be much happier if they took pride in their work and made an effort to be productive. They lack respect for themselves.
Poor language. When was the last time you brought a legitimate complaint or issue to the attention of a customer service person, only to be told that your issue was not very important? Here's an example of one that occurred to me. A pet sitter that had cared for my dog while I was away for the weekend refused to return my key, even though she had been paid in full. I called up the people who had referred her. They started to worry, suspected something un-kosher, and advised me to change the locks as soon as possible.
I went straight to my apartment complex office. There was one staff member present (let's call her Paula) was with a new customer. I told her that I had an urgent issue, she told me to come back later. I excused myself to the new customer and explained my predicament. The first thing that Paula said was that my problem was not a 'maintenance emergency.'
Aside: Paula loves this phrase. She used it when my shower plug (in a one-shower apartment) broke in the shut position during 110 degree weather, leaving me with an impossible bathing situation. That was on a Wednesday. She thought that classifying my problem as a 'non-maintenance emergency' was justification not to fix it until Monday.
Back to the present situation: I started getting angry when I heard Paula's answer, but I knew by then that she simply did not know how to speak. I told her that the problem was serious (and the new customer agreed). I asked when it would be fixed. Tomorrow morning, she replied. That was all I wanted in the first place! Paula, however, did not say this from the beginning because did not respect me as a customer. Speaking properly, however, is not only about respect for the customer. It is also proportionate to one's self-respect.
Inability to View Customer Problems as Opportunities. At The Hamister Group, we have seen that magic can happen when we respond positively and respectfully to customer needs, especially emotional needs. Let's continue with the Paula example. Since a person exhibiting suspicious behavior had the key to my apartment, you can guess that I was rather emotional. All Paula needed to do was eliminate that awful phrase 'this is not a maintenance emergency' from her repertoire and replace it with. 'Oh, that's terrible! The maintenance man has already left for today. If I can take care of it by tomorrow morning, would that be ok?' She would have become my hero and have made a positive impression on the new customer. This is about respecting your customer's position and yourself as a problem-solver and service hero.
Pointless Concern with Being Right. The customer is not always right. In fact, we all know that the customer is often wrong. But he is still the customer. And, as Mark Hamister says, you won't have to worry about who is wrong and who is right if you don't have any customers.
My high school and college employer, a garden shop in Williamsville, NY, gave me a wonderful lesson in this philosophy: one day an older man came to the shop and complained that a plant we sold him had died. This plant was in its original container, which had a size and shape that we did not use. I politely told him that he had made a mistake: the plant had come from somewhere else. The customer became furious and insisted that he had bought it from us. I took the plant to one of the owners and explained the situation. He said told me to replace it and not to mention again that the man had not bought his plant from us. 'Why?,' I asked. It was from another store. 'It doesn't matter where he bought it. If he believes that he bought it here and we don't replace it, he'll tell people about his bad experience.' This is about respect for your company and your paycheck-which you won't have if your company turns away all of its customers.
There are times when being right are important. We must be right when dealing with laws, brand standards, company liability, etc. Most customer concerns, however, are not related to such issues.
RESPECT. Respect yourself, your customer, your company, and your paycheck. Show that you care at every opportunity. This will make you refreshingly different from bad customer service representatives.
Stop worrying about getting your way because you are right: even if you are right, you can still lose. All customers, right or wrong, can take their business elsewhere.
Show respect when you speak. Word your responses to customers carefully when facing difficult situations. A good answer to a complaint about the way you do things would be: 'That's a very good suggestion.' Validate your customers' emotions, even though it is best not to validate an unjust complaint: 'I understand how you must feel.'
Ask positive questions that lead to issue resolution: 'What can I do to resolve this for you?' 'What works for you?' 'What do you think would be a reasonable period of time to get this resolved?' Most people will not give absurd answers. They will appreciate your attention and may even become your most loyal customers . . . all because you showed them, yourself, and your company a small amount of respect.
And when you have a difficult a customer in front of you, just pretend he's Aretha (although you might want to replace 'kisses' with 'services'):
'Ooo, your kisses
Sweeter than honey
And guess what?
So is my money
All I want you to do for me
Is give it to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T'
Nektaria Hamister is Corporate Director of Communications at The Hamister Group, Inc., a rapidly growing assisted living and hotel management company. Feedback can be sent to her at news@hamistergroup.com . For more information on The Hamister Group, Inc., see www.hamistergroup.com.
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