Frustrated Shampooers Unite!

• Are you tired of reverse torpedo shaped bottles that rocket out of your wet and soapy grip?
• Would you hoot for joy over an easy-to-open bottle?
• Have you winced upon discovering a bottle left opened now upside down above a colored streak wandering drain-ward?

Listen up Suave, Fructis, Herbal Essence, Pantene, Aussie, Salon, Flex, VO5 and more! Please make shampooing easier!

This innovation and customer satisfaction opportunity is brought to you by Uncommon Clarity, Inc. On the web at www.uncommonclarity.com..

© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

Have you noticed hair color incongruities? Camouflaged slow downs? Attention seeking, albeit reluctant, talk of pain? Weight gain? Debates over gravity vs. discipline vs. new priorities? Poorly disguised flatulence? Discernible stair-top breathing? General angst?

If not, you haven't been listening!

The Baby Boomers are aging. All of them! And that represents a lot of change and opportunity for businesses that are paying attention!

Are you paying attention? Have you thought about how these changes affect your business?

For just one example, think about the active boomers. The nature lovers, in particular. Still out there, but not quite as active these days, they are Interested in shorter hikes, lighter loads, comfortable beds, and good food.

If you are a business near a great trail like the one pictured below, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in western Massachusetts, how could you help these boomers enjoy the trail along with your inn, restaurant, gear and supplies? How could you attract them to your region? How could you help a tired boomer get from the end of their hike back to their car or, better yet, to a cold beer, massage and comfortable bed?

   

If you aren't pondering these questions or similar ones relevant to your business, you are missing a prime opportunity! Innovate, differentiate and thrive! The alternative is pretty grim!


© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

A visit to Verizon's website one day when I was furious with them, provided the inspiration for this series of postings. It was there that I saw "Customer Service Innovation" and immediately thought "Lip Service Innovation" more apropos. I post my customer service experiences here in the hopes that other businesses can avoid committing similar offenses.

And for those of you thinking of pledging great customer service, as Verizon did, you may want to read my article, "Keep Your Mission to Yourself!" in the July 2008 edition of my Clear Thoughts newsletter.

Transgression #1:

I have reservations to fly Northwest Airlines to Minneapolis in 2 days. I recently received an email from NWA promoting a great sale for the holidays. I decided to run a price check against my ticket, just out of curiosity. I thought it interesting to see that NWA was running flights in both directions very close to mine. Then I noticed that one of the two had the same flight number as mine. I investigated further.

Both of my flights had been moved up 20 and 30 minutes, respectively. One had even changed flight numbers. I don't like surprises like this. When do you suppose they are planning to tell me?

The scenarios I picture that involve losing up to 30 minutes upon arrival at the airport are not pretty. They range from physical discomfort due to missed restroom and snack opportunities to a destroyed vacation were I to miss my plane.

Through sheer luck, I am thankful that this complaint is all about the scenarios I envision after thwarting any surprise, and not dreadful tales of actual consequences.

It is possible Northwest sent me an email informing me of the change. If they did, I didn't get it. In my book, communication requires both transmission and reception of information. It is a two-way deal.

Today's Lesson: If, after taking a customer's money, you decide to deliver anything other than what they paid for, it is totally your responsibility to ensure they are informed AND given the option to bow out and get their money back. I don't care what kind of disclaimers you post on your website or in your literature. I don't care if you are a beleaguered airline.

 © 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

The urge to tackle low hanging fruit is strong. People like to see quick results and quick results usually fuel subsequent results. But often people see low hanging fruit in all the wrong places. These may include tidying up loose ends, finishing projects already started, jumping on an exciting new idea, tackling the easy stuff first, and generally getting the house in order.

There is nothing wrong with this impulse and the desire to "check it off the list," but all that energy needs to be pointed in the right direction. Below are five tips to prevent you from choking on the pits of low hanging fruit.

1. Develop Strategic Clarity - Get clear about what is really important, where you need to be a year or more from now, and the critical steps that will get you there. You need to focus on those steps. There is simply too much to do, too many distractions, and too little luck to expect success from fairly random activity.
2. Avoid the Temptation Zone  - Don't do anything just because it is easy. Many tempting pieces of low hanging fruit grow in the Temptation Zone.
3. Dive into the Neglected Zone  - These are the important projects that are neglected because they are hard. They may be ill-defined, demanding, unfamiliar, risky,requiring an investment - whatever makes them hard, you need to get on top of it and start now. Neglected Zone projects are, by definition, important to achieving your goals.
4. Avoid the Black Hole Zone  - Since these are neither easy nor appropriate, you wouldn't expect anyone to be slaving away in the Black Hole Zone, but it is not at all uncommon. Picture the person driven to finish because they once committed to a project. Or the person whose identity is at stake. Or maybe it's an old project that no longer makes sense, but that no one has bothered to stop.
Power struggles, identity crises, consistency for the sake of consistency, an unwillingness to let go, habit, momentum, face-saving, a lack of communication, a lack of well-defined direction - these are all common reasons why unimportant projects stay on the schedule no matter how painful they are. 5. Be Smart about the Low Hanging Fruit Zone  - The easy projects with a strong strategic fit may be your source for quick results and building momentum. They may seem like no-brainer first steps. But they may also distract you from tackling critical projects in the Neglected Zone. All the things that make those projects the most neglected almost by definition make them the ones in need of a head start, not a delay. Work these two categories in parallel, making intentional and informed decisions each step of the way.

 © 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

My latest e-newsletter is out. Read it now at: Clear Thoughts - Avoid Grumps and Whiners!

Contents:

• Avoid Grumps and Whiners!
• Survival of the Fittest?
• Learning Optimism
• Uncommon Clarity Goes Solar!

© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

What are the 3 things you need to start moving on right now to ensure a great 2009?

Choose and then act. To act, determine next steps and schedule them right along with all your other MOST important tasks.

It is your future and you have far more control than you think! Make it happen!

Need some help? Contact us at Uncommon Clarity, Inc.


© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

"Everyone is having trouble so I don't have a chance and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

Depressing just to read such a statement, isn't it?

I am sure you have heard plenty of similar statements in the last many weeks. The times are simply crazy. But we can choose how we react to them and control the statements we make!

For example, a more optimistic statement might have mentioned knowing specific business owners who suffered their worst month ever in October rather than leaping to "everyone" having trouble. It might have mentioned that some businesses are thriving, suggesting that opportunities exist now even with pretty scary facts ringing in our ears. It might have mentioned the speaker's own track record, strengths or positioning that could lead to opportunities or, at least, an ability to weather the storm. 

Learned Optimism, by Martin Seligman, examines optimism and pessimism, and shows that the difference involves how each of us tends to explain why good and bad events occur. Explanatory style can be broken down into three components:

• Permanence
• Pervasiveness
• Personalization
  

Pessimists believe bad things will persist. Optimists expect them to be short-lived.
Pessimists believe bad things happen for broad reasons. Optimists look for specific causes.
Pessimists believe they are personally responsible for bad things. Optimists place the blame elsewhere.

On the flip side:
Pessimists believe good things will evaporate and optimists expect them to continue.
Pessimists believe good things are isolated and local, and optimists expect broad consequences.
Pessimists believe they are just lucky when good things occur, while optimists tend to take credit.

The opening statement of this article exudes the pessimism of a permanant, pervasive and personal condition.

The beauty of Seligman's book is that he helps us recognize the pessimism in our reactions to events. Recognizing how we react is the first step to changing our reactions. This is the opposite of feel-good, platitude preaching that melts away quickly like cotton candy. Now that I have read this book, I can't not hear those 3 Ps in action. Furthermore, this book goes on to discuss the benefits of optimism and the important role of pessimism. Informative, fascinating and accessible - I highly recommend Learned Optimism to anyone interested in helping themselves or others have more control over their reactions to the vicissitudes of life.


© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

Our solar panels are up and have been producing since June! Most days are net positive. I love it when the meter arrow points toward the street, the preferred direction of energy flow!

Greater self-sufficiency just plain feels good. We are giving back, not taking. On the rare occasions we used the AC this summer, we just smiled. We are partially protected from rising energy costs. Furthermore, we believe future resale value will not be energy blind. This one isn't about straight ROI.This is what we value.

What's next? Not sure. We have been reduce, reuse, recycle fiends for decades. The power strips and compact fluorescents arrived years ago. So did the low-flow shower heads. So did many good conservation habits. And for 5 years now, we have enjoyed up to 54 mpg and no fumes at stoplights thanks to our hybrid. There is also some security in knowing we can drive as far as North Carolina or Ohio without refueling.

Always looking for the next opportunity to do what feels right. We encourage you to do the same.

© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

I just returned from a fabulous, mostly unplugged, long weekend.   I could not write my blog; I had no computer and sporadic connectivity. I could not check phone messages or email; there was rarely a cell signal. I could not look things up on the  Internet; my iPhone specialized in "No Service."

It reminded me of the peace I felt during my 7 days in the remote wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on the Minnesota-Canadian border two summers ago. I relaxed while working hard physically, enjoyed the incredible scenery, discovered new places, and appreciated the people around me.

Back a bit early from my long weekend, I vowed to continue the vacation, at least until the sun set. I didn't "work," but I failed in that mission. I caught up on email. I downloaded, labeled, and uploaded pictures. I checked the weather. I experimented with Facebook. I checked NYT Breaking News. I synchronized my iPhone. I recharged camera batteries. Had I succumbed to laundry and dinner alone, the vacation would have lasted longer.

Computers, email, the Internet, iPhones - titanic time savers that suck significant and vital minutes out of your day.

They distract us from life.

They teach us to interrupt ourselves.

Control or be controlled: that is the question.

 

© 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.

        

How do you feel about the deadlines in your job? Some of you have no deadlines, just scheduled failures. You have my sympathy. Some of you have forgiving, floating, feel-good fancies. But no drop dead pressure. You are either the boss, self-employed, or overlooked. Some of you are lucky. You have deadlines that spur you to new heights. You have challenges that energize. You are neither buried, nor left to sleep in. You get to play in the pasture of proud productivity. Enjoy it!   © 2008 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.