I Don't Have Time To Wait
http://www.robinsharma.com/rsss/tactics-for-ultra-success?utm_source=RSSS&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=June+15+2013&utm_campaign=Free+Teleseminar
This reminded me of a situation at the tool company. One of my departments was the traffic department. For those people who don't know what a traffic manager does, its pretty simple. My job was to find the best suppliers of shipping services and negotiate the best prices. Then I would communicate to the shipping clerks and let them know which companies we should use.
I Spent $5 Million a Year
Our shipping budget was about $5 Million a year so I was a very popular buyer with the freight companies. As a customer, I demand excellence and as a supplier I know my customers demand the same. It's not an unreasonable expectation.One day we had a small shipment that had to get there fast. Our customer had requested we ship this overnight via FedEx. The customer had a good relationship with FedEx and apparently in the delivery area they were the best. We typically used UPS for our overnight shipments only occasionally used FedEx.
Because we seldom used FedEx, we didn't have the paperwork on hand, but the customer service representative said it wouldn't be a problem because their drivers always carried extra waybills. They dispatched a pick-up driver to our location and he arrived in a short time.
Serious Problems At Hand
A moment after his arrival, my clerk called me and asked me to come to the shipping dock because we apparently were having a problem with our important rush shipment. Of course, I headed to the warehouse to resolve the problem.
I met with the clerk who was having a heated discussion with the FedEx driver. As luck would have it, I knew Don, that angry driver. We worked together at a different company a few years earlier. This familiarity helped us resolve this apparently insurmountable problem.
Too Busy To Wait On A Customer
The issue, the driver said he expected us to have the paperwork filled out prior to his arrival. He emphasized how busy he was and how many other stops he had that afternoon. He said he just couldn't wait.
If you've ever filled out an air express bill, it takes about 3 minutes. Don had already spent 20 minutes arguing the fact that he couldn't wait 3 minutes. After some reasonable discussion between he and I, he went to his truck and retrieved a blank form. We filled it out and three minutes later – he was on his way to his next assignment.
I have utmost respect for FedEx and as a company, they usually go the extra mile. That's why they are successful and changed the world, against all odds. If you don't know the story, Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx was told by his college business professor at Yale that his business plan was not practical and would never work. It's a great story about how you shouldn't let your teachers steal your dreams.
They Lost A Potential Customer
We didn't switch our air service to FedEx at that company because of my experience with that one single driver. We had good results from UPS Next Day Air, and when they looked good, I looked good.
Later I pondered this interesting exchange and remembered that at the previous job, Don, that FedEx driver, always complained about his workload and blamed everyone else for his own shortcomings.
I think a lot of people follow the excuse mind-set, and they would rather make excuses than solve problems. I don't understand why there are so many negative people in this world, but I try to surround myself with positive people; just like most WAites (I love that term).
Kali
AFTERTHOUGHT – I am at my lake office, concentrating on my work and apparently have just ignored Ashley and Mitch, some of my favorite Park Ranger buddies who were calling my name repeatedly. Ashley, the more attractive of the two (hey, I'm single), told me I hurt their feelings. Now I feel bad. Damn you WA projects!
I remember Kyle told us in training to focus on what you're doing, but I think I need to be more aware of my surroundings. People are still #1.
Recent Comments
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Good presentation, I just watched it. I never heard of Robin Sharma, but I liked what he had to say, so will probably watch the rest later. I'm a big fan of Tony Robbins, and have a lot of his stuff. Just bought his series "The Edge", but haven't watched/listened to it yet. He's such a real person, and I envy his energy. He's definitely my motivation though, and I listen to him when I have an exceptionally crappy day. Anyway, it's good to listen to what different people have to say, so thanks for the link.
Well said, about how a single person can effect the perception of an entire company. I've known a lot of people like this Fed X guy, and have even fallen into that category myself at times, but they end up wasting more time than they're saving, and blowing it out of proprtion, until you had to come and save the day, how stupid is that. Too bad he couldn't see the big picture, he could have had a new customer for his company, and it's those people that make it to the top.
Agreed. It is about the people. I found that out years ago. Building anything without a personal (people) support system is a lonely occupation. There are a lot of people in the world that don't take responsibility for their actions. It is never their fault, always someone else's. What a shame to be standing(the blamer) in a group of people who don't do anything right.
Great post. People are #1. thanks for the link to the seminar. I love inspirational material.
100% right on. Focus is one thing, but understand what you are dealing with in the online world is not about processes as much as it is about PEOPLE, is critical to success.
Most people get so lost in the process of trying to get ranked in search engines, trying to right content that is a specific number of words, trying to get their share counts up on socail networks, trying to make an image on their site look perfect...that they totally forget about the people that read, engage, and buy from them.
It is all about people and it is all about creating trust. To create trust, they have to like you. They have to enjoy reading your content, they have to visually connect with your site, they have to feel like they know you, and they want to be engaged and feel as though they can connect with you.
If you can accomplish this, you will be much, much more successful in business, regardless of the nature of the business and the niche.
Yes Kali, you got it right again.
People are first. Focus on connecting with their needs and their feelings will become positive towards your solution. WAite success depends on it.