Almost like O.J. Running Through the Terminal

Here's the situation.... My son and I have boarded an American Airlines flight, headed for Miami. He realizes he doesn't have his coat with him. We suspect it was left in the Admirals Club(R) but don't know for sure.

We certainly don't need the coat for this trip but we don't want it to be lost. It's too late to try and de-plane, run to the Club, and get back in time for the flight. Missing the flight isn't an option either.

I call my wife who then calls the Admirals Club. A woman named Renee Ribant answers the phone, understands the issue, then goes and finds the coat.

And then the incredible thing happens. She runs to our flight's gate (which was not close), gets there before the airplane door closes (literally within a minute or so), and convinces the reluctant gate agent to bring the coat onboard. As we're about to be pushed away from the gate, a flight attendant hands us the coat.

In a world where examples of lousy customer service abound, I was impressed. I spend enough time in Admirals Clubs to know that the Renee's that work there don't typically have a lot of time on their hands. I intersect with enough service industry people to know many, even if they had the time, wouldn't "O.J." through the terminal for a coat.

But then there's Renee. Guess what will go through my mind when it's time to re-up for my Admirals Club membership this fall?

Do you have a great customer service story? Post it as a comment. It's good for us all to be reminded that "above and beyond" customer service still lives.

Labels: accountability, customer service

posted by Andy at 12:43 PM  

Leadership Musings on the Olympic Opening Ceremony

Our family had some quality time in front of the tube this weekend, watching the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. I always enjoy the creativity of the opening ceremonies, often being somewhere between fascinated and bewildered, depending on the year and the wackiness of the production.

I have to think Italy could have done better than "Freak Out", "Funkytown", and "I Will Survive" during the Parade of Nations. I was expecting more Pavarotti than Bee Gees.

But I digress. Here's a leadership thought to start your week off with….

Think Peaceful Thoughts
Though many may have found the singing of John Lennon's "Imagine" a perfect fit for the Olympics, I had to scratch my head at the ironies. Don't you wonder what Lennon would have thought about having his song highlighted in a commercialized, multi-million dollar, corporate funded event such as the Olympics?

There's more. Consider the irony in the lyrics:

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do"

It wasn't just Peter Gabriel's singing that made it hard for me to do. This is an event that is all about countries and celebrating national pride for our champions. Clearly the Olympics are about coming together in peace, if only for a couple weeks. Yet an objective reading of Imagine's lyrics shows it has more to do with a Marxist worldview than what most people would accept as a path to peace.

I've come up empty trying to find the lyrics to the "Peace Poem" read by Yoko Ono. Here's what it sounded like to me: "Think peaceful thoughts… Do you want peace? Think peaceful thoughts. Spread the word. Think peaceful thoughts."

I'm not reliving bitterness here about Yoko breaking up the Beatles. This is a leadership blog after all. So, where's the leadership lesson?

I run into too many managers that think they can resolve conflict using the Peace Poem Technique: "Think peaceful thoughts!"

Can't you hear the lyrics?

Imagine there's no Marketing,
It isn't hard to do.
No HR to warn us.
No bean counters too…

If you have to work with one or more humans, opportunities for conflict abound. And if you think holding hands and singing Kumbaya (or Imagine) is going to make everything better, you are a dreamer. And unfortunately, you're not the only one.

Hope is Rarely A Good Strategy
Dealing with conflict is a messy business that requires skills and intentionality. Being optimistic about favorable outcomes can be helpful and sincerely desiring harmony is fine. Yet hope is rarely a good strategy, and I see way too much hope applied as a wishful salve when it comes to the bloody wounds of conflict.

I respect the rights of those who demand the U.S. leave Iraq right now. I understand and share their desire for the bloodshed to end--I have loved ones over there. Yet I rarely hear responsible alternatives beyond "Give Peace a Chance".

I respect managers who want their teams to get along with other teams. I get that you may not agree with how another group is handling an issue that's causing stress. But wishful thinking doesn't cut it.

I fundamentally believe that learning to deal with conflict in a responsible way is one of the key skills sorely lacking in managers today. We can help you and your organization develop these skills. Give us a call to learn about our workshop "Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place: How to Deal with Conflict More Effectively" and our use of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument.

Oops, got to go. Kids are excited about watching Shaun "The Flying Tomato" White on the halfpipe. "Imagine there's no gravity, it isn't hard to do…"

Labels: Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place, conflict, culture, Olympics, peace, strategy, TKI, worldview

posted by Andy at 8:38 PM  

PMI Chicagoland presentation feedback

Did you participate in my February 8 PMI Chicagoland chapter meeting presentation "Lipstick on a Pig?". If so, I'd love to hear your comments. What did you find valuable? What illusions did you identify? What questions do you have?

Click the "Post a Comment" link below to let me know. Thanks!

Labels: keynotes, Lipstick on a Pig, Project Management Institute

posted by Andy at 9:53 AM  

Does teambuilding work?

I had to chuckle when reading Lorna MacLaren's article "Can this really make you a better boss?"(from Scotland's "The Herald" Online).

As she's perched some 14 feet up on a wooden pole during a teambuilding exercise, she wonders how effective it can be for companies to be "shelling out small fortunes to scare the wits out of their managers and staff."

Last week I was facilitating a 3-day project management workshop for a well-known company in Wisconsin. When we got on the subject of teambuilding, multiple stories surfaced about people who got hurt during past teambuilding exercises. I don't recall ever hearing of someone dying during a teambuilding exercise but I can imagine it's happened.

I Googled "team building exercises" this morning, which returned around 143 million results. The options ranged from organized scaventure hunts to mental challenges to demanding physical activities. In Lorna's article she refers to some UK providers offering everything from sumo wrestling simulations to duck herding. Hmm...

Clearly companies around the world are shelling out a lot of clams for this stuff. But does it work?

The key from our perspective: whatever the teambuilding approach, it must help the team work better afterwards.

That may sound obvious but I've seen too many teambuilding exercises/offerings that were fun, but didn't necessarily build the team. Fun is fine and has it's place, but it's not always teambuilding.

The teambuilding workshops and exercises that we facilitate here at the Institute focus on helping participants learn more about themselves, their teammates, and the mission of their teams.

Here's my question for your comments: "What are examples from your career where you saw teambuilding done well? Or not well?"

Click the "Post a Comment" link below to share your story.

Labels: leadership, teambuilding, teams

posted by Andy at 8:18 AM  

Great leadership blog to check out

NetSpeed Leadership has recently fired up a new blog. I highly recommend it for two reasons:

• They have great leadership training offerings. It's a pleasure for me to be one of their facilitators.


• Cindy Clay is an insightful and entertaining thinker in the leadership space.

Enjoy, with my compliments.

posted by Andy at 3:38 PM