Great Customer Service Trumps Technology Nightmare

Here's the setting: I'm interviewing Dr. Kenneth W. Thomas for my podcast yesterday. Ken is one of the most influential researchers in worker empowerment and conflict management, with his Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) having sold over 6 million copies.

We're having a great interview. He's into it, I'm enjoying it. His PR guy is on the line, very happily quiet. The marketing rep for a publisher is listening in, contentedly. It's a podcaster's dream.

The interview finishes and I hit the "Stop" recording button on the software which has captured every word of this interview over Skype.

And my computer locks up.

What is going on? I can't talk to them. My mouse won't even move. The computer is frozen. I don't know if the interview is saved. I am freaking out.

I quick grab a land line and call the conference line to let them know I wasn't rudely dishing them now that I got the interview! I mention the problem and that we may have to re-record. Everyone is gracious and willing but I am ticked.

I decide to walk upstairs from my recording studio/office to get a cup of coffee, take a deep breath or two, and pray with my wife that the recording was salvageable. I go back downstairs and stretch every geek gene and neuron to recover the temp file that I see but cannot listen to.

Sigh.

I contact the provider of the software (CallGraph) and express my displeasure. Realizing they are in India I didn't expect a response, but got one in less than an hour. I tried a couple recommended steps without success and decided to just send them the file with SendThisFile.com.

As I dozed off last night I couldn't help but admit this was just another technology nightmare. And it had to happen on this interview...

I checked e-mail first thing this morning and saw an incredible message in my inbox. The subject read "Recovered file." As it turns out, Rajiv from CallGraph worked his magic and recovered everything except the last second or two. Unbelievable.

Turns out prayer still works. :) And it also showed incredible customer service from a little known company that offers free Skype recording without time limits. There are settings, I've learned from Rajiv, to avoid the panic that I experienced.

It is with confidence and appreciation that I recommend CallGraph (www.callgraph.biz) to my customers and colleagues who want a tool to record Skype conversations.

Andy Kaufman
Host of the People and Projects Podcast

Labels: customer service, podcast

posted by Andy at 6:57 AM  

Podcasts: Training You Can't Afford (To Miss!)

Our latest newsletter went out today on the topic of podcasts. If you haven't received yours, I invite you to check it out online.

For those of you who regularly take advantage of podcasts, which are your favorites? Add a comment to this post to share with others.

For those of you who haven't tried podcasts yet, what concerns do you have? What has kept you from taking the next step? I'd love to hear from you.

Labels: e-learning, Information Technology, podcast

posted by Andy at 4:36 PM  

"Could I have a translator for what this IT guy said?"

If you're not an Information Technology (IT) professional, you probably have to work with one. A common complaint about communication across organizational boundaries is the use of jargon, and the IT people I interact with are often guilty of this communications sin.

According to the results of a survey conducted by IT recruitment consultancy Computer People, 75 percent of respondents admitted that they waste over an hour a week finding out what something means so they can complete their work.

For the record, that seems like an exaggeration to me (but then again, I grew up as an IT guy). Regardless we can all use a reminder to be careful with the jargon that we inadvertently insert into our written and spoken communications.

Potential actions
Consider re-reading your e-mails today before hitting the Send button. Double-check that presentation you're sending to your project sponsor. Do they really understand the metrics?

An extra minute of review now can save much more time later in confusion or poor decisions.

For advice on how to use e-mail more effectively, check out my e-book How to Organize Your Inbox & Get Rid of E-Mail Clutter.

Labels: communication, e-mail, managing stakeholders, project sponsors

posted by Andy at 10:28 AM  

Join me at the Better Software Conference in June!

There are so many conferences to choose from yet so little travel budget to invest this year. If you're in the software business, which one do you focus on to get the maximum value for your investment?

I invite you to join me at this year's Better Software conference, June 8-12, 2009 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'll be sharing my day long leadership session entitled The Leadership Tutorial. In addition, I'll be unveiling my newest keynote on relationships, entitled The Dirty Little Secret of Business. I'd love to see you there!

Now in its sixth year, Better Software delivers the latest trends, technologies, and strategies in the industry today. I invite you to join me and the other speakers at Better Software for networking opportunities and learning about the latest issues regarding agile development, project management, people & teams, software testing & QA, software requirements, process improvement, metrics, and design & architecture.

I've had the privilege of speaking at this conference for many years and it's always a highlight. You'll learn a lot and enjoy excellent networking with colleagues from around the world.

To check out the program, visit http://www.sqe.com/BetterSoftwareConf/Schedule/Default.aspx

Special Savings offer

Register using special promo code SKBS and save up to $300! Register by April 3rd to add the Early Bird Discount for up to $600 in total savings! Call the client support group at 888.268.8770 or register online at: https://www.sqe.com/BetterSoftwareConf/Register/SelectConference.aspx

See you in Vegas!

Labels: conferences, leadership, relationships

posted by Andy at 9:47 AM  

"I'm not cheating! I'm showing my genius!"

I couldn't help but see the irony of two headlines on my browser homepage this morning. The first is a reference to Bernard Madhoff, that he will plead guilty to swindling people out of billions of dollars through his Ponzi scheme.

How refreshing. Finally, a criminal who isn't claiming he's a victim....

The second headline reads "Why Student Cheating Has an Upside."

What?

The article talks about the disconnect between students who insist that being honest and honorable is important yet overwhelmingly admit that they lie to their parents and teachers as well as cheat on tests.

As author Martha Brockenbrough suggests, those who care about our future leaders should find this discouraging. "Kids are shredding their ethics, but not that many feel bad about it." In fact, many "reported that they thought cheaters were more likely to succeed in life."

Brockenbrough relates how cheaters are getting more clever. Indeed technology is providing opportunities to cheat in ways that were not available when I walked the halls.

Yet she goes further: there's an upside to all this cheating. It demonstrates creative genius! Though she points out she's not advocating cheating, she goes on to equate clever approaches to cheating with innovative advances for mankind.

Interesting. When do we cross the line from a healthy break from status quo to becoming a cheat. After all, aren't we encouraged by Marcus Buckingham to "break all the rules?"

Bernie Madhoff is a genius. He kept his scam going for years. He had an innovative approach but it ended up inflicting serious pain across a wide swath of people around the world. Creative genius? Sure. Cheat? Absolutely.

Innovation looks at status quo in a new way and makes the workplace, the world, or a product better, often for the long term. Cheating provides a shortcut to personal gain (or a way to avoid short-term personal pain) with long term negative consequences.

And those consequences are not just experienced by the cheater.

I take exception to the students who think cheaters are more successful. Though it could appear that way in the short term, just look at the headlines to find another cheater soon to be behind bars.

Tempted to cut a corner today? Feeling compelled to exaggerate contributions to accomplishments on your resume? Wondering if you should just slather some lipstick on a status report to management about a project that is really a pig?

Let's not kid ourselves. That's not creative genius. Let's call it what it is: cheating.

Labels: accountability, choices, innovation, integrity, Lipstick on a Pig

posted by Andy at 7:34 AM