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Finding Your Life Balance between Abundance and Success

2012-01-11T21:16:00.001-08:00

by Tom Hinton

At a recent corporate workshop I facilitated on Work-Life Balance, a senior executive with the company asked me a tough question. Our exchange went something like this. “I’ve been working here for the past 30 years. I’m now 55, and even though I have a senior management position in this company, and make good money, and I’ve traveled the world, I don’t feel successful. What’s missing in my life?”

Although we had never met before, I reflected on his question for a moment and then replied, “I think sometimes we confuse success with fulfillment and happiness. It seems you have all the trappings of success, but what appears to be missing in your life is a sense of fulfillment.” He nodded affirmatively and encouraged me to expound on my answer. I did; and, here’s what I shared with the participants at that workshop.

One of the questions The Course of 10,000 Days encourages us to answer is the following: “How much happiness am I willing to forego in order to achieve success?” This is a tough question for us because we’re used to having it all without having to sacrifice anything. But, the truth is success comes with a price.

We all know people who are very successful, but are miserable. They have lots of money, power and fame, but few real friends. They have rank and privilege, but no one really loves them for who they really are. This is the dilemma that many – but not all --successful people face. Why?

The Course of 10,000 Days explains it this way. Before you seek success, you should first create abundance in your life. Only when you experience the blessings of life, true happiness and peace-of-mind can you enjoy success. Too often, we measure success in terms of the ego’s needs – money, power, fame, prestige and all the trappings that success can buy us. But, abundance is rooted not in material things, but in those things that allow us to be truly happy and experience peace-of-mind. Under such circumstances, we could experience abundance and still be earning minimum wage. Abundance is achieved not through our ego, but rather, our Inner Spirit. Thus, it is our Inner Spirit that we must turn to in order to find those things that create happiness and peace-of-mind in our life. Our ego does not care about such things. It only enjoys the trappings of success. But, such things do not satisfy the human spirit for long. This is why we yearn for something more permanent, more satisfying. And, that something is abundance in our life.

While The Course of 10,000 Days embraces the motto, “Ask and you shall succeed!” it teaches us that in order to attain true success, we must ask our Inner Spirit, not our ego.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is the author of the new best-seller: 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life. Tom is one of America’s most respected authors and speakers on Work-Life Balance, Personal Development and Human Excellence in the Workplace. To order 10,000 Days, visit: http://www.amazon.com/10-000-Days-Rest-Your/dp/0983503214/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326344004&sr=1-1 or contact Tom at: tom@tomhinton.com

The Wheel of Life: Wellness

2011-11-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

Author’s Note:
This is the second in a series of eight articles that focus on the eight elements in the Wheel of Life, which I discuss in my book, 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life! The eight elements are: Spirituality, Relationships, Environment, Career, Money, Wellness, Romance, and Fun & Recreation.

Last week I began this series with an article on Environment. This week I focus on Wellness.

When facilitating The Course of 10,000 Days retreats, I like to ask participants to define their state of Wellness. Interestingly, nearly every participant responds in terms of their physical state of well-being. Some will tell me they need to lose weight. Others will advise me that they are recuperating from an operation, a serious illness or fighting an addiction. But, oddly enough, very few people ever mention their mental, emotional or spiritual well-being as part of their Wellness formula.

In an era when health care is dominated by our physical aspects, we tend to forget that Wellness involves much more. The Course of 10,000 Days defines Wellness as “a multi-dimensional state of well-being in which you enjoy a positive physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance, thus allowing you to live your life to its fullest.” Using this definition, the significance of Wellness becomes much more apparent in how we achieve purpose, peace and happiness in our life.

Not only is Wellness multi-dimensional, but it is also sub-dimensional. The National Wellness Institute, which has done an excellent job in researching this topic, advocates six sub-areas of Wellness. They are: Social, Occupational, Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual and Emotional Wellness. I encourage you to visit their website to read the definitions of each of these six sub-areas. It is: http://www.nationalwellness.org

The Course of 10,000 Days encourages us to take Wellness seriously. Many of us know family members or close friends who have died prematurely or their quality of life is suffering because they did not take care of themselves physically or mentally. These are the two dominant categories of Wellness. But, in order to achieve a state of Wellness in accordance with the definition used by The Course of 10,000 Days, it’s vital that we pay attention to all six sub-dimensions of Wellness. As the Wellness Institute suggests, “We may not all be physically fit or free from disease; we can, however, strive for increased wellness by working with what we’ve been dealt.”

Dr. Leif Livingheart, a brilliant physician who leads Life Transformation retreats in Spain, tells us, “Wellness is not merely the absence of illness. It is also your ability to create a positive physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance, thus allowing you to live your life to its fullest.” I agree with Dr. Livingheart’s assessment because our life-systems are inter-connected and, therefore, can sustain or disrupt each other. For example, if we’re emotionally distraught, that will affect our physical and mental dispositions. So, this is why we believe it’s important for people to make the mental transition from “avoiding illness” to “living life to its fullest!”

Here are a few ways you can practice Wellness.

* BAG It. Every morning as you awake, practice the “BAG It” exercise. Think of three Blessings you have in your life, and three Accomplishments you've completed in the past 24 hours. Then, set three Goals you will achieve in the next 24 hours. It's very powerful and when you awake tomorrow, today's Goals become tomorrow's Accomplishments!
* Move. It’s tough to exercise every day unless you’re a dedicated gym rat, but you can get some exercise by parking farther away from your office door, taking the stairs instead of the building elevator, or enjoying a lunchtime stroll around the block. If you sit at a desk all day, you need to counter that inertia by moving at least 20-30 minutes every work day. Also, if you're active on a keyboard, take 5 minutes every hour to flex your fingers and palms to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome which causes damage to your median nerve in the palms and forearms.
* Fast. For most people, weight control is a matter of moving more and eating less. That’s very difficult for most of us, so we need to consciously choose to eat less, and simply change what we eat. Losing weight is primarily about how many calories we shove into mouth every day as well as the types of food we eat. So, here are a few proven ideas attendees who lost weight shared at The Course of 10,000 Days Weekend Retreat: skip breakfast; absolutely no “whites [salt, bread, sugar, dairy] during the work week; eat salads three times a week with light dressings; eat fish twice a week; include vegetables at least three times a week instead of French fries or chips; eat boiled food instead of fried foods; drink sparkling water or ice tea, and avoid sodas and juices that are loaded with sugar. do this and watch the pounds drop off you! But, remember, you also have to "Move!"
* Meditate. Don’t confuse meditation with prayer or having to go to church. Meditation is simply closing your eyes for 20-30 minutes a few times each week and allowing you mind to rest. Lay down on the bed or the living room floor and dim the lights. Sometimes, spa-type music can help you enter that state of calm and relaxation. This exercise will quiet your mind and help you relax, let go of today’s problems and reduce your stress levels. You'll be amazed at how refreshed you are when you're done.
* Set Goals. Set a few small goals for yourself every day. This could be part of your BAG It exercise mentioned earlier. By setting goals, you will continuously push yourself to aim at something you want to accomplish. In this way, you’ll always be striving to accomplish the goals you set. And, remember Dr. Ken Blanchard's goal setting formula for setting SMART Goals, which means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time certain.

I can guarantee you that if you’ll do these few things, your state of Wellness will improve. And, the healthier you are, the happier you will be. As always I look forward to your feedback. Let me know what works best for you.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is the author of 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life! that is now available as an eBook or paperback at: www.Amazon.com Tom is a popular speaker on Work-Life Balance and Personal Growth topics. He also facilitates The Course of 10,000 Days retreat workshops. Contact: tom@tomhinton.com

The Wheel of Life

2011-11-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

This article is the first in a series of eight by author Tom Hinton on the Wheel of Life

I realize it’s only November, but many people have asked me this question: “What can I do now to jump-start some of the positive changes I want to make in my life for next year?”

It’s a great question and here’s my response. Over the next eight weeks, I’ll be posting a series of eight brief articles that focus on each of the 8 elements in the Wheel of Life. Since I’ve been teaching The Course of 10,000 Days for the past six years, it’s become clear that the primary concerns and issues facing people are related to one or more elements in their Wheel of Life. So, together, we’ll explore these eight elements and, hopefully, shed some insight to help you move forward by making your next 10,000 days significant!

But, first, here’s some background on the Wheel of Life. Legend has it that the Buddha himself created the first depiction of the Wheel of Life -- or Bhavacakra -- as it’s referred to in Buddhism. The original Wheel of Life design adorns most Buddhist Temples.

Over the centuries, this concept has evolved to take on many different interpretations. For example, the version created by The Course of 10,000 Days equates eight equally important elements to its Wheel of Life. In no particular order, they are: Spirituality, Relationships, Environment, Career, Money, Wellness, Romance, and Fun & Recreation.

This article will focus on Environment. When we use the term Environment in The Course of 10,000 Days, we mean the following: What is the living, working, cultural and growth environment you currently exist in?

What’s fascinating to me is that 99% of the people who enroll in The Course of 10,000 Days have never given a moment’s thought to this aspect of their lives. Ironically, it isn’t until we think about retirement that the issue of Environment even surfaces. And, frankly, most people define Environment as “where they want to live when they retire.” But, this is only one aspect of Environment. The bigger picture must take into consideration not only where you live, but also where you work, the people you associate with, your ability to grow and develop as a person and spiritual being, and your ability to spend time developing your talents and gifts. Now you can see why Environment is so critical to one’s success in life and our ability to achieve life balance.

So, here’s your assignment for this week. Take a sheet of paper and turn it sideways (landscape version). Across the top of the page, draw five columns and label each one as follows: Where I Live; Where I Work; People I Associate With; My Ability to Grow; and, How I Spend my Time.

Then, in each of the columns, write your responses to the following questions:
• What are the positive aspects of __________ [where I live, where I work, etc.]?
• What are the negative aspects of __________ [where I live, where I work, etc.]?
• What steps can I take in the next 30 days to change the negative to a positive in each of these five areas?
• What action will I take today (or the next 24 hours) to implement that change?

Here’s an example of how one 52 year-old female student at The Course of 10,000 Days Weekend Retreat responded to the question: “Where I Live?”

-- Positive Aspects include: close to my 84 year-old mother; it’s where I work; I have a small circle of friends; I’ve lived here 33 years and know the area including shops, bank, and my church; I enjoy the four seasons.

-- Negative Aspects include: it’s cold and dreary in the winter (Midwest USA) and it’s humid in the summer; I stay indoors too much because of the weather and don’t exercise; I have a job but I’m not advancing in terms of pay or position; very little culture other than a movie theater in my small town; my two best friends are approaching retirement and talking about moving to Florida; my church is in turmoil because of sex scandal issues with a former minister; my company has laid off 12% of its 400 employees and I feel insecure in this job and economy; my two sisters live near Atlanta with their kids; I feel obligated to care for Mom since I’m the only sibling still living in the same town where we grew up; I'm single and there's very little social life or privacy in a small town.

-- Steps I Can Take in the Next 30 Days include: I’m going to start researching new places to live in Florida or Georgia; I’m going to talk to Mom about relocating; I’m going to update my resume and put out some feelers. I’m going to tell my sisters I’ve decided to relocate as soon as possible, which they’ve encouraged me to do.

-- What Actions will I take Today? I will talk to Mom at lunch today about the benefits of moving to a warmer climate near her daughters and four grandchildren; I will update my resume; I will Google similar companies in my industry to see who is hiring.

There’s a great expression we use in The Course of 10,000 Days that goes like this: Nothing happens until you commit to doing something and then act! What this exercise will help you do is simply that – commit to doing something and then act.

While your situation is different and unique, no one is hopeless or helpless. You can do something to improve your life and take steps to make the rest of your life, the best of your life! So, start now by evaluating your Environment!

About the Author. Tom Hinton is the author of 10,000 Days: The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life! that is now available as an eBook or paperback at: www.Amazon.com Tom is a popular speaker on Work-Life Balance and Personal Growth topics. He also facilitates The Course of 10,000 Days retreat workshops. Contact: tom@tomhinton.com

You Can Do Something!

2011-02-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

Recently, at a weekend retreat I facilitated on The Course of 10,000 Days, I asked attendees the following question. “Tell me one thing you can do right now to improve your life and start to get the results you desire?” This question is designed to get people thinking about taking that all-important next step to create change in their lives and achieve their goals.

Invariably, this question meets resistance from some attendees who are so stuck in their own velvet rut that they cannot climb out of it. For example, some attendees are stuck in life because they lost a spouse, a family member or a dear friend. For others, their self-esteem has suffered a serious blow because they lost their job or their home as a result of tough economic times. Still, there are some who are so consumed with anger and resentment towards an ex-spouse or boss that they’ve never been able to get past it. Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that we get stuck in life because we fail to accept the fact that we have the power to change our life, move forward and live our dreams.

This is what The Course of 10,000 Days is all about. It’s a process by which we confront the demons in our life and learn how to quiet our ego so our Inner Spirit can surface and guide us to our destiny. For, it is through our Inner Spirit that we create our greatest outcomes in life. No one should have to live their life according to someone else's terms. We have the power to create our own outcomes. We have the power to achieve our own destiny. This is what makes us unique and transforms ordinary people into extraordinary human beings.

And so, when you are asked the question — “Tell me one thing you can do right now to improve your life and start to get the results you desire?” — your answer can be as simple as “I will think positive thoughts about myself.” Or, “I will believe in my own goals and dreams.” Or, “I will start to research my pet project, or read a book, or accept the fact that I can do something today – even if it is taking a baby step in the right direction – to move my life forward.”

For each of us, the answer to the question will be different. What matters is that you must be able to answer the question – and answer it with conviction; then, act on whatever it is you said you would do. It is in this way cathedrals have been built – one stone at a time. It is the same way Walt Disney created Disneyland and America was founded and grew, and man was able to land on the moon. Nothing is impossible, but you must believe in yourself and be willing to do something right now to move your life forward. Even if that something is a small step forward.

So, let me ask you once again, “Tell me one thing you can do right now to improve your life and start to get the results you desire?”

About the Author: Tom Hinton is the author of the new book entitled, 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, which will be available March 11th. Tom is a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings on such topics as Leadership, Creating your Legacy and Achieving Your Life Goals. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

What Consumer-Citizens of the World Really Want: The Egyptian Lesson

2011-02-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

It’s both disturbing and encouraging to see the strife taking place in Egypt and Tunisia. In America, we take for granted so many of our basic rights and entitlements that are causing millions of citizens to take to the streets in protest of the policies of their authoritarian governments. It’s disturbing because the very rights and opportunities these people are demanding are basic economic building blocks that every citizen should enjoy regardless of where they live or the religion they practice – freedom of speech, the opportunity to live in an economic environment that offers hope for a better life, and the right to assemble without being shot or attacked by armed thugs operating under the guise of self-serving politicians.

What is playing out in Egypt and Tunisia is also encouraging because the voice of the people is finally being heard. And, it is being heard not only in the streets, but within the inner sanctums of every repressive government around the world.

Some commentators have suggested the Arab uprisings are being fueled by fanatics and religious extremists. There’s little, if any, evidence to support such claims. I believe these protests are the result of frustrated consumers who see unlimited economic opportunities in neighboring countries and throughout western societies. Unfulfilled, exasperated and without any chance to climb the economic ladder of success, these well-intentioned protesters are asking a basic human question of their tyrannical leaders: “Why can’t we enjoy the good life?” Not only is it a fair question, but one that every government should respond to or face defeat. But, governments that exploit their citizenry don’t believe they need to answer such questions because they are not in the business of lifting-up the masses. They’re in the business of suppressing human and economic rights and controlling citizens in brutal fashion.

This is why leaders like ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak do not remain in power. People will only tolerate so much before they take to the streets. What is happening in Egypt and Tunisia are consumer-citizens demanding the same economic opportunities afforded to a handful of people in their country and the chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Certainly, that is a fair demand.

No nation’s leadership can suppress the population forever and outlast the will of its people. This is why I believe there is still great economic hope for the people of Iran, North Korea, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, China, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. As we have seen in Egypt, it only takes a few thousand people to ignite the flames of economic freedom and bring about significant constitutional change as well as new political leadership.

In this era of social networking and instant global communication, it’s not surprising that on a Friday afternoon, a handful of well-intentioned thought leaders tweet or Facebook their friends to rally in the main square and, by Sunday afternoon, ministers are resigning and corrupt leaders are making plans to flee the country.

Frankly, it’s consumerism at its best!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence and a popular speaker at corporate and association events. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

The Jobs Factor: Leadership is at the Core of Apple's Success

2011-01-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

It's fascinating to observe the transformation taking place at Apple as co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs prepares to take another medical leave of absence. Given the fact that Apple stock is ranked second only to ExxonMobil in terms of its market value, there's much at stake as Jobs steps down albeit temporarily. Despite jobs' reassurance that he will remain engaged in major decisions, Apple stock has fluctuated mildly since his announcement. Analysts and stock strategists are obviously concerned about Apple's future without Steve Jobs, but so far, that concern is not stopping investors from purchasing Apple stock. Of greater concern to Apple are the millions of devoted Apple fans around the world who have come to rely on the company and its CEO as their compass for high-tech innovation and wizardry. So far, Apple's adoring fans are solidly behind the company and comfortable with Jobs' medical leave decision.

As one who teaches managers how to become better leaders, I'm intrigued by the "Jobs Factor" as I like to call it. There's no question that Steve Jobs is the face of Apple. As USA Today reported, during Jobs' second term as CEO, which began in August 1997, Apple's stock has soared more than 7,273% versus a 67% gain for Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. That's impressive whether you're an Apple fan or not! It's clear that as CEO, Jobs has inspired a rebirth at Apple leading to such innovative marvels as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Stores and the burgeoning industry knows as Apps – slang for Applications – that support all these new products. In short, Apple has transformed how a generation communicates, learns, listens to music and socializes. Steve Jobs continues to demonstrate his brilliance and his Midas touch.

Over the past 100 years, very few leaders have had as great an impact on transforming our world as Steve Jobs. Certainly Thomas Edison, Alfred Sloan (GM), Sam Walton (WalMart), Walt Disney, Bill Gates (Microsoft), Henry Ford, Thomas J. Watson (IBM), Ray Kroc (McDonalds), Estee Lauder, Richard Branson (Virgin), Philip H. Knight (Nike), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Welch (GE) merit mention. In 2005, Fast Company published an outstanding list of the 100 Greatest Business Leaders of the 20th Century which included Steven P. Jobs at #26.

And so, as Steve Jobs prepares to step aside as CEO for medical reasons, the question behind the question is this. First, will Apple continue its rabid success once Steve Jobs steps down? Secondly, how does a company like Apple design a succession plan to ensure the company's continued success and growth? The second question is profoundly important when the CEO, Steve Jobs, is considered a god among his colleagues, competitors and the business media. The fact is that while Tim Cook can succeed him, no one can replace Steve Jobs.

While no one knows the answers to these key questions, I think Steve Jobs has a surprise in store for all of us. I think Jobs' greatest contribution to Apple will be revealed as he steps aside as CEO and allows Apple's senior leadership team to stand on its own. Remember, Steve Jobs has hired, trained and developed these people over the past 14 years. Jobs' goal has been to ensure Apple's profitability and product success will continue long after he is gone.

Interestingly, for Steve Jobs, this is not unchartered territory. When Jobs resigned as Apple CEO in September 1985 after a bitter confrontation with his board of directors, he was succeeded by a series of less-than-successful CEOs. During Jobs' 12-year absence from Apple, he had time to reflect on his successes and mistakes as a leader, innovator and business strategist. One of the mistakes Jobs acknowledged and vowed not to repeat was hiring the wrong people to lead the largest (and greatest) technology company in the world.

Now, Steve Jobs can step aside knowing he has in place a solid executive management team with capable leaders like Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer. These leaders have been schooled in how Jobs thinks and fosters creativity and innovation at Apple. They embrace the Apple culture and will maintain its current course to greater successes. Despite the concerns that Steve Jobs' temporary departure from Apple is causing to Wall Street and the business media, I am confident that Apple will continue to outperform its competition because Steve Jobs has learned how to create a culture of excellence and innovation that now permeates all levels of the world's greatest tech company.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is recognized as America's Expert on Business Excellence. The author of four books, Mr. Hinton is a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings on Leadership, Customer Service and Creating a Culture of Excellence in the Workplace. For information, contact: tom@tomhinton.com

How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions -- Finally!

2011-01-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

If you’re like most people, you probably spent a few minutes during the holidays thinking about the new year and making several resolutions. And, if you’re like most people, you’ve already broken most of your New Year’s resolutions. Although we’re well-intentioned, it’s very difficult to honor our words and promises. Why is that? After all, who doesn’t want to get healthy, quit smoking or drinking, lose weight, spend more time with family and friends, get out of debt, travel and enjoy life more fully?

You would think these types of resolutions would be easy to embrace and follow. But, the harsh reality is most New Year’s resolutions require more from us than just verbalizing a statement of intent. My experience has been that setting goals is a simple process, but staying on track and honoring our resolutions is anything but easy! Why? Well, for starters, most of us are poor planners. As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” So, you need to have a plan.

Here’s a three-step plan to help you honor your words and promises and keep your New Year’s resolutions.

Step 1. Write down your goals. Someone once quipped that the difference between a wish and a goal is that goals are written while wishes remain a figment of our imagination. I am a firm believer that resolutions and goals need to be written down if we intend to achieve them. So, the first step, is to simply write down each resolution in the form of a SMART goal – that is, each goal must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time certain.

For example, let’s say you want to get in shape and start exercising. Your goal should be written as follows: I exercise 5 days each week for 30 minutes or longer by walking, bike riding, going to the gym or doing calisthenics. I mark my calendar each day after I complete my exercise routine to measure my success. Now, there’s a goal that meets the SMART test!

Step 2. Enlist someone to help you achieve your goals. There’s an old saying, “Two heads are better than one.” When it comes to goal-setting, one of the best techniques I have found is to enlist the help of a friend, spouse or family member who has a similar goal. Use the buddy system to support each other. This is particularly powerful when it comes to achieving goals like exercise, diets, work projects or finally writing your first novel!

Step 3. Get Results. Another quote that comes to mind is this one. “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me!” There will always be hurdles and challenges that block your path to success. But, remember, you alone are responsible for your success. You alone must remove those barriers if you want to go forward. You need to get results. John Lennon, the late Beatle, once quipped that “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” It’s true! You need to be alert to disruptions and guard your personal time so you can achieve your goals. This is how you get results. And, remember, it’s okay to tell friends you can’t join them after work for a beer because you have a prior commitment – the fitness center. It’s okay to order fruit for dessert when everyone else is gorging themselves on cheesecake! And, when your exercise partner can’t make it, don’t quit. Put on your sneakers and go for a long walk by yourself. Don’t make excuses and don’t ever give yourself permission to fail.

Most of us set New Year’s resolutions and goals because we want to improve our lives. We want to become the person we dream about. However, what we forget is that setting goals and resolutions requires us to change something – a behavior, a thought process, certain values or old beliefs – that keep us from becoming that person we dream about. So, change is also part of the equation for achieving your goals.

Here are three steps you can take to deal with change in your life.

First, prepare yourself -- mentally and emotionally -- for change. You cannot just walk into a sea of change and expect to swim. Most change consists of whitewater and treacherous rapids. Seldom is the sea of change calm. Changing your beliefs, values and behavior requires some degree of mental and physical preparation if you really expect to achieve your goals.

Secondly, you must identify the barriers that keep you from changing your life and resolve to overcome those barriers. Make up your mind that you will change that part of you that heretofore has resisted lasting change or improvement. For example, you cannot quit smoking if you continue to buy cigarettes. You cannot stop drinking if you continue to buy booze and bring it home. These types of actions and behaviors must stop if you want to achieve your goals. You must resolve to give up those behaviors that undermine your success. Once you take positive action, the chances of achieving success will increase dramatically. Frankly, it’s not rocket science, It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

Finally, expect setbacks. No one is perfect. We all stumble from time to time. So, when you stumble, get back on your feet and move forward. If you miss a day of exercising, resolve to add a make-up day at the gym. If you sneak a cigarette, be aware that you are undermining your goal of quitting and don’t finish it. Throw it away after a few puffs. Reset the clock and start again. But, be sure to note what caused you to stumble so you can train your mind and emotions not to falter for the same reason the next time that temptation or excuse rears its ugly head. You have to resolve to be stronger than the excuse. Otherwise, you’ll never achieve your goals.

It’s tough starting off the new year with several well-intentioned resolutions but lacking the confidence to see them through to fruition. Hopefully, this plan for success will surprise you as spring approaches and you are well on your way to a healthier, happier you! Be Positive, Stay Focused and Get Results!

About the Author. Tom Hinton is a professional speaker and author of 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. He can be reached at: www.tomhinton.com or via email at: tom@tomhinton.com

Getting Through Airport Security This Holiday Season

2010-11-22T09:47:00.001-08:00

by Tom Hinton

There’s been a lot of huffing, puffing and whimpering lately about the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) tough new airline boarding security checks. Some people are threatening to stage protests in the TSA screening lines and disrupt Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel for the rest of us. This would be a serious mistake. It would also be an act of pure stupidity, selfishness and change nothing.

As a frequent traveler, I don’t like having to unpack my liquids, take off my belt and shoes and walk barefoot through metal detectors or a band scan machine. But, let’s get real, folks. We live in an era where very bad people hate you and want to do bad things to Americans. I certainly don’t want to be on an airplane where the passengers were not screened because someone felt their personal privacy was being invaded or their constitutional rights trampled by a government employee. Are you kidding me?

While I don’t like to operate from a fear-based mindset, I know the terrorist threat is real and we cannot afford to allow the bad guys to slip through our national security net because a small group of well-intentioned citizens don’t like going through the airport screening device or getting body pat downs. That’s too bad. They’ll need to adjust to the times we live in.

Let’s look at the facts. First, a relatively small number of the 34 million people who have flown since the new procedures went into effect have been subject to body pat downs that have come under withering criticism in recent days. While the process is somewhat invasive, it’s necessary as terrorists come up with innovative ways to blow up airplanes and disrupt our way of living. So, until we can find innovative ways (to screen passengers) that are less invasive and time-consuming, I suggest we get in the queue and make the best of an unpleasant -- albeit brief -- experience. Smile, follow the instructions and just deal with it.

Can you imagine the consequences of not screening passengers? As we already know, it only takes one madman to disrupt a flight or bring down an airplane. It would be irresponsible and selfish for anyone to organize delaying actions or contest body scans once they are in line at the airport. It will only result in delaying thousands of travelers who want to go home and see their loved ones for the holidays. The TSA is not going to compromise on airport security procedures nor should they.

So, here’s my advice. You don’t need to like the current screening procedures or the time-consuming process. But, you need to think through your choices and consequences. Your choices are simple. If you disapprove of the current TSA screening procedures at the airports, you don’t have to fly. You can drive, take a bus, train or stay home. You can also picket outside the airport with a big sign that is sure to attract the media.

But don’t come to the airport with your bags packed and airline boarding pass ticket in hand with the intention of disrupting my boarding process and, possibly, causing me to miss my flight and lose precious time with my family this holiday season. I will not take kindly to your selfish and stupid act. Neither will those three huge rugby players behind me. They might just want to see if you can fly through a body scanner – head first!

Finally, be kind to the TSA employees. Thank them for doing a thankless job this Thanksgiving. They deal with enough idiots as it is. I’m sure they’d rather be home with their families than padding down your sweaty armpits and over-sized buttocks!

About the Author: Thomas Hinton is a popular business author and professional speaker. Email: tom@tomhinton.com

2010-10-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Discovering Your Life Purpose Before It’s Too Late

Several few months ago, I had an intriguing conversation with a good friend named Roger who confided he was tired of the rat race. He had worked for the same energy company for 24 years and decided his work was no longer fulfilling. He told me he was going to make some major changes in his life.

What struck me was Roger is a methodical planner and analytical thinker. He does not make irrational or snap decisions. He’s 56 years old, a former Army officer, unmarried and has an advanced degree in engineering. Given Roger’s management position with his company, I’m sure he earned $250,000 per year or more. I could tell something profound was stirring inside my friend.

Then, last week, Roger sent me another email announcing he had quit his job, sold his spacious home near Houston and moved to northern Colorado where works as a project manager for a non-profit organization that helps disabled veterans get their lives back on track. Despite the low-paying job, cold weather and one bedroom apartment, Roger couldn’t be happier.

In my email response to Roger, I had to ask, “What made you do it? Why did you toss everything aside and change direction in your life?” His answer was profound.

Roger told me he had attended a company-sponsored workshop on how to re-discover one’s passion for life and work. Roger attended the program as a way to get re-energized and motivated since his company was considering him for a major promotion since it was expanding its business. For several months prior to the workshop, Roger was bored at work and felt he was slipping into a velvet rut of contentment without any sense of personal satisfaction or growth.

But, during the workshop, the facilitator asked attendees to think about their legacy and how they would like to be remembered. “It was a haunting question,” Roger told me, “because I never really gave it much thought. I realized I was 55 years old and could spend the rest of my life leading a project team and having a nice retirement and a gold watch to show for it. Somehow, that just wasn’t enough. I knew if I had any doubts about how I would spend the next ten years, now was the time to make some changes. And, that’s what I did!”

Roger’s decision to quit his job and seek a new direction is not uncommon. In fact, every month -- at seminars and workshops I conduct on Finding Your Passion in the Workplace -- I am meeting dozens of people who tell me they are unfulfilled. They either hate their jobs or don’t think their lives have much significance. That’s not to suggest they’re unhappy or miserable. But, they are unfulfilled. They want something more out of life and they just need a good reason or hard shove to get off the dime and make the same changes that Roger made in his life.

Andrea DeBell, an author who writes on happiness and bliss in life, uses a beautiful analogy about footprints in the sand. She writes, “We all leave footprints in the sand; the question is, will we be a big heal, or a great soul?” It’s a powerful question because it captures the essence of our life purpose. And, sooner or later, it’s a question we must all answer. Even by ignoring the question, we answer it.

In my new book, 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, I challenge readers to consider their legacy and how they want to be remembered? Frankly, it’s not that long a time when you consider that 10,000 days equals 27 years and 145 days. The average person only lives about 30,000 days or 82 years. So, the clock is ticking for all of us!

The Course of 10,000 Days suggests that our lives are divided into three segments -- our Discovery Years, our Fulfillment Years and our Legacy Years. Each portion lasts ten thousand days. As we transition from our Fulfillment Years into our Legacy Years -- our final 10,000 days -- we begin to ask ourselves those haunting questions about our life purpose and how will we be remembered? It’s a natural part of life. But, it can cause major problems if you don’t have good answers. This is what my friend, Roger, experienced. He didn’t have any satisfactory answers so he decided to revisit his goals and dreams. That’s what triggered his major changes. Now, according to his own definition of success, his life has meaning and purpose. He has found his bliss.

While this period of self-reflection and introspection can occur as early as your mid 40s, typically it hits us as we enter our 50s. Some of us might think we are experiencing a mid-life crisis when, in fact, it’s simply our Inner Spirit challenging us to do something meaningful and memorable with our life. But, because our ego controls most of our emotional responses, our Inner Spirit (that third dimension of our Being that guides us through life towards our higher purpose) does its job by repeatedly posing those haunting questions and demanding truthful answers.

And so, like Roger, we begin to think about our footprint on the sands of life. Are we leaving a profound imprint that will not be washed away by the sands of time, or will our footprint disappear quickly because our life lacks meaning and purpose?
By examining your life through the questions and exercises of The Course of 10,000 Days you can leave a lasting imprint on the people you love and the planet where you live. But, it requires you to take that all-important first step and answer the question: How do I live a life worth remembering?

About the Author: Tom Hinton is one of America’s most respected authors and speakers on Personal Development, Professional Growth and Human Potential. He is the author of four books including:10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, which will be published in 2011. For information, email him at: tom@tomhinton.com

Americans Can Re-learn the Art of Customer Service from Asia

2010-04-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

It’s no surprise that customer service has been on the decline for the past ten years in America. Company executives are quick to blame the economic downturn for the decline in service. But, frankly, that’s just a weak excuse for companies that are not willing to spend the money to train their employees in the art of customer service. But, there’s a deeper problem that is causing the decline in customer service among American companies. And, it’s a two-headed monster!

The first head on this menacing monster is a mindset among the bean counters within corporate America who fail to see the correlation between superior customer service and profit. For these mindless bureaucrats, who fatten the top line of most businesses and contribute little to the bottom line, customer service is a cost-center. From their narrow vantage point, teaching employees how to smile, be polite and answer customer questions doesn’t translate into more revenue. This mindset is problematic, but it can be cured by enlightened leaders who understand that customer service is a philosophy not a department!

Unfortunately, the second head on the monster is more challenging because it is rooted in our changing national culture which has drifted away from customer service because of greed, technology and the unwillingness of consumers to fight back for better service and fair treatment. How do we go about restoring customer service as a way of life in America?

Perhaps, the answer can be found across the Pacific Ocean. On a recent trip to Hong Kong, Macau and Tokyo I found customer service is alive and well. Certainly, these destinations have been hit with tough economic times; and yet, their commitment to superior customer service is unwavering. Why is that?

I think the answer is cultural. There is something inherent among Asian cultures that teaches people to be of service, to be kind and help each other. There is also a deep regard among Asians for respect and common courtesy. I remember an advertising campaign by Toyota in the early 1990s that emphasized uncommon courtesy. It was brilliant because it captured the essence of a traditional Japanese custom -- courtesy -- and Toyota’s commitment to superior customer service based on respect for people.

That sentiment is alive and well in Asia. At every stop, the overwhelming majority of people -- from hotel clerks and waiters to taxi drivers and flight attendants -- practiced the art of superior customer service. For them, it is a way of life to be of service. For Americans, it’s part of our job. Regrettably, too many Americans fail to practice the basic tenets of superior customer service (courtesy, respect, quality and going above-and-beyond the call of duty for our customers) in their everyday life. For most Americans, practicing superior customer service takes too much time and effort. We’d rather be ill-mannered and arrogant. We’d rather blame the customer for their stupidity than bow respectfully -- as do the Asians -- and humbly apologize in order to retain the customer’s loyalty. And, let me add, Asians do this regardless of how wrong the customer is. Why?

Well, I think the Asians understand the concept of “winning a customer for life!” Contrarily, in the United States, if the customer is wrong or acts like a jerk, we would rather tell him/her to go jump in a lake!

So, if you’d like to rediscover the beautiful art of customer service, I encourage you to visit to Hong Kong, Macau or Tokyo. In addition to their spectacular beauty and wonderful sites, you will find customer service is alive and well -- and, by the way, so is business!

About the Author:
Tom Hinton is a professional speaker and business author who works with clients to help them create a culture of excellence. Tom can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com

A Great Week for America's Consumers

2010-03-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton
America's Expert on Business Excellence

Three important events took place this week which will reshape the lives of millions of Americans and, perhaps, give hope to a billion Chinese.

Healthcare Reform. It’s been nearly a week since President Obama signed the historic Healthcare Reform legislation and the sky has yet to collapse on us. From all the hysteria and political rhetoric hurled by opponents to this mega-legislation, I was concerned the world would end as the president signed the new law. It didn't.

The healthcare debate is a keen example of what happens when politicians place the needs of special interests ahead of their constituents. They lose focus of their obligation to represent Americans and make absurd claims that have no basis. In the process, they lose credibility. This is what happened last week to the entire Republican congressional delegation when not one Republican in the House or Senate supported the passage of this monumental healthcare reform legislation. Of course, as consumers began to realize the benefits of the healthcare legislation, some Republicans will blatantly lie and claim they supported it. But, the average consumer knows better. Consumers will remember those elected representatives who had the courage to vote "yes" and, hopefully, reward the party of “Can Do” on Election Day.

Now, millions of Americans, who have been victimized by the unscrupulous and greed-driven health insurance industry, will have the opportunity to obtain affordable healthcare insurance and not go bankrupt if they become seriously ill.

While the new legislation is far from perfect, it’s a good start. Consumers have finally been heard after more than 60 years of repressive practices by the self-serving healthcare insurance industry. As the new legislation takes shape, the abuse of middle-class Americans by medical piranhas and health insurance companies will gradually end. This is good news for all Americans -- even those who vigorously opposed the healthcare reform bill. For, they shall also reap its benefits.

College Funding: Another positive benefit of the healthcare legislation is the financial-aid portion of the bill that shifts student loans from private lenders such as Sallie Mae and banks to the federal government. This will save $61 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and make more money available to struggling middle-class families who are trying to find ways to pay for college. Also, the bill will eliminate outsourcing of loan-servicing jobs to foreign countries by requiring all student-aid workers to be in the United States. Once again, Democrats in Congress are entitled to all the credit for helping middle-class Americans deal with the mounting cost of college. Not one Republican supported this legislation to help middle-class families afford college. What in the world were they thinking? Are the Republicans that far out of touch with middle-class Americans? I guess so.

Google Stands-up to China. Integrity matters. Finally, there’s an American company that has told the Chinese communist government where to go! Thank you, Google for putting ethics, integrity and freedom of speech ahead of profits by sending a strong message to the Chinese communist bullies that you aren’t going to play by their repressive rules. Now that Google has cracked the Great Firewall of China, it’s time for other companies to support the Google Revolution by telling the Chinese government they cannot censor ideas, rewrite historical events like Tienanmen Square, control births or suppress free speech.

Let’s not forget how quickly the Berlin Wall came down after President Reagan rallied world opposition during his speech in Berlin and challenged Russia to "tear down this wall." American companies and their global partners should rally round Google and send a united message to the Chinese extremists that free-thinking people are not going to play their crooked game. Imagine the potential market under a reformed China! Imagine how much business can be had if the handcuffs of freedom are removed from the Chinese people. They, too, deserve a chance to enjoy the basic freedoms of speech, thought, dissent and democracy.

While Google has taken the first step in this economic war against the Chinese oppressors, American consumers can support this effort by boycotting Chinese goods for 30 days. If just half of America’s consumers refused to buy anything made in China (which is a lot of stuff) for 30 days, it would send a strong message to the Chinese government’s repressive leaders and fuel the fires of freedom for a billion people. This means companies like Wal-Mart would have to put ethics and human rights ahead of profits. Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath because greed runs deep in corporate America.

Mortgage Relief is Coming. Finally, the third significant issue is meaningful mortgage relief. The Obama Administration has realized that its well-intentioned mortgage relief program introduced last year was worthless. Banks and other lenders got richer while under-water homeowners slipped further into debt because the mortgage bailout was a sham. Now, new rules designed to provide meaningful relief to homeowners and prevent foreclosures are being introduced and these new guidelines will force banks to forgive some debt and reassess the current market value of homes so that mortgage payments can be lowered.

This makes sense for everyone. While some mortgage holders and lenders will experience a loss on certain properties, neighborhoods will be preserved and families can stay in their homes. As the economy recovers, more people will find jobs and, in turn, be able to start making a reasonable mortgage payment.

All in all it was a great week for American consumers!

About the Author.
Tom Hinton is a professional speaker and business author. He is recognized as America's Expert on Business Excellence. He can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com

Why Can't Toyota Come Clean with Consumers?

2010-03-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, Toyota has been chastised harshly for mishandling its recall of 8 million vehicles and misrepresenting the facts to consumers and federal regulators. And, rightfully so.

At the same time, Toyota’s powerful public relations machine has been pumping out commercials and newspaper ads showing how dedicated its employees are and the positive financial impact Toyota has on U.S. communities where its manufacturing plants are located.

What’s happening here is a strategic ploy by Toyota to shift public opinion by touting its commitment to consumers and the company's good citizenship while distancing itself from the lawsuits and congressional hearings that are dominating the news. Frankly, this is a disturbing attempt by Toyota to dodge the central questions -- why are your vehicles malfunctioning and how long have you known about it?

Toyota's public relations strategy could have serious negative consequences if the auto company does not get to the root cause of its recall problems and come clean with consumers. To date, it appears the quick fix approach Toyota is using with regard to sudden, unintended acceleration and steering malfunctions isn’t working. More than 60 Toyota owners have filed complaints with federal officials in the past month stating ongoing problems with sudden acceleration despite their vehicles being “fixed” as part of the massive recall.

These post-recall complaints suggest Toyota doesn’t know what the root cause problem is, nor does Toyota have a meaningful solution to fix it. Perhaps this is why Toyota cannot come clean with American consumers? Furthermore, as the problem persist, Toyota's public relations strategy could backfire. Consumers are not stupid. They know Toyota is trying to soft-pedal the problem by showering us with touchy-feely commercials that are designed to boost consumer confidence in their flawed vehicles and restore integrity to Toyota’s tarnished image. What Toyota needs to understand is this situation could become another Enron if Toyota doesn't come clean with consumers and tell us the whole truth.

No one is suggesting Toyota has been corrupted from the top down. Rather, Toyota has a technology flaw that is causing some of its vehicles to lose control and injure or kill people. But, instead of coming forward and being candid with consumers, it appears that a handful of managers within Toyota's North American operation made serious mistakes in judgment by hiding the truth and failing to candidly discuss the problem. It is also possible that these same individuals kept evidence from federal regulators and lied to unsuspecting customers about the potential risks of driving certain vehicles. If these accusations are true, Toyota cannot tolerate such behavior. These people must be fired and, possibly, prosecuted. It runs against the grain of Toyota's values and culture of excellence.

With each passing day, more negative revelations are being uncovered about Toyota’s mis-management and how they either ignored or covered-up the truth on the sudden acceleration problems. This is a serious indictment against a once-proud company that has dropped the quality ball and placed profits and market share ahead of its customers’ safety and welfare.

Nobody wants to see Toyota fail despite its gross mishandling of the recall problem. After all, Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships employ more than 115,000 people. And, since 1991, Toyota has awarded more than $464 million to numerous organizations across the nation.For more than 50 years, Toyota has been a respected and honorable company in the United States.

But, unless Toyota Motor Corporation’s president, Akio Toyoda, wants American consumers to change his name to “Mud,” he’d better take action and fire those executives who allowed this problem to become the company's worst nightmare. Mr. Toyoda should also direct his team to come clean with consumers. For starters, it would help to know the whole truth and whether or not Toyota really understands what’s causing its vehicles to go out of control. Until Toyota gives us all the facts, consumers are not going to trust this once-proud brand and buy its vehicles.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is recognized as America's Expert on Business Excellence. He works with clients to help them create a culture of excellence in the workplace. Tom is also a popular business speaker and the author of four books. He can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com

Encouraging Spiritual Development in the Workplace

2010-02-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

There’s a positive movement taking hold in the workplace. Companies are discovering a new way to motivate, energize and relate to employees by helping them discover and develop their spiritual essence. I refer to this movement as Employee Spiritual Development or ESD.

Not too many years ago, such a movement would have been dismissed as radical or controversial; but, not in today’s self-actualizing work environment. Companies are anxious to find innovative ways to keep good employees and stimulate their creative genius. If companies like Apple, Google and Genentech can thrive in tough economic times by helping their employees develop holistically, certainly progressive programs like ESD merit serious consideration by companies that value their people.

What exactly does an Employee Spiritual Development program consist of? First, and most important, ESD should not be confused with endorsing a specific religion, faith practice or any other type of deity worship. Rather, authentic ESD programs focus exclusively on helping employees develop holistically -- that is, creating a balanced life by nurturing one’s mind, body and spirit. ESD courses range from exercise and fitness programs to Yoga and meditation classes that not only stretch one’s muscles, but also stretch the mind. Interestingly, many Asian and Indian companies have been using these techniques successfully for hundred of years. Western culture has only recently awakened to the concept of human potential and this is why more American companies are introducing ESD programs and encouraging employees to enroll.

The most successful ESD programs I am familiar with help employees discover their spiritual essence and develop their mind, body and spirit. At this level, employees are encouraged to focus on their goals, create a life plan and connect with their inner spirit -- that spiritual core within each and every person that drives us to pursue our dreams, achieve our goals and excel in life. Companies realize that if they can tap into those elements that drive employees to achieve their goals and dreams, it’s possible to unleash their creative genius and generate peak performance.

While many companies purposely define spiritualism or ESD in vague terms (so as not to offend non-practitioners), they clearly understand that an employee who is more fulfilled in his/her personal life will be more positive and productive in the workplace. Naturally, employees who are fulfilled and balanced in their personal lives are more likely to contribute favorably to their company’s bottom line.

When introducing an Employee Spiritual Development program in the workplace, I recommend management adhere to several important guidelines. Here they are:

1. An ESD program must be optional. Employees must be free to opt-in or not. It cannot be mandatory.
2. It cannot be aligned with a religion or faith-based initiative. In fact, one executive told me, “It’s best to leave religion outside the classroom altogether. That way, no one is offended or slighted.”
3. While chaplains play an important role in counseling individual employees on personal matters, I discourage the use of clergy in an ESD program. Instead, select professional facilitators, speakers or instructors who have no stated religious affiliation or bias, but understand human psychology and how to tap into human potential. The goal of an ESD program is to help employees explore their spiritual essence and develop their spiritualism. A progressive ESD program should try to link the company’s vision, values and principles to the employee’s spiritual development whenever possible.
4. The types of ESD classes or workshops a company hosts for employees should emphasize traditional values, principles and spiritual topics that most employees already subscribe to. For example, I recently led a company’s ESD workshop on how to transition from one’s Fulfillment Years (ages 30-55) to one’s Legacy Years (ages 55+). It was well attended by Baby Boomers who are getting older. By citing several longstanding values and principles, I was able to tie together the challenges of the workplace with the realities of growing older and maturing through another phase of life.
5. An ESD program should focus on helping employees create a balanced life. In this way, employees can become a positive influence in shaping the values of their company as well as strengthening the company’s commitment to the people and communities it serves. Sometimes, after completing an ESD class, employees will decide to undertake a community work project that channels their energy into positive results. This can be very powerful. Following one ESD workshop I facilitated, a group of employees spent their weekend helping an elderly couple fix-up their home. While it probably wouldn’t rate as an episode of Extreme Makeover -- Home Edition, it was every bit as satisfying!

The intriguing thing about Employee Spiritual Development programs is they really aren’t new. They’ve been around for decades under the guise of other labels including positive thinking, peak performance, transcendental meditation and other titles that have led us to this point. For decades, people have been searching for meaning and purpose in their lives. And, because a person’s job plays such a significant role in their life, it’s important for companies to recognize and accept their responsibility to develop their employees holistically.

It should come as no surprise to any organization that people want to lead meaningful lives. As employees grow older, they become more focused on living a life worth remembering. They want to contribute to a better world and make a difference. When a company can help its employees make that all-important spiritual connection, typically things change for the better in the workplace. Employee attitudes become more positive and employees will often renew their commitment to doing a better job and treating colleagues with dignity and respect. In essence, employees begin to see the workplace through a different set of glasses. Also, when employees see the fruition of their efforts, they will commit themselves to being part of an organization that improves the lives of others. This is part of the spiritual transformation an ESD program can help people make. It is also a very important transformation for most people who have reached that point in their lives where what they do -- and how they do it -- matters.

Sometimes, when I speak to audiences about the untapped power of the human spirit and how to discover one’s higher purpose, I will sense an under-current of discontent. Mostly, it stems from frustrated Baby Boomers who feel cheated by life. For many of them, the American Dream has never materialized.

One gentleman, who holds a management position in a large company, described his discontent to me this way. “I’m 55 years-old, and for all the hype and hoopla about Baby Boomers being a peace-loving, planet-saving generation, we haven’t accomplished much to make this earth a better place. In fact, we’ve been a generation at war. Ethics in government has declined and there is more greed among the wealthy than ever before. It’s almost depressing. So, that’s why I’m taking this workshop. I’m looking for some answers. I’d like to make sense of it all, if that’s even possible.”

This gentleman is not alone in his feelings about the Baby Boomer generation. Certainly, there have been many great accomplishments over the past 50 years, but there have also been many failures and setbacks. This is why so many employees are attempting to seek answers to life’s gnawing questions. They want to lead more fulfilling lives. Employee Spiritual Development programs can help people in their search for meaning and purpose. Businesses have discovered that if their employees live a more meaningful life they will be more committed to their jobs, their companies and their co-workers. They might even become more energized and creative! That alone is worth the investment. Of course, many companies have already figured this out and that is why they’re offering ESD programs.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is the author of the new book 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, which will be released this spring. He is a popular speaker on business topics including Spiritual Development in the Workplace and Creating a Culture of Excellence in the Workplace. He can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com

Toyota Needs to Answer Serious Questions to Regain Consumer Trust

2010-02-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

What began as a gas pedal design flaw and floormat problem for one of the world’s most respected automotive companies has mushroomed into a public relations nightmare for Toyota. Consumers are deeply troubled by Toyota's media posturing and potholed explanations. We want to know the full story. Consumers are entitled to know why this problem developed into a serious issue and resulted in the deaths of innocent people who trusted the Toyota brand. Telling the American consumer the full story is the only way Toyota can salvage its brand image and reputation because the problem is now beyond damage control.

Some journalists and persons familiar with the recall claim that Toyota's leadership knew about the gas pedal and accelerator problems nearly two years ago. But senior management failed to take action to correct the problems until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced its hand by mandating a recall of 4.2 million vehicles. If this is true, Toyota’s reputation for quality and customer care will be severely tarnished.

If, in fact, Toyota’s management had early knowledge of a manufacturing and performance flaw with its accelerators and gas pedals, and failed to act, the company is not only potentially guilty of criminal acts, but its management is guilty of customer abuse - pure and simple! Whenever management places its bottom-line interests ahead of the safety and lives of its customers, it should be terminated.

Amid the growing crises, Toyota has tried to put a positive spin on the issue by taking out full-page ads in 20 newspapers across the nation to reassure customers they are fixing the problem. But, Toyota’s message in the ads is neither clear nor reassuring to consumers. The ads only raise more questions including “Who knew what, when?” And, "why didn't management act sooner to protect the lives of Toyota's valued customers?"

The underlying issue for Toyota's customers is one of credibility. Consumers are questioning Toyota's integrity. Public opinion is turning against Toyota because consumers think the company's senior leadership knew about the faulty gas pedal design and accelerator flaw long before any action was ever taken to correct these problems thus jeopardizing unsuspecting drivers including a California Highway Patrol officer who was a skilled driver but could not control his malfunctioning Lexus as it accelerated to 120 mph. He and three family members died in a fiery crash near San Diego.

The fact that Toyota's senior management allowed this problem to escalate into a public relations disaster also raises questions about their competence let alone their commitment to Toyota's high principles and values. But, the key question consumers want answered is this. Why did people have to endure injury and even die as a result of Toyota’s slow response, or worse, management inaction? It is these questions that are keeping potential buyers out of Toyota dealerships. If Toyota wants customers to start visiting showrooms again and buying their autos, the company must come forward and respond truthfully and completely to these serious allegations and unanswered questions.

Allowing Toyota’s North American chief, Jim Lutz, to appear on NBC’s Today show to explain how the company is fixing the problem is not the answer. Consumers already know Toyota is fixing the problem. What consumers want are answers to the troubling questions like “Who knew what?" and "When did they know?”

Toyota should remember that consumers can be very understanding and forgiving during troubled times when a company does the right thing. Consider the tremendous outpouring of support Johnson & Johnson experienced from consumers in 1982 when seven people died after taking pain-relief Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide poison. Today, Tylenol and Johnson & Johnson enjoy a greater market share than ever before because they did the right thing. In fact, the Tylenol tampering incident has become a model case study for how a company should behave and respond in times of crisis.

Regrettably, it seems Toyota’s management hasn’t read the Tylenol case study. If only Toyota’s leadership had acted sooner, perhaps those people who tragically died from the flawed gas petals and accelerator malfunctions would still be alive. These people are the ultimate victims of management deceit, incompetence and inaction.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is known as America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is a popular speaker, author and trainer on Customer Service, Leadership, Sustainability, Change Management and Team Building. He can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com

A Disappointing Consumer Report Card for President Obama and the Congress in Year One

2010-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

With one year under their belts, the Consumer Report Card grades are in for President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Frankly,consumers are twitching nervously over the slow progress President Obama and the Congress have made to jump-start America’s sluggish economy. Promises have been made and the president and his party have underwhelmed most consumers in delivering results. From the perspective of the American Consumer Council, a non-profit, non-partisan consumer education organization, the president fairs no better than a C+ while the Congress barely earns a passing grade of D for its lackluster performance during the past year.

Despite all the posturing, politics and rancor on Capitol Hill, not much has been accomplished to give consumers hope that a new era is upon us. The expression “herding cats” comes to mind when one thinks of the challenges Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) faces in getting his Democrats lined-up to support vital consumer legislation including Financial/Banking Reform, Consumer Protection, Health Care Reform and Mortgage/Foreclosure Relief.

These issues should have been a slam dunk for the Democrats, but a lack of leadership and lax discipline -- combined with blind loyalty to the contributions of lobbyists and special interests -- have allowed a minority of self-serving representatives and senators to muddle the process and paint Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Reid into a very uncomfortable corner best labeled non-performance. At least that’s how a majority of consumers responded when asked recently about the performance of President Obama and the Democrats for the past year. Certainly, the president and his party must do better if they expect to win the hearts and votes of concerned consumers.

Despite his gift for oratory, his persuasive personality and political charm, it appears Mr. Obama drifted from his Change theme in the 2008 election and allowed Congress to derail his legislative agenda. These are tough times and they call for strong-arm tactics similar to what LBJ used to push through his Great Society legislation and Civil Rights reform. Instead of wasting his time trying to build a consensus with Republicans, President Obama needs to produce results. As demonstrated by the stunning senate election of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, voters have a short memory and will always vote their pocketbook, especially when suffering through tough economic times. Make no mistake, these remain very difficult times for most Americans.

From a consumer perspective, the president needs to get out in front of the band and start leading the change he promised to deliver. He cannot rely solely on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to do the job. They are perceived as weak leaders. If consumer confidence is any indicator, Americans remain seriously concerned about three issues: the lack of jobs and high unemployment; mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates; and, the rising cost of health care. With the exception of giving our military what it needs to win the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, everything else can wait. It may be important, but it’s not vital to our economic recovery.

Trying to win the hearts and minds of the opposition is a waste of the president’s time. With all due respect to the opposition, I would say the same thing if the Republicans occupied the White House. Of course, when Mr. Bush was president, he was deferential to Democrats, but plowed ahead to get his legislative issues passed by Congress. And, the Democrats controlled both chambers!

So, my advice to the president and the Democrats can be summed up in the words of California's Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said in one of his movies, “Sorry. No more Mr. Nice Guy!”

There’s much work to be done and the time is now for President Obama to refocus his priorities and redouble his efforts to put Americans back to work, solve the mortgage and foreclosure problems in favor of struggling homeowners and get health care reform approved. If he can accomplish these three things in 2010, his Consumer Report Card grade will improve significantly. But, the clock is ticking!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is a popular speaker at business and association meetings on Consumerism, Customer Service, Leadership, Sustainability and Managing Change. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

The Baucus Healthcare Debacle

2009-10-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

by Thomas Hinton

For several months, the Senate Finance Committee has labored to draft healthcare legislation. Its original intent was to help millions of uninsured Americans gain access to affordable healthcare. What began as a noble cause has deteriorated to the point where the proposed legislation looks more like a rescue bill for the health insurance industry than a lifeline for 36 million uninsured Americans.

For now, healthcare reform has become Senator Max Baucus' healthcare debacle. Senator Baucus, the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, claims to support universal healthcare as well as a public option for health insurance. However, he cannot seem to wiggle free from the chains of the health insurance lobby that has padded his campaign coffers with nearly $3 million in contributions. How can such a person make a rational decision and act without bias towards the best interest of our nation? The fact is he can't.

What confounds me is why this issue is so difficult. We are the richest nation in the world and yet, we are the only industrialized nation that does not provide its citizens universal healthcare coverage, let alone affordable access to the world's finest professional healthcare system. Yes, it costs money; and, yes, taxpayers must foot the bill. But, if the Congress does not act quickly and authorize a sensible long-term solution to our growing healthcare crisis, we will be saddled with trillions of dollars in healthcare costs that no one will be able to afford.

I believe the real healthcare question before us is an ethical question. Does the government of the United States of America have an ethical responsibility to all its citizens to provide them affordable access to healthcare? If the answer is yes -- and I believe it is -- then related issues such as how Americans access physicians, hospitals and clinics -- and whether the government creates a single-payer system or allows the current multi-payer system to remain in place -- are much easier to solve.

But, Senator Baucus and other Democratic senators cowered in the face of minority opposition. They voted down amendments to include the public option insurance program and, instead, endorsed a watered-down healthcare bill that will not meet the needs of the uninsured. His committee was asked to create a race horse and, instead, it created a camel! The proposed legislation will not solve the problem of rising healthcare costs. It only builds on the financial interests of greedy health insurance companies who already have veto power over medical insurance claims and the authority to deny treatment to thousands of Americans who desperately need medical attention and life-saving care.

If the Congress continues down its current path, the end result will be a significant defeat for the Democratic majority who have, thus far, squandered their electoral goodwill and grossly disappointed a significant majority of Americans who elected this Congress to bring about change. Part of the "change" covenant includes facing down the minority opposition that has crippled our nation economically during the previous eight years and standing up for those Americans whose voices have not been heard in years. Now is the time for the Democratic-controlled Congress to flex its muscle and have the courage to pass meaningful healthcare reform that insures the uninsured. Damn the opposition and full speed ahead! It's time the Congress did what's right!

About the Author. Thomas Hinton is president of CRI Global, LLC based in San Diego, CA. He is a frequent speaker at corporate and association meetings on business excellence topics. He can be reached at: tom@criglobal.com

Reading the Economic Tea Leaves: This Recession is Far from Over!

2009-09-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

For the past month, I’ve been scanning newspapers, watching CNBC and other economic news stations and listening to radio talk show experts to find out how our economy is doing. To my surprise, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the recession is all but over. However, in reading the economic tea leaves, I don’t think so. There's no such message in my fortune cookies!

The reasons I have serious doubts about this recession are simple. We still face four serious problems that will continue to stall a recovery until they are solved. First, many consumers are flat broke. They’ve spent their savings during the past two years and cannot afford to buy expensive items like cars and vacations. Secondly, the American economy is still bleeding jobs. Until companies start hiring en masse to replace the millions of jobs lost during the past three years, most consumers will not spend money. They’re afraid their job might be cut next. Thirdly, a staggering number of homeowners continue to struggle with their mortgage payments. Because of wage cuts, job losses and savings depletion, the threat of foreclosure remains serious for many American homeowners. Fourthly, the average American, who has healthcare insurance, is struggling to pay their healthcare premiums which continue to rise. Each day, thousands of Americans are being forced to make the painful decision to abandon their healthcare insurance because they can no longer afford it.

So, while I’m pleased that Mr. Bernanke thinks this recession is almost over, I disagree. I think it’s far from over. And, while I’m pleased Wall Street is making a strong comeback, that isn’t what’s going to revive and sustain the American economy. The ultimate antidote to nursing our economy back to health is consumer spending; and, that’s not going to happen until we solve the four problems I’ve noted.

About the Author:
Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is also a popular business author and speaker who writes frequently on consumer issues and business trends. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

Tom Hinton Criticizes Airline Service Fees on CNBC

2009-09-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Thomas Hinton, president and CEO of the American Consumer Council (ACC), has sharply criticized ten domestic airlines for using deceptive pricing practices to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers who fly their airlines. According to the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a recent report shows that domestic airlines collected $3.8 billion in non-ticket fees for checking bags, the cancellation and re-booking of flights, carrying pets aboard planes and assigning seats.

The ten domestic airlines that Hinton criticized during CNBC's Power Lunch program included: American, Delta, U.S. Airways, United, Northwest, Continental, AirTran, Spirit, Frontier and JetBlue. Hinton said the ten airlines collected more than $669 million dollars in baggage fee revenues alone during the 2nd quarter of 2009. Hinton claimed that "many of those baggage fees were collected from unsuspecting travelers and who were unfairly charged."

On CNBC's Power Lunch program, Hinton also stated, "These types of a la carte pricing practices are unfair, deceptive and should be stopped by the airlines or, if necessary, a class action lawsuit."

Hinton explained that most travelers assume when they purchase an airline ticket, it entitles them to receive an assigned seat, check a piece of luggage and receive a snack and beverage aboard their flight. Hinton added, "These ten airlines should be upfront and truthful with consumers by including these traditional items in the cost of a ticket. To do otherwise, is viewed as deceptive and under-handed."

Hinton also questioned the credibility of the airlines industry because of recent problems with extended flight delays, an increase in the number of lost bags and the mishandling of luggage. Hinton referenced the "United Breaks Guitars" You Tube video by musician Dave Carroll, a United Airline passenger, whose expensive guitar was tossed around like a football on the tarmac of Chicago's O'Hare Airport by United Airline baggage handlers. United Airlines denied responsibility for nine months until the popularity of the You Tube video forced the airline to make amends.

Giving credit where it was due, Hinton did praise Southwest Airlines as the only major domestic airline that practices ethical and fair pricing because they do not charge under-the-table fees or service charges for baggage, pets, or in-flight meals.

Hinton noted that unsuspecting travelers must often pay an extra $50 - $100 per flight as a result of the service charges and fees issued by airlines. He called on consumers to express their displeasure with the ten domestic airlines that are "manipulating ticket prices by using under-the-table fees and service charges to boost the true cost of travel" Hinton encouraged CNBC viewers to "tell the airlines you don't like their deceptive and unfair pricing tactics."

Hinton also renewed his call on Congress to pass the Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights claiming, "Nothing has been done by the airline industry during the past year to improve customer service, treat consumers fairly or instill ethical pricing tactics so the real cost of travel is transparent."

The Mood of American Consumers Remains Cautious: An Interview with Thomas Hinton of ACC

2009-09-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

The following interview on the mood of American consumers was conducted on September 7, 2009 with Thomas Hinton, President & CEO of the American Consumer Council, by Consumer News & Views.

CNV. Most economic data suggest that the United States remains in a deep recession. What is the mood of American consumers and when do you predict the economy will turn around?

Hinton. There's no question the United States remains in a serious recession. Consumers are still hurting. We are still losing jobs and small businesses are reluctant to hire people until they see stronger signals that the worst is over.

CNV. Do you think the worst is over in terms of the recession?

Hinton. That's a tough question because companies are still laying-off thousands of employees and consumer confidence remains low. I'm also troubled by the number of home foreclosures and bankruptcies. Those numbers are too high and that's not a good sign for a recovery to begin.

I just returned from Europe and Scandinavia and it's apparent that America's economic woes are having a negative impact on many countries around the world. As long as American consumers refrain from spending and traveling, the global economy will suffer. As far as predicting a turn-around, I think three things need to happen. First, the federal government's stimulus plan needs to take root and federal agencies need to start pumping money into state and local coffers. Secondly, we need to reverse the job losses by generating millions of new jobs. Frankly, this is President Obama's biggest challenge because without job creation, consumers are not going to spend money they don't have and the economy will remain stalled. Thirdly, we need to correct some fundamental flaws in how we do business in this country to ensure we don't repeat the same economic mistakes again. I'm talking about strengthening federal regulations that prevent large companies and Wall Street from holding our nation hostage, economically speaking. Most consumers resent the federal bail-out of Wall Street companies and the billions of dollars taxpayers had to spend to set things right. Also, it's time Congress got serious about passing legislation that protects consumers in the critical areas of health care coverage, environmental protection, airline delays, credit card fees, foreclosures, student loans, and identity theft. Frankly, all eyes are on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority to see if Congress delivers. If Congress doesn't deliver, I think Speaker Pelosi will have squandered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do great things for American consumers and the nation.

CNV. Do you see any consensus among consumers on the issue of health care reform?

Hinton. There's certainly consensus among the 40 million plus consumers who either have no health insurance or are under-insured. I think the entire health care debate really boils down to three key questions. First, should every American have access to quality health care? If the answer to this question is yes -- and I believe yes is the right answer -- then the second question we must ask is: What system should we create that ensures every American has access to quality health care? And, thirdly, how will we pay for it?

The current national debate is all wrong. Our leaders should be focusing on America's moral obligation to its citizens to ensure every American has access to health care. Until we have agreement on America's moral obligation to provide health care to every citizen, we will not arrive at the proper solution.

TR Reid, a respected journalist, has written a great book entitled The Healing of America. Mr. Reid studied the various health care systems of many countries and found that the United States is the only developed nation that does not provide universal health care to its citizens. Why is that? It makes no sense that the richest nation in the world has not made the moral commitment to ensure its citizens receive the finest health care in the world. It is generally acknowledged that America has the finest health care professionals, hospitals, and research facilities in the world. But, unless you have health insurance, you cannot access our doctors, hospitals, or research facilities. Frankly, it's an embarrassment to our country.

Opponents claim a universal health care system will create socialized medicine -- whatever that means -- or eliminate a person's freedom to choose their own doctor or hospital for treatment. That's pure nonsense. These statements are nothing more than a scare tactic on the part of the special interests who don't want Americans to have open access to health care -- plain and simple. It appears this deceitful misinformation campaign on health care is being funded largely by a few health insurance companies that stand to lose billions of dollars in sky-high health insurance premiums if Congress adopts a single-payer system. The reality, however, is unless we change the current system -- and, specifically, how we pay for health care -- we will be bankrupt within 25 years because we cannot keep pace with the ballooning costs of health care. So, a meaningful solution must be found soon. That is the reality regardless of one's political views or special interest.

I would encourage consumers to read The Healing of America to gain an objective understanding on the various health care options that are working in other countries. I also think we need to stop protecting the "sacred cows" of health care -- like the health insurance companies -- that are controlling life-and-death decisions such as who can be treated and which treatment patients can receive, how much money doctors and hospitals get paid for a procedure, and which pill you can take to get well. It's not the federal government consumers should be afraid of when it comes to health care. It's the health insurance companies we should fear because they are the ones who are making life-and-death decisions for patients. It just doesn't make any sense. There are better options for American consumers.

CNV. Where will the new jobs come from?

Hinton. I mentioned earlier that America needs to rethink how we do business. But, we also need to reinvent our business growth model if we expect to remain the number one global economic power. I can assure you that China, India and other countries are not sitting idle.

I think the long-term answer for job growth in the United States will be found in three key areas: Green, Information Technology, and Knowledge Management. Certainly, bio-sciences, health care, education, defense, entertainment, agriculture and smaller specialty industries such as space exploration and scientific research will support America's economic growth over the next 25 years, but we need to recognize as a nation that we have entered a new economic era and begin to train a new generation to fill the jobs that will be created in these growth industries.

We also need to retrain the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, and give them new skills and a renewed sense of economic hope. The unemployed are good, decent people who are trapped in an economic downturn not of their making or choosing. So, we owe it to them to provide the necessary training and education to put them back to work.

CNV. Are you optimistic for consumers in 2010?

Hinton. I think the short answer is yes, I am cautiously optimistic for 2010. But, my optimism for 2010 depend on a few key issues. First, I think consumers need to see measurable progress in Washington on the major issues we've discussed in this interview. Secondly, I think President Obama is on the right track and he needs to press ahead and get Congress to adopt his proposals and quickly implement his plan. This probably means that some regressive members of Congress will be left behind, but that's politics. The sooner Congress and the president act, the sooner we will see a meaningful recovery. If Congress lacks the political courage and will to act, all bets are off. 2010 could be another dismal year. If that happens, I'm concerned that China will pull ahead of the United States and become the dominant economic force for the next 20 years because they have the resources and economic capacity to beat us. So, the political and economic stakes are very high.

In terms of consumer confidence, it's beginning to inch upwards because -- despite the naysayers and political commentators -- most consumers think Mr. Obama is on the right track and he is addressing the tough issues that need to be resolved in order to create long-term economic growth.

If there is a silver lining to our current economic crisis, it is this. Out of adversity comes opportunity. One of America's greatest strengths is good old Yankee ingenuity. Americans have a tremendous innovative spirit as well as the ability to take an idea to market quickly and cheaply. So, new ideas for products and services will flood the marketplace as soon as the economy recovers. There is certainly pent-up demand among consumers to buy new cars, clothes, electronic goods and other staples that drive our economy. But, until we see job growth and a spirit of cooperation in Washington, I think consumers will sit on the sidelines with their hands on their wallets and purses and not spend money. And, every day consumers sit on the sidelines is another day we postpone the recovery.

Common Sense is Not All That Common

2009-08-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

In his classic book, A World Waiting To Be Born: Civility Rediscovered, the late author Dr. M. Scott Peck, noted that today’s society suffers a serious and disruptive illness -- incivility. Dr. Peck believed our destructive patterns of self-absorption, callousness, manipulativeness, and materialism are so ingrained in our routine behavior that we cannot recognize them. Like Dr. Peck, I believe incivility is fatal to companies, government agencies and politicians who treat people with contempt or indifference.

During the past few weeks, there have been numerous cases of incivility that cause me to wonder how people in important positions can act so callously or dim-witted? Regrettably, the examples of incivility range from President Obama labeling the Cambridge Police Department as “acting stupidly” to sports and, not surprisingly, the whipping boy of consumer dissatisfaction -- the airlines industry.

Unfortunately, for President Obama, his choice of words was less than presidential. To label the Cambridge Police Department for “acting stupidly” before Mr. Obama had all the facts left him open to criticism and derailed his health care reform efforts while his critics crowded the airwaves dissecting his ill-chosen comments. It took a few beers and photos at the White House with Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates, Jr. to clear the air and get the president out of the Cambridge dog house. It was a tough lesson for Mr. Obama on civility and choosing one’s words more carefully.

Next, consider the bonehead decision by the management of Continental Express to allow 47 passengers to sit for six hours on a deserted tarmac after flying from Houston to Minneapolis -- only to be diverted to Rochester some 90 miles away. After nine hours, the all-night camp-out on Continental Express Flight 2816 took on the smell of soiled baby diapers and a backed-up toilet that was over-used by the stranded passengers in the regional jet. You would think that after JetBlue committed a similar blunder two years ago -- stranding thousands of passengers on planes that sat within spitting distance of the JFK terminal -- that Continental Express would not make the same dumb mistake. What should have been a 2 1/2-hour trip from Houston to Minneapolis became a nightmare for those 47 passengers. It also provides us with a new definition for incivility. After all, what civil-minded person would confine 47 passengers in a foul-smelling airplane without ample food and water for nine hours? It borders on torture let alone stupidity.

But, common sense is not common in the airline industry. Just ask, United Airlines which continues to suffer stock losses and the disdain of consumers who watched guitarist Dave Carroll’s YouTube video saga entitled, United Breaks Guitars. Passengers sitting aboard a plane in Chicago witnessed UAL baggage handlers tossing Carroll’s guitar like a football. When Carroll retrieved his expensive Taylor guitar at his destination, he found it had been broken. Carroll’s efforts to have United Airlines fix his instrument fell on deaf ears for 9 months. So, Carroll wrote the widely popular song, United Breaks Guitars, which has been viewed by 4 million people. Is it simply a coincidence that many stock analysts believe the Mr. Carroll’s United Breaks Guitars sage has cost UAL millions in stock losses? If so, that’s an expensive lesson in civility and disdain for your customers!

Another example of incivility concerns Tiger Woods, who was fined by the PGA Tour for his public criticism of a rules official after winning last week’s Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. In this example of incivility and a lack of common sense, Tiger is being unfairly punished by the PGA for criticizing the referee, John Paramour, who told Woods and Padraig Harrington they were being “put on the clock” for slow play at a critical time in the final round of the tournament. At the time, Harrington clung to a slim one-shot lead at the par-5 16th hole. The comment by Mr. Paramour rattled Harrington. Tiger Woods said afterwards said the intrusion by Paramour caused Harrington to rush three difficult shots that led to his devastating triple bogey on the 6th hole. Harrington never recovered and Woods went on to win the tournament by four shots. Woods said he told Harrington after it was over, “I’m sorry that John [Paramour] got in the way of a great battle.” This is why the PGA fined Woods.

While Woods and Harrington lagged behind the players in front of them, their pace seemed steady for a competitive two-man duel. While the PGA will argue that Paramour was within his right to put Woods and Harrington “on the clock,” his timing was terrible and, thus, lacked civility. Even well-intentioned people make bonehead plays that confound common sense.

Finally, I’m sure Dr. Peck would be troubled -- as I am -- by the recent incivility at the various congressional town hall meetings as the merits of a proposed health care reform plan are debated. Certainly, such a sweeping proposal will draw many different ideas, comments and opposing viewpoints. But, in watching the news coverage of these town hall meetings, it is both disgraceful and undignified how so many Americans are conducting themselves. Whatever happened to civil discourse and allowing one person to voice their opinion before an opposing thought is expressed? Instead, I see angry old men yelling and screaming at women and children. For what? If this is political theatre, shame of those who would defame America’s prized ritual of debate. Is this the image of American society we want to project to the world that is watching America discuss health care reform? This is how we earned the distasteful label, “Ugly American.”

It should come as no surprise that many of our children hold politics, politicians, and various television news commentary programs in contempt. In their minds, our generation is not a role model for civility. We are a generation that represents everything negative, spiteful and perverse in American society. We lack common sense, self-respect, and a sense of decency and fairness not only for ourselves but for other nations as well. We have, as Dr. Peck feared, become a discredited society that is self-absorbed, callous, manipulative, and completely consumed with material things.

Can it be that we have become a nation without feelings and emotions? As one college student remarked to me last week, “America has lost its soul. I’m disgusted with all of you.” Frankly, she’s right… I’m disgusted with all of you, too!

About the Author: Thomas Hinton is America's expert on Business Excellence and a respected business author of four books including The Spirit of Service. Mr. Hinton is a popular speaker on the topics of Going Green and Corporate Social Responsibility. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

Free Doesn't Always Mean Free

2009-08-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy this article by my friend and guest writer, Bill Kalmar.
s/ Tom Hinton

Our cable provider, AT&T, just offered us one month of free service for Encore and Showtime. Two months ago, we took the free HBO offer for two months. After two months of “Caddy Shack” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” reruns, we decided to cancel. Now after just two days of Showtime we are ready to cancel again. What pushed us over the top was a rerun of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”... in July. So come tomorrow we will return to our regular programming. Frankly, we don’t need 300 channels anyway.

What I learned from previous experiences with cable companies is that if you fail to cancel within the allotted time of your free subscription, your account will be charged and it may be difficult to obtain a refund. In the case of AT&T, I canceled the HBO subscription within a week of the free deadline, however, our statement recycled prior to that date and thus we were charged a monthly fee. It was easily reversed but I think it points out that many companies are in a financial bind and may look for unusual ways to increase their cash flow.

One case in point is our health care provider. Our payments have been due the first of the month since my retirement in 2003. Then on July 16th we received a notice that our payments are now due the 25th of each month starting with the July payment—a nine-day window for payment. This was done unilaterally without notice to subscribers. I have written to senior management concerning this and hope to receive a response before my next column.

I pointed out to management that before decisions are made the question should be raised: “How will this affect our customers?” This is a basic quality concept that is often overlooked and one that generally results in adverse reaction from customers when ignored. What makes this decision so impractical is that our prescription coverage from the same company is still due on the first of the month.

It seems companies that have reduced their staffs are having difficulty with quality control. I wonder if anyone has weighed the cost of replacing defective merchandise with the cost of having an experienced staff on board who verifies the quality and proper response to orders. I would bet that having trained staff costs less than all the miscues that are occurring.

We just unpacked a ceiling fan for installation in our family room and as luck would have it, two of the light fixtures were shattered. A call to the fan company had replacements sent to us but when the new lights arrived, the wrong ones were in the package. Another call to a different rep caught the error and new lights are on the way. I’ll let you know if the second time is the charm, but normally it takes three times, doesn’t it? Also, a sports chair we ordered has a rip in the fabric, so back it goes.

Have you seen that some of the bailed-out companies are now prepared to pay extravagant bonuses to staff members? Senior management reconciles this idiotic practice as a way to “prevent talented people from leaving the organization.” If these people were so talented, why was the company in financial trouble? I say, prohibit bonuses and let these people leave. Then let them find a job, especially in Michigan where unemployment is at 15 percent and rising. When these so-called brain-trusts leave there will be thousands of qualified people seeking those positions.

Speaking of people leaving, here is where some of you will be counting me for sure among those dining on loco weed—but understand that I'm immune to criticism and am bullet proof. Just as in the business world where CEOs are obliged to retire at a predetermined age, most likely at 65 years of age, the same should be done in the political world. Do I really want some senator or representative in his or her 80s or 90s making decisions that will effect me or my children and grandchildren? Absolutely not!

It's time for these dinosaurs to pack up their orthopedic underwear and hit the road; and I say that as a senior citizen myself.

Now go ahead, write me, and tell me that I am discriminating against the aged. Candidly, anyone who is making laws in their 80s and 90s is discriminating against me, because he or she no longer identifies with reality and the world I'm living in.

Speaking of senior citizens, how about the run 59-year-old Tom Watson just made at the British Open? He forced a playoff after leading most of the time in the four-day event and then lost on the final playoff hole. But he provided loads of excitement and certainly outplayed many younger players. Maybe some of our octogenarian senators could caddy for him.

Well, time to give cable TV another try. They're showing “The Maltese Falcon” with Humphrey Bogart. Now that’s real moviemaking

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

Perhaps you’ve seen the You Tube video entitled United Breaks Guitars by Dave Carroll. Dave serenades us with his composition about the United Airlines baggage handlers at Chicago O’Hare Airport who tossed around his expensive Taylor guitar (in its sturdy case) on the tarmac as he and other passengers looked out their airplane window in a state of shock and disbelief. Of course, when Dave Carroll and his band members arrived in Nebraska and retrieved their musical instruments from UAL’s baggage belt, they discovered his custom-made Taylor guitar was broken.

For nine months, Carroll tried unsuccessfully to resolve the matter with UAL. But, United Airlines representatives gave him the run-around and denied any responsibility for breaking his guitar. Frustrated by his experience, Carroll wrote a comedic song entitled United Breaks Guitars and posted it on You Tube. Carroll’s story has become a public relations nightmare for United Airlines. More than three million viewers have seen Carroll’s story-song and many have responded on You Tube and Twitter with their own horror stories about United Airlines. To make matters worse, several evening news programs have shared Carroll’s saga with millions of their viewers.

Succumbing to the negative public relations caused by Carroll’s song, UAL offered to repair his damaged guitar. However, Taylor Guitars of El Cajon, California, which hand-makes each instrument, beat UAL to the punch. They seized on Dave Carroll’s story immediately and contacted him offering to repair or replace his guitar. Bob Taylor, the brilliant owner and founder of Taylor Guitars, also made his own You Tube video to counsel musicians on how to care for their precious cargo when traveling by air. Taylor recommends not checking guitars, but instead, carry-on these items which is permissible by the TSA provided they can be stored aboard an aircraft.

While Dave Carroll and Taylor Guitars have come out winners, one must wonder what in the world United Airlines’ management was thinking? Did no one at United Airlines call a “time out” to ask colleagues, “Hey, how do we come out of this broken guitar scenario without egg on our face?” Sadly, this isn’t an isolated case at United Airlines. Acts of stupidity and customer abuse are repeated multiple times every day by a growing number of disingenuous United Airlines employees who lack common sense and do dumb things that alienate passengers and those hard-working UAL employees who are customer-focused. I’ve witnessed it personally in Chicago and Denver several times. Of course, it begs the obvious question -- why?

The answer is United Airlines is broken. Organizationally and culturally, UAL lacks a spirit of service. While the majority of UAL employees are dedicated, fair-minded people who give their best every day, a growing number of toxic UAL employees have been infected with the deadly workplace virus that is best described as “I don’t care!” Regrettably, this virus is spreading throughout UAL’s ranks and is spawning an attitude of disinterest and apathy from the top down. When the “I don’t care” virus seeps into the cultural blood stream of an organization the results are often fatal for the company. In the case of United Airlines, management must act quickly to curb the spread of the “I don’t care” virus and re-orient its employees in the ways of service, courtesy and empathy for customers, passengers and each other.

I am not recommending this action without careful consideration. In addition to interviewing many UAL passengers about their negative experiences, I’ve reviewed two key documents that tell me UAL is flying blind when it comes to customer relations and meeting the needs of its passengers. Consider UAL’s mission statement, which I could not find on its website or in any public documents that were easily accessible from UAL. However, a UAL representative told me that its mission statement reads, “To be recognized worldwide as the airline of choice.” This bland statement is ineffective and says nothing about the company’s commitment to its employees, customers, suppliers or profitability. UAL is operating with a very weak mission statement that offers employees no guidance on how to treat passengers and customers.

Secondly, I evaluated UAL’s Customer Commitment Document (CCD) which consists of 12 statements that provide greater clarity and insight as to how UAL employees should behave and respond to situations like the Dave Carroll broken guitar saga. Statements #3 and #4 of the CCD read: “Provide on-time baggage delivery” and “Provide a fair baggage liability limit.” CCD Statement #12 reads, “Respond quickly, appropriately and courteously to customer questions and complaints.” That’s positive, effective and clear.

Unfortunately, nobody Dave Carroll dealt with at UAL followed the airline’s CCD. If UAL was customer-focused and had trained its customer-contact employees to respond based on the CCD, the Dave Carroll problem might have never happened. However, once it happened, UAL employees should have relied on Statement 12 to guide them to a speedy and fair solution. By ignoring their CCD, it’s obvious that UAL employees do not know the CCD exists or they have been instructed to ignore them by management. In either case, the customer loses and, eventually, so does United Airlines.

My experience in dealing with broken companies like United Airlines is they often try to gloss over these negative incidents by dismissing them as an isolated customer service glitch or a training issue. Perhaps, this is why UAL is seeking permission to use Dave Carroll’s United Breaks Guitars as a customer service training tool for its employees. But, doing so is farcical. It’s akin to the captain of the Titanic ordering a pump to drain the water after the ship has struck the iceberg and the captain ignored all the warning signs.

My deeper concern is that United Airlines’ management doesn’t get it. Having worked with many companies to help them create a culture of excellence, I know from experience that what happened to Dave Carroll and his Taylor guitar goes far beyond an isolated customer service glitch. Frankly, it’s the result of a corporate cultural that pits employees against passengers because of outdated policies and procedures as well as verbal mandates from management not to spend money on customer complaints. In the short-term, the airline wins the battle but loses the war. Ultimately, customers realize they have a choice and they choose not to fly United Airlines. But, the damage in this case doesn’t stop with one passenger deciding not to fly UAL. In the Dave Carroll situation, millions of people who fly have been negatively influenced towards United Airlines and how it mistreats passengers. To compound UAL’s problems, those 3 million You Tube viewers are telling their friends and families to watch Dave Carroll’s United Breaks Guitars and then communicating via MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to tell the world how terrible United Airlines is. So much for UAL being the “airline of choice!”

Let’s not forget that every company has customer issues and gets complaints. However, best-in-class companies pounce on these moments-of-truth to practice the ABCDs of customer service -- going Above-and-Beyond-the-Call-of-Duty -- to win back customers. As Jim Nordstrom of Nordstrom Stores once told me, “Whenever we solve a customer’s complaint on the spot, we’ve not only fixed the problem at little cost to our company, but we’ve also earned that customer’s loyalty for life.” That’s why Nordstrom is noted for its outstanding customer service. It was also Jim Nordstrom who told me that "when you've discovered that you've made a hiring mistake, it's best to acknowledge your mistake and invite that person to move on to their next career." He added, “You can’t fix stupid!”

This raises another important point: toxic employees who abuse customers are not tolerated at best-in-class companies. I’m willing to bet those guilty baggage handlers who played football with Dave Carroll’s Taylor guitar are still on the UAL payroll at O’Hare Airport. Furthermore, I bet UAL will claim they are union employees and, therefore, their jobs are protected. But, such explanations are nonsense and only prove my point that management doesn’t get it. Furthermore, this attitude only serves to spread the deadly “I don’t care” virus. When an employee commits an egregious act that results in tarnishing the brand or damaging the company’s reputation, that employee should be terminated regardless of union rules. When toxic employees are sacked, it sends a strong message to the rest of the team -- champion customer service and protect our brand and image at all costs.

I actually had one UAL employee tell me that this entire problem was Mr. Carroll's fault because he failed to follow UAL's policies and guidelines for properly filing a damaged property claim. I rest my case!

When management turns a deaf ear to customer complaints and performance improvements, employees will follow management’s example; and, through subtle actions, employees disrespect their customers. Sometimes it’s unintended. But, more often than not, it’s blatant misbehavior. This is why the baggage handlers at O’Hare Airport thought is was okay to play football with Dave Carroll’s guitar. This is why the flight attendants aboard Dave Carroll’s airplane ignored his pleas to stop the baggage handlers’ from tossing his guitar case on the tarmac. This is why the baggage claims representative in Nebraska dismissed his claims when he reported his guitar broken. Countless other UAL employees gave Dave Carroll the cold shoulder for nine months. It wasn’t until he sang his song on You Tube that United Airlines decided to recognize the legitimacy of his claim and respond to his concerns. But, mind you, United Airlines was only reacting to the negative public relations caused by Carroll’s song, United Breaks Guitars. I doubt they acted out of a sense of customer concern or a spirit of service because UAL has no such corporate credo to guide its employees.

Broken companies seldom get it. It wasn’t United Breaks Guitars that should have prompted United Airlines to act and resolve Dave Carroll’s problem. It should have been United Airlines’ compassion, empathy and concern for a loyal passenger whose livelihood was disrupted because UAL’s baggage handlers abused his property. But, when the “I Don’t Care” virus infects employees, nobody gives a damn and bad things happen.

Ironically, the Dave Carroll incident could have been nipped in the bud by an attentive and understanding UAL flight attendant aboard his flight or a senior baggage handler representative at his destination who knew and practiced CCD #12. But, in a broken company, passengers like Dave Carroll get bounced around from one customer service rep to the next -- just like his Taylor guitar. In Carroll’s case, he let his broken guitar tell his story to millions of You Tube viewers who are now disgusted with United Airlines and will probably choose to fly a competitor given the option.

It would do UAL’s senior management good to revisit the first law of profitability -- acquire and maintain your customers! If this credo was part of UAL’s mission statement or guiding principles, incidents like Dave Carroll’s broken guitar would not mushroom into a public relations disaster for United Airlines.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is president of CRI Global, LLC, an international training and consulting firm that helps companies achieve a culture of excellence. Mr. Hinton is the author of four books including The Spirit of Service. He is also a frequent air traveler and supports the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights that languishes in Congress due to opposition from airlines including United Airlines. He can be reached at tom@criglobal.com

Riding the Green Wave to Green Certification

2009-07-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

There’s a new wave of environmental consciousness rolling across the landscape of American business. In certification circles, we refer to it as the Green Wave. But, companies are discovering that going green isn’t easy, and getting green certified is even tougher! Research data from the American Consumer Council suggests that fewer than 42% of companies that apply for green certification earn some form of recognition, and fewer than 22% pass the bar in terms of earning ACC’s Green C™ certification, a tough standard that gauges a company’s environmental compliance, safety and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Transforming a business from the status quo to a green company reminds me of the quality movement’s early days as companies scrambled to implement Deming’s 14 points and play catch-up with the Japanese and Germans. Books by Philip Crosby, Joseph Juran, Tom Peters and Masaaki Imai were required reading for anyone who was serious about launching a quality initiative.

Some 25 years later, American business finds itself behind the eight-ball once again. However, this time, we’re trying to catch the Green Wave and compete with companies in Europe, Asia and South America that have already gained a foothold with consumers who are demanding green products and services. This includes everything from energy to carpet, and clothing to automobiles.

So, what’s the big deal? Why are so many American companies scrambling to get their products and facilities green certified? The answer is simple. Credibility with Generation Y and competition for their business!

Credibility means everything to Gen Y, those 82 million under-30 consumers, who will likely spend more than a Trillion dollars in the next five years, but will refrain from buying anything that harms the environment or depletes Earth’s natural resources. Furthermore, Gen Ys are the consumers with a conscious. They don’t want to do business with a company that is not considered socially responsibility. This is one reason why the emerging green economy has already spurred the development of a host of eco-friendly products such as electric cars, alternative wind and solar energy sources, cell phones, computers, recyclable glass (not plastic) products, carpets, furniture, buildings, and even clothing. It’s what Gen Y demands.

An example of a company that is riding the Green Wave all the way to the bank is Patagonia. By developing an environmentally-conscious corporate culture and supporting environmental causes and various groups its customers care about, Patagonia has struck a winning business formula that set it apart from other outerwear marketers. Today, Patagonia stands as a positive example for any business trying to decide whether or not to catch the Green Wave.

But, going green and earning a green certification from a reputable, third party organization are two entirely different strategies. The first is a marketing tactic companies are using to position themselves as eco-friendly with consumers. While this strategy might sell more widgets in the short-term, it is a precarious path to follow if the company cannot prove its products or services are, in fact, eco-friendly or truly green. Consumers are more sophisticated and they know the difference between an eco-friendly brand versus one that simply claims to be green. Consider the top fifteen eco-friendly brands of Generation Y. According to Outlaw Consulting, a qualitative research firm that monitors popular trends among Generation Y, the following companies enjoy “most favored status” with the under-30 crowd: Apple, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Toyota, Honda, Google, Aveda, Zipcar, American Apparel, Ikea, 7th Generation, the Body Shop, Starbucks, Netflix and Method.

As leaders search for a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond marketing tactics and positions their company as a real player in the green economy, they will have to include such key factors as conserving energy, saving water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, shrinking carbon footprints, reducing waste, being more socially responsible, improving employee morale, and participating in causes that a new generation of consumers support. Environmental managers and CSR managers will play a significant role over the next ten years in helping companies set eco-policies and design eco-friendly programs. They will also be a valued member of the corporate team that melds environmental programs and green practices into the marketing message and product launches.

This brings us to getting your product or company green certified. It’s the prudent path because it offers your company a significant return-on-investment as demonstrated by companies in Europe and Asia that have already made the investment, and now, are reaping the benefits. Consider companies like Honda, Toyota, Apple, the Body Shop and Starbucks which are well-positioned to capture greater marketshare as Middle-Class America shifts its buying habits to more green products and eco-friendly companies based on the influence and pressure of their children, Generation Y. It’s no surprise that Wal-Mart saw the light a few years ago and adopted its green initiative. The world’s largest retailer understandably wants its fair share of Gen Y customers!

Of course, earning a reputable green certification is hard work. To certify a specific product requires that it passes a series of tests and meets certain environmental and industry standards. But, to earn a green certification for your company, facility, or agency requires a top-down commitment from leadership as well as a company-wide initiative that addresses such key factors as environmental leadership, environmental awareness, environmental compliance, environmental improvements, corporate social responsibility, and financial results. Frankly, obtaining green certification is not for the faint-hearted. But, earning green certification will set your company apart from competitors and endear you to a new generation of wealthy consumers.

So, what does it take for a company to get green certified? Based on my experience with the American Consumer Council, a non-profit consumer education organization that administers the Green C™ Certification program (www.americanconsumerocuncil.org/green), three things are required.

First, senior leadership must make a commitment to go green! This requires not only changing the way you do business, but a philosophical shift -- respecting and accepting your company’s role as a steward in protecting and preserving our environment and natural resources. Several companies including Gap, Green Mountain Energy, Patagonia and Whole Foods have successfully demonstrated how to complete this transformation while generating a healthy ROI. Ultimately, you’ll race ahead of your competitors and be well-positioned to capture a new generation of consumers who want to do business with you.

Secondly, study and compare the criteria of several green certification programs before you make a decision to apply. I lean towards non-profit, independent third party certification programs because they have a social benefit purpose and they are not profit-driven. Make sure the certification program you select challenges your employees to raise the bar and the criteria effectively measures how well you’ve deployed your environmental programs and policies. Also, make sure you will receive a site visit from a team of trained auditors -- assuming your preliminary score merits a site visit.

Be sure the contents of your application will be held in complete confidence. A respected certification program will sign a confidentiality agreement to this effect. Finally, insist on a comprehensive feedback report from the certifying body. The feedback report should be prepared by the auditors and address your strengths and opportunities for improvement based on your application content and site visit. My experience has been that a well-written feedback report often can serve as your environmental roadmap for continuous improvement as well as a viable marketing tool to help your company boost sales and position itself with new customers.

Thirdly, be sure you can leverage your green certification with customers and the media. A well-developed green certification program will offer some type of media recognition event, a conference or forum where you can share your best practices and successes, and a formal certification presentation ceremony that recognizes your employees and garners favorable media coverage.

Catching the Green Wave isn’t easy. But, my experience has been that for those companies that make the commitment to ride that elusive Green Wave and become certified, it can pay a handsome return-on-investment in terms of recognition, product innovations, profitability, boosting employee morale, and repositioning your products and services for the next generation of customers.

About the Author. Thomas Hinton is a global expert on green certification. Mr. Hinton is a frequent speaker for companies and associations on the topics of Going Green and CSR. He can be reached at: tom@tomhinton.com For information of the Green C™ Certification program, visit: www.americanconsumerocuncil.org/green

Embracing the Single Payer System for Health Care

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Thomas Hinton
Speaker & Author

There was a time when the United States of America provided the finest health care in the world. Today, the United States is a good example of how not to build a health care system for patients.
What happened? While the answer is simple, the solution to fixing our health care system is complex because of politics, profits, and protecting special interests. The solution requires political courage and leadership. It also requires a grass roots movement on the part of millions of Americans who believe the health care system must change and health care should become a right for all Americans and not a privilege for the few who can afford high health insurance premiums.
Consider these facts. There are 305 million Americans. Some 46 million Americans are uninsured. That’s just over 15% of our population. Nationwide, 202 million Americans are covered by private insurance programs. The average annual premium for a family policy on the open market is nearly $5,800. But, with premiums rising, and private insurance programs being more selective in who they will cover and how much they will pay for certain medical procedures, there is serious concern that premiums will increase while the number of insured Americans will drop significantly because they can no longer afford basic health insurance.
There is a solution that would produce better quality, more research, healthier patients, and entice more health care professionals to return to their chosen profession. It is the Single Payer System.
Regrettably, the Single Payer System solution isn’t even on the table as the president and Congress grapple with how to fix America’s broken health care system. While President Obama should be commended for bringing together key health care industry leaders representing the various factions to create a solution to the current health care mess, the patient -- the American people -- is dying of neglect!
As long as the entrenched health care insurance companies control the Congress and the White House through their lobbyists and campaign contributions, meaningful reform will never happen. Our system has been corrupted at the highest levels of government by profits and greed when action is required, and now!
It is time the political leadership in Washington showed real courage by standing up to the health insurance industry and its lobbyists and changed the way health care is purchased and delivered in the United States. Specifically, President Obama, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must step forward and endorse the Single Payer System. This would eliminate the need for health care insurance companies and streamline the current system saving an estimated $400 Billion annually -- more than enough to cover those 46 million uninsured Americans who are at risk.
While the naysayers will argue that such a system will ruin health care and compromise the delivery of outstanding care, they are flat wrong. In fact, if we do not move quickly and boldly to correct our broken health care insurance system, more Americans will suffer, die, and face serious financial hardships because they will be shut out from obtaining insurance and, therefore, receiving proper health care.
In the words of Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee which oversees health care reform, “Our health care system is in trouble: costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, too many Americans are uninsured, and quality of care isn’t up to par. High costs are making it increasingly difficult for Montana’s families and businesses to afford comprehensive health insurance, which means that Montana’s rate of uninsured is growing rapidly. Although the United States spends twice as much on health care as any other country, we clearly don’t have twice as much health care.
Ironically, it is Senator Max Baucus, the one elected official who could jump-start serious health care reform, who is blocking Single Payer legislation like HR 676. Why? Because, Senator Baucus is one of those Washington politicians who is beholden to the health care insurance industry! Senator Baucus is the third-largest recipient of contributions from the health care and pharmaceutical industries since 2005. Senator Baucus has received $413,000 in donations from health care and pharmaceutical companies and lobbyists. This is according to a March 8 article by Dan Eggen in the Washington Post (''Health Sector Has Donated Millions to Lawmakers''). While this money might be significant to the senator’s campaign fund, it is surprising that -- in the scheme of things and the greater good that could be done by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee-- such a small amount of money could skew Senator Baucus’ judgment, shade his thinking, and compromise his leadership at a time when Americans desperately need his direction to change the status quo in health care.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why, at the recent Senate Finance Committee hearings on Health Care Reform, chaired by Senator Baucus, he refused to invite anyone who supported the Single-Payer System to appear as an expert witness. Senator Baucus did ensure several slots for his cronies from the health insurance industry as well as association leaders and others who endorsed President Obama’s simplistic health care ideas.
Also disturbing was the fact that Senator Baucus had several Single Payer advocates, who tried to speak out at his hearings, escorted from the Senate hearing room and arrested. This raises serious questions about Senator Baucus’ objectivity, balance and sincerity when it comes to championing health care reform. It’s clear that the United States needs a new health care champion who is objective and untainted by health insurance contributions. Is there such a politician who has the courage and will to stand up against the greedy insurance companies? We’ll see.
The number of uninsured Americans is growing at an alarming rate of nearly 14,000 people every day due to the economic recession and mounting job losses. This is unacceptable. But, what is also unacceptable is the band-aid approach by the president and Congress to keep our greed-driven health insurance system in place while more Americans suffer and die as a result of the policies, rules and procedures dictated by health insurers who only carry about profits, not patients! It is time for a change in how Americans pay for and receive health care.
Let’s define what a Single Payer System is and is not. In a single-payer health system, everyone has health insurance. It is either obtained through a private insurance company like Kaiser or Blue Cross/Blue Shield, or through a government funded program such as Medicare. Also, every person is free to choose their own doctors, hospitals and related health care services. When patients receives care or treatment, they sign a statement that verifies the services they received from their health care provider (doctor, nurse, hospital, etc.). The health care provider then sends a bill for services rendered to the Single Payer -- that is, a national health care administration created by Congress to pay the health provider for your treatment. It’s simple and straightforward.
The Single Payer System does not limit or dictate the type of treatment you can receive. Those decisions are made by you and your doctor. The Single Payer System will not dictate who can treat you. It only affects how your health care provider is paid. And, yes, it eliminates the need for all the health insurance companies currently in business which cost taxpayers about $400 billion annually.
According to the Institute of Medicine, 18,000 people in the United States die every year because they lack health insurance. That’s two people every hour. The United States also has a higher infant mortality level (more children under 1 year of age die) than many other democratic countries.
For many decades, several medical associations claimed that “health care is a privilege not a right.” In an era of human development, certainly the wealthiest nation in the world should make health care a right. The Single Payer System is a step in the right direction to establishing that right.

Who Needs Banks When You Have Credit Unions

2009-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

There's a great deal of consumer unrest sweeping across the United States. Many consumers are frustrated with their banks because we can't get loans, the interest rates on our credit cards are excessive, and banks are charging excessive fees on everything from checking to ATM transactions in order to squeeze a few extra dollars out of their preferred customers.

But wait! There is another option that your bank will never tell you about because they don't want to lose your business despite nickel and diming you! The option? Join your local credit union!

I realize changing your banking relationship is almost as much fun as having your wisdom teeth extracted. But, nowadays, joining your local credit union is simple and credit unions are eager to enroll new members. Also, they have money to lend at very reasonable terms. And, as far as credit cards are concerned, why pay 18-24% on your Visa or Mastercard when you can get the same credit card and benefits through your local credit union at low interest rates ranging from 4-9%. This is not rocket science, folks!

How can credit unions charge such modest rates? Consider the fact that credit unions are non-profit, member-owned organizations. They exist to serve their members. While they need to show a reasonable return-on-investment, they are not greedy like so many banks that must answer to shareholders. And, they are fully insured by the federal government up to $250,000 per account -- just like the banks. Gee, you can get the same protection for your money and pay lower rates... it makes sense to me!

So, stop your whining and go online and join your local credit union. To make it easy for you, there's a list of outstanding credit unions from California to New Jersey that are sponsoring members of the American Consumer Council. You can join them at no cost through the American Consumer Council by visiting ACC's website at: http://www.americanconsumercouncil.org/affiliates.html

Let me know how it goes!

Customer Service Champs or Chumps

2009-04-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

In the March 2, 2009 issue of Business Week, the magazine’s cover story was entitled Extreme Customer Service. Business Week touted a list of 25 companies they referred to as “Customer Service Champs.” I’m wondering if there was a typo. Perhaps, it should have read “chumps.”

Frankly, these types of annual customer satisfaction lists amount to little more than beauty contests. In this case it appears that Business Week wiggled and waggled the criteria in so many different ways, the Wicked Witch of the North might have come out a winner! Consider how Business Week arrived at its results. First, Business Week tinkered with the credible criteria of its sister-company, J.D Power & Associates. Next, Business Week padded the scoring with bonus points for industry leaders while punishing companies like Starbucks, which scored high among readers, but was penalized because none of its peers-competitors scored well (duh!). Finally, Business Week included the randomly subjective views of 1,000 of its own BusinessWeek Market Advisory Board. Seriously, folks, this is how Business Week gets us to their Top 25 Customer Service champs. Hmmm? It causes me to wonder if this exercise is about crowning customer service champs or selling more issues of their popular weekly magazine?

As I examine the rankings of the top 25 companies, I note that nearly half, 11 in all, of the 25 companies cited for customer service excellence received a grade of B+, B, or B- on one or both of the major criteria -- Quality of Staff and Efficiency of Service. This begs the question: How can a company that scores less than an “A” be crowned as a customer service champ?

Another consideration for the scoring was a company’s industry ranking. What does that have to do with customer service excellence? A company either gets it right with its customers -- like a Starbucks -- or it doesn’t. Incidentally, I only mention Starbucks because by Business Week’s own admission, Starbucks might have deserved to be on their top 25 list, but was not included because its industry peers scored poorly. So what? If that principle was followed across all industry sectors I seriously doubt a single automaker would be listed. But, somehow Business Week came up with four credible selections from the auto industry to grace their top 25 list of customer service champs. How interesting.

Another question I have regarding Business Week’s criteria is how does a customer judge the Quality of Staff? It’s superficial criteria because rarely do customers get close enough to an organization to competently judge its quality of staff. Just because Joe Hustler or Susie Saleswoman smiles and remembers my name does not mean they have superior product knowledge or customer service skills. Quality of Staff is tied to a company’s hiring and training process. It’s determined by a company’s culture and level of investment in people. Certainly, customer satisfaction is a byproduct of Quality of Staff, but to suggest a reader of Business Week would know the intricacies of how Amazon.com or Lexus develops its staff is nonsense.

And, what in the world does “Efficiency of Service” have to do with customer satisfaction? The answer is nothing. If Business Week had called it “Effectiveness of Service” I would be impressed. But “Efficiency of Service” is nonsense.

Let me offer an example that demonstrates the difference. This week I met a client for breakfast in a well-known chain restaurant. Miguel, the waiter, was friendly and efficient. When we asked for coffee or juice, he responded. When we requested a refill, he responded again. If I used Business Week’s criteria, the chain would score an A+ because Miguel was efficient. But, despite Miguel’s positive demeanor, the order was wrong. The bacon was not crispy and the scrambled eggs were dry. Yes, he served us quickly but that was not our criteria for customer satisfaction. We wanted him to get the order right! When a customer needs to flag down the wait staff to request more coffee or hot water that’s not deserving of an A or a B score. When the cashier failed to add the gratuity to our final check as requested causing us to wait until he could reprocess our credit card, that’s not deserving of an A or a B score. Efficient? Yes! Effective? No!

But, let’s set aside the flawed methodology of Business Week for a moment and examine their top 25 customer service champs. Maybe, by some stroke of luck, they got it right. Among the 12 companies that scored ratings of A+, A, or A- are: Amazon.com, USAA, Jaguar, Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Publix Super Markets, Zappos.com, Hewlett-Packard, Ace Hardware, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Cadillac, BMW, and JW Marriott Hotels. At first glance this appears to be a solid list. But, what’s disturbing to me is that between #1 Amazon.com and #25 JW Marriott, there’s a spread of 170.14 points. What’s wrong with this picture?

The answer lies in the “B” squad results. You see, 11 companies -- T.Rowe Price, KeyBank, Nordstrom, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, American Express, Trader Joe’s, JetBlue Airways, Apple, Charles Schwab, True Value, and L.L. Bean -- all outranked JW Marriott (#25) despite the fact that their grades included a B+, B, or B-. Are you kidding me? So, you can see how a flawed criteria can skew the scoring results.

On that subject, I seriously wonder how three of these companies even made the list. Based on my personal experience and knowledge of their service performance I am amazed that Enterprise Rent-a-Car, American Express, and JetBlue Airways got past the first cut. For the past year, American Express has been canceling credit worthy card members to reduce its exposure in tough economic times. That’s understandable, but it's not good customer service. And, my experience with Enterprise Rent-a-Car has been disastrous. In three rentals, Enterprise never got it right. Of course, their rental car competition leaves much to be desired as well. And, fair or unfair, JetBlue Airways cannot possibly be considered a serious contender for customer service champ as long as the image of passengers left stranded on JetBlue airplanes for up to 11 hours during an ice storm at JFK on Valentine’s Day 2007 remains fresh in our minds. Sorry JetBlue, but that’s a deal-breaker in my book. For what it’s worth, Business Week scored JetBlue Airways above Apple, Charles Schwab, and BWM among others. Go figure?

Of the remaining 8 companies on the “B” Squad, I seriously question how top performers such as Charles Schwab, which rates a perfect score based on my personal experience, and Apple, which continues to run circles around its competitors as the leader in consumer electronics innovation, rank below the pathetic “Double B” score of Enterprise Rent-A-Car? Business Week can’t be serious!

Perhaps it can be argued using valid data that companies like Nordstrom, the once-legendary customer service role model, and True Value, the hardware store that only scored a pair of B+s, should have scored higher in the Business Week customer service poll. But, these are tough times and some companies have cut staff and training to save money. If that’s the case, they don’t belong on the top 25 list.

KeyBank of Cleveland and T. Rowe Price, the brokerage firm, get a pass. I cannot dispute their service performance since I have no personal experience with either company, nor have I studied their customer service ratings.

I do find it interesting that four automakers -- namely, Jaguar (#3), Lexus (#4), Cadillac (#14), and BMW (#22) -- all scored A+ ratings with Business Week despite the fact that most consumers rank the auto-buying experience just below a visit to the dentist. Perhaps, Jaguar has done some remarkable things in the past 12 months to earn its position as the customer service champ of automakers. But I doubt it. Jaguar would have to be wizards to push ahead of Lexus and BMW on their customer service scores.

So, there you have it, folks. The top 25 customer service champs. With all due respect to Business Week, the numbers just don’t add up. Having said that, I do consider Business Week to be among the top 25 business publications in America!

About the Author. Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. Tom is a popular speaker on Leadership, Change, and Sustainability. He is the author of four books including his soon-to-be-released book entitled, 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. For more information please visit: www.tomhinton.com

Getting Detroit Back on the Road to Recovery

2008-11-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

For twenty-five years General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have resisted common sense. Now, their leaders have flown into Washington, D.C. on their corporate jets begging Congress to give them billions in another federal bailout scheme. They just don’t get it. These auto giants are grossly mismanaged and misdirected from the top down. Their woes are self-inflicted. Under their current management apparatus the Big Three are unworthy of any federal bailout. Let them take the first step on the road to recovery by filing for bankruptcy.

Certainly, consumers don’t want these companies to go out of business. But, to provide them with billions of dollars from the federal government will only exacerbate the current problem. What Detroit needs is a leadership lobotomy -- from the head down.

For starters, the Big Three can eliminate many of the perks that are symbolic of management’s arrogance. I’m talking about the corporate jets, the executive dining rooms, and the huge bonuses senior management has received for over-promising and under-delivering to shareholders.

Secondly, the United Auto Workers needs to wise-up. As Lee Iacocca once remarked in the 1980s, “We have jobs at $40 an hour, but we don’t have any jobs at $75 an hour [adjusted for inflation].” The UAW needs to approve new labor agreements that bring workers’ costs in line with Honda, Nissan and Toyota which are capturing increased market share because their unit costs are considerably lower than the Big Three.

Retiree benefits must also be reduced so that the Big Three’s pension costs are in line with their foreign competitors. Workers deserve a reasonable wage, but under the current labor agreements, the Big Three cannot compete. Unless the UAW agrees to dramatic wage cuts its members will find themselves unemployed and Detroit will suffer.

Next, the boards of General Motors and Chrysler must bring in new management teams. The ideal leadership will come from outside the auto industry. They need to break the mold as Ford Motor Company did by hiring Alan Mulally from The Boeing Company. While Mulally is struggling, he is making progress and instituting long-overdue changes at Ford. Fresh thinking and innovation should rule the day at the Big Three. Quality must be rediscovered and incentives for eliminating defects should be instituted to inspire workers to build quality cars and trucks the first time!

The Big Three’s biggest challenge is to project into the future and understand what consumers want and need. That’s pretty simple according to most consumer surveys and the recent spike in gasoline prices. Consumers want options. Consumers want fuel efficiency -- and I’m talking about 50 miles per gallon not a measly 21 mpg. And, we want electric cars and other types of clean fuel-burning motors that don’t pollute the environment. These types of innovations will invigorate the huge supply chain that feeds off Detroit. Certainly, the thousands of suppliers deserve a chance to demonstrate their talents in terms of going Green and helping a revitalized Big Three enter a new era of auto-making. But, they will remain stuck in neutral as long as Detroit continues to think backwards.

Finally, shareholders and bondholders need to pony-up. They gambled on the Big Three and, frankly, they lost. Let’s not burden American taxpayers without first putting the onus on those investors who clearly understand the odds associated with any stock purchase. It might be smart to remind them of the old adage, “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

Ironically, despite their serious financial problems, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have an abundance of talented people throughout their ranks. These people have great ideas that should be solicited and implemented. Often times, it’s the workers who know best how to fix management’s mess. It’s time Detroit got some inspired leadership that abandons the re-treaded ideas of the past that have gone flat. What the Big Three desperately need is a plan for success instead of trying to further bleed American consumers and taxpayers with another ill-conceived bailout.

About the Author:
Thomas Hinton is president of the American Consumer Council. He can be reached at tom@americanconsumercouncil.org

Drinking the Poisoned Cool-Aid of American Politics

2008-10-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

My father used to remind his children to avoid conversations on politics and religion. “Stick to the weather,” he admonished us. “You’re not going to change somebody’s political or religious beliefs in a ten minute conversation. You’ll only alienate them.” It's sound advice if only I could follow it.

But, in this season of presidential politics, emotions run hot. It’s hard to bite my lip and not express an opinion. Recently, I had a few unpleasant exchanges with my sister about the 2008 presidential election. She’s a staunch Republican and thinks American will collapse if John McCain and Sarah Palin are not victorious in November. I’m also a registered Republican who thinks the Bush-Cheney Administration has been an unmitigated disaster and already caused serious economic havoc around the world. I’m supporting Barack Obama in the hopes that the Democrats will get America back on the right track. After several heated exchanges, nothing had changed. She likes McCain and I want a new direction. We agreed to disagree. Dad was right.

But, the most disturbing aspect of these election conversations I’ve had with those who espouse the far-Right Republican position is their extreme views and outrageous allegations about Senator Obama and the Democrats. For example, my sister is an educated, middle-class woman who truly believes that our current economic demise has been caused by a conspiracy. The conspirators are ACORN, a non-profit organization that advocates voter rights and voting registration, and Senator Barack Obama. She also believes that, if elected, Obama will undermine America’s national security by siding with the terrorists given his Arab background and pro-Muslim (and, therefore, anti-Christian) beliefs. I was dumbfounded to hear my sister espouse these views. How could she believe such drivel?

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Obama is a Christian and his ethnic roots are in Kenya and Kansas. Obama is the son of a white Kansas woman and a black African who came to the United States from Kenya, Africa. Like John McCain and Joe Biden, Obama is a United States Senator. Obama is also a Harvard graduate, a veteran of Chicago politics, long-time Illinois resident, married to a talented lawyer, and they have two young daughters. You don’t get much more American than that!

So, where do people like my sister come up with these warped beliefs that are based on such outrageous innuendos, outright lies, and destructive rumors? I asked her where she got her information and she told me that she listened religiously to Fox News as well as two radio shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. Since I wasn't really tuned in to these media programs, I decided that for two weeks I would conduct a personal experiment to find out if these media sources were poisoning the well from which conservative American voters like my sister get their information.

Regrettably, I discovered that Fox News and the radio personalities she listens to are not only fueling the fires of hatred and divisiveness among Americans with their vitriolic, biased rantings, but they are the spring source from which many of the lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements about Senator Obama originate. During my two week listening experiment, I made note of the various comments and statements that sounded dubious or false made by the Fox News anchors and reporters as well as Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Savage. I did not keep track of the exaggerated opinions of the many pundits and guests who appeared on these various programs. In a two-week timespan, I counted more than 362 comments that were either blatantly false or grossly misleading including repeated claims that Obama was a Muslim, Arab, or he supported terrorists. This included two terrorist-related remarks during interviews with the Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and two anti-American remarks about Obama from a Republican congresswoman who represented St. Cloud, Minnesota. In none of those cases did the reporter conducting the interview try to correct these candidates' gross misstatements.

I was so disgusted with the slanted reporting that these media outlets practiced that it moved me to write this article and raise the question, Why? Why do people who call themselves journalists and are entrusted with reporting the news or advocate a certain political philosophy resort to lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements to make their case? Is it not enough to merely say to their viewers that they disagree with Obama and the Democrats and build their argument on the facts? Why must they spew such toxic and hateful messages? This is wrong and a gross disservice to the ethics and values upon which America was founded. Americans should stand-up and say “enough!” Perhaps, they will as they vote on Election Day.

When those who are entrusted with reporting the news and offering their views on presidential politics and national elections resort to poisoning the well from which voters must drink to quench their thirst for information and facts in order to make an educated decision to elect the next president of the United States, a terrible disservice is done. Certainly, everybody is entitled to their opinion and even a fool has the right to espouse their beliefs in America. But, when professional commentators, reporters, and radio personalities spew a message of divisiveness and hatred by knowingly fanning the political flames with their lies and misrepresentations, they have lost their right to be called professionals let alone journalists. They have reduced themselves to overpaid entertainers and jokers, and poor ones at that!

I subscribe to the belief that in American politics both parties embrace a core philosophy and their standard-bearers typically reflect the views of their party. I also think it’s important from time to time to shake-up the Congress and White House just to keep everyone in-line. I have never been one to simply vote the party slate. Blind allegiance is unhealthy. I think political balance is good. Democrats and Republicans as well as other political parties offer American voters an important choice, and choice is essential to preserving any democracy.

Finally, while conducting my fair-and-balanced media experiment over the past two weeks, I decided to re-read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Since manyreporters and pundits were critical of Governor Sarah Palin’s inept response to an elementary question regarding the job of the vice president, I decided to review these two documents. These are amazing works by our Founding Fathers. Anyone who wants clarity about the vision, values, and mechanics of America's experiment with democracy should read these masterpieces. I also encourage you to read them to your teen-agers so they understand why the United States of America was established and what we truly stand for. I think too many Americans, especially in the fringe media, have forgotten these principles and could benefit from a refresher course.

My Summer Vacation

2008-10-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

By Bill Kalmar

For some, Labor Day signals the end of summer as preparations for autumn and the accompanying holidays begin. As is customary in some locales, warm weather clothes, including one’s white wardrobe and shoes, are returned to the closet until next spring. Children and students go back to school, much to the delight of their parents, and hopefully to the excitement of their teachers.

Chances are one of the kids’ first assignments will be to draft a report on the activities of their summer vacation. Not to be left out of this assignment, I thought it appropriate that I pen a few lines about one of our recent trips. There were no death-defying rides on some monster roller coaster, no surfing in shark-infested waters or aerial descents with a parachute from a plane, just a sensible trip to Chicago for my wife and me.

What made the trip so memorable was something I wrote about in my August column for QualityInsider (Online at www .qualitydigest.com/content/quality-insider.) The column recounted several encounters with poor service, and thus I concluded that I was in fact a magnet for service personnel and organizations that don’t practice performance excellence. Well, traveling to Chicago convinced me that somehow I had been demagnetized, at least on this one occasion.

Off to a good start

Our trip began early on a weekday as we departed our home in Lake Orion, Michigan. Our first stop was The Big Apple Bagel. As we opened the door, the aroma of fresh bagels and coffee wafted into our nostrils. Three upbeat and smiling clerks greeted us with a hearty good morning--and this was 7 a.m. It’s no wonder that this particular location is well frequented by regulars and transients alike. We left, bagels and coffee in hand, knowing that our trip was off to a great start.

Motoring to Chicago took us on the Indiana Toll Road. Often, those manning the toll booths are cranky and don’t engage in many pleasantries. Perhaps the toll road commission had everyone read Jim Collins’ book Good to Great ( Harper Collins, 2001 ) because we were met with friendly greetings at each booth. Somehow that lessened the strain of doling out a couple of bucks every 50 miles or so.

We arrived at our hotel, blocks away from the Magnificent Mile, just after noon. Our room wasn’t ready, so to take the sting off our having to wander the streets of the Windy City in our traveling clothes, the hotel gave us a room upgrade.

After a five-hour trip, which included the last 30 minutes in typical Chicago traffic, we were ready for lunch. One of our favorite haunts in the Toddling Town is Gibson’s Steak House on Rush Street. Sitting on the enclosed street-level porch gives one a view of the horse-drawn carriages trekking through town and the hundreds of shoppers toting their bags laden with one-of-a-kind purchases that can only be found in Chicago. It seems that no one in the town realizes that there is a recession underway. The streets were crowded, and restaurants and hotels were at capacity.

Our lunch was an epicurean delight even though my medium-rare steak was a bit overcooked. Our waitress, Deena, noticed the lack of rare red beef on my plate and suggested that she would have another one prepared. I politely declined and stated that it was still just fine. When our bill arrived, Deena had unexpectedly taken the cost of my steak off the bill. She did this without my having to raise an eyebrow or growl about the preparation. This signaled to me that I was in the process of being demagnetized.

After lunch we wandered into the Neiman Marcus store. Prior to our trip, we had received a phone call from a Neiman Marcus employee, Naomi, indicating that some items I might be interested in were on sale, but that after the first of the month the prices would be increasing. As we walked into Naomi’s sales area, she greeted us by name and was genuinely excited to see us again. Our last visit had been the previous year, but her ability to remember names and faces is uncanny. While in the store, I noticed that Naomi maintained a huge three-ring binder of the names and phone numbers and past purchases of all her customers. Her practice of contacting customers personally when sales develop is no doubt one of the reasons why Neiman Marcus regularly posts sales increases and profits while other stores are incurring losses.

Those of you who are watch aficionados like me would certainly enjoy window-shopping at the Tourneau store in the Water Tower. Being greeted by name by Michael, the salesperson who sold me a watch three years ago, is something that still makes an impression on me. Like Naomi at Neiman Marcus, Michael remembers names and even the type of watch I purchased. Maybe he anticipates me buying another one shortly?

Quality experiences continue

The next day saw us walking over to another of our favorite restaurants--Tucci Benucch. It’s a small Italian restaurant in the Bloomingdale’s building. For us, a trip to Chicago isn’t complete without enjoying the great salads at this little nook on the sixth floor. To our surprise and disappointment, the restaurant had now morphed into “Frankie’s Pizza,” although we were told that it was under the same management. We dined, but it was difficult to hide my disillusionment at losing our favorite lunch haunt. Our waitress must have picked up on my vibes because when we returned home there was a message on our voice mail from the restaurant’s manager indicating that many of the same menu items from Tucci Benucch could still be ordered if we asked. Just another indication to me how embedded customer service is in Chicago.

Even the cabbies get it!

Cab drivers were equally pleasant and customer-focused even though it took us several days to catch our breath from the Indy 500-inspired drivers who dart around the downtown area as if they were vying for the pole position for the next race.

As you can see, our voyage to the Windy City was an example in performance excellence. And it didn’t end there. When we returned home, I received an e-mail from The Wall Street Journal, which is indicative of its strong focus on customer service. Here is an excerpt: “We see that delivery of your Wall Street Journal was scheduled to resume today after a temporary suspension and are following up to check that it did.” Wow! Is that great service or what?

In other news

I hope that you’ll permit me to opine on some other topics.

I recently purchased a polo shirt from Macy’s and attempted to have Lord & Taylor match the price. I wrote Lord & Taylor about the incident, and their reply indicated that I would hear from “the appropriate department and someone will be in touch with you within five to seven business days.”

After a wait of three weeks, I contacted the store again. A reply finally arrived indicating that “Lord & Taylor does not have a practice of matching prices.” Perhaps the delay was attributed to the management formulating a policy? Who knows, but it tells me a lot about how it resolves customer service questions.

More and more defective products continue to enter our country from China. We are now told to check our tire pressure in the wake of a recall of as many as 30 million replacement rubber valve stems. These defective parts can crack prematurely and cause tires to lose air. At highway speeds, this loss of air could result in a loss of control with a resultant crash. It’s time we boycott Chinese products until such time as that country raises its level of quality. At this juncture, what with all the lead-based products that we have banned, I think a total ban on products from China isn’t out of the question. What do you think?

If you have noticed a downturn in customer service in some segments, let me offer an explanation. Here in Michigan, there are thousands of automotive professionals who have been outsourced, downsized, or as we say--fired! These highly qualified people now find themselves working in positions much below their level of expertise, and as such, their attitude and demeanor in dealing with customers isn’t what you would characterize as exemplary. As we frequent the various restaurants and stores in our area, I often question how long the person has been employed. What I’m finding is that there are many college grads and MBAs who are now flipping burgers. This no doubt does not make for a pleasant experience for them or the customers.

Speaking of restaurants, the Ruby Tuesday chain is looking at changing its theme by eliminating the 1980s-style décor of black-and-white checked tablecloths and Tiffany-style lamps with brass rails. There will be a new menu and a more contemporary look. Let’s hope that the consultants who are working on this project aren’t the same ones who worked on Bill Knapp’s restaurant chain. In my opinion, changing the theme and focus of this chain ultimately put them out of business. How I miss those chocolate cakes!

What would one of my articles be without a plug for my favorite hotel--The Ritz-Carlton. The J.D. Power & Associates 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study finds that the Ritz-Carlton won again as the top-scoring chain in the luxury category. Others that led in the survey included Embassy Suites in the upscale category, Hyatt Place for mid-scale full service, Drury Inn & Suites for mid-scale limited service, and for the seventh consecutive year, Microtel Inns & Suites took top honors in the economy/budget category.

Back to the hammock

Well, as I’m writing this article, the dog days of summer are coming to an end and cool nights are upon us once more. Hanging out in the hammock is still my top choice for a restful afternoon, and I hope all of you have that special place where you can relax and maybe, if I’m not being too presumptuous, ponder these words. If something resonated with you or some of my rants irritated you, please let me know by writing to the e-mail address at the bottom of this page. I personally respond to every e-mail. Until next time, remember the quote from Jonathan Swift: “You cannot reason a man out of something that he did not reason his way into.”

And by the way, as a result of our trip to Chicago, where we experienced wonderful service, I no longer attract metal shavings to my body. I have been poor-service demagnetized--at least for the moment.

Wall Street Cries 'Wolf" Over Credit Crunch

2008-09-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

As President Bush addressed the American public last night on America’s latest crisis -- our nation’s economic credit crunch -- I couldn’t help but recall what Marcellus said in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Certainly something is terribly rotten in the United States when a crisis of this magnitude mushrooms overnight and requires a $700 Billion solution. What in the world is going on with our national leaders?

Americans are being told by the president that our national economy -- the same economy that just last week was “fundamentally sound” according to Senator John McCain -- is facing a near-Depression disaster due to a meltdown of the credit markets which resulted in the failure of three major Wall Street banks that controlled hundreds of billions of dollars in devalued mortgages and other questionable loan derivates. The Bush Administration’s solution is simple. Congress should hand over $700 Billion to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, a thirty-year veteran of Goldman Sachs, one of the two remaining giant Wall Street firms that are teetering on the brink of collapse due to poor investment decisions,

There’s no denying we have a serious problem. But, the question that must be resolved by Congress before it hands over $700 Billion to Secretary Paulson to dole out as he sees fit is this: Is this Wall Street’s problem or is it Main Street’s problem? If the answer is Main Street, we have a serious crisis and Congress needs to take immediate action. However, if the answer is Wall Street, perhaps Congress needs to take a deep breath and try to understand the ramifications of the problem before endorsing the Bush Administration’s two-page, $700 Billion bailout solution.

American Consumers are very skeptical of the Bush Administration’s solution for ailing Wall Street financial companies. So far, consumers don’t like what they’re hearing. According to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll, Americans say Congress should reject the Bush Plan. By a margin of 55 percent to 31 percent, Americans say it's not the government's responsibility to bail out banking companies with taxpayer dollars, even if their collapse could damage the economy. Furthermore, Americans are now blaming Wall Street and President George W. Bush for the credit crisis.

The debate is running so hot that political analysts are suggesting that any member of Congress who supports the Bush Bailout is in jeopardy of losing their seat in the November 4^th election. This is causing both Democrats and Republicans to take pause and reconsider their options -- and they should! The right solution has not yet been found.

If the problem is a potential failure of major Wall Street banks, which are holding hundreds of billions of dollars in depreciating loans such as mortgages, a different solution will be required so that consumers can still access money for various loans such as auto loans, mortgage loans, college tuition loans, and so forth. Small businesses will also need money in the form of loans to purchase inventory, make payroll, and capitalize their businesses. These are important issues that the Bush Administration and Congress must evaluate. To allow a credit freeze to occur among the major banks could have serious negative consequences for Main Street.

But, having said that, the bigger issue is what will happen to Main Street if Congress does not act and the remaining Wall Street banks fail or face a fire sale? This is the dominant issue that concerns consumers because most of their money is deposited in local banks and credit unions not in Goldman Sachs and other vulnerable Wall Street financial institutions. It’s the Main Street banks and credit unions that control the 90-day revolving loans of their small business clients. It’s the Main Street banks and credit unions that will reject new loans and demand higher cash deposits if credit is tight. But, this is not yet happening. In fact, some of the large banks are eager to make loans at below-market rates. So, given the doom-and-gloom messages coming from the Bush Administration, someone in Congress needs to call a time-out and ask for a replay. What is really happening here?

Is this a case of Wall Street and the Bush Administration crying “wolf” in an effort to bailout their long-time supporters and cronies? Or, is this a serious financial crisis that could paralyze the global economy? Many consumers don’t care what happens to the Wall Street firms. Perhaps, this is being narrow-minded on their part, but consumers are more concerned about keeping their jobs, paying their bills, and avoiding foreclosure.

Certainly, the one area that must be addressed immediately by Congress is the troubling number of home foreclosures. I believe this is the number one problem in the American economy because so many industries are linked to home ownership. According to government figures, there are nearly 10,000 home foreclosures taking place every day. This is a very serious problem that Congress must fix in the next thirty days because home ownership is the bedrock of America’s middle class. It is also the primary source for most local and state taxes. To allow millions of homeowners to be foreclosed on due to rigged sub-prime loans and a series of complex financial equations that baffle most economists is unfair and will undermine the American economy faster than any other single economic problem.

I recommend three steps to help solve our current economic crisis. First, Congress needs to immediately freeze all home foreclosure actions for one year and create a new agency, The Homeowners Resolution Trust Corporation (HRTC), which would purchase all troubled mortgages and renegotiate those loans with homeowners through local lenders and banks. By creating a one-year moratorium on foreclosures, the federal government can buy time to sort through all the troubled home loans, arrange for refinancing on those mortgages that can be salvaged, and retain the deeds of trust as a means to protect taxpayers from getting fleeced. This would give threatened homeowners some breathing room to resolve their financial problems. It would also allow local and state governments to recoup back taxes that homeowners have failed to pay. Finally, it would pump money into hundreds of local economies through local banks and credit unions that agreed to sell their troubled mortgages back to the HRTC and close their books on those mortgage loans. This step would give local banks more lending capital to revitalize local communities and small businesses. The HRTC would create federal standards and guidelines to ensure only valid mortgages are re-purchased by the HRTC from certified banks, credit unions, and other lenders.

Secondly, the federal government should tighten the requirements used by Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae for buying federally guaranteed mortgage loans. Just thirty years ago, prospective homebuyers had to meet very clear criteria before they could buy their dream home. We need to return to those days of fair and reasonable guidelines to ensure stability in the home purchasing process..

Thirdly, Congress should reinstitute stiff regulations and severe criminal penalties -- including prison time and hefty fines -- for those corporate officers and directors who violate SEC laws and try to fleece shareholders and taxpayers. The era of Anything Goes on Wall Street needs to end! Tough laws and enforcement by federal agencies can eliminate the shady dealers who are peddling under-valued derivatives and sub-prime loan schemes.

Those unscrupulous people who perpetrated this financial ponzi scheme on Wall Street would like us to believe that consumers, who purchased their homes on good faith and credit, are to blame for the current economic mess. But, Americans know better. The real culprits are the very people who are now crying ‘wolf’ and lobbying Congress -- and the American taxpayers -- to bail them out. You’ll see their ads in major newspapers and on the television networks. Beware of them. There are three culprits who got us into this pickle and now want us to bail them out. They include state and federal regulators who allowed banks to shift billions of dollars of questionable credit off their balance sheets and into the hands of unsophisticated foreign investors who were lied to. They also include hedge-fund managers and pension-fund managers who purchased sophisticated high-yield debt instruments they didn't understand and now cry mea culpa. Finally, we can blame the over-educated economists and bankers who fabricated mathematical equations and promoted their flawed lending models that enticed unsuspecting banks to purchase those high-yield debt instruments.

There’s no question that there is a hungry wolf out there. But, Congress should act cautiously as it attempts to sort through this economic mess. Certainly, we must avoid a credit meltdown. But, if Main Street can still function without burdening the American taxpayer with $700 Billion of Wall Street debt, perhaps logic and reasoning dictates we save Main Street and leave the bulls and the bears to the wolves.

About the Author. Thomas Hinton is president of the American Consumer Council, a non-profit consumer education organization with 85,000 members. He can be reached at: tom@americanconsumercouncil.org

Empowerment Issues

2008-06-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

by Bill Kalmar

I think most of us would agree that there are a handful of attributes that separate average companies from those that should be held up as role models. Some of those traits would be: a strong and achievable strategic plan, management interaction with staff and customers, well-trained employees, a passion for excellence, a silo-free organization, an open-door policy, and a team of professionals who are empowered to perform their job without constant management intervention, to name just a few.

Of all those traits, I would place empowerment at or near the top. Organizations that properly train and empower their staff operate more efficiently and do a better job of meeting and exceeding expectations of customers. There’s a minimum of lag time in resolving problems or disputes with customers because each employee can take the appropriate action without kicking it upstairs.

In examining the reasons for employees’ lack of power, one has to conclude that managers are afraid to let go of their decision-making domain. Carrying that concept a bit further, I contend that quality is greatly diminished in an organization unless people are empowered.

Most of us have at some time been involved in a transaction that required a company’s agent to seek guidance or approval or permission from another person. This is a time-consuming practice that irritates customers and humiliates employees because he or she realizes that they’re nothing more than a figurehead lacking authority to perform even the most mundane tasks.

Permit me to provide you with two examples of an extreme lack of empowerment. In my tenure as director of the Michigan Quality Council, my office was at a major university. Once when I needed a meeting room, the conference rooms in my department were all occupied, so I wandered onto another floor seeking an unoccupied room. There was an available room in the history department, but my request would have to be approved by the department head, who was out for the day. No one else could give the OK, because he hadn’t deputized anyone to act in his stead.

The receptionist said that if the Keeper of the Keys learned that the room had been used without his approval there “would be trouble.” Armed with that information and the theory that it’s “better to seek forgiveness than approval,” I used the room anyway, much to the dismay and consternation of the history department. For the absent professor, I left a short write-up on the advantages of empowerment with the receptionist. I wish he had responded.

The second example is from a national restaurant chain where my wife Mary and I frequently dine. As with numerous other dining establishments, this restaurant provides their guests with a card whereon visits are logged—after the purchase of eight meals you get a free dinner. We dutifully bring in our cards each time and have the cards stamped by the staff. After we surrendered our cards for a free meal, we discovered that the restaurant had exhausted their supply of new cards. We were to bring in our receipt at our next visit, when more cards would have arrived. I’m nosy, so I asked why someone hadn’t noticed earlier that the supply of cards was low and ordered more.

It seems that a vice president at headquarters, let’s call him the King of Cards, is the only person responsible for ordering these cards. All requests have to be routed through the king, who then doles out the cards to the various restaurants. My suggestion that each restaurant be responsible for ordering its own cards met with agreement from the restaurant management, but as in many organizations, altering an existing procedure through a labyrinth of senior management is cumbersome and difficult. I’d like the Keeper of the Keys to meet with the King of Cards and see what other blockades they could invent to stifle productivity. Both of these management dinosaurs should be jettisoned from their organizations, or at least made to write the phrase “Empowering my staff adds to customer and employee satisfaction” a thousand times on a blackboard.

Baseball and showerheads
Motoring to New York recently to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Yankees at Yankee Stadium taught me two life lessons: Mayor Michael Bloomberg is genuinely a man of the people, and when it comes to height standards at a national hotel chain, size does matter. Permit me to explain.

For my 65th birthday my son and I attended opening day at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers lost but the day was salvaged when my son presented me with tickets for an upcoming Tigers/Yankees game in New York on his birthday and, as most baseball fans know, this is the last year for The House That Ruth Built—Yankee Stadium.

I wanted to surprise my son with upgraded seats, so I contacted Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson, and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and suggested that, if their seats for the game weren’t being used, perhaps a couple of out-of-town fans could be the new occupants.

Well-run organizations always respond to customers whether by phone, e-mail, or snail mail. I have made a habit of contacting organizations when I receive excellent service or when I have a complaint. Organizations that value their relationships with customers always respond, and those are the ones that retain my business and admiration. Then there are the companies that never acknowledge the contact, and that tells me everything I need to know about the management. Their lack of concern cascades onto everyone in the organization. No wonder service is shoddy.

Mayor Bloomberg took the time to respond, stating that he in fact doesn’t have season tickets but he sent a personalized letter to my son for his birthday hoping that he would enjoy his stay in New York. This reflects why he’s so revered in the Big Apple. On the other hand, judging from the poor condition of the reserved box seats, Bloomberg may be waiting for the new stadium to purchase season tickets.

We never received the courtesy of a response from Steinbrenner or Paterson. I realize that both of them receive numerous letters and requests every day but a simple “No, are you crazy?” response to my letter would have been a nice gesture. So Bloomberg goes to the top of my list of world-class mayors.

Let me say at the outset that the staff, the ambience, the food, and the surroundings at the Hampton Inn were first class. What was a bit disturbing was the showerhead, of all things. Entering the shower in the morning was like being a Lilliputian in a Brobdingnagian world. I’m 5'10", and the showerhead was positioned so high that I could adjust the water stream only by standing up on my toes. I’d just turned 65 and already I seemed to be shrinking. Upon checking out later that morning, I mentioned my experience to the front desk staff. Their response was simple and straightforward: Hampton Inns had done a survey and determined that the majority of their business traveler guests were 6'2", and the showerheads were adjusted to accommodate them. They raised the sinks, too.

I sent an e-mail to Hampton Inn management regarding this incident, which elicited the following response from the general manager: “Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience you experienced with our showers. Our hotel was constructed to Hampton brand standards, which specify showerhead heights. Until these specifications change, a solution would be to request a room with accessible features that have handheld showerheads”. In response I asked what would happen if I returned with a broken arm. How would I hold the shower wand, and would the hotel supply someone with a loofa to help me bathe. As with Steinbrenner and Paterson, I haven’t received a response.

All in all, it was a great trip. The Tigers swept the Yankees, and I’m doing stretching exercises in the event we return to New York and I need to take a shower.

As you read this, I’m resting comfortably after June 2 robotic prostate cancer surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The hospital is the pioneer in this type of surgery, having performed more than 3,000 such operations for people from all over the world, so I knew I was in good robotic hands. What makes it even more appealing (if surgery can be appealing) is that the hospital has partnered with the local Ritz-Carlton Hotel and thus patients for this procedure are transported back and forth to the hospital by hotel staff, and special arrangements are made at the hotel for pre- and post-surgery dietary needs. If one has to experience this type of operation—I’m told one in six males will—it’s comforting to have the best at one’s disposal.

As I relax in my hammock contemplating my next column, I just might arrange for a conference call with the Keeper of the Keys and the King of Cards so we can discuss empowerment. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

About the author
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the ASQ’s Detroit chapter. Now semiretired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News and writes a monthly column for Mature Advisor newspaper. Kalmar is a mystery shopper for several companies and a frequent presenter and lecturer. He also does radio voice-overs and competes in duathlons.

Avoiding Green Schemes When Getting Green Certified

2008-06-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

by: Tom Hinton

Last week, during a speech to business executives, I was asked about the proliferation of Green schemes and how a company could evaluate the credibility of a Green Certification Program. Given the number of misleading web sites and schemers who are trying to make a fast buck from the Green Movement, here are five questions your company should ask before applying for a Green Certification program.

1. Is the Green certification program sponsored by a credible non-profit organization?

I strongly encourage companies to avoid for-profit ventures that claim to offer certification programs but, in fact, are fronts for some money-making scheme. The leading Green Certification programs are administered by viable non-profit organizations or associations that are legal entities and led by volunteers and a professional staff. Most non-profit organizations have been established for the public good and have bylaws and members. While non-profit organizations will charge a fee for their certification program, they do so to sustain their programs and pay their professional staff. Among the leading non-profit organizations that offer outstanding Green certification programs are the U.S. Green Building Industry Council, the American Consumer Council, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Steam, and Green-e, which is operated by the Center for Resource Solutions. They are many more credible non-profit organizations, but these non-profit organizations are leading the way in the area of Green Certification.

2. Does the Green Certification program have written criteria and standards that govern the application and certification process?

Yesterday, someone sent me a link to an online green certification program managed by a mom-and-pop website. The alleged certification consisted of 32 yes/no questions. If the applicant answered a majority of the questions correctly, they earned the right to affix the website’s green-certified logo on their company materials. This type of green certification is bogus and does a disservice to the many valid green certification programs that have formal criteria and rigorous standards. Any Green Certification program that does not require your company to complete a detailed application and respond in-depth to serious questions regarding environmental compliance and sustainability is suspect. I should note that Green Certification for a specific product is even more rigorous and often requires some type of ISO-related certification compliance.

3. Does the Green Certification Program have a verification and validation process as part of its certification?

Two common elements among all credible sponsors of a Green Certification program are the verification and validation of the information contained in a company’s application for certification. In order to verify and validate the contents of a company’s application, an independent team of assessors or auditors is trained and certified to review the contents of the application against the criteria and, in some cases, conduct a site visit to verify that certain claims by the applicant are, in fact, being performed.

The certification of assessors or auditors should be done by the sponsoring organization or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In the case of the American Consumer Council, our Consumer Green Council is responsible for recruiting, training, and certifying its Assessors. Only then are certified Assessors assigned to review an application. Also, an independent Board of Judges reviews all recommendations for certification prior to any certification being awarded. In this way, there can be no collusion or conflicts-of-interest. This process ensures that only qualified applicants receive ACC’s Green C Certification designation. Other non-profit organizations have a similar process in place to ensure the integrity of their certification program.

4. Once your company is Green Certified is there an accountability step and a process for continuous improvement?

The most progressive Green Certification programs not only have contemporary standards and a strong verification process, but they also have a way to hold certified companies accountable to those standards after certification has been earned. In other words, a company cannot earn its Green certification and then engage in practices that violate the spirit of the certification program. Organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the American Consumer Council have high standards in this regard and frequently review the practices of certified companies to ensure they are in compliance and striving to reach higher levels of certification.

5. Does the Green Certification Program have credibility in the marketplace?

Let’s face it, most companies are not altruistic. Very few businesses decide to go Green because they want to save the rain forests. Instead, their motives range from increasing their profits to boosting market share. Frankly, that’s fine. As long as there is integrity in the certification process, it doesn’t matter what motivates a company to get certified.

Based on my observations over the past few years, I can say that consumer acceptance of a brand or product that bears the Green C certification (or some other Green designation) is a strong reason for any company to go Green and get certified.

I’ve also witnessed an interesting transformation among executives as their companies go through a Green certification program. Typically, three things happen to executives. First, they begin to truly appreciate the growing number of Green Consumers and their purchasing power. Secondly, they begin to understand that their company is capable of doing many small, but significant things, to sustain our natural environment and planet. Thirdly, executives realize that their employees genuinely care about our planet and going Green is a smart way to engage employees in the workplace and stimulate innovative solutions to reducing costs and making their company more efficient.

About the Author: Tom Hinton serves on the Board of Directors of the American Consumer Council administers ACC’s Green C Certification Program. He can be reached in San Diego, California at tom@tomhinton.com

Lufthansa Airline is Customer-Focused

2008-05-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

Recently, I flew Lufthansa Airlines round-trip between Los Angeles to Frankfurt. While I have traveled internationally many times, this was my first international experience with Lufthansa. Given the mediocre in-flight service I’ve received from various U.S. carriers in both coach and business class, I must confess my expectations for Lufthansa were not very high. Boy, was I surprised! Not only were the Lufthansa airport representatives and in-flight personnel exceptional, their courteous service in both coach and business class exceeded my expectations.

While courtesy, kindness, and in-flight comfort aren’t rocket science, very few airlines have mastered these simple pillars of superior customer service. It’s too bad because studies show that good service breeds customer loyalty. Lufthansa understands this simple equation because Lufthansa has analyzed its’ in-flight customer experience and determined how to make a ten hour flight a pleasant experience instead of agony and torture like many of their competitors.

I realize there are certain costs associated with providing passengers warm hand towels, a free glass of wine, complimentary newspapers and magazines, and in-flight entertainment programs including two movies. But, these simple in-flight niceties demonstrate that Lufthansa has moved beyond the “bean counter mentality” and makes operational decisions using a higher principle. That principle, namely, is customer satisfaction! Lufthansa has figured out that customer loyalty generates repeat business and repeat business is money in the bank!

While there’s still (leg) room for improvement -- especially in terms of the leg room and hobbit-sized seats most airlines use in coach class -- I think Lufthansa earns kudos for its exceptional service and challenging its airline competitors to raise the customer service bar! I look forward to my next exceptional experience on Lufthansa!

About the Author: Thomas Hinton is a popular business speaker on the topics of Leadership, Sustainability, Customer Service, and Teamwork. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

Not Another Survey!

2008-04-16T17:20:00.001-07:00

by William J. Kalmar

As customers, we have all come to understand the importance of customer surveys. Customers are the lifeblood of any organization and to achieve a certain level of success, the needs, wants, and expectations of customers must be understood. Role-model companies exceed the expectations of customers.

My take on the subject of customer surveys is fairly simple: No new product or service should be launched without first involving customers in a review process. Failure to do so could result in a process that is shunned by your clients or, worse yet, in customers flocking to another company.

The Checkbook Debacle
Let me give you an example of just such a scenario. When I worked for a large national bank, we prided ourselves in having an extensive training program modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The goal was to introduce every employee in the organization to the Baldrige criteria for performance excellence. The training went on for years, and we emphasized the concept of being in lock step with customers.

Somewhere along the line, we lost sight of this very important concept when it came to something as mundane as new checkbook orders. Our demand deposit department, in meeting with a vendor, learned that by eliminating one style of check reorders, the bank could save $500,000 a year. It meant that instead of offering side- or top-stub tear offs, we would only be offering checks that were attached to the stub across the top. Now $500,000 is nothing to take lightly, so it was full steam ahead to implement this new process.

Well, guess what? When customers began to reorder checks and discovered that their favorite way of tearing checks from the folder had been eliminated, there was an uproar. The branch offices were filled with irate customers, and phone lines in the customer service areas were swamped with customers threatening to move their funds to banks that offered both features.

Someone in management asked for the customer survey that was done before we made this change--of course, there wasn’t one. The bank quickly retrenched and again began offering both features for check reorders. The upside was that we used this as an example of what happens when customers are not brought into the brainstorming process. Weighing the loss of many customers and good will against a savings of $500,000 was a no-brainer.

Health care Focus Group:
As a follow-up to this concept of customer involvement, I recently participated in a focus group staged by a major health care company. The organization was exploring the introduction of some new products that would supplement Medicare. There were ten of us in the group--people who had just signed up for Medicare and others in the throes of reviewing their various options. I have participated in many focus groups over the years, and this one stood out: It was well organized, it kept on point, and it paid each of us $75 at the conclusion of the two-hour session. (Expediting the payment for our involvement was key in my accepting a role in the focus group, which I will expand on.)

As I participated in the roundtable discussion, my thoughts wandered off to this article on customer surveys. As a result, I concluded that more organizations should avail themselves of this technique before launching any new product or service. The participants represented a cross-section of the target audience, and the participants were allowed to voice opinions on subjects not originally outlined in the instructions. The health care organization came away from this with a clear understanding of the expectations of its customers.

Various Paths to Information
Other organizations have approaches to surveying customers as varied as the organizations themselves. In addition, we as consumers often look to the results of survey recommendations before we buy a particular product or service. How many of us have viewed a movie only because it was given “two thumbs up” by a certain pair of reviewers? How often have we eaten at a particular restaurant or stayed at a resort because a survey has designated it four stars? As consumers, we seem to depend on survey results to guide us to the best establishments. Let’s examine for a moment how some of these establishments entice us to participate in their surveys.

I mentioned earlier that the focus group I was involved with provided us with payment, as promised, at the conclusion of the session. In fact, being the cynical person that I am, my participation hinged on their paying me for my time and doing so at the end of the session. As a retiree I no longer offer advice pro bono.

Many companies conduct customer surveys on their receipts. Here is just a small sampling:

• OfficeMax--”Tell us about your shopping experience and enter to win one of five prizes.”

• Walgreens--”How are we doing? Enter our monthly cash sweepstakes. This month the prize is $3,000 cash.”

• Panera Bread (Saint Louis Bread Co.) --”Tell us how we are doing and you may win $2,000.”

• Montana ’s Cookhouse -- ”Please tell us about our serv ice and you could win $1,000.”

• Caribou Coffee Co. --”Tell us how we are doing. We would like to hear about your Caribou experience. Enter our monthly sweepstakes. Ten $100 Caribou Coffee gift cards awarded monthly.”

• Romano’s Macaroni Grill --”Win $1,000--a winner every week.”

• Meijer--”How are we doing? Rate your shopping experience and you may win a $1,000 gift card.”

Are you seeing a pattern here? These companies want our opinions, and if we participate, we may win a prize. Candidly, I am not inclined to assist them, because, as I mentioned earlier, I am somewhat mercenary: I want instant gratification. When I complete the survey, I want a coupon that I can download for a free coffee at Caribou, or a complimentary donut at Panera Bread, or a $5 coupon at a department store.

Here’s my quandary: While at each of these establishments, I have queried the employees about these surveys and information on any of the winners, and to date no one has been able to share with me the names of winners, or details of any payouts. Do I think that these promotions are bogus? Well, until someone comes forward to contradict it, my answer is yes! Therefore, don’t expect me to spend my time commenting on my veal piccata at the Macaroni Grill unless there’s a complimentary cannoli in it for me.

Some companies that have survey information on their receipt and promise nothing--Kohl’s, Macy’s, and On The Border, to name just a few--are saying, “We want your opinion and feedback, but unlike other companies who promise you a chance at a prize but may not deliver, we are being straightforward in telling you that there is no prize. The prize will be better customer service if you participate.”

These are what I would call after-the-fact surveys. I think a more effective way of exploring the needs, wants, and expectations of customers is to survey them while they are involved in the service or sampling the product. I call this method on-site, live surveys. A company that does it best in my estimation is the two-time winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award--The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. Let me give you a recent example of this methodology.

It’s no secret that the “Ladies and Gentlemen” (as the staff are called) of the Ritz-Carlton constantly update a guest database that contains each guest’s special preferences. For instance, if a staff member notices that a guest prefers a specific wine, that information is entered into the database so that upon a return visit, a similar bottle of wine will be in the room upon check in. Permit me to provide you with a couple of personal examples.

While dining at our local Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, Michigan, I opted for an appetizer of scallops. Our waitress overheard me remark to my wife, Mary, that “these are the best scallops I have ever eaten.” Evidently that information became part of the on-site, live survey information that was entered into the database, because every time we dine at a Ritz-Carlton establishment, I receive a complimentary scallop appetizer.

Then there’s the incident that occurred about a year ago that to this day still resonates with me. Mary and I periodically enjoy high tea at the Ritz-Carlton. It’s decadent, very soothing, and relaxing. On one occasion I requested extra finger sandwiches. Our waitress, a lovely lady named Anoushka, smiled and kept bringing me the sandwiches, much to my delight. Moving the calendar up two months found Mary and me enjoying another high tea. As we sat down, our waitress came up to us and said, “Anoushka is on vacation in Florida, but she called moments ago to make sure we provided you with extra finger sandwiches.” Now that’s service and an example of taking survey information to the next level. Is it any wonder that the Ritz-Carlton regularly ranks at the top of surveys when it comes to meeting and exceeding guests’ expectations?

Rather than survey guests at the conclusion of their stay, this hotel conducts surveys on an ongoing basis. This is a methodology that other companies should implement because it demonstrates to current customers that they are valued. The hotel also provides survey cards in each room.

Besides surveying customers about their services, many organizations hire mystery shoppers to conduct on-site reviews. I am one of those mystery shoppers. My responsibilities include visiting restaurants, fast-food chains, national department stores, and even a national transportation company. What I have been most impressed with is that clients take it as a given that their food is going to be delectable or that their products will be care-free, so the emphasis is on customer service. Naturally I review the food and the products, but the bulk of my report is about interacting with the employees. Absent great service, it doesn’t matter how good the food is or how sound the products. If employee service is mediocre, customers don’t return.

Conclusion
It is critical to be in lock step with your customers, and there are myriad ways to do so. Each organization needs to establish a pipeline of information from its customers and then make sure that those needs are met or exceeded so that the company will attain legendary status. Don’t get caught up in some money-saving gimmick without first surveying your customers.

Also, please don’t provide me with a receipt and a chance at a cash prize. If you want my opinion or feedback, I prefer a reward on the spot--a coupon for a free dessert or a free coffee would make my day.

Well, time to go. I have to complete a survey from the local hospital where I was a patient recently. They are offering a drawing for a free lobotomy. Who knows, it might just be on the level. If I win, it would be an opportunity to somehow put this dreadful, frigid, Michigan winter out of my mind.

About the Author:
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, for which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the Detroit Chapter of ASQ. Now semi-retired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News and other national newspapers; serves on the USA Today vacation panel; writes a monthly column for Mature Advisor newspaper; writes a monthly column titled “Hammock Thoughts” for Quality Digest’s e-newsletter QualityInsider ; is a mystery shopper for several companies; is a frequent presenter and lecturer; does radio voice-overs; and competes in duathlons.

The United States Air Force Shoots Down Boeing

2008-03-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

by Tom Hinton

Last week I watched the Congressional hearings on why the U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America to build its next-generation of aerial refueling tankers. The contract is estimated at $40 billion, and the deal includes 179 planes to be delivered over the next 15 years.

The Air Forces opted to give the new kid on the block a chance over the more experienced Boeing Company which has been building air tankers for 75 years and recently unveiled its new, state-of-the-art KC-767 which has already been delivered to Italy and will soon be delivered to Japan. What do these countries know that our own United States Air Force doesn’t?

For the record, EADS is part of Airbus, the foreign-owned and heavily subsidized aerospace giant. It is also The Boeing Company’s toughest competitor for military and commercial airplanes. It should also be noted that the initial Air Force contract will create an estimated 20,000 jobs -- including several thousand jobs in Alabama and Kansas -- while costing Boeing and its suppliers approximately 20,000 jobs in the state of Washington and other locations where is has facilities and suppliers who would build the KC-767 air tanker.

The Boeing Company estimates that if the Air Force moves forward with the contract award to Northrop Grumman and EADS -- and Congress approves the bid award -- some 40,000 jobs (current and new positions) will be affected in the United States. The EADS tanker airframe is based on an Airbus A330 commercial jet assembled in France; and, most of the assembly work would be done in Europe according to Northrop Grumman sources.

As I watched the congressional hearings I shook my head in disbelief. The U.S. Air Force’s top acquisition officers, led by Assistant Secretary Sue Payton, Lt. General John Hudson, and Program Manager Terry Kasten and answered the panel’s questions honestly and directly. They staunchly defended the bidding process, the contract review process, and the awarding of the contract based on the proposal criteria. But, they also acknowledged that certain criteria such as jobs and the economic impact to American workers, were not part of the proposal and, therefore, were not evaluated or considered as part of their review. As Assistant Secretary Payton told Congress, “jobs and economics are not part of the proposal criteria or bidding process.”

While I understand the Air Force must follow specific criteria and acquisition laws, it begs the question, why in the world is the U.S. Department of Defense undermining the American economy? This is like giving a child a loaded gun and then advising them not to shoot you! It makes absolutely no sense to the average American who is worried about jobs, industrial capacity, and making ends meet. Now, America's own military is shipping jobs overseas. I could understand their rationale if Boeing was incompetent, but it is not. In fact, Boeing’s Airlift & Tanker program continue to be recognized as a best-in-class company by no one less than the president of the United States who recognized The Boeing Company on two occasions with the Malcolm Baldrige Award, our nation’s highest presidential honor for workplace excellence.

So, let’s examine the impact of this decision and how it all came about. The current air tanker tango began in 2003 when Arizona Senator John McCain complained bitterly about pork barrel politics because the Air Force was about to award The Boeing Company a new air tanker lease contract. Never mind that Boeing had been building and supplying the Air Force with air tankers for over 50 years. McCain said the deal was wrong.

According to the Everett Herald, Senator McCain "nearly single-handedly killed Boeing’s multi-billion dollar deal" to lease 100 Boeing air tankers to the U.S. Air Force. As the Everett Herald explained, “In 2001, McCain's laser-like probe of defense budgets unearthed a $30 billion earmark to pay for leasing 100 KC-767 jets from Boeing -- without first following a competitive bid process. McCain’s criticism stopped the program three years later and caused a round of investigations that led to Boeing paying fines for its contracting practices, and major changes in the Air Force’s procurement and contracting procedures.

Subsequent federal investigations resulted in two Boeing executives, Chief Financial Officer Mike Sears and Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force Acquisitions official and then-vice president of missile-defense systems at Boeing, being fired for illegal actions relating to Air Force contracts. Druyun was also convicted of federal violations for her illegal actions and was fined and sent to prison.

Boeing's board of directors acted quickly after concluding Sears improperly offered Druyun a job in the fall of 2002 because Druyun worked for the Air Force. At the time, Druyun was reviewing the proposal for the Air Force to lease 100 Boeing 767 airborne-refueling tankers. Needless to say, these Boeing officials made a serious mistake and paid the price for their stupidity and illegal actions.

Boeing hired a new CEO and hoped the firings would convince Congress and the Defense Department that the company was acting decisively to right its ship. Then, the Pentagon stripped Boeing of $1 billion worth of satellite launches after another investigation showed the company used trade secrets stolen from Lockheed Martin, its chief competitor, to help win the launches. Instead of getting better, hings got worse for Boeing.

In March, Boeing Satellite Systems acknowledged it made improper technology transfers to China in the wake of two failed satellite launches in 1995 and 1996.

Finally, in 2006, when Boeing’s new chairman W. James McNerney, Jr. appeared before Congress and apologized at a Senate hearing for the company’s illegal and unethical tactics, and promised higher ethical standards, Senator McCain responded with praise for Boeing for "truly reforming and starting fresh."

But, the damage was done and Senator McCain had sent a clear signal to the U.S. Air Force Acquisition office -- no more deals with Boeing. That set the stage for a new round of air tanker bids which last week the Air Force awarded to Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America. While the letter of the law was followed, it appears from circumstantial evidence that the U.S. Air Force had already made up its minds not to do business with Boeing’s Airlift & Tanker program.

In the midst of all these investigations and problems with a few bad apples at Boeing, Senator McCain and his colleagues forgot to ask one important question: “If not Boeing, who else will build the Air Force’s new air tanker?” But, McCain knew the answer was the Europeans and Airbus. He also knew his actions would cost some 20,000 Americans their livelihood. Certainly, McCain's tactics pushed the Air Force too far and caused them to avoid steer clear of doing business with Boeing. That's a serious mistake on the part of the Air Force and Senator McCain.

Rep. Norm Dicks, a powerful figure on the House Appropriations Committee, who represents the Everett, Washington area which his home to many of Boeing’s aerospace workers, predicted a "firestorm of criticism on Capitol Hill" over sending so many jobs overseas. Rep. Dicks added of McCain: "I hope the voters of this state [Washington] remember what John McCain has done to them and their jobs."

Some people suspect that this was “payback time” for The Boeing Company. But, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Sue Payton said in her testimony that previous contracting issues and illegalities with Boeing had no bearing on the 2008 air tanker award. She indicated that Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America won on the merits of their plane, a modified Airbus A330 that is bigger than the modified KC-767 that Boeing offered. Payton also noted that by law, the Air Force must consider European allies on equal footing with American manufacturers.

Assistant Secretary Payton is referring to laws such as The Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. § 10a–10d) which was passed in 1933, mandating preferences for the purchase of domestically produced goods in direct procurements by the United States government.

The section of The Buy American Act that the U.S. Air Force referenced in terms of the air tanker contract is an outdated provision which stipulates that foreign companies can be considered when “purchasing the material domestically would burden the government with an unreasonable cost (the price differential between the domestic product and an identical foreign-sourced product exceeds a certain percentage of the price offered by the foreign supplier), if the product is not available domestically in sufficient quantity or quality, or if doing so is in the public interest…”

Given the fact that The Boeing Company already has built a new air tanker, The Buy American Act is ridiculous and works to the detriment of America’s economy and declining manufacturing base. While the U.S. Air Force must adhere to the law, Congress should move immediately to strike The Buy American Act and ask the Air Force to re-bid the job so that Boeing has a fair chance -- assuming fairness is even possible given the McCain bias against Boeing now rooted in the U.S. Air Force.

It;s important to note that EADS, is a European entity that is heavily subsidized by foreign governments. The Boeing Company does not enjoy any government subsidies, so the playing field is not level. Already, the competition is unfair. The Boeing Company cannot compete fairly against such rules and antiquated laws that work against the competitive spirit of American businesses.

Another concern was raised by Congressman Dicks, who accused the Air Force of “bait and switch tactics” by telling Boeing that the Air Force wanted a medium-sized tanker, not a larger tanker which Airbus proposed. Then, the Air Force accepted a larger aircraft from Airbus, the modified A330. “Had Boeing known that the Air Force wanted a bigger jet, Boeing would have bid the 777," Rep. Dicks said at the Congressional hearing last week.

Interestingly, while Boeing was building the KC-767 tankers for Italy and Japan, it asked the Air Force if it wanted something bigger in its new air tanker -- like the Boeing-777. The Air Force told Boeing no, But then, the Air Force proceeded to select a tanker based on the airbus A330 specifications which is larger than Boeing’s 767 and almost as large as the 777. This is why Rep. Dicks accused the Air Force of “switch and bate” tactics -- accusing the Air Force of saying one thing to Boeing but doing another in dealing with Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America. It appears the Air Force was not dealing honestly with Boeing because of the pressures from Senator McCain.

In awarding the new air tanker to Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America, other questions have been raised by aviation experts as to whether the Airbus A330 is going to fit into Air Force infrastructure including airplane hangars that currently house KC-135's that use half the space. When the two planes are compared size-wise, the wingspan of the airbus is 42 feet wider than the 767. The airbus plane is also 34 feet longer and seven feet taller at the tail.

"You're going to need massive construction plans to rebuild hangars at airbases all over the world," complained Rep. Dicks.

Secretary of the Air Force Wynn defended the contract decision and told senators the planes were judged on nine key criteria and "across the spectrum, all evaluated, the Northrop Grumman airplane was clearly a better performer." In addition, he said the Boeing proposal was judged to be more risky and more expensive.

But, this statement also raises questions among Aviation experts who noted that the Boeing contract bid was considerably lower than the EADS bid, and the Boeing aircraft is already operational while the airbus KC-45A is still is the design phase.

Also, it has been noted that Boeing’s Airlift & Tanker program has won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award for its quality and overall excellence.

The Air Force has complained that it is still flying Eisenhower-era air tankers built by Boeing and it needs to replace its aging fleet as soon as possible. If this is the case, experts ask, why delay the process when you already have a reliable, state-of-the-art air tanker being built by Boeing?

Finally, what about American jobs being shipped overseas to build a U.S. Air Force air tanker? Does this make any sense given the state of our economy and the need for skilled aerospace workers such as those employed by Boeing?

Responding to criticism of the contract award, Northrop Grumman officials said the KC-45A tanker will produce 2,000 new jobs in Mobile, Ala., and support 25,000 jobs at suppliers nationwide. The EADS/Northrop Grumman team plans to perform its final assembly work in Mobile, although the underlying plane would mostly be built in Europe, and it will use General Electric Co. engines built in North Carolina and Ohio.

While Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America are good companies, this decision has made many Americans angry, and rightfully so. It smacks of politics and unfair competition which is exactly what the U.S. Air Force should be avoiding.

Boeing’s past acquisition mistakes have been corrected and paid for, literally. Boeing has been under new, leadership since 2006, and Boeing’s Airlift & Tanker program is second to none in terms of quality, business practices, and overall management excellence. If the United States Air Force is prohibited from considering economic factors, certainly the United States Congress and White House need to get their heads out of the clouds and step-in to make sense of this decision before Northrop Grumman Corporation and EADS North America fly away with American jobs and taxpayer dollars!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is recognized as America’s Expert on Business Excellence. Mr. Hinton is president of CRI Global, LLC, a training and consulting firm that helps its clients create a “Culture of Excellence in the Workplace." He is the author of four books and a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings. For information, email him at: tom@criglobal.com or visit: www.tomhinton.com

Southwest Sacrifices Airline Safety for Profits

2008-03-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

Over the years, I’ve admired Southwest Airlines for doing things right. It seemed that when other airlines were lowering their standards and compromising their commitment to service and quality, Southwest Airlines struck to its knitting and honored its words and promises to customers. In the process, Southwest created a successful and profitable airline. By offering low fares, frequent flights, a strong safety record, and motivated employees -- who had fun on the job and cared for their customers -- Southwest Airlines became one of America’s most admired companies and desirable places to work.

Now, Southwest is under fire by Congress, consumer groups, and the FAA for allowing more than 100 un-inspected planes to fly despite the fact that some planes had cracks in their fuselages. Four jets were found to have four-inch cracks requiring immediate repair. Six jets had signs of cracks starting to show.

Southwest admits that it allowed its planes to fly with cracks, but denies that it ever placed its crew or passengers in jeopardy. In a statement addressed to its customers, Southwest Airlines said, "We assure our customers that this was never a safety of flight issue." Aviation experts told NBC News that the early damage would not be catastrophic, but cracks could lead to serious problems.

Inspections of airplane fuselages became mandatory in 1988 after an Aloha Airlines Boeing-737 jet cracked open at 24,000 feet while enroute from Honolulu to Hilo killing a flight attendant and injuring seven of the 89 people aboard. Ironically, a passenger noticed a sever fuselage crack as she stepped aboard the Aloha Airlines jet in Honolulu, but never mentioned it to the flight crew.

To its credit, Southwest discovered the inspection oversight and notified the FAA. But, for reasons not explained, Southwest continued to fly the un-inspected planes on more than 1,400 flights. Federal law requires that planes be grounded until they are in compliance. Southwest cooperated with the FAA throughout the inspection process and told the media is was surprised when the FAA proposed a $10.2 million fine for violating federal regulations.

Is this just a series of misunderstandings and communication breakdowns, or is it -- as the head of a congressional committee suggests -- collusion between the FAA and the airlines it’s supposed to regulate?

Rep. James Oberstar, who chairs the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, believes the FAA and the airlines have become too cozy. Oberstar said the committee's investigation was begun after two whistleblowers approached congress after years of trying to correct the inspection problems.

Oberstar called for the FAA to "clean house from top to bottom.” According to Rep. Oberstar, “the relaxed relationship between the FAA and the airlines have led to the sort of lax enforcement that allowed Southwest Airlines to fly at least 117 aircraft past mandatory inspection deadlines.”

Oberstar also said he believes similar violations may have occurred involving other airlines, but that those persons who have such evidence are afraid to come forward. What does this disturbing situation say about the integrity of senior management at the airlines and the independence of regulatory agencies like the FAA? Should consumers be worried? The short answer is a resounding yes! The reason is a lack of trust and integrity on the part of airline executives and the FAA.

When government agencies such as the FAA, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are compromised to the point where leaders fail to lead objectively, and government inspectors fail to perform their duties and uphold the sacred public trust, it is time to “clean house” and change the culture of those organizations as Rep. Oberstar suggests.

What is happening here is more serious than just coziness and a few omissions by business leaders and government agencies. What is happening here is a blatant disregard for consumer safety and the welfare of our citizens. If warranted, the Department of Justice and federal prosecutors should be asked to investigate and bring criminal charges against those government officials and corporate leaders who knowingly abused the law and abdicated their sworn responsibility to the public by placing an unsuspecting public in danger. In China, they shoot officials who disgrace their office and disregard the public good! While such penalties are extreme, a harsh message needs to be sent to those men and women we have entrusted with the safety of our airlines, drugs, food supply, and products. That message is simply this: honor your oath by doing your job; and, uphold the laws you swore to obey and enforce. If you cannot do this, quit your job. If you fail to uphold the laws, you run the risk of federal prosecution and prison.

I believe this is where the Southwest Airlines incident crosses the line. When airline executives knowingly thwart the law and risky public safety, it is criminal intent. You cannot convince me that Southwest Airlines, which is managed by hundreds of intelligent and competent people, overlooked one of the basic safety issues of an airline -- compliance with FAA inspections. It is no longer a matter of sloppy documentation and lax oversight; it is criminal behavior on the part of Southwest Airline executives and FAA inspectors who looked the other way. Rep. Oberstar is correct in calling for a top-to-bottom investigation. In order to stop these types of blatant violations, it will require much more than a slap on the wrist. Southwest and the FAA must be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is president of CRI Global, LLC, a training and consulting firm that helps its clients create a “Culture of Excellence” in the workplace. He is the author of four books and a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings. For information, email him at: tom@criglobal.com or visit: www.tomhinton.com

What Makes a Good Employee?

2008-03-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

by Bill Kalmar

May I have the envelope, please!

Each year at this time a momentous event is announced in the pages of a prominent magazine. No, I’m not talking about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, although thoughts of that warm me up on frigid evenings in Michigan (sorry if that’s sexist). I’m referring to Fortune Magazine’s announcement of “The 100 Best Companies To Work For.”

For us quality and customer-service geeks it’s an opportunity to examine the inner workings of some of the best organizations in our nation. For the companies who applied for this recognition it’s a guessing game to see where they rank among some of their peers and who is labeled No. 1.

Ever since this list was first published I’ve been following and reviewing these companies like a broker follows blue chip stocks or a wine connoisseur absorbs Wine Spectator’s list of the top bubbly. We all want to work for an organization that espouses sound customer-service processes and provides employees with a safe, challenging, rewarding environment. Fortune Magazine lists those companies.

After the list is published each year, the featured companies are flooded with unsolicited applications. In fact, in the current edition of the list there’s a section entitled, “How To Get Hired By A ‘Best’ Company.” As the author points out, “Looking at the past decade, our top 25 each year have averaged job growth of 14 percent.” The author goes on to mention that it helps to know someone at the company, because thousands of people submit applications. Before it opened in 2006, the Doha Hotel in Qatar received 25,000 applications for 600 positions.

Before we get into the specifics of these companies, let’s first examine how they were chosen. There’s that special moment in the Oscar awards program where two or three sartorially correct accountants come out on the stage with a briefcase containing the envelopes naming the winners for the evening. Of course we learn how the balloting was done. So in imitation of the Oscars, here’s how “The 100 Best” were selected:

“More than 105,000 employees from 446 companies responded to a 57-question survey. Two thirds of a company’s score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company and asks about things such as attitudes toward management, job satisfaction and camaraderie. The remaining third of the score comes from an evaluation of each company’s responses to a culture audit which includes detailed questions about demographic makeup, pay and benefits programs, and open-ended questions about the company’s people-management philosophy, internal communications, opportunities, compensation practices, diversity programs, etc. About 1,500 companies participated in the survey. Any company that is at least seven years old with more than 1,000 U.S. employees is eligible.” (Courtesy of FORTUNE magazine)

I have used this listing in my presentations to illustrate the attributes of these organizations. In that regard, I first shared the following 12-point list with QualityInsider readers in “The Corporate Running of the Bulls.” Interspersed with that list are examples from the “100 Best” list:

What makes the “100 Best Companies To Work For” so great:

They make people feel that they’re part of a team or, in some cases, a family.

• With an average salary of $90,083, the 1,376 employees of American Fidelity Assurance call this Oklahoma insurer their “second family.”
• National Instruments yearly stages an employee-appreciation week with executives serving breakfast and culminating in a family outing day.
• Nugget Markets throws a year-end bash, and in 2007 took all of its 1,322 employees whitewater rafting.
• In 2007, as is the case every year, the Plante & Moran team gathers at its annual conference, an opportunity to bond. Partner Jeff Jenkins stated that the theme was to “amp it up,” which means that in workplace and with client relationships and in family-oriented activities, the staff was asked to ratchet it up another notch while living the “golden rule” (i.e., treat others as you would like to be treated) More energy results in better client service, a more enriching work environment and better results.

They encourage open communication, informing their people of new developments and encouraging them to offer suggestions and complaints.

• The CEO at Adobe Systems answers employee e-mails within 24 hours and employee councils feed management with ideas.
• After feedback from employees, SRA International switched insurers, added health savings accounts and adoption aid, and increased 401(k) matches.
• Four times a year employees at Nike are invited to an all-employee meeting where feedback and suggestions are encouraged.
• The head of Yahoo hosts monthly chat ’n’ chow lunches with employees and even answers employee questions online.
• Perhaps the lowest turnover rate in the hotel industry (18 percent) is attributed to J. W. Marriott Jr.’s visits to 250 Marriot properties each year and meeting with employees.
• Cisco Systems uses an employee feedback/suggestion system, “On My Mind.”

They promote from within, letting their own people bid for jobs before hiring outsiders.

• Eighty-five percent of managers at supermarket Stew Leonard’s were hired in house. This supermarket has been featured in many of quality guru Tom Peters’ columns. Here’s a bonus: CEO Stew Leonard Jr. has a surefire way to determine the strength of the economy: “I look for the mashed-potato effect. If customers are buying our freshly-prepared mashed potatoes instead of whole potatoes, then the economy is doing well. Lately, bulk potato sales have been going up, so there’s a concern about where the economy is going.” The so-called experts can cackle about their charts and their prognostications, but for me, I’m focusing any investments I might make on the “mashed-potato” metric.
• At S.C. Johnson & Son more than half of employees are over age 45, 28 percent have worked there more than 20 years, and 78 percent more than six years.
• Twenty-three percent of Herman Miller’s workforce are “Water carriers,” employees who have 20 or more years with the company.

They stress quality, enabling people to feel pride in the products or services they provide.

• Quick action by Mattel in recalling defective toys from China illustrated this company’s focus on quality and safe products.
• Granite Construction has a zero-accident goal and employees are rewarded, not fired, for bringing attention to unsafe situations.

They allow their employees to share in the profits through profit sharing, stock ownership, or both.

• Ten percent of employees’ pay is deposited into 401(k)s at Booz Allen Hamilton.
• Workers at Stanley own at least 50 percent of the company.
• How about a 43-percent stock price rise at EOG Resources, where all employees have stock options.
• Intuit offers all new employees stock options.
• Of the 3,558 employees of PCL Construction Enterprise, 2,200 employees own shares in the company, and many received dividend checks last year in excess of their annual salaries.

They reduce the distinctions of rank between top management and those in entry-level positions, and they bar executive dining rooms and exclusive perks for high-level people.

• Everyone gets overtime pay at David Evans & Associates.
• No one earns more than 10 times anyone else at TDIndustries.

They devote attention and resources to creating as pleasant a workplace as possible.

• Because during tax season the workplace is home six days a week for employees of Plante & Moran, management has designed a building with staff in mind: Custom wood stain throughout the entire building, work stations designed by focus groups, each staff member has his or her own space with a nameplate, and in the front lobby a huge assortment of flowers is replaced weekly. Dan Essad, human resources senior manager stated it best when he was interviewed recently by reporter Carol Marshall for the Oakland Business Review: “We care for our clients, we care for our employees, our community, our families, and that caring is reflected in our space.”

They encourage their employees to be active in community service by providing money to organizations in which employees participate.

• Every employee at Intuit receives four days off with pay each year to perform community service.
• Umpqua Bank provides 40 hours of paid time yearly for employees to volunteer in the community.

They help employees to save with matching funds.

• Aflac boasts a 401(k) matching fund.
• Seven and a half percent of salary is offered as profit sharing at Arnold & Porter.
• Genentech bumped up 410(k) match in 2007—100 percent up to 5 percent of pay.
• Here’s quite a bonus from Boston Consulting Group—15 percent of pay deposited in a retirement plan.
• Alcon Laboratories has the richest retirement program in U.S. business with employee contributions matched 2.2 to 1.
• A 15 percent of pay contribution by Russell Investments is part of their automatic profit sharing.

They try not to lay off people without first making an effort to place them in other jobs, either with the company or elsewhere.

• American Express had 6,000 internal job moves last year.
• There’s a no-layoff philosophy at FedEx.

They care about the health of their employees, sometimes providing physical fitness centers and regular exercise and medical programs. (This was a perk provided by too many companies to mention. This is a sampling.)

• Healthways has walking trails, bikes for rent, and easy-to-locate stairways to encourage exercise.
• Certainly this was to be expected—Nike has a decathletes dinner every year.
• Tennis and basketball courts are provided by AstraZenica.
• eBay has hired a full-time staff of personal trainers and nutritionists.
• A pool, cardio room, a racquetball court, putting greens, and horseshoe pits can be found at SAS Institute.
• At Goldman Sachs, where the average salary of $137,000 keeps people financially healthy, you will also find rock climbing, a martial arts boot camp, massage therapy and Pilates. Even with the over-the-top salaries paid here, the company will even outfit you with workout duds.

They expand the skills of their people through training programs and reimbursement of tuition for outside courses.

• Tuition reimbursement of up to $20,000 and bonuses for advanced degrees, which 65 percent of MITRE employees have, makes this a company that encourages learning.
• Let’s not undercut what Station Casinos is doing—free dealers school for staffers wanting to advance and gain new skills.
• Johnson Financial Group offers a graduate tuition reimbursement up to $10,000.

No. 1 is Google, which prides itself on having fun and minting millionaires. The stock just rose above $700 and 99 percent of employees have stock options.

There you have it. So update your resumes and start campaigning for that new job, unless you are fortunate enough to work at one of these extraordinary companies. I’m just pleased that all of you are still working and supporting my social security and Medicare.

P.S. Finally, for those of you who are anal-retentive like me, I did mention in last month’s column that I would report on two recent books, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job (Patrick M. Lencioni, Jossey-Bass, 2007) and one about General Electric—Jacked Up (Bill Lane, McGraw-Hill, 2007). I suspect that some of you have been searching for that. Rest assured that will be in next month’s column. I thought learning about the best companies better served me and you than harping on a miserable job. I hope you agree.

About the author
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the Detroit Chapter of ASQP. Now semiretired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News; writes a monthly column for Mature Advisor newspaper; is a mystery shopper for several companies; is a frequent presenter and lecturer; does radio voice-overs; and competes in duathlons.

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the March issue of Quality Digest Magazine which can be accessed at: www.qualitydigest.com

Starbucks: Training or Retrenchment?

2008-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

An interesting thing happened this past week. On Tuesday evening, February 26, all across North America, Starbucks stores closed promptly at 5:30 pm and remained closed for three hours. With the exception of those Starbucks-licensed shops in supermarkets, airports, malls, hotels, and train stations, some 135,000 Starbucks employees gathered in various locations to complete three hours of training, motivation, and re-indoctrination.

While a handful of loyal Starbucks customers were locked out because they didn’t get the store closing message, most customers accepted this unusual occurrence and simply skipped their evening Java fix or found another place to hang-out with their laptop, book, or newspaper.

Since Tuesday night, a growing number of people have contacted me as “America’s Expert on Business Excellence” to ask the question: What’s going on with Starbucks? Due to the growing number of inquiries I thought it best to post this article on my Blog so that everyone got the same answer. Of course, listening to the voice of my customers, I discovered some interesting things that I didn’t know about Starbucks -- as much as I like the company -- and why Starbucks has been retrenching for the past year.

To borrow an adage from my parent’s generation, it seems that “what’s good for Starbucks is good for America!” But, lately, Starbucks’ slip has been showing! It’s evident from sluggish sales, leadership changes, and a myriad of other corporate problems that have been exposed. These problems and challenges have hurt Starbucks’ stock performance which has slid nearly 45% in the past year (Nasdaq: SBUX). It is currently selling at $17.98 per share down from a high of $38.29 on April 13, 2006.

Things got so bad for Starbucks that Howard Schultz, who had relinquished his title of CEO eight years ago in order to focus on the company’s customer experience and other life pursuits, reclaimed his CEO title on January 8, 2008. Schultz, who first joined Starbucks in 1982, is responsible for building Starbucks from a fledging coffee bean retail operation into the most prolific and successful retail coffee business in the world. Most Starbucks aficionados are not aware that Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 when his idea to establish Italian expresso bars in the Pacific Northwest was rebuffed by Starbucks’ original owners. Schultz had a passion for coffee and he left Starbucks to form his own company, Il Giornale, in 1985.

According to Wikipedia and Starbucks’ website, two years later, Starbucks’ management decided to sell its Starbucks. Schultz bought it and renamed Il Giornale to “Starbucks” and aggressively expanded the company’s reach across the United States. Starbucks popularized espresso drinks such as the cafe latte and introduced them to many Americans.

For 20 years, Schultz has done a brilliant job of building the Starbucks brand and expanding its reach around the world. He has given good jobs to more than 170,000 partners (employees), kept commercial real estate agents busy with the opening of more than 8,500 company-owed outlets worldwide plus 6,500 joint-venture and licensed outlets that employ nearly 70,000 adjunct personnel.

It’s fair to say that Howard Schultz has single-handedly created a cult-like following among millions of people who had previously only tasted freeze-dried coffee. There is no question that Schultz ranks among the best leaders in corporate America and his brilliant 20-year track record proves it. So, what has happened to Starbucks during the past 24-months? What changed?

I think the answer is a combination of three key factors:

First, there’s no question that economic pressures and the cost of making Starbucks coffee have taken their toll on the company’s profits and operating methods. This partially explains why Starbucks is slowing its growth and retrenching its efforts to focus on the basics of quality and superior customer service.

Secondly, given Schultz’s brilliant leadership and thorough understanding of the intricacies of the coffee bar retail business, his absence from the post of CEO created a Visionary vacuum inside the company. In turn, I think a “bean counter mentality” crept into operational decisions without taking into consideration two important factors: Culture and Customer Needs and Wants. Unfortunately, many of these internal changes at Starbucks were not well-received by customers who voted with their feet and tried the competition.

Thirdly, Starbucks got sloppy in terms of customer satisfaction, listening skills, and honoring its core values. While executives were busy crowding new products onto already-cramped retail floor space, and experimenting with things like books and CDs (which were positively received), store managers got distracted and seemed to be spending more time erecting marketing displays and banners instead of paying attention to their customers.

This misstep allowed Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and other aggressive local competitors to nip away at the once-loyal Starbuck customer base. Given the choice to pay $2.75 for a latte at Starbucks or 99 cents at Dunkin Donuts, many customers were seduced into trying a competitor’s brand. And, once a customer leaves, it’s very difficult to win them back.

So, fast forward to last Tuesday night’s “Art of Espresso” three-hour training when Howard Schultz took the stage and pronounced to his loyal and faithful partners, “Tonight, we will begin to elevate the Starbucks Experience for our customers. We are passionate about our coffee. And we will revisit our standards of quality that are the foundation for the trust that our customers have in our coffee and in all of us. But, as I think about it, there is another -- perhaps equally important -- reason why we have scheduled this training. It’s to celebrate who we are.”

After three hours of motivation, training, and re-affirming the Values and Quality Standards that have made Starbucks a great American success story, Schultz reminded everyone that, “We are Starbucks. We should be incredibly proud of what we have built. We are the worldwide leader of specialty coffee. And, believe me when I tell you, we are just getting started. We will overcome the difficult and humbling challenges we face, and will be stronger for it. You have my word on that.”

I have no doubt that given Starbuck’s recommitment to excellence and the reappearance of Howard Schultz as CEO that Starbucks will rebound stronger and healthier than before. But, he’s right. Sometimes it takes a “difficult and humbling challenge” (like dissatisfied customers and unfocused employees) to kick you in the head before you “get it!”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to my local Starbucks to see if my favorite Barista is honoring Starbuck’s newest customer pledge: “Your drink should be perfect every time. If not, let us know and we’ll make it right!”

While I’m there, I might suggest Starbucks strengthen that pledge to read: “Your drink will be perfect because instead of chatting with other employees about why I hate my boyfriend, I’ll be listening very carefully to you as I take your order. And, I’ll repeat your order while using your first name to make sure that the Barista hears it correctly, too!”

Oh yeah, have a nice day!

Cheers and Jeers: Restoring Civility in the Bleepin' Bleachers!

2008-02-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

I hate to be the one who blows the whistle and calls for a time out on the fans, but there’s a growing problem at high school and college athletic events that needs to be nipped in the bud quickly. It’s a problem that parents and school administrators are responsible for creating because they have not stepped-in to control their sons and daughters, or put an end to certain, unacceptable sporting event practices that clearly cross the line of civility and decorum.

I’m talking about the heightened irreverence and disrespect that student-fans are showing for the opposing team at sporting events. This is a problem that has gone far beyond the traditional rivalry cheers, barbs, and exchanges at football and basketball games. It’s now become a common occurrence at most high school and college sporting events I attend -- even girls’ sports have become infected.

It’s reached the point where an unsuspecting spectator attending his first game might think that the vulgarity, taunts, crude signs, and even offensive t-shirts are accepted practice among certain inept athletic directors and school administrators who should know better.

I recognize that students should be able to have fun; and, that sporting events offer a great opportunity to let off some steam and razz the other team. In fact, I think it’s an important element of school spirit and camaraderie to have a group of students form cheer squads, paint their bodies, and sit together to root on their team and goad the opponent. That behavior has been around since the gladiators fought in Rome’s Coliseum.

But, civility is lost and good sportsmanship is trounced when raucous students and their parents engage in over-the-line behavior such as booing, name-calling, or using vulgar language to harass and taunt the opponent. These are unacceptable practices and every high school and college administrator, and sports commissioners should establish very clear game conduct guidelines, and enforce harsh penalties for any school that does not control its spectators.

The line has already moved in the wrong direction. For example, many universities and high schools think nothing of allowing fans to wave noodles and streamers, or shout “Miss! Miss! Miss!” while a basketball player attempts a free throw shot from the foul line. If that was your kid at the foul line, how would you feel? Sure, you want to do everything you can to psyche out the shooter before he attempts his/her shot. That’s why coaches call timeouts -- to freeze the field goal kicker, right? But, once the player takes aim and shoots the ball, civility and etiquette should be the rule.

Consider an ugly incident that was reported by San Diego Union Tribune reporter Steve Brand. At a recent high school girl’s basketball game between two upscale private schools, La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) and Bishops, a Bishop High School basketball player was booed loudly and taunted by her former La Jolla Country Day schoolmates whenever she handled the ball. While these two teams have a vigorous rivalry, there was a complete lack of decorum among San Diego’s so-called privileged citizenry that populated the La Jolla Country Day bleachers and allowed their sons and daughters to engage in this inexcusable and embarrassing behavior.

Of course, you would think the administrators of La Jolla Country Day would have adequately addressed the incident? Apparently not, because when the same two teams met again a few weeks later, La Jolla Country Day’s parents and students replaced their vulgar taunting with hurtful, negative signs that were directed towards the young lady from Bishop. Again, how could a group of so-called upscale parents sit there and allow that to happen? It was a disgraceful repeat incident that offended not only the event attendees, but the entire community; and, it showed the LJCD parents and school administrators for what they really are -- classless egalitarians.

Someone needs to ask the obvious question. What are parents and school administrators doing to control their fans? We’re not talking about trying to control crazy, drunken Oakland Raider fans here. We’re talking about high school and college sporting events where parents, coaches, school administrators, and sports commissioners -- not to mention the game referees -- should have some modicum of control over the event and its environment. As one CIF official told reporter Steve Brand, “The gym needs to be viewed as an extension of the classroom. If a student was making a presentation in the classroom, would it be all right to boo? No, that’s disrespectful. Would you allow negative signs? No, that’s disrespectful, too!” I completely agree and applaud this approach to maintaining civility and decorum at high school and college athletic events.

So, why isn’t there more civility at these games? I think the obvious answer is that parents and administrators have lost perspective; or, they simply have no commons sense as was demonstrated by the La Jolla Country Day parents and students. Harsh, you say? Well, then you tell me why adults sit there passively in the stands and allow student-fans (and even other parents) to cross the line. Somebody needs to accept responsibility and call these idiots out.

Here’s a solution. Sporting Event Standards (similar to the 1999 program, “Pursuing Victory with Honor,” that was adopted by the California Inter-scholastic Federation) need to be approved, publicized, and enforced among parents, fans, and the student body. Security personnel at these games should be authorized to confiscate offensive signs and shirts as well as forewarn fans to refrain from vulgar outbursts and chants. Once this type of enforcement starts to happen, people will get the message that civility and decorum are expected and fans will begin to express their support and/or disgust during the game in appropriate ways.

There will always be booing of the referees and negative chants when a certain call goes against the home team. But, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know when bleacher behavior crosses the line. That’s when school administrators and sporting officials need to step in and control the fans in the bleachers.

It’s tougher to do in college sports, especially when cross-town rivals go at it. But, nevertheless, the same rules should apply here. My experience at college games has been that drunken fans are the root cause for most problems in the bleachers. I’m not sure eliminating beer sales is the answer because most of these fans, especially college students, are already drunk when they arrive in the bleachers and begin their offensive conduct and immature conduct. Short of removing them from the game, I don’t know what else can be done.

It’s not my intention to take the fun out watching the game by suppressing the spontaneity of sports fans. I love a good game and I certainly like to cheer on my favorite team. But, when you have to sit next to some-loud mouth jerk and listen to him repeatedly bellow out vulgarities or wave his offensive sign, well, now my rights to enjoy the game have been infringed upon. And, I don’t like it. Sometime, I’ll encourage him to sit down, but I don’t want to start a fight and I don’t want to get sued. So, it’s up to the school administrators, their security personnel, and other officials to calm him down or remove him from the bleachers.

It’s getting to the point where good fans like me are seriously considering staying home. Why bother? Who needs the hassle? And, that’s really too bad because when enough good fans capitulate and decide to stay home, well, now the idiots are running the asylum and ruining the game for the rest of us -- not to mention how it makes the players on both sides of the bench feel.

I just hope your son or daughter doesn’t come home some night after giving their best in a game, and feeling depressed and suicidal because of the unfair taunting and verbal insults directed their way from a few immature parents and students who should know better. That would be the ultimate tragedy, wouldn't it, sport fans? Let's remember, it's only a game!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is a popular author and professional speaker. His new book is entitled, 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. For more information visit www.tomhinton.com or email him at tom@tomhinton.com

Love Is In the Air

2008-02-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

As St. Valentine’s Day approaches, I thought I’d share with you an interesting practice that is being used by my high school -age daughter, Becca, and her one thousand most intimate friends. They conclude every telephone call with this heartfelt phrase, “Love you! Bye.”

Becca and her friends have been using this valediction since they were in sixth grade. I’m not sure who started it but it seems to have caught on. Now, it seems like all the teen-agers -- boys and girls alike -- are using this expression when ending telephone calls with their friends. I even hear them saying “Love ya! Bye.” when talking to their parents. How refreshing!

Mind you, I haven’t sat down with Becca and asked her, “Hey, where did this phrase, “Love ya! Bye.” come from and who started it?” I know better. You see, I’m certain she would just look at me with that deer-in-the-headlights teen-age gaze and reply, “That’s the gayest (most stupid) question you’ve ever asked me, Dad!” Then she’d shrug her shoulders, toss her hair, and walk away disgusted once again with her father. Oh well, there are some things parents must figure out for themselves.

So, for all you parents out there, here’s my analytical interpretation of what’s really being communicated when our wonderful, little darlings are on their cell phones. According to my phone bill, my daughter (and I’m sure this applies to your sons and daughters as well) makes about 422 calls every school night between 3pm and 10 pm. I don’t know how this is mathematically possible, but I believe the number is fairly accurate. Most of these calls are short because they never seem to last more than a few seconds. Some of the calls are intense because they deal with “boy” issues. I know because I can barely hear what’s being said even with her bedroom door closed.

But, regardless of how all these conversations flow, they always hang-up as friends. You see, friendships are re-affirmed or all is forgiven at the end of the call with the simple phrase, “Love ya! Bye.” This way, all the kids get a good night’s sleep (if you count five hours as a good night’s rest) and arrive at school the next morning tired, but still friends. I think that explains it all.

Well, maybe not. Perhaps, there’s a deeper, more serious explanation. Perhaps this younger generation desperately needs friendship and love in their lives. You see, their parents have been poor role models in these categories with our high divorce rates, our penchant for war, guns, and violence; and, basically screwing-up the environment and the world we live in. Now that I think about it, maybe our kids are trying to tell us something… love is all you need.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings. He is also the author of four books including 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion in Your Life. For information please email him at tom@tomhinton.com

The Heart of Work

2008-01-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

When I was a college student at the University of Maryland, I was very fortunate to land a part-time job in the Washington, D.C. area with a non-profit organization that served people with disabilities. My boss was named Robert. Despite the fact that Robert had been paralyzed from wounds he suffered in the Vietnam War, he was a positive and kind person who brought an abundance of excitement and positive thinking to the workplace. Even though he was confined to a wheelchair, Robert never let his physical limitations reduce his spirits. He was always upbeat and motivating. He was a great role model for us.

Robert expected good things from his employees and, in turn, he tried to instill in us a sense of responsibility to the organization and a commitment to give our very best, one hundred percent of the time.

Robert taught me several important lessons about leadership and how to succeed in the workplace. He believed that success in the workplace boiled down to two things --building positive relationships with other employees, and distinguishing yourself as part of the team.

When Robert talked about leadership, he was fond of citing the HEART acronym. He told us if we would lead with heart, we would always be successful regardless of the kind of business we managed or our rank or title. Here it is.

“H” stands for Humility. Never forget to check your ego at the door when you show-up for work. Always share the credit with those that got you there. If you are humble and give your team the credit for a job well done, it’s amazing how many people will want to be part of your team. Another part of humility is admitting you don’t have all the answers. Robert used to remind us that the best leaders solicit ideas and solutions from others because no two people see things the same. It’s just possible somebody else will have a good idea you didn’t think of! By the way, part of humility is acknowledging people for their good ideas. Humility is also putting the needs and interests of others first. Robert reminded us that the best leaders always put their teammates first. Great leaders are accustomed to being served last.

“E” represents Energy. When you arrive at work make sure you bring your best with you. Robert reminded us to put an extra jolt of energy and excitement in our voices when we answered the telephone or greeted a volunteer-member of the organization. He said that we should never forget that the person on the other end of the telephone line might be feeling down or in need of an emotional lift. Try to be the person who brings a little extra positive energy to the office because some people might have forgotten theirs.

Robert also told me that the fastest way to boost workplace productivity and results is to energize the workplace. Create a friendly, positive environment that invites people to give their best and enjoy themselves. Finally, Robert told us that there is no room in the workplace for toxic talk or negativity. Only positive energy would be allowed in his department. That’s why Robert never complained about the weather, the traffic, or his physical limitations. Although he was uncomfortable and suffered some physical pain, he never showed it. In fact, he always celebrated life to its fullest each and every day. Whenever we saw Robert wheeling around the office, we quickly realized that any complaints we had about life paled in comparison to what he had overcome.

“A” is for Abundance. Regardless of the cards life deals us, Robert believed that every person was capable of creating abundance in their life. He was a shining example of this. He took stock of his talents and attributes and did the best he could with them. If Robert awoke in the morning feeling sorry for himself or angry because he had lost the use of his legs, we never saw a hint of this. By the time he rolled into work, he had transformed any frown or physical discomfort into a smile and he was focused on doing the best he could.

Robert also taught us something else about abundance. It had little to do with money or possessions. When Robert spoke about abundance, he would always talk about the emotional aspects of abundance -- the heart and soul of abundance -- our ability to serve others. “The well of abundance never runs dry,” he was fond of saying.

“R” is for Respect. At work, we were frequently reminded to respect the needs of our members and each other. “Every human being deserves respect,” Robert would tell us. He also reminded us that there would be times during the day when someone would call our office and wouldn’t know how to ask for help. Perhaps it was their sense of pride or their inability to face their physical limitations. But, it was very important that we listen to each caller and give people a chance to work through their pain and anger. In the end, Robert reminded us, everyone wants to know you’re their friend; that you care about them as a person. This was Robert’s definition of respect. He understood that human dignity, when reduced to its lowest common denominator, amounted to kindness, caring, and understanding.

“T” represents “Think.” If there was one thing that got Robert hot under the collar it was when people opened their mouths before they put their brains in gear. Robert insisted that we think about what we wanted to say before we said it, and planned what we wanted to do before we did it! He encouraged us to write drafts before we sent a letter. Robert also suggested that we script-out our calls to prospective members before dialing the number so we didn’t get tongue-tied or lost in our thought process. It was good advice.

Robert, who served as a First Sergeant in his U.S. Army company, told us that when you are under fire in a combat situation, you learn quickly to think, or you might not survive. His military training and quick thinking saved his life when his company came under heavy enemy fire for several hours. Despite his wounds, he kept his cool and was able to drag himself and two wounded comrades to safety. His valor earned him a Silver Star. His story was a powerful reminder of why it’s important to train your mind and discipline your thought process so you can react calmly and quickly in any situation.

Twenty-five years later I still use Robert’s HEART acronym. I am also appreciative to have had the kind of boss who genuinely cared about his employees and was willing to give us many special gifts that would last a lifetime. Now, whenever I hear people talk about the heart of work, I think fondly of Robert and the heart he gave all of us who worked with him.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is the author of 10,000 Days: Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. Tom is a dynamic and inspirational speaker who helps his clients achieve personal growth and life balance. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

Three Ways to Get Better Results in Your Life

2008-01-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

Seven years ago, I began my work day like most people. I woke-up to an alarm clock, showered, dressed, ate a fast breakfast, and made a mad dash to my office to beat the morning traffic. Once I arrived at work, my day was consumed with emails, phone calls, and everybody else’s “to do” list. On most days, I had to stay late just to get my assignments completed. Life wasn’t much fun so I made some major changes.

In 2001, while waiting to address a business conference, I heard another speaker tell the audience, “To succeed in business, you need to transform yourself. Then you can change your business from the inside out.” That thought stuck with me and, after a few weeks, I began to ask myself, “How do I transform myself?”

I stumbled upon a simple, but effective, three-step process that I’ll share with you so you can start getting better results in your life.

1. Ask Yourself What Works and What Doesn’t Work in Your Life?
If you’re really honest with yourself, this can be a very powerful question that sets you free and lifts some burdens off your shoulders. In examining my own life, I discovered several things that weren’t working for me. For example, I did not enjoy managing people. Once I set confronted my ego, I realized that while I’m a good manager as well as a fair and considerate boss, I did not excel at administrative duties, solving human resource issues, and hiring/firing people. Others, who were trained in this area, could do a much better job than me. I also came to the realization that when I spent my time writing, speaking, and creating new products and services for our company, our revenue jumped. So, I transitioned out of the administrative role and hired a capable person who could perform all those functions much better than me -- and, she enjoys doing the work! Now, I’m free and I don’t have to get involved in the day-to-day administrative corporate issues.

2. Devote Your Time to Doing Those Things You Love to Do.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old expression that “the best work in life is doing those things you love so much you’d do them for free; except, you’re good enough to get paid for doing it!” If you are not engaged in fulfilling work that you truly enjoy, begin today to make the transition into something that excites you and keeps you mentally and physically healthy. It’s a sad commentary on our society that fewer than 20 percent of working people love their job. How unfortunate. Consider all the human talent that is being squandered because people are working at jobs that really don’t like. How much more productive could we be if we just quit and started doing something that we felt passionate about? Imagine how much happier the world would be!

I have a good friend who told me, “Life is too short to waste your days doing something that you really don’t want to do.” My friend’s statement pushed me to take action and start doing the things I love to do. When I share this statement with my workshop participants, several people respond by telling me, “I can’t just quit my job. I need the income!” Others react by asking me, “Well, what would I do? Where would I live?” While these are valid questions and concerns, I believe they are the ego’s way of holding you back. Our egos only operate out of fear and love. Our ego isn’t interested in the here-and-now; it’s only interested in the past and the future because that’s how our egos control our behavior and actions.

However, if you listen to your Inner Spirit and allow yourself to transform your dreams from wishes to reality, you will find a way to start living your dreams. But, you must first let go of your old ways and habits. Your old habits and predictable life patterns are holding you back from discovering new possibilities.

Some of the best advice I ever got was from a coach who told me -- when I asked him whether or not I should accept a new job -- he asked me, “What’s the worst thing that could happen to you if you accepted the new job?” When I told him that “getting fired after two months would be the worst thing that could happen,” he then asked me, “If that happened -- if you got fired after two months -- what would you do about it?” I thought about his question and replied, “I’d go get a new job!” He just nodded and asked me, “So, what’s all the fuss about? Go for it!” I did and everything worked out just fine. I realized my ego was trying to hold me back by using fear and uncertainty to keep me in my current job. Fortunately, I listened to my Inner Spirit’s counsel and made the move to a new career path. And, all was well.

3. Have the Courage to Take a Few Risks in Life.
This leads me to the third step, taking risks. There’s a delightful new book series entitled, 1,000 Things to Do Before You Die. It’s about taking control of your life and visiting places around the world, doing exciting things, and living a life worth remembering. But, of course, first you need to be motivated or inspired to take action.

I understand you might be the kind of person who needs to summon up the courage to get off your sofa and venture outside into the unknown. That’s okay because most people are just like you. But, if you never take any risks, you’ll never know what it was like to really live! I’m not suggesting that you should bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, but, you might want to actually go someplace other than sit at home or drive 200 miles to your sister-in-law's house on your next vacation! You might think about taking a cruise or visiting a national park, or treating yourself to a weekend spa experience. I guarantee you’ll never be the same! As Albert Einstein said, “Once your mind is stretched, it will never return to its original dimension.”

Oh yeah - one other thing. For those of you who are tightwads and don’t want to spend any money on yourself -- well, just remember this. You may as well live a little because you can’t take it with you!

CarMax: Putting the Fun Back Into the Car-Buying Experience

2008-01-18T16:00:00.001-08:00

by Tom Hinton

On New Year’s Eve morning, I found myself at CarMax in San Diego with my 21-year old daughter, Megan. We were shopping for a car that I had promised her a car as a college graduation gift and she was ready to cash-in her chit. After visiting the annual auto show, she had narrowed her choices to either a new Honda CRV or a pre-owned Lexus RX 330 just like one of her college roommates owned. “Her dad must be a wealthy tycoon,” I told Megan when I learned about her roommate’s choice of transportation. “Well,” my daughter replied coolly, “they do live in Rancho Santa Fe.” I quickly got the feeling I was being taken for a ride by my eldest daughter. You see, Rancho Santa Fe is the zip code of Zillionaires! But, then I took three deep breathes and decided there was no harm in looking. So, off we went to CarMax.

Now, I should probably confess something here-and-now about me and cars. I like cars, but I do not like the car-buying experience at auto dealerships. In fact, I abhor it! In thirty years of buying cars, I have never had a positive buying experience at an auto dealership. For me, it is a demeaning and manipulative experience in which you are pushed, pressed, cajoled, and subjected to every under-handed sales tactic known to mankind by unscrupulous men in sunglasses with greasy hair and unkempt moustaches, who wear plaid sports jackets with clip-on ties and white socks. I would rank my car buying experiences just below falling off a cruise ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; or, accidentally locking myself out of my hotel room at midnight without any clothes on. It’s that bad!

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let me share my experience at CarMax. A good friend of mine, who is always on the lookout for interesting topics and articles that I can write about, told me about CarMax and suggested I visit their San Diego operation and write a story on their superior customer service and sales experience. My friend had a very positive experience there and he thought it merited my consideration. He gave me the name of the store manager and encouraged me to drop-in and talk with him. I filed it away as a possible idea but never acted on it.

Scroll forward eight weeks when my daughter asked me to accompany her to CarMax so she could look at a few cars she had identified on their website. Megan had done her research on the CarMax website and found five vehicles she liked.

We arrived at CarMax about 9:00 am and were promptly greeted by a friendly, professionally-dressed young man who paged the store manager at my request. Todd Blackwell, the Location General Manager, quickly appeared, and greeted us warmly. I explained the reason for our visit and Todd suggested that Megan spend some time with Elena, another pleasant CarMax salesperson, who could show Megan the vehicles she had identified in her web search. Elena had joined CarMax just six weeks earlier and referred to herself as a “refugee of the depressed California home mortgage business.” It was obvious she was enjoying her new career with CarMax and she developed a positive rapport with my daughter. I took the opportunity to ask Todd about the company and how business was going at his new location.

The CarMax lot in San Diego was expansive with hundreds of pre-owned cars. I was impressed by the fact that CarMax had transferred one vehicle from their Orange County location to San Diego so that Megan could test drive it. I was already impressed with their pro-active customer service and sales management process. It was unlike my previous car buying trips, and that was a good sign!

Todd explained that CarMax was in business to sell cars, not to haggle over price. So, there was no negotiating or sales pressure. The sticker price on the side of each vehicle was CarMax’s sales price. Take it or leave it. Todd also explained to us that his sales managers made the same commission on a Lexus that they would make on a Mustang or Honda Accord. His point was that CarMax’s commission structure allowed their salespersons to sell me the car I wanted to buy instead of pressuring me into a vehicle I couldn’t afford or didn’t really want. There was really no incentive for a CarMax salesperson to up sell me. I liked the concept. I was pleasantly surprised because the process unfolded just as Todd had told me it would. I began to relax and let my guard down.

In my research, I learned that CarMax was a Fortune 500 company and one of the Fortune 2007 "100 Best Companies to Work For.” That explained the well-groomed, articulate, and friendly employees I encountered. Todd told me CarMax was the nation's largest retailer of used cars. With headquarters in Richmond, Va., CarMax has 88 used car superstores in 41 markets. CarMax also operates six new car franchises, all of which are integrated or co-located with their used car superstores. Management must be doing something right because during the twelve month period that ended August 31, 2007, CarMax retailed 358,777 used vehicles and sold 220,715 wholesale vehicles at their in-store auctions.

While Todd and I chatted amid rows of pre-owned cars, Megan was busy inspecting several Lexus Rx vehicles with Elena. I learned something interesting that morning about how a 21 year-old women goes about evaluating the car she wants to buy. First, the exterior color has to be just right. Then, the interior color must be a good match. Finally, when she opens the car door and sits in the driver’s seat, her focus goes immediately to the radio, CD player, navigational system, and all the other bells and whistles she can find. The more technology, the more impressed she is with the vehicle.

As I watched this fascinating process unfold, I realized how much things had changed in seven short years when I last bought a car. I was both humored and horrified as Megan exclaimed to Elena that she “loved the car!” Trapped in the old school philosophy of car-buying tactics, I remained quiet and didn’t show any emotion because I didn’t want Elena to reel me in, hook-line-and sinker! Secretly, I found the Lexus Rx 330 to be a solid car with nice design lines and an outstanding crash rating. These are the kinds of things a father considers. The Lexus Rx 330 drove smoothly and handled the road exceptionally well. In reviewing the maintenance report with Todd, we learned the car’s brief history and discovered it had been well-maintained by its previous owner. With 36,000 miles on the odometer, it was hardly used and it sparkled like a new car. Megan wanted to buy it!

At this stage, I was relegated to the role of a bagman. Elena was dealing with the future owner and, respectfully, she knew I was simply along for the ride -- and to write the check. That’s what dads are for, right? So, I let Megan go through the purchasing process including the part where she got to complete the financial forms, credit application, and the DMV paperwork. I wanted her to know how painful it was to buy a car. But, fortunately, thanks to the CarMax team, it was actually a pleasant experience. In fact, I was surprised that CarMax had taken a traditionally adversarial experience and turned it into a pleasurable one.

Megan was all smiles and dutifully completed the few forms and paperwork as she and Elena chatted about school, careers, hair styles, and everything else women like to discuss.

Two hours later, Elena and Megan hugged each other good-bye as she handed Megan the keys to her new (pre-owned) Lexus Rx 330 and reviewed with her certain features of the car. Then, she hugged me, thanked me for being a great dad, and wished us a safe and happy new year as we drove off into 2008! I’m still recovery from the shock of experiencing my first positive car-buying experience thanks to CarMax. The car payment shock will follow in a month!

About the Author: Tom Hinton is America’s Expert on Business Excellence. As a business author and consultant, Tom helps his clients create a culture of excellence in the workplace. He is a popular speaker at conferences and corporate events. He can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

How to Get Motivated and Stay Positive Every Morning

2008-01-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

It probably comes as no surprise that very few people wake-up feeling energized, invigorated, and positive. In fact, studies show that most people are grumpy and irritated in the morning. Furthermore, most people require their daily fix of caffeine or some other stimuli before they can even manage a smile or “good morning.” This got me wondering… why is it? Why aren’t people more positive?

While there are many reasons, I’ve whittled the list down to three primary causes as to why people begin their day feeling blah instead of great! If you’re among the “Blah Crowd” (and that’s not meant as criticism), ask yourself which one of these three reasons best describes your attitude or mindset when you wake-up in the morning?

I Can’t Get Motivated. Maybe it’s your tough commute to work, or the frost-coating on your windshield, or the fact that you partied late last night and you just can’t face that 6:00 am alarm clock. Perhaps, you just hate your job, or your boss is a jerk. These are all valid reasons why so many people would rather stay in bed than rise and shine!
I’m Not a Morning Person. I know people who don’t function before 11:00 am. They’re just not morning people. They enjoy staying up late into the night to read a favorite novel or watch the Late, Late, Late Show. And, beware! If you approach their office before lunch time, they might bite your head off or appear to be heavily medicated.
Life Sucks. If today represents “more of the same,” and you’re facing the same, old tiring routine, it’s understandable that you probably won’t be very excited about getting out of bed and jump-starting your day. I think this is the major reason why most people have the morning blahs. When life is dull, people are prone to be unmotivated and uninspired.

This is reality. If you can relate to any of these scenarios, perhaps it’s time to ask yourself an important question: What can I do to change my situation and start living the life I really want to live?

Here are three “triggers” -- as I call them -- you can use to change your life and start living the life you really want to live. I recognize that these are small triggers, but, nevertheless, they are significant steps you can take to get yourself motivated and ready to accomplish good things! See if they work for you and help you start living the life you really want to live.

1. Change the Way You Begin Your Day. It wasn’t too long ago that I relied on an alarm clock to shake me out of bed. No more! I made the decision to change the way I begin each day by becoming a morning person. I did away with alarm clocks and programmed myself to awaken each morning at 4:45 am. It wasn’t easy because, frankly, I wasn’t a morning person. But I made the conscious decision to change certain habits and patterns in my life in order to achieve better results. This is why I decided to get up early, exercise, and tackle my toughest daily goals before 7:00 am. It took me about two months to make this adjustment, but now, I am a morning person and I am accomplishing much more than before. By the way, it also helps me beat the morning traffic. My stress level is lower and I smile a lot more!

2. “BAG IT” Every Morning. Before I bounce out of bed, I take two minutes to complete the “BAG IT” Exercise. This wonderful exercise is something I learned from The Course of 10,000 Days™. Here’s how it works. The “B” is for Blessings. What three blessings do you have in your life at this very minute? The “A” is for Accomplishments. What three things did you accomplish in the past 24 hours that you can celebrate and feel good about? And, the “G” is for Goals. What are three goals you will set for yourself this morning and complete today -- so when you BAG IT tomorrow morning, your Goals become your three Accomplishments?

3. I Read my Affirmations. Now, before you yawn and tell me affirmations are old school and don’t work, hear me out. I can tell you based on my personal experience and my work with hundreds of coaching clients that affirmations are not only a very positive force, but they do work.

In fact, when you recite your affirmations repeatedly, your mind listens and begins to believe what you are saying. Affirmations are simply positive mental statements that you believe in. This is a key point, of course. You must believe in what you are saying. It doesn’t matter how you will accomplish something; it only matters that you believe it can be accomplished. The key to Affirmations is this: you are training your mind to think positive thoughts while focusing on what you want to achieve in your life. The “who, what, when, where, and how” is not important at this moment. Every time you affirm something that meets the “S-M-A-R-T” test, your mind begins to conjure up ways to make those affirmations a reality. The “S-M-A-R-T” test is something I learned years ago from Dr. Ken Blanchard. It’s an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant to your life goals, and Time sensitive (a deadline must be stated to achieve your goals). Here’s an example of a goof affirmation: “I am a healthy person who eats healthy foods, exercises daily, and takes excellent care of my body.”

So, tonight I expect you to program your mental alarm clock and start waking-up on your own. Okay, you might want to set your alarm clock just in case you need a few days to get it right. But, seriously, the only way you will get motivated and stay positive is if you choose to change certain outcomes in your life. This is the only way I know of that you can begin to live the life you really want to live!

Email me and let me know how it goes for you.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is a popular speaker and the author of 10,000 Days: Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of your Life. For more information, please visit: www.tomhinton.com He can be reach at: tom@tomhinton.com

New Year's Resolutions, Football, and Politics

2008-01-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

With the advent of the New Year come resolutions, football playoffs, and political primary campaigns. Here are a few optimistic thoughts on each of the above items as we enter 2008.

Each year, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I update my Success Plan of Action and set forth my goals. I won’t bore you with my goals, but I can tell you that my plan is based on the goal-setting model laid out in Napoleon Hill’s classic best-seller, Think and Grow Rich. It was written in the 1930s and remains once of the greatest self-help books ever written. I recommend it to you. I also recommend you adopt Hill’s goal-setting plan as I have done. It really works. Of course, you have to do three things to ensure success:

Develop a sound plan
Review it twice a day (as Napoleon Hill recommends)
Believe in it and stick with it.

Like many of you, I remain committed to shedding a few pounds. But, in 2008, I am going to do three things to ensure I achieve my weight reduction goals:

I am going to exercise for 40 minutes four days a week. This includes vigorous walks of one mile or more, regular visits to the health club, and pumping air in my Beach Cruiser tires and riding it around the neighborhood! In other words, I need to move my bones!
I’m reducing the amount of food I eat each day. I don’t plan to starve, but I am cutting in half my calorie consumption. This includes less bread and less dairy products.
I’m reducing my sugar and salt in-take. This means salt-free meals and less alcohol. I will drink a glass of wine twice a week. I know that eliminating desserts will be tough, but I can do it.

With the college bowl games finally exhausted, my focus has turned to the NFL Playoffs. Can anyone stop the New England Patriots? So far, they’re perfect at 16-0. I’d like to see the San Diego Chargers go all the way, but they'll have to get past some great teams including Indianapolis, Dallas, and Green Bay -- not to mention the Patriots, of course. But, a football fan must have hope! "Tis the season.

Speaking of hope, the American political system has gone completely crazy by advancing the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary by a full month! What are these people drinking? It’s too much, too soon for most Americans. I was hoping to enjoy a quiet, wintry January before I had to focus on another presidential election. But, given the fact we are knee-deep in the political primary season, let me share some thoughts and observations.

I hate to admit it, but when it comes to political rhetoric, I’m a skeptic. I discovered long ago that most politicians will say anything -- and I mean anything -- to get elected! Then, once elected, they flip-flop on their positions and simply do as they please while ignoring the will of the electorate who put them in office. Such is life. The 2008 crop of presidential candidates isn’t much different in my book.

However, I must admit there is one person who held me spellbound as I listened to her speak the other night during a campaign rally in New Hampshire. Ironically, she is not a candidate. But, she’s married to one. I’m referring to Michelle Robinson Obama. I knew she was well educated (PrincetonUniversity and Harvard Law School) and a capable, articulate, and attractive woman. But, I had never heard her speak at length before. She was captivating as she told a Town Hall meeting about her childhood on the south side of Chicago, her father’s strong blue collar work ethic, and her mother’s dedication to raising her children with high dreams and self-confidence. Michelle Obama also talked about her frustration with America, and in particular the American voters, who say the want "change," but then, are unwilling to step-up and make the necessary sacrifices in order to make change happen. Wow! She punched me right in the gut and it felt good! No bars hold with this articulate 43-year old mother of two. She’s tough, frank, and truthful. What a refreshing message. It sure beats the rhetoric I’ve been hearing from all the candidates on both sides of the aisle.

Regardless of one’s politics, it’s nice to hear someone stand up on the stump and tell it like it is. I was inspired by Michelle Obama, and it caused me to ask myself, “Hey, if Barrack Obama was smart enough to marry Michelle, I wonder if he’s smart enough to lead the United States of America in a new direction at a time when we desperately need innovative leadership?” We’ll see.

About the Author. Tom Hinton is a business author and popular professional speaker who serves as president of CRI Global, LLC. He can be reached at tom@criglobal.com. Visit www.tomhinton.com for more information on his programs and services.

New Year's Resolutions for Everyone Except Me!

2008-01-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

by Bill Kalmar

Now that I have your attention, let me explain. This year I will enter a very special age group, namely, those people eligible for Medicare. The magical age of 65 provides one with certain mystical rights—Medicare benefits, of course, which means we’ll be swimming in extra disposable income. Yeah, right! And how about another increase in social security benefits without having to endure a performance review! And most importantly, the removal of all vestiges of political correctness, as if that ever encumbered me!

An added benefit is moving into the 65–69 age group for competing in sporting events or, as it’s sometimes referred to as “65 to death.” For those of you who may be runners you know that I will now be the youngest in a group of runners vying for prizes given only to the first three finishers in each age group. Not that this makes for a significant advantage because in my last 10K (6.2 mi) race, I was roundly beaten by a 72-year-old. I wonder if he passed the drug test.

In any event, I no longer have to make any New Year’s resolutions because changes to my lifestyle at this juncture could be injurious to my health, well being, and mental acuity. For me to make any personal resolutions would be a waste of time and thus I’m making them for all of you. Just chalk it up to senility.

Here’s what I’m proposing for 2008:

I resolve that all wait staff in restaurants pay attention to me while taking my order and quit looking around to view other activities that may be going on in the restaurant. If I’m not the center of attention then perhaps my waiter should extract the tip for my meal from the people he or she is so attracted to. Is it too much to ask that the wait staff at least appear to be focused and interested in providing me with exceptional customer service?

Speaking of restaurants, I resolve that all establishments serving food leave the hot water valve on in the restrooms. How many times have you encountered a restroom sink that only has cold water? I have a confession to make in that regard. On a regular basis when I discover a lack of hot water, I instinctively reach under the sink and turn on the hot water valve, which inexplicably has been turned off. On some occasions, I have even used my handy Swiss Army knife to override the system. How the wait staff washes their hands with cold water is beyond me. So next time you visit a restroom at McDonalds, Wendy’s, or Burger King and the water is hot, you have me to thank for it.

I resolve that all phone calls I make in 2008 don’t contain the message: “For quality purposes this call may be recorded or monitored by a supervisor.” Do we really believe that someone is hired specifically to listen to phone calls all day? At one point in my career I managed a customer service telephone area and we found it just as effective by practicing “management by walking around” and overhearing the representatives rather then listening to reams of recorded messages at day-end. If there is to be a phone message I recommend that it be: “For truth of disclosure purposes, this call is not being monitored because we’re tired of fooling you to make you think that it is.”

I resolve that when executives are released from an organization the words “Leaving to devote more time to other activities and family” be fully explained. What are those other activities and what does his or her family have to say about the executive's sudden arrival on the home scene? Is the family happy and content or would they rather the executive just focus on those “other activities.” Just when you thought you have heard all the reasons for someone to depart an organization try this from global chief growth officer Thomas Hernquist who spearheaded Hershey Co.’s premium and dark chocolate portfolios and who resigned from the company effective December 31. Hernquist said he intends to work on ventures that “leverage strategic consumer insights.” Wow! That is just too cerebral for my soon to be 65 year old brain! Why couldn’t he have just said that he was pursuing other activities? Or my favorite: “Leaving so I can function in a jerk-free environment.”

I resolve that the words “merger of equals” and “synergy” be banned from business jargon forever. We all know that there is no such thing as a merger of equals—Daimler-Chrysler certainly proved that. In a merger there is always one dominant party and thus synergy means “We will look for ways to combine our processes but ultimately we bought your company so our processes will be used.” If that sounds cynical on my part, I think it’s also realistic. I, along with many of you, have been through mergers and frankly none have been pleasant. So for 2008 let’s substitute the words “Full court press take no prisoners buy-out” for “merger of equals.”

I resolve that when organizations release staff because of the company’s desire to “go in a different direction” that new “direction” or strategy should be spelled out to the remaining staff and the shareholders. What if the new direction is contrary to the expectations of those who will now have to implement it?

I resolve that all meetings start and end on time. In that regard, let me share with you the thoughts of two captains of industry on being punctual. First, Bob Iger, President and CEO of Walt Disney:“Meetings need to start on time. I’m zealous about that because my day needs to be managed like clockwork. If people are late for meetings, the meetings tend to go late, which throws off my agenda thereafter. I frequently start the meeting even if all the people expected to be in attendance aren’t there. I don’t need to say to people, ‘Be on time’, they know.”

And this from Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.: “I’ve always believed that if you’re late, it says something about the lack of value you have for other people’s time. Being on time for all meetings is the best use of time in the workplace. I hope I’ve instilled that in my staff. I certainly embarrass them if they’re not.” That pretty much sums it up for me. One other comment and that is at the end of a meeting if someone leaves without an assignment that person wasn’t needed at the meeting and shouldn’t be invited back for subsequent meetings on the same topic.

I resolve that all establishments that imprint a survey request on receipts provide me with on the spot reimbursement for completing the survey. Over the years I have completed surveys for every department store, coffee shop, bagel store, and sundry other establishments without benefit of a thank you. Sure the receipt indicates that I have been entered into a drawing for $5,000 but I doubt it. Just the other day I asked the Barista at a local coffee shop if he was aware of anyone who had ever won a cash prize by completing a survey and of course the answer was a resounding “No.” So from now on, I want a free coffee or bagel for completing the form.

Well, those are just some of the resolutions for all of you for 2008. If I sound like the fictional deranged character Howard Beale from the movie Network when he said, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore,” so be it. At my age I think I’ve earned it and, yes, I am feeling a bit deranged from service expectations not being to my liking especially when it comes to hot tap water in restrooms. Does Medicare cover my idiosyncrasies?

Just so you don’t think that I’m bonkers, I want to make one resolution of my own. That is that you the readers of QualityInsider continue to invite me into your offices and homes for another year. I thoroughly enjoy the relationship with the experienced and professional staff of the publication and how they make me look so good each month. I also resolve to provide you with some thoughts on quality and customer service and other pertinent topics that hopefully you will find interesting, informative, and perhaps even humorous.

Now time to retreat into my ice-covered hammock. If some of my resolutions have left you perplexed and troubled just keep in mind the words of comedian Joey Adams when he uttered: “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.”

About the author
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the Detroit Chapter of ASQP. Now semi retired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News; writes a monthly column for Mature Advisor newspaper; is a mystery shopper for several companies; is a frequent presenter and lecturer; does radio voice-overs; and competes in duathlons.

What Keeps You from Creating an Attitude of Abundance in Your Life?

2007-12-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

It seems the faster I peddle the farther behind I get!

The harder I try, the more I fail.

Everything I touch turns to mush.

It never rains, it pours.

Success is always just around the corner.

All the good men are already taken.

I never have enough money!

I hate my job.

My family doesn’t understand me.

Life is all work and no play.

These are just a sampling of the responses people have shared with me during The Course of 10,000 Days retreats when I’ve asked the question, “What keeps you from creating an Attitude of Abundance in your life?”

Most Baby Boomers have been conditioned to think and act the way we do because we were raised in a guilt-ridden culture that repeatedly sent such messages as ‘you are imperfect;’ ‘you are unworthy;’ ‘you need to be realistic;’ and, ‘lower your expectations.’ It should come as no surprise that many people have unintentionally sabotaged their life dreams by giving up on themselves before they’ve even put forth an honest effort to make their dreams a reality.

How can you undo this negative conditioning and create an Attitude of Abundance? Here are three steps we teach during The Course of 10,000 Days retreat to help people transform their lives from mediocrity to one of purpose, peace, and passion.

1. Challenge Your Beliefs and Values. So many of the beliefs and values we learned as impressionable children are negative, limiting, and create a “co-dependent” mindset. As an adult, it’s time you put your beliefs on trial and challenged them. Are they valid? Do they lead you to success in life or do they create barriers for success and make you dependent upon others? Do you believe what you’ve learned because your parents or teachers told you it was so? Or, have you closely examined those beliefs and values in the context of what your goals and aspirations are? I’m talking about the values and beliefs that presently guide and control your life decisions. Let me give you an example.

Marcia is 44 years-old. She is single and works as a marketing representative at a large Chicago law firm. Marcia told me her boss, who has a Masters Degree in Marketing, makes life difficult for a number of employees at the law firm who do not have at least a college degree despite their hard work and contributions to the law firm’s marketing and administrative functions. When I asked Marcia why she didn’t change law firms, she told me she didn’t think she could get a better paying job without a college degree.

As I analyzed Marcia’s current belief system and values, and how she can create an Attitude of Abundance in her life, I concluded that Marcia suffered from two negative beliefs that were limiting her success in life. The first is “Co-dependency.” If Marcia truly believed in herself she would not be dependent on her boss, who needs minions like Marcia in order to exert her abusive authority and play mind games with subordinates. There is no reason for someone to stay in a job when they are not respected. But, in Marcia’s case, she played into the co-dependency games of her boss who took advantage of Marcia’s low self-esteem by holding her back in life.

The second negative belief that inhibited Marcia’s success in life is “Unworthiness.” Marcia mistakenly thought that a college degree is the only standard of success by which she will be judged in life. Certainly, there are some jobs that require a college degree. But, in Marcia’s case, she is a talented marketing representative who gets results. She has a good track record. These are skills that most companies want in an employee regardless of their formal education. But, Marcia had convinced herself that no one would hire her without a college degree. I told Marcia that she would be no worse off if she contacted other law firms, sent them her resume, interviewed with them for a job, and didn’t get hired. In other words, she had everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying.

By appealing to Marcia’s negative belief s and limiting values (“I’ve got nothing to lose by sending out my resume!”), I was able to convince her to send her resume to five law firms that enjoyed excellent reputations as outstanding employers. Within two weeks, two law firms contacted Marcia and interviewed her. The happy ending is that last week Marcia politely quit her job and accepted a new marketing position that now pays her more and gives her more responsibility. Marcia’s self-esteem is higher and she now feels valued. At the same time, Marcia is continuing to work on undoing many of the negative beliefs that inhibit her success. She realizes that it does her no good to change jobs while continuing to carry the same negative beliefs and limiting values that held her back in life. It’s a challenge, but Marcia’s making significant progress.

2. Define Your Own Success in Life. It’s astonishing to talk with people and learn that the reason they never tried to achieve their life dream is because someone told them that it wasn’t possible! Regrettably, the worse offenders are usually those persons we love and respect the most -- our parents, siblings, teachers, relatives, and ministers. Understandably, much of my Baby Boomer generation grew-up with parents who survived the Great Depression in the 1920s and ‘30s. Thus, their beliefs and values were couched in scarcity not abundance. On the other hand, they did give us such wonderful values as generosity and helping others. But, the mindset of scarcity thinking caused many Baby Boomers to needlessly abandon their dreams and aspirations. Instead of pursuing our dreams and goals, many of us conformed to the ways of the silent majority and punched the clock at routine jobs.

During The Course of 10,000 Days retreats, we spend a considerable amount of time helping people redefine their life success plan and reconstruct their dreams. We build dream boards and talk about What If scenarios; and, what it takes to transition from the What Ifs to the What’s Next phase of life? The key is not to merely wish for something you want, but to set forth written action steps to achieve your goals and dreams. As one workshop participant recently told us, “I’ve watched The Secret fifteen times but I’m still not successful.” Well, The Secret is inspiring, but you need to get off the sofa and do something! Achieving success requires us to plan our work and work our plan.

3. Put Your Faith in You. When I grew up, action heroes like Superman, The Lone Ranger, and Davy Crockett inspired me. But, day by day, the harsh reality of life chipped away at my dreams and conditioned me to conform to society’s definition of success. I was told to believe not in myself, but in those institutions and organizations that would prepare me for the real world. It was well-intentioned advice, but not necessarily good advice. During an era of world wars, depressions, and social strife, my parent’s generation had little choice but to trust the views, teachings, and wisdom of their national government, the church, and educational institutions. Today, many of those same institutions have been corrupted and, in many respects, outlived their usefulness.

Our federal government has been engaged in a cunning campaign of lies and deceit for more than forty years in order to perpetuate its own survival and reckless global influence. Americans were misled to believe that war was vital for our national interest; that natural resources were plentiful and the environment was safe; and, the good life was still attainable for the masses as long as we did what the government told us to do. Politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to perpetuate this self-serving campaign of lies and deceit instead of telling citizens the truth. Why? Simply because many of our elected representatives have been corrupted by a system that fosters greed and power instead of putting the interests of its citizens first.

Many of the traditional religions are so scandal-ridden with sex abuse and fraud that they have lost much of their credibility with the Baby Boomer generation and our children. Even our education system is failing its students. Today, students can learn more from the Internet and their PlayStation games than in the classroom. Is it any wonder why kids are so bored in school and opt out?

I am witnessing firsthand the rise of a new and enlightened generation that is directly challenging the status quo. This generation believes the way it is, is not the way is should be in the future. They are bored with institutional learning and they are fed-up with educators who don’t deliver on the promise to make learning fun and inspiring. They’ve are questioning why they need to take mandated subjects if their passion lies elsewhere?

I am also finding that more youths are openly challenging the teachings of certain organizations that espouse such nonsensical beliefs as “Money is bad,” “Rich people are evil,” “You were born with Original Sin so you are imperfect,” and “It’s noble to be poor.” This victimization thinking is wrong; and, it is finally meeting stiff resistance among a new generation that is rejecting the call to conformity and compliance. No longer are a handful of inept leaders at the highest levels of government, religion, and education able to control and squander the dreams of another generation. This new generation is liberated and will go their own way while making decisions based on abundance, not scarcity thinking.

How interesting that the radical movements perpetuated by the Baby Boomers in the 1960s and ‘70s are returning in the guise of a spiritual quest that will allow us to revisit our dreams and create an Attitude of Abundance. Ironically, it is our children who are teaching us well this time around, not our failed institutional leaders who sold our early dreams down the river of hope.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is president of the 10,000 Days Foundation. He is the author of four books including 10,000 Days: Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. Tom is also a popular speaker at various conferences and meetings. For more information email him at tom@tomhinton.com

Answering Two of Life's Most Difficult Questions

2007-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

At a recent workshop I conducted on The Course of 10,000 Days™, one participant asked me, "What do you think life’s most difficult questions are?" It’s a topic I’ve been studying, researching, and teaching for more than twenty years. As people reach their mid-forties and early fifties, I am finding they begin to ask themselves serious questions about their life purpose and what it takes to achieve their life goals. Certainly, this quest is more than just another passing phase for aging Baby Boomers.

What I have found amongst my generation is the older we get, the more profound the questions become. Eventually, the twin issues of achieving our human potential and living a life worth remembering become a central focus for many people. This is one reason why self-help books, personal development courses, and workshops like The Course of 10,000 Days™ have become so popular in recent years. Everybody is searching for answers to life’s most difficult questions.

I’ve concluded there are actually two questions that are the most difficult for people to answer. I say this because it’s important to understand that human beings have two dimensions -- a physical dimension and a spiritual dimension. This is why there are two most difficult questions to answer; one for each realm of our existence, physical and spiritual.

To answer the first of life’s most difficult questions, we should start in the physical realm because it is through our physical dimension that our spiritual essence is revealed. From a physical perspective, life’s most difficult question is this: How do I become the person I want to be?

In The Course of 10,000 Days™ we teach people that there are three steps to achieving our human potential and becoming the person we want to be. The first step is Acceptance of who I am. While no one is perfect, each of us has unique attributes and talents that we have been given. The challenge is to discover those talents and develop them. Too many people trudge through life without ever discovering their greatness. Instead, they focus on their imperfections and limitations. The principle of Acceptance of Self gets us out of the rut of self-pity and moves us into action by conducting a thorough self-assessment of our strengths and limitations. I have found that once people begin to understand their strengths and weaknesses, they can take action to overcome any obstacle and achieve their life goals.

The second step is Life Focus. A good portion of The Course of 10,000 Days™ retreat is devoted to helping people identify their goals and dreams, and then developing a written plan of action to achieve them. During The Course™ retreat, attendees form groups of five-to-six people known as “B-HAGs” (an acronym for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal-setters). This process includes setting written personal and professional goals as well as weekly conference calls lasting 45-minutes to review each participant’s goals and progress towards their goals. B-HAGs also use visual aids such as Dream Boards and complete a comprehensive 90-day review session with our instructors. In this way, people create a “no-excuse” environment for themselves and force themselves to stay focused on achieving their goals. Frankly, it’s hard work to change behavior and pursue our dreams. But, for those who follow the process, I can tell you it works!

The third and final step is Good Vibrations. If you listen to the Beach Boys’ classic hit record from 1966, you’ll appreciate the positive, feel good lyrics. It’s no different in real life. We have found that it’s not enough to merely accept yourself and set goals. Ultimately, you need to change certain behavior to create your desired outcomes. You need to act! This means that you need to closely examine your daily routine, your circles of influence, and the routine things you are doing today that either promote or inhibit your success.

Let me give you an example of how it works. One of The Course™ participants at a recent retreat was named Jackie, a very pleasant, intelligent woman in her late-forties with a good sales job at a large retail company in New York City. After being divorced six years ago, Jackie wanted to find a man to share her life and have some fun. During The Course™, we introduced Jackie to the Good Vibrations concept. She told us about her daily routine, her friends, and her circles of influence. Jackie also told us that she spent most evenings alone at home reading books or watching television. She rarely ventured out to social events. She also commented that her three best friends also were divorced. Interestingly, when the friends got together, the conversation invariably dissolved into a male-bashing critique and why their ex-husbands were to blame for all life’s shortcomings and miseries.

While Jackie’s behavior was understandable, her counselor at The Course™ explained to her that it wasn’t helping her achieve her primary goal, that is, to meet Mr. Right. We introduced Jackie to the Good Vibrations concept and suggested several safe, non-threatening activities she could pursue to expand her social circle and even do things on her own that would get her out and about town. Jackie said she enjoyed skiing and reading. So, she joined a ski club and a book club that met monthly at a nearby chain bookstore. Within three months, while attending a wine and cheese party at her book club, Jackie met Mr. Right. They’ve been dating for more than a year and still going strong. By the way, Jackie has decided to spend more time with positive people and doing things that generate Good Vibrations in her life.

It’s hard to focus on our spiritual essence when our physical needs are not being met. This is why The Course of 10,000 Days™ emphasizes the importance of life balance in the three major areas of our physical dimension. They are: Self, Health, and Wealth. Once these needs are identified and your attention is focused on your intentions, you can begin to answer the second of life’s most important questions:

How do I achieve my higher purpose in this lifetime?

As The Course of 10,000 Days™ teaches us, we all have the same higher purpose in this lifetime. But, because we are uniquely different and possess special talents and the gift of free will, we pursue our higher purpose in many different ways. The end result is that some of us discover our higher purpose while others live a life of quiet desperation. Why is that?

The primary reason is analogous to the children’s story of the Three Little Pigs. You cannot build your life on straw principles and muddy routines and expect them to withstand the torrential threat of negativity, disappointment, and hardships. Life requires us to build our physical and spiritual temples of solid brick or stone so that we can overcome the periodic threats and storms that come our way. This means that our principles must be tried and tested. We must believe in ourselves so that we can overcome those moments of doubt when they come along. What The Course of 10,000 Days™ helped me discover was how to build a solid foundation so that I was strong enough to withstand the daily barrage of life’s challenges, negative news, and those unpleasant people who feel compelled to step on my sand castles. The Course™ also taught me how to discover purpose, peace, and passion in my life -- which are the keys to unlocking the gate of your spiritual dimension. Without discovering inner peace and your passion in life, it is impossible to find your higher purpose.

So, after much reflection and discussion, I believe these are life’s most difficult questions. The quest to discovering your higher purpose and then living it can be a rewarding one. But, it will require you to do all the things I’ve shared in this article.

If you’re looking for a positive resource to help you on your journey, I encourage you to consider The Course of 10,000 Days™ and the various programs offered by the 10,000 Days Foundation.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is president of the 10,000 Days Foundation. He is the author of four books including 10,000 Days: Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. Tom is also a popular and entertaining speaker at various conferences and meetings. For more information email him at tom@tomhinton.com

How to Become the Person You Want to Be

2007-11-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

Last week, I had an interesting conversation with a friend about our favorite seasons. As we stood on her patio watching the last remaining leaves fall from the naked trees, I commented that my favorite season was autumn. She countered by saying her favorite season was spring. “In springtime,” she told me, “everything comes alive. The sun is warm, the flowers bloom with reckless delight, the grass smells freshly mowed, and all of nature is alive and vibrant.”

“That’s true,” I noted, “but there can be no springtime until the autumn seeds fall to the ground and nature gives way to winter’s brutal cold.” As Stanley Horowitz said so beautifully, “winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all.”

Like the changing seasons, life is a reflection of nature’s twisted contradictions. At a recent workshop I conducted on The Course of 10,000 Days, I reminded participants that -- like the changing seasons -- we, too, must go through a process of change and rejuvenation in order to transform our lives.

While nature does this naturally with the change of seasons, most people have a difficult time dealing with change and transforming themselves into the person they want to become.

But, in order to achieve our higher purpose and fulfill our dreams, we must experience the same transformation as the flowers that go dormant in winter only to return to their vibrant, colorful self in springtime. During winter, there appears to be no signs of life. But, deep within the plant’s roots, a new bloom is preparing to emerge. It is only through this process of change and rejuvenation that nature’s beauty reveals itself to us. As Gerald De Nerval said so poignantly, “Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.”

So, how can you transform yourself into the person you want to become? Here are five steps from The Course of 10,000 Days that I recommend you follow.

Dream Big. You cannot achieve anything you are not willing to become. So, dream big. Consider the impossible. What is it that you really want in life? Ironically, most people only pursue those things they think they can accomplish. They never dream big. Allow the vibrations of nature to change your thought process. See the universe as offering you opportunities for success instead of limiting you and holding you back. You’ll be amazed at how many things come your way when you dream big. And, remember, if you shoot for the stars, but only hit the moon, that’s still a pretty good shot!

Don’t Worry, Be Happy. There’s an old axiom that goes “worry is like paying interest on money you haven’t yet borrowed!” It’s true. Don’t be a worry wart. There’s a better way to approach life. Be happy. Stop worrying. You can’t control the universe, so why worry about it. Instead, be a possibility thinker and create solutions. You will attract good things into your life when you are happy.

Use Your Talents. So many people keep wishing and praying for things -- never realizing they already have most of what they need in some form. They just aren’t using their talents or accessing people in their lives who can help them achieve their dreams. Let me give you an example. My friend, Allen, is a talented writer who had a great idea for a novel. But, Allen procrastinated writing his novel for nearly two years. He told me he didn’t have enough time to write his book. But, I knew that wasn’t true because we all have the same amount of time. It’s merely a question of how we spend it. The real reason Allen postponed writing his novel was a fear of rejection by publishers. I told Allen he was rejecting his work before a publisher ever had a chance to review his brilliant writing. I coached Allen to write 250 words every day at a specific time and email me whatever he had written before he went to bed. It worked. Allen finished his novel in seven months and received several publishing offers. So, use your talents… or lose them!

Create Your Own Happiness. I constantly hear people tell me they are unhappy because of things they lack in life. For example, they complain about their job. They don’t get along with their partner or spouse. Their boss is a jerk. The list of excuses goes on and on. But, the reality is that we create our own happiness in life. Unfortunately, there is only one thing in this world that can bring you happiness -- you! The only way you can create happiness in your life is to look yourself in the mirror every morning and say, “This may be all I’ve got to work with, but today I’m going to use it to create happiness and success for myself.” And then, get out there and activate your potential. Don’t rely on anyone else to create your happiness in life. Remember, your happiness is up to you.

Believe in Yourself. I’ve often wondered how Thomas Edison remained positive in his efforts to invent the right carbon filament for his light bulb invention in 1879. Despite ten thousand failed experiments, Edison pushed on and eventually discovered the right formula. Edison dreamed big. He believed in himself and never gave up. Have you made the same commitment to yourself? No one else will believe in you until you believe in yourself. A good question to ask is this: What one thing must I do today to grow myself to the next level? Then, make the commitment to do that one thing. Believe in yourself and radiate that belief so that others will be attracted to you and support you.

Put these five steps to practice in the next 24 hours and you’ll begin to see amazing results in your life. Start living your next 10,000 days and create a life worth remembering.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is president of the 10,000 Days Foundation and the author of 10,000 Days: Finding Purpose, Peace, and Passion for the Rest of Your Life. Tom is a popular speaker at corporate and association meetings on the subjects of Leadership and Life Change. He can be reached at www.tomhinton.com or by email at tom@tomhinton.com

How to Keep Your Company’s Reputation Afloat When You Spill Oil in the San Francisco Bay

2007-11-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

by Tom Hinton

What happens when a company’s reputation is challenged and discredited on the front pages of newspapers? How does a global company withstand the barrage of negative press when its environmental accidents are the lead story on the national network news and magazine covers?

This is exactly the crisis facing South Korea's Hanjin Group which chartered the ship, Cosco Busan, from the Greek firm Synergy Maritime. As the tanker ship left the Port of Oakland amid dense fog on the morning of November 7, it struck a fender support on the Oakland Bay Bridge. The collision caused a gash in the ship spilling 58,000 gallons (220,000 liters) of fuel into the San Francisco Bay. Now, a week later, the spill has forced closure of some of the region's most famous beaches, such as Crissy Field overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and Baker Beach on the Pacific Ocean.

In addition to the environmental damage this spill has caused, the Hanjin Group’s reputation has suffered at the hands of the American media as well as government officials from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. The Hanjin Group, which was established in 1945, is a Korean conglomerate that includes a shipping company, Hanjin Shipping (including Hanjin Logistics), and Korean Air (KAL), which was acquired in 1969. With its majority interest in the Senator Lines Hanjin, Senator is the seventh largest container transportation and shipping company in the world. At this moment, I suspect that W.Y. Lee, the president of Hanjin Transportation Company, Ltd., is struggling to find a way to minimize the damage to his company’s otherwise sterling reputation. What should he do?

It has been said that “you can take away all my money and even my customers, but so long as I can keep my experience, relationships, and reputation, I'll come back stronger than before.” Certainly, the San Francisco oil spill disaster will cost the Hanjin Group a pretty penny and tarnish its proud name, but I doubt it will sink the company provided its leadership acts quickly to shore-up its reputation. As one public relations expert said, “Having knowledge, social capital and trust is the ultimate security blanket in good times and bad.” Now is the time for the Hanjin Group to spend some of its social capital and good will to ensure its reputation doesn’t go down with the ship.

Public relations firm Hill & Knowlton conducted a study entitled, "Return on Reputation" that reveals how important reputation is perceived by customers and the public. Hill & Knowlton’s study indicated that a company’s reputation has a direct correlation on its financial performance and how consumers measure the company’s trustworthiness. According to the 282 global companies surveyed for the study, brand and marketing message (76 percent), corporate culture and working environment (51 percent), employee compensation and career opportunities (49 percent), and social responsibility/community investment (22 percent) all play an active role in reputation assessment.

In reviewing the Hanjin Group’s minimal media response to their oil spill crisis, they would be wise to abandon their bunker mentality and begin to counter the daily barrage of negative media stories by emphasizing their track record on social responsibility.

Certainly, the Hanjin Group is doing good things in Korea and the other countries it serves. Unfortunately, no one is hearing those inspiring stories because the company’s leadership is still in a “damage control” mindset and has yet to put a corporate face in front of the cameras. Every day they delay to put a positive, friendly corporate face on camera is another day they will be battered by the media. I am not suggesting that the Hanjin deny fault for this accident. At this point, that would be pointless and only infuriate the public. Instead, the Hanjin Group should step forward, accept some degree of responsibility for the accident, and vow to commit whatever resources are necessary to clean-up their mess. In doing so, the Hanjin Group can save its tarnished reputation in the United States and avoid being linked to a handful of discredited corporations that made the major mistake of trying to sidestep their social responsibility during similar disasters. This is a unique opportunity for the Hanjin Group to demonstrate Reputation Leadership™ and, at least, neutralize the damage to its good name.

About the Author: Tom Hinton is America’s expert in Business Excellence. He is a popular international speaker and consultant to companies and organizations seeking to create a culture of excellence in the workplace. Mr. Hinton can be reached at tom@tomhinton.com

Training the Pig to Sing

2007-11-06T13:13:00.001-08:00

An old saying has guided me through the years—“Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig.” A recent article in the Wall Street Journal in the Cubicle Corner section was written by a good friend of mine, Jared Sandberg. In “Bad At Complying? You Might Just Be a Very Bad Listener,” Jared describes a two-day course in the power of listening that he attended. These soft-skill courses—I call them behavioral interventions—have plagued my career for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been trained beyond my intelligence. One of the advantages of my retirement is being removed from those mind-bending courses.

In the above article, Jared describes a situation where the boss is trying to fix someone with training. “There’s fluorescent lighting, stain-resistant carpet, and motivational posters with puppies, elephants, or monkeys.” Is it coming back to you now? Are you having the same heart palpitations I had when I recalled a similar setting?

These behavior-altering courses cover leadership, team building, conflict resolution, how to deal with incorrigible employees, and charting your management style, to name just a few of the sessions designed to improve your thinking.

I don’t want to seem cynical, but, by and large, people’s behavior cannot be altered. And, just for the record, I’m an annoyed pig.

Victims of these courses quickly learn what’s unacceptable behavior and then camouflage their own behavior from then on. Deep-down, nothing has changed. It’s the old “getting along to get along.” Corporate survival dictates that we wholeheartedly absorb all these recommendations, but how many of us have sleep-walked ourselves through these sessions? Let’s see a show of hands. My hand is up.

I’m not talking about training that provides instruction on new products, a new computer system, diversity training, or a whole myriad of areas that one needs to keep pace with technology. I know people who are involved in such training, and I value their contribution to this line of work. Nonetheless, let me provide some examples of fluff training that I think should be relegated to the “cemetery of bad ideas.”

In a previous career I was a trainer and provided some of this fluff. Nothing seems to account for some of the foolishness I dispensed in the name of training.

One of the ridiculous techniques I taught in a course on quality improvement was to have the attendees take off their shoes and then place them on the opposite feet. I’d ask, “Now how do you feel?” They’d say, “It’s awkward,” “It hurts,” “Let’s go back to the old way.” Then I would counter with, “Change is always difficult, and we just want to return to what was more comfortable.” It’s a wonder someone didn’t throw a shoe at me.

A friend of mine who’s nearing retirement recently attended an internal course entitled “Left Brain, Right Brain.” Many people in his department upon seeing the curriculum tried to opt out, but the corporate all–knowing hierarchy indicated otherwise. My friend said that it was a complete waste of time and at the end of the day he didn’t know if he was left-brained logical and objective or right-brained random and intuitive. He just knew that he was brain dead.

How about the team-building exercise where people are asked to fall backwards into the hands of their cohorts to illustrate trust? Here’s one I saw at a major automaker: People were passed through a labyrinth of rope squares by their associates. This was also done to engender trust but other than a couple of rope burns and some unintentional groping it seemed like another candidate for the cemetery of convoluted ideas.

Many years ago, a financial institution I worked for introduced “Grid Training” for management. For a torturous week we were barricaded in a hotel where we had to determine if we were 9-1s, 9-9s, 1-9s or some other number that would indicate our management style. The sessions were brutal and lasted until well after midnight; many people left in disgust. Senior management never indicated how this would improve the company, and it never did. We were all supposed to emerge equally focused on work and the feelings of others. The senior management team comprised the usual number of ogres, and improvement never happened.

In researching this article, I solicited examples of training sessions that left people discombobulated or flummoxed, but not wiser. One corporate elixir that came back repeatedly was training for 360-degree reviews. Most felt that feedback from superiors, peers, and underlings had turned into “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” As one respondent commented, “If people had been honest with their reviews, it would have been the end of several amicable working relationships”.

Before you conclude that I’ve fallen out of my hammock and hit my head, I’ll admit there are several training sessions that still resonate positively with me, some of a behavioral nature. The three days of training in the Baldrige process is a valuable session that explores in detail the inner workings of companies, starting with leadership and working your way through workforce resources, strategic planning, and concluding with organizational performance results. If you’re accepted as a Baldrige examiner, it’s free.

A course proven to be valuable in interacting with people, particularly for conflict resolution, is “DISC Training,” which provides guidance in the communication style and preferences of others and how to best “flex” to meet the communication needs of those important to you. It’s understanding people as they are and how to work effectively with them.

Through their Leadership Center The Ritz-Carlton offers a variety of courses that provide insights into its culture and philosophy of hiring people with positive attitudes who don’t require any fixing. The center is a resource for organizations interested in benchmarking many of the business practices that led to The Ritz-Carlton becoming a two-time recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. These are courses that are appropriate for any company interested in raising their customer service to a higher level. The courses also review the elements of developing a strong management team.

Another stellar training organization is the Disney Institute. Removing barriers that inhibit performance excellence is an integral part of the module.

A behavioral training course that still influences me is “The Executive Technique.” This is a two-day course on developing communication skills, such as organizing and delivering a real-life communication from your listener’s perspective, creating visual aids, how to maintain control of difficult question-and-objection situations, and even a session on proper business dress and etiquette.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention a resource in my backyard, namely Eastern Michigan University which offers a potpourri of multiple-day courses in quality and continuous improvement in their Center for Quality.

Anther friend of mine, Tom Hinton, who is with CRI Global (out of California) summed up the behavioral-training mystery this way:

“Years ago, when we trained clients in the areas of leadership, customer service, and business excellence, they would thank us, pay us, and then go back to business as usual. Today, our clients are engaged in the training process. Today, clients want to know what results they can reasonably expect from their training investment. Leaders also want to know what they need to do on Monday morning to keep the training lessons fresh in the minds of the employees. I think the reason for the change among leaders is two-fold. First, leaders are now more accountable than every before for organizational success. Second, I think most leaders generally want to move their organizations from good to great by creating a culture of excellence.”

Well said!

Tom Peters once said, “You should not train anyone in a topic that he or she cannot implement within the workplace within 72 hours.”

Finally, this comment from a former colleague: “Most management behavioral-training classes are worthless in that they are either inane or the brass does nothing to reinforce the taught behavior.”

There are people like me, who have been trained beyond their intelligence, and there are others like the pigs, who are annoyed even when asked to be in a training session. Rather than spend money and time trying to make attitudinal changes, perhaps the answer is to jettison these recalcitrant, irascible employees from the company. A recent incident chronicled by USA Today brings this into focus and clearly illustrates my point:

“Owning up to its bad management, the City Council in Ashland, Oregon, has decided to throw itself on the civic version of a therapist’s couch. The six-member council, plagued by bickering, sniping, and profanity at its public meetings, agreed to spend $37,000 of taxpayer money for professional help to learn how to get along.”

I can imagine the chaos that will ensue when members are passed though a labyrinth of ropes or asked to fall backwards into the trusting arms of their colleagues. After reading about this organizational meltdown, I’ll take my chances training pigs.

In the meantime, I’ve made the transition into retirement not knowing or caring if I’m left-brain or right-brain, or if I’m a 9-1 or a 9-9. The best part? No more role-playing! Now, if I could just figure out a way to correct the aberration in my feet from wearing my shoes on the opposite foot during the training session...

About the Author:
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the Detroit Chapter of ASQP. Now semiretired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News; writes a monthly column for Mature Advisor newspaper; is a mystery shopper for several companies; is a frequent presenter and lecturer; does radio voice-overs; and competes in duathlons. He can be reached at Billmarykalmar@aol.com