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It’s mid-year, so why not reassess your New Years’ resolutions?

What New Years’ resolutions?

Remember?  New Years’ Day or slightly before or after, you set out some goals. Lose weight. Write a book. Learn karate.

Oh, yeah. Now I remember. But that was so long ago.

I know it seems like it, but… you still want to do those things, right?

I suppose so. But it’s another six months until next New Years’.

Why do you need to wait until next New Years’?

Well, because…they’re New Years’ resolutions. So, you know – I need to wait ‘til next January. Get psyched up for it.

But if you start now, you’ll get a six-month head start!

Doesn’t that defeat the whole New Years’ resolution concept? Won’t that cause chaos in the streets? Won’t that poke a hole in the entire space-time continuum and life, as we know it –

Hold on there, pardner. Wasn’t one of your resolutions to cut down on caffeine?

Oh, I said that out loud?

Look – if you think about it, every day is the start of a new year. So any day is a good time to start a new years’ resolution. Or at least check on your progress; get you back on track – that sort of thing.

Okay. But you’re sure the space-time continuum will survive?

I would answer that, but I just made a new new years’ resolution not to respond to silly questions.

When motivational speakers & best-selling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson were trying to get Chicken Soup for the Soul off the ground, they had a simple plan for success; do at least five things every day toward getting the book noticed. They sent excerpts to reviewers, contacted radio stations for interviews, called bookstores, and anything else they could think of to get their book planted into the minds of the masses. By making it a point to take just five steps every day toward making the book a success, their Chicken Soup series has sold over 112 million books, and has been translated into over 40 languages!

Whether you have a large or small goal you wish to accomplish, if you make it a point to do five things every day geared toward that goal, you’ll find yourself reaching the finish line faster than you could’ve imagined.

The time is near when the kids will be done with school for the year. The summer season is fast approaching. Lawns are being mowed, sprinklers turned on, swimwear taken out of drawers with anticipation. The year – it is a’changin’.

Change can be stressful. Sometimes the unfamiliar leaps at us from out of the blue, and can be a bit scary. But change, as they say, is inevitable. So how do we manage change? Or better yet, how do we embrace change and make it work for us? One of the best ways to embrace change is to be prepared.

Be constantly learning new things. Read voraciously. Take courses. Use strategic thinking to anticipate change.

Those who best anticipate change and welcome it are often best prepared to take advantage of it in a way that can put them ahead of the pack. Remember that change is how we grow, whether it is in our work or our personal lives.

So the next time you feel a change coming, instead of shrinking away, you can say, “Bring it on!”

About this time every year with the arrival of spring, I get that itchy feeling of needing to get outside, load myself and my family in the car and hit the road. There’s nothing like exploring new highways and byways, towns, shops and museums on those pleasant weekends you haven’t seen since the previous autumn.

So what turns a merely pleasant road trip into a super road trip? Planning!

Sure – it’s nice to come upon the unexpected. But when you take the time to do a little research – looking up restaurants, roadside curiosities and museums on the internet or in books – your experience will be that much more rewarding. Now you won’t miss the must-sees, the best burgers, the most awe-inspiring views. And the anticipation involved in the planning is nearly as much fun as the trip itself!

This type of planning – while perhaps not quite as much fun – can help make your workday a lot more pleasant and productive. By taking the time to plan out your day – making lists and prioritizing projects – you’ll be much less likely to miss those important tasks or run out of the time to accomplish them.

Brian Tracy offers a number of excellent time management courses on TTN’s LMS, which go into detail about effective ways to plan your day, whether it’s a workday, a weekend day, or a day for hitting the road!

While reading the news today it came to my attention that  Sony has announced it will stop making the floppy disk.

A chapter in computer history has ended, and I am sure that many of you have both good, and bad memories of these devices. For myself, I can remember sitting in my dad’s office, and using his floppy disks as make shift building blocks, while the older kids got to play Kings Quest and Zelda.

Looking back on the floppy disk’s life, I can’t help but look at how much technology, and the way we do things changes.  A process or medium that is cutting edge one day, can become a child’s toy the next.

My question is, what are other “floppy disks” that are in our world? Do we too quickly get rid of the old in exchange for the shiny new and hip, or are we holding onto concepts a little too tightly for our own good?

How do you start your morning?  Do you go to the gym and get in your workout, take time to make a good breakfast, read the newspaper, read a chapter of a book with a warm cup of coffee, take a walk and watch the sun rise?  I start my morning every day by stopping into the coffee shop next to my office for a cup of coffee.  Yes, my coffee pot at home works just fine, but I don’t get the service at home that I do there.  On any given morning I can pull up and the line is out the door.  The end result for everyone is the same….we will all have something waiting for us under the “pic-cup” sign, but will we all appreciate the effort of the team behind the counter?  I am in customer service myself so I pay very close attention to the service that I receive and I share these experiences with my team.

What makes a customer loyal?  Some experts say that it is based on trust and others may say that it is the relationships that you build.  In my opinion, it is both.  Everyone has satisfied customers, but do we all have loyal customers?  Do you have customers that keep coming back to you for products that they could easily get from someone else?

The little things do count.  For instance, by smiling and addressing your customers by name you make them feel as if you are paying attention and that they are your only customer.  If you talk to customers on the phone, they can hear that you have a smile on in your voice.  With all of the technology that we have today, some of us may have fallen out of the habit of sending a hand written thank you note.  Start at the top of the list and take a few minutes each day to thank someone for their business.  Pay attention to what your customers tell you.  This is key.  Once you have built the relationship and your customer trusts you and your products, they will start to tell you things about themselves.  Things they like, dislike, experiences with previous vendors, their family…you name it.  By taking the time to make note of this, you have something to reference on your next call.

I could certainly keep the list going.  What small item could you incorporate in your day today that would make a big difference in the service that you deliver?

April showers bring May flowers…..April also brings Tax Day.  Since 1955, April 15^th has been the deadline to file your federal and state taxes.  This is a dreaded time for me.  Yes, I am one that waits until the last minute to gather all my receipts, donations forms, and make the appointment to file my taxes.  This doesn’t have to be an agonizing process.  There are a lot of great resources online that are available to help take away the stress of preparation and filing.  Here are some helpful tools that I have come across that you may want to check out:

1. Knowing what information you need to have with you when you file your taxes can be a mystery.  H & R Block has a free tax checklist with 10 simple questions and based on your answers will produce a checklist of all the items that you need to gather.
2. Every year there are changes and updates to tax laws.  There are individual websites, blogs, and forums that are out there that are helpful to answer specific questions you may have.  If you don’t know which ones apply to you, the Internal Revenue Service website provides links that will help educate you on the federal changes.  You can also check out your state website for any changes that may apply to your state filings.
3. Anyone that knows me knows that I lack the technical gene, but I am slowly catching up.  In my extensive search for tax tools, I stumbled across Taxbrain. This site provides a list of tax tools and widgets that can help take some of the guessing out of tax preparation.  For example, you can use their refund calculator to see approximately how much you will be receiving back from the IRS.  They also have a W4 calculator, extension forms, and a tax tips blog that you can follow. Are you ready for the best part?  All of these widgets can be added to your social media sites like Twitter or Facebook.  Very cool!
4. Need help on the go?  Now there are tools made available that can be used on your mobile devise.  Here is a couple that I thought were great.
   1. TaxCaster Mobile from Turbo Tax is a tax calculator that will help you estimate what you may owe or receive in a refund.  This is an app made for iPhone and is free through Apple’s App Store.
   2. Tax Answers from H & R Block.  This free app allows you to submit tax questions right to a tax expert.  There is also a store locator and a tax term glossary built in.  This app is available through Apple’s App Store.
   3. BlackBerry offers an app called Tax Receipts Shoebox.  Keep your itemized receipts organized, generate customized reports and much more.  The cost is $2.99 and is available through BlackBerry’s App World.

Leave a comment with any resources that you may use that you would add to this list.

Here at TTN we are getting ready (and getting excited) for this year’s User Conference July 19-20, 2010, in Minneapolis. Now in this blog I am not “joking around” (c’mon, I couldn’t miss that April Fools reference) but announcing our keynote speaker for our conference!

TTN will be hosting Hal Becker, an all around talented speaker, and great guy. I heard him speak last year, and was impressed by the amount of energy, humor, and teaching he brought up onstage with him… seriously you will not want to miss this guy!

To learn more about Hal, click here.

To learn more about our upcoming conference click here.

 “I think a compliment ought always to precede a complaint, where one is possible because it softens resentment and insures for the complaint a courteous and gentle reception.”             - Mark Twain

How often do you find the good in your grievances?

We all complain about the poor customer service we experience in our lives, whether it be on the phone, at a restaurant, or in a store. Bad service can happen. I know there have been a couple of times I’ve been on the phone with a company sorting out an error or mailing I’ve received for what seems like hours.

In these bad situations I cannot control much, but I can control my response. Choosing to fight the problem, rather then fighting the person can have a surprising effect on the outcome. 

Last year I had gotten a new computer and was purchasing new software for it. I had just paid and downloaded the product, when I realized that it didn’t work… at all (insert major annoyance here). I fiddled around with the software a bit grumbling under my breath about the stupidity of modern corporate America, and realized… that the idiot in fact was me. I hadn’t paid attention to the fine print which clearly stated their software was not created for my computer.

“Oops” I thought, and called their customer service number to see what help I could find hoping for a 24 hour refund policy. I spoke with a customer service rep who informed me that “…although he was sorry, he could not apply a refund, or exchange for another product.”

Now at this point I was getting a little frustrated. I had just spent a lot of money on a product that didn’t work, and although technically it was my fault (okay fine, it was my entire fault) I wanted some help. Now I had two choices on the phone. I could scream and yell at the rep. stating how uncaring and cold hearted he was and then demand to speak to someone “who know what was going on over there”. Or I could thank him for his help, and the work he was doing, but kindly ask to speak with a manager who could make the decision to refund my purchase. I chose the latter, thanked him  adding he was very good at being patient with me. and was then transferred to a manager who quickly resolved the issue and gave me a full refund.

I was happy. The company was happy. And the customer service rep (who I needed to help get me to the right person) was happy, or at least knew that he was doing a good job.

As customers, good customer service can be just as much in our control as those who are doing the serving. A compliment joined with a complaint can go a long way.

Return on investment…..when you buy something, like it, get a lot of use out of it, and if it doesn’t have a lot of repairs, it was a good deal right?  Well, it isn’t always that easy.

Because I work in the training industry, I am often asked the question, “How do I measure the ROI?”  I am directly involved in our customers’ implementation plans and the one item that is stressed during this process is setting up measurement criteria in three major areas that they want to see improvements.

Now, depending on what this product is, these areas will vary.  Think of it as setting goals for the product.  What are the expectations and where will this product make a difference?  What obstacle will this product hurdle?  Once these are identified, I suggest reviewing these at least every 90 days.  Whether you are measuring for business or personal ROI, reviewing these criteria will do two things:

1. Identify successes and challenges in the past 90 days
2. Clarify what needs to continue, improve, or change during the next 90 days

There are many online tools that are at your finger tips to help with this process.  You can find blogs, forums, product reviews, videos etc that other consumers have posted.  Information directly from the manufacturer can also be found online.  I don’t know a magical mathematical equation that will work every time, but I know that most of us have purchased something in our life and felt that we didn’t get what we paid for.  Reflection on that experience may help with awareness for the next time.  I would love to hear ideas or processes that you have in place to measure ROI.