April 2011

Where is the soul of Dell?

by Sheila Margolis on April 25, 2011

After reading the WSJ article “Michael Dell Looks Beyond PC Business,” you may wonder where is the soul of Dell. In the excerpts of the WSJ interview with Michael Dell, no clear company Purpose or set of defining principles–a Philosophy–stand out. Where is the soul of Dell?

Leadership is the dominant driver of culture and strategy; therefore, in all communications, the CEO must share the Purpose of the company and its defining Philosophy. These core attributes must be at the heart of each conversation. These defining principles serve the company internally as a glue to unite and a compass to guide. But they also must be consistently communicated to the public so that everyone has a sense of the heart and soul of the company and its distinctive contribution. The energy of the company’s essence can be a powerful tool–when it is genuine and shared.

But in the interview with Michael Dell–the founder–the conversation centered more on the company’s move from consumer to enterprise, the importance of acquisitions and the push to supporting cloud computing. These are conversations that are important but not distinguishing.

If Dell wants to stand out and achieve, the company must look inside and unite again around a Purpose and Philosophy that every employee connects to and that the public understands. To be a leader, a company must know itself and its distinguishing attributes and then build on that internal strength and devoted mindset. Understanding your markets and strategy is essential, but you must also understand and communicate your Core Culture–the essence of who you are–so that you stand out and succeed because of your distinctive ability to make a contribution.

Related Posts:

Be the first to comment

Talent is a top concern of CEOs

by Sheila Margolis on April 18, 2011

A recently-​​released report by the Conference Board, CEO Challenge 2011: Fueling Business Growth with Innovation and Talent Development, cites Business Growth followed by a focus on Talent as top concerns of CEOs.

Although the priority of Talent fluctuates slightly based on industry and geography, it is a key CEO priority for all. According to the Conference Board press release:

CEOs selected improving leadership development/​grow talent internally, enhancing the effectiveness of the senior team, providing employee training and development and improving leadership succession as the key strategies to address talent challenges.

Talent management and innovation emerged as the most critical vehicles for implementing business growth strategies. According to the Conference Board CEO Challenge 2011 site, Roy Vallee, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Avnet, Inc. described the priorities as he sees it:

So, having the right strategies, the right structure, the right culture to really foster innovation and reward innovation, I think that’s the biggest challenge.

 

.

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Be the first to comment

What is your formula for improved customer service?

by Sheila Margolis on April 11, 2011

Is customer service a problem in your company? Today I spoke with a customer service rep at Go Daddy, and he was brilliant. He had a great service attitude, was knowledgeable, and took the time to answer my questions. But how often do you walk into a store or call a customer service number and feel like customer service is either lousy or does not exist?

A lot of companies–including Macy’s–are  working hard at improving their customer service rankings. In the WSJ article “At Macy, a Makeover on Service,” Rachel Dodes describes the new Macy’s training program “Magic Selling.” Magic is an acronym representing the following:

  • Meet and make a connection
  • Ask questions and listen
  • Give options and give advice
  • Inspire to buy
  • Celebrate the purchase

By training new sales associates in the Magic formula through a three-​​and-​​a-​​half-​​hour session, the associates will hopefully be better prepared than watching a 90-​​minute interactive video in a booth–the training that sales associates received in the past. The initial training with refresher courses and coaching are expected to make a difference.

Companies like Nordstrom are known for their legendary customer service. As they say, “At Nordstrom, our goal is to provide outstanding service every day, one customer at a time.” Every morning before each store opens, employees gather to share their best service stories from the previous day. In The Nordstrom Way, the authors describe Nordstrom as a culture of customer service. Customer service is embedded in all aspects of the company–from the way the company is structured, to the attributes looked for in an applicant, to how employees do their work and to how performance is managed. As they describe one of the keys to success:

Nordstrom would rather hire nice people and teach them to sell, than hire salespeople and teach them to be nice.

Zappos is another company that wants to be known for providing the very best customer service experience. As CEO Tony Hsieh says,

Our philosophy has been to take most of the money we would have spent on paid advertising and invest it into customer service and the customer experience instead, letting our customers do the marketing for us through word of mouth.

In Delivering Happiness, Tony describes numerous ways they work to deliver Wow service. For example, where some companies hide any customer service contact information, Zappos puts their phone number at the top of every single page of their website. They want to talk to customers and build that important relationship.

So what is your formula for improved customer service? Yes, training will need to be an integral part of it, but to create a great customer service experience, the value of customer service must be integrated throughout the culture so it is the true character of the company.

Related Posts:

Be the first to comment