My Dad owned a La-Z-Boy recliner for 30+ years. It was a comfortable chair, but nobody better be sitting in it when he came into the room!

I wanted to purchase a new recliner to use during my recovery from hip surgery. I was hoping they’d have something in stock, but could certainly understand if it needed to be ordered. The problem is, as I was told, it takes 6-8 weeks to order one. That seemed like an excessive amount of time to order a “stock” recliner. After all, I wasn’t ordering a Mercedes-Benz with custom measurements for my hips and butt! (although that might be a great line of business for someone who actually knew about customer service).

I asked the somewhat-disinterested store salesman about the length of time required. Surely, I thought, another store would have this model in stock. Was there any way to transfer stock to this store? I’d even consider going to another store in the area if they could check for me.

No can do. Six to eight weeks. End of discussion. No “sorry, I wish I could help you,” or “let me see what I can do for you.” Just “nope.” Come on. I can seriously order a custom-option car in less time than that!

Needless to say, I told him that unless he could find a way to speed up the delivery, it would end his sale prospects with me. No response. Oh well, I guess I can live with my old recliner for a while.

I wanted to relate this experience to the corporation. I know if one of my staff provided this kind of customer experience, I’d like to know about it. Here’s my response:

Dear Mr. OKeefe:

Thank you for your inquiry and interest in our fine products.

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries are independently owned and operated. Unfortunately, we do not have access to what they have available in stock or on display. Our normal production time is 6 – 8 weeks for a custom order.

We suggest you contact store management at the Amherst location to discuss the lack of service you received.

Regards,

La-Z-Boy Incorporated

Let’s look at this one.

• From “Incorporated.” Really?
• “Fine products?” Maybe. A bit outdated I have to say. As much as I liked my Dad’s recliner, the new ones were almost the exact same mechanicals (clunky and loud). But that’s ok. They should be proud of their products.
• The company line sounds familiar. They really don’t have access to their own stores? Do they know the phone numbers? Wow. And I wasn’t ordering anything “custom.” I didn’t even know that was an option. I don’t think it really is.
• They “suggest I contact store management.” Isn’t that what I did? Maybe you could help that process along? No, push it back on the customer.

I wonder if this company has a Customer Experience Officer (CXO)? Doubtful, huh?

Here’s a contrast. My wife and I are Dunkin Donut coffee fans. We have to drive a bit out of the way to get coffee at one of their stores. I love cream and sugar in my coffee, but Beth takes it with cream only. She was on her own, and stopped to get a cup on the way to work. “Medium coffee with cream, please.” Again, another long story, but the customer service was less than friendly, and worst of all, they put sugar in her coffee. To her, that’s undrinkable. Unfortunately, she was well on the road before she tasted it. So she had to toss it. No coffee that morning.

She wrote an e-mail to Dunkin Donuts similar to mine. Dunkin Donuts is also a franchised organization, by the way. Here’s her “corporate” response:

Dear Beth,

We would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us about your experience at the Dunkin’ Donuts shop located at xxxxxx.

We work hard to maintain the highest standards in guest satisfaction however, it appears we have let you down and for that we apologize. We have forwarded your comments to the owner of this location as well as our Dunkin’ Donuts field executive to make them aware of your experience and request that the owner of this location contact you.

We hope that you visit us again soon and give us the opportunity to serve you.

Thank you and have a great day.

Stephanie

Customer Relations Associate

This one is easy to take, right?

• From Stephanie. A real person?
• Thanks for contacting us about the “experience.”
• “We let you down.” Wow, they understand.
• “We apologize.” Unique. “La-Z-Boy Incorporated” didn’t apologize to me.
• “We have forwarded to the owner.” OK, saved me the step. There was no “not our problem, it’s yours” type of response as in the La-Z-Boy version.

Within a day, she had a phone call and apology from the owner, and ten dollars in free coupons to Dunkin Donuts.

La-Z-Boy, see the difference? We’re still Dunkin Donuts customers. We will never buy a La-Z-Boy again. And we’ll tell all our friends about both experiences.

Customer service isn’t dead, but it’s on life support.

(reposted from theokeefes.com)

Good smattering of writing. Check it out!

It’s worth every penny! Download it for free here:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/12/what-matters-now-get-the-free-ebook.html

It contains more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior by N. Adler
Integrating the Individual and the Organization by C. Argyris
Knowledge for Action by C. Argyris
Social Foundations of Thought and Action by A. Bandura
On the Nature of Leadership by R. Barker
Bass & Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership by B. Bass
Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations by B. Bass & B. Avolio
Spiral Dynamics by D. Beck & C. Cowan
Leaders by W. Bennis & B. Nanus
Stewardship by P. Block
Thought As A System by D. Bohm
Power Up by D. Bradford & A. Cohen
The Student Leadership Guide by B. Burchard
Leadership by J. M. Burns
Philosophical Foundations of Leadership by D. Cawthon
The Courageous Follower by I. Chaleff
Leadership Theory and Research by M. Chemers & R. Ayman
To Lead The Way by D. B. Clark
The Charismatic Leader by J. Conger
Principle Centered Leadership by S. Covey
The 8th Habit by S. Covey
The Deep Blue Sea by W. Drath
A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness by F. Fiedler
New Approaches to Effective Leadership by F. Fiedler & J. Garcia
Paradigms and Promises by W. Foster
The Reconstruction of Leadership by W. Foster
Nuts! by K. Frieberg & J. Frieberg
The Leadership Investment by R. Fulmer
On Leadership by J. Gardner
Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way by R. Gerber
Servant Leadership by R. K. Greenleaf & L. C. Spears
Leadership by M. Hackman & C. Johnson
The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by O. Harari
Leadership Without Easy Answers by R. Heifetz
Kinds of Power by J. Hillman
Leadership by R. L. Hughes, R. C. Ginnett, & G. J. Curphy
The Social Psychology of Organizations by D. Katz & R. Kahn
Exploring Leadership by S. R. Komives, N. Lucas, & T. R. McMahon
The Leadership Challenge by J. Kouzes & B. Pozner
Leadership On The Line by M. Linsky & R. Heifetz
The Connective Edge by J. Lipman-Blumen
SuperLeadership by C. Manz & H. Sims
The Leader,  the Led, and the Psyche by B. Mazlish
The Leadership Odyssey by C. S. Napolitano & L. J. Henderson
Leadership by P. Northouse
The Adventure of Working Abroad by J. Osland
Surfing the Edge of Chaos by R. Pascale, M. Milleman, & L. Gioja
In Search of Excellence by T. Peters & R. H. Waterman
Lincoln on Leadership by D. Phillips
Ready To Lead? by A. Price
Leading People From The Middle by W. Robinson
Leadership for the Twenty-First Century by J. Rost
Organizational Culture and Leadership by E. H. Schein
Leadership in Administration by P. Selznick
The Fifth Discipline by P. M. Senge
Insights on Leadership by L. Spears
Policy Paradox by D. A. Stone
Leadership and the New Science by M. J. Wheatley
A Theory of Everything by K. Wilber
The Leader’s Companion by T. Wren
Leadership in Organizations by G. Yukl
The Nature of Executive Leadership by S. Zaccaro

LinkedIn has the ability to create and join groups. Leadership In Action has one (please join ours)! I also recently came across a worldwide group called Linked:HR Leadership. It’s a sub-group of the Linked:HR group, which has over 170,000 members worldwide.

The Human Resource professionals in this group are some of the people who are doing that hiring. They screen thousands of resumes and phone interviews, and work with several levels of management and leaders. These are the people you need to convince of your skills and talents when you interview for your next job. The question I posed to that membership is this:  “What are the top leadership qualities are companies hiring for in middle and upper management?”

The responses are still coming in, but have some pretty good insight. Ability to inspire with vision and show integrity are some of the comments so far. What a great opportunity for you to join the discussion!

-John

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johngokeefe

Partnership requires each person to exercise the principle of flexibility. You need to build rapport with someone if you are to develop mutual trust and respect. You achieve rapport by communicating in a way that is comfortable and understandable for the other person. This puts that person in his or her comfort zone when interacting with you. The person will then be more open to sharing their thoughts and feelings with you and listening to yours.

When people’s interactions are characterized by flexibility, the entire system becomes more flexible in its response to various situations. People are open to learning and sharing rather than protecting themselves behind habitual behaviors and uncompromising opinions.

Flexibility fosters the principle of diversity. The more wide ranging the perspectives and skills within a group, the more options are available to it when responding to varying circumstances.

This supports the system’s sustainability–the sixth principle. The more effective the group in responding to changes in the environment, the more likely the group will thrive.

This brief outline of the relationship between ecological principles and leadership systems is meant to encourage further exploration of the organic nature of leadership.

All organisms in an ecosystem produce waste. What is waste for one species, though, is food for another. The result is a system without waste. This cyclical process differs from a linear operation, which ends with waste being discarded unused.

The principle of recycling applies to the flow of information within a system. Information is a system’s food source. According to organizational consultants Margaret Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers writing in their book A Simpler Way, “Information feeds the local explorations that keep a system viable and stable.” The needs of a system are “nourished by Information.” If information is restricted, the life of the system is threatened.

A system takes in data, processes it, and produces outputs. Information that is received and evaluated as irrelevant is discarded. What is rejected is informational waste. What is considered unimportant by one part of a system, however, may be deemed useful by another part of the system. A system’s viability is enhanced when the system improves its capability to notice, process, and apply a broader field of information. One individual within a leadership system may not take notice of a specific piece of information. Someone else, though, may see the relevance of that discarded bit of data and apply it for the good of the system. Each individual within the system brings a different perspective to every situation. Each person’s point of view needs to be respected if it is to benefit the whole.

There were about thirty of us getting the pink slip at my former company. One of my peers there started a website blog about her experience at www.mylayoffstory.com. It got picked up by a reporter from Forbes.com and she was interviewed in a story there.

If you know someone that has been laid off (and you probably do), think about ways to help them. Here are a few suggestions from the different perspectives.

As the manager of the person just laid off: In addition to the Human Resources “scripting” you are given, be honest. Let them know your feelings. Ask if it’s OK to keep in touch with them. If you really believe the person is a good worker, offer a to be a reference. Follow up a few weeks later to check in and say hello.

As a co-worker of the person just laid off: Offer sympathy. Offer to listen. Offer to buy them a beer. In my case, I got home and already had a LinkedIn.com recommendation waiting for me by one of my co-workers. It was unexpected and very welcome. Send them an e-mail or make a phone call a few days later and ask if there is anything you can do. I received messages from some folks expressing shock and even guilt about the situation. It’s not only the person going home that’s affected.

As a friend, family member, or other acquaintance of the person just laid off: Invite them to meet your other friends and help them expand their network. Invite them to lunch. Don’t focus on the negative (the layoff), but just be there to offer support.

I have never been busier with all of my unexpected “vacation” time. For one thing, I was able to focus on the Leadership In Action group, which has been very fulfilling for me. I have enjoyed meeting many new people and hearing their own leadership stories. I look forward to much more.

And my own good news, I’m starting a new job on Monday. Thank you all for the tremendous support. I hope I can keep the good Karma going.

What’s your story?

The first characteristic of ecosystems Capra identifies is interdependence. All members of an ecological community are interconnected to form a network of relationships. Each individual’s identity is derived from the pattern of relationships within the network. The behavior of every member within the system is shaped by the behavior of other members. The success of the whole community is dependent upon the actions of the individuals within the system. Each individual’s success is dependent upon the effectiveness of the entire community. This makes an understanding of relationships the key to understanding systems.

Relationships involve patterns of interactions. Relationships cannot be understood by studying each individual in the relationship separately. To separate the parts destroys the pattern. You kill an organism when you disrupt its life-giving patterns by dissecting it. This is why it is fruitless to attempt to understand leadership by focusing on its individual components. You cannot improve leadership by training a designated leader without considering the relationships and context within which that individual must perform. The leadership response will differ as circumstances change.

Leadership of a group is destroyed when the components of leader, followers, and context are separated. Leadership is not improved by trying to analyze its different components. Analysis is taking something apart in order to understand it. Systems cannot be understood by isolating their parts. Systems thinking is holistic. It looks at the entirety. Systems thinking shifts attention from the parts to the whole, from objects to relationships, from content to patterns.

A systems perspective puts relationships within a network pattern. The relationships within a network are nonlinear. This means that a disturbance within a system will not have a single effect but will ripple out impacting many parts of the system, much like the effect a stone has when thrown into the middle of a pond. This is why a slight disturbance within a system can have far reaching effects. This constitutes the power of the leadership response. By altering your response to others or the environment, you can have a significant impact upon the leadership of the group.

Living systems are the natural order of life. Living beings link together. Connections lead to patterns of behavior. The relationships that emerge form the environment in which the life forms interact. The environment formed likewise shapes the relationships between the organisms. It is a cyclical rather than a linear process.

To illustrate the difference between a cyclical and linear perspective, let us consider the food chain. A simple linear model would have plants eaten by herbivores, herbivores eaten by carnivores. Smaller animals are eaten by larger, stronger, or smarter animals. In a linear or hierarchical model, we
would put ourselves at the top of the food chain.

But what if we look at the feeding process cyclically? Animals eat plants. Animals die and become fertilizer for plants. Plants give us oxygen, we give them carbon dioxide. Are plants here to serve us or do we exist to serve plants? We consider ourselves as superior. When we die, however, our bodies become food for insects, microbes, and plants.

The linear and hierarchical models are usually applied when we consider leadership. We think of the leader as being out front with followers bringing up the rear or the leader occupying the summit of a pyramid with followers down below. A cyclical view of leadership gives us a much different perspective. Leader and follower become defined by each other. One is a leader because someone else chooses to follow. Being a follower implies someone else is leading. There is no leader without a follower. There is no follower unless someone is leading. The distinction between leader and follower becomes even fuzzier when we consider that we occupy both roles simultaneously. As a leader I take my lead from the followers. If I get too far out ahead of the followers or become disconnected with their motivations, they will choose not to follow and I am no longer a leader. As a follower, I lead by choosing who to follow. I can change who leads by
choosing someone different to follow. Who I choose to follow determines the direction the group shall take. For leadership to be successful, it must be exercised by both leader and follower. As with any living system, remove any part of the system and you kill it.