≡ BUSINESS PHONE ETIQUETTE ≡

If we were to put a group of random professionals in a room and asked them what their top three business pet peeves are surely the unreturned phone call would be in their short list.


Ironic, since the telephone was created with the hope of improving communication, not making it more frustrating.

"An amazing invention-but who would ever want to use one?" --Rutherford B. Hayes, after making his first phone call upon its invention

Personally, the unreturned phone call is in my top three most disliked habits when dealing with people in a personal or professional level. Although, I am the first to say mea culpa for my own behavior which can, at times, be less than exemplary. But this behavioral flaw is constantly under my radar and I am working on improving. I find that one of the best potions against the forgotten call is keeping each other accountable in the office, forming unofficial alliances if you will.


"People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better press than people who are just funny and smart." --Howard Simons


One of the cloudy areas, where phone call responsibility often gets lost, is the confusing way in which we sometimes approach the "I'll call you/you'll call me?" moment. This could be because we are rushed, experience pangs of first-date-nerves, or simply have our heads already in the next meeting. So, just like one is to be in the moment when first meeting someone, one must remain in the moment until the time comes to bid farewell. This means, setting clear expectations of who will call whom and by what time/date. Don't be wishy-washy about this and take control of the situation by recapping when necessary.

You can hit all the right buttons during a business meeting. Be concise, focused, engaging. charming, cool, calm and collected, but if you don't follow up as promised an uphill battle awaits you. Don't undermine yourself.

"If The Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me."--Jimmy Buffet

It is said that people will forget many things about you, your clothes, your hair, even your handshake, but they will always remember how you made them feel. At the risk of walking the slippery high-rope of the Feelings Territory, while momentarily stepping away from Manly Man County, I'll be the first to say it: an unreturned phone call can make others feel disrespected and under appreciated. This, needless to say, won't make things easier the next time you are trying to close a deal with said individual & it surely won't get you unsolicited recommendations. So make life easier for you, and others, and don't be a Parrothead, or at least not when it comes to business.

"The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink."--Fran Lebowitz

Lastly, when you are returning that call as promised, remember to not get distracted with other office issues. Act, that is talk and listen, as if the call's recipient was there with you. In other words, act as if you could offer them a drink. Body language can be read on the phone almost as much as in person, and it is just as impactful. I think we all can use that reminder, so perhaps this is as good a time as ever to refresh your team's memory about making those call backs, not being a parrot head, and having that metaphorical drink ready to be offered during their next call.

:: WHEN THINGS GO RIGHT ::

We, at Duncan Consulting, cannot say enough positive things about making the work environment as fun as possible...here is more proof on how the fun stuff has the power to change attitudes and, when properly executed, the positivism spills over and sticks to those around us like fuzz on Velcro.

:: WHEN THINGS GO WRONG ::

A man has no more character than he can command in a time of crisis. -Ralph W. Sockman

When I think of leadership in times of crisis two people come to mind, Rudy Giuliani and Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg III. Regardless of whether we share their perspective and view points in other areas of their careers, wouldn't we all want to have such visceral response in a time of crisis?

I am positive experience plays a huge role in these two leader's responses to a time of crisis, but even those of us that at times still feel a bit green have hope. There are many things us, mere mortals, can do to be ready and it all boils down to preparedness, good instincts & a cool head.

Preparation involves lots of planning, training, repetition, educating and even-the often despised-role playing. Only via the conscious use of these tools we'll be able to make it so our reaction becomes nothing but what looks like an instinctual (but well thought of) response...like a karate move. Sharp and decisive. But to achieve this as a team you'll have to become your team's Mr. Miyagi.

Leaders won't always be perfect, they'll make mistakes, and-provided they have decent people skills-most times they will be forgiven for their faux pas. However, in a crisis, if a leader is not a quick-thinker and an even faster-doer, no forgiveness will follow. Too much is at stake when a crisis pays us a visit.

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own. -Charles de Gaulle

Some questions to ask yourself:

* How prepared are you to face a sudden and unforeseen financial, personnel, or physical crisis?

* How prepared is your team to work as one?

* Who are your natural leaders? Are they training others?

No matter how you choose to prepare yourself and your team for a crisis remember the oriental wisdom of Chinese culture. They have two characters that comprise the word crisis: one represents "danger", the other "opportunity."

:: MAXIMIZING WORK TIME ::

One of my favorite questions to ask employees is "Do you feel content and challenged in your role?"


If their answer is indicating in any way boredom the conversation usually follows with more open-ended questions about why the associate gets bored and what he/she is doing about it.


One of my least favorite answers to hear is "When my work is done, there is nothing else for me to do." What does that mean exactly? Does it mean team members truly lack the clarity to see that there always is something to do?


When team mates don't have the inherent vision to see their role's infinite possibilities it is time to break down the communication to the most basic of levels.



These question and answer exercises might seem simple but simple fixes have the power to avert huge mistakes. Think about the hospitals that have given 100 grams instead of 10 of a prescribed medicine, or more recently, the embryo implant mix-ups. Simple errors, sometimes with fatal results, abound not only in the medical but also in the corporate world. No streamlining of methods or processes that will help your productivity, safety and morale is ever too small.


Ideally, we'd all hire solely go-getters, but the reality of it is that sometimes people have to be taught to be seismic thinkers, sometimes people need a bit of a shake up to shape up, and many times with a little positive Q&A leadership people will surprise you with performances high on the Richter Scale. So go ask. Find out if the boredom is justified or not...but above all remind them to not to wait until you ask & give them the tools to fix and outgrow these challenges.


Here is a sample list for those times when there's "nothing to do":

■ Document patterns observed

Based on the premise that most processes can be improved at one time or another a good question to ask is, "When was the last time you got frustrated with another department?" Well, there it is! you have plenty to do. Spend time improving communication processes, if you repeatedly ask a department/co-worker to answer all of your questions and invariably some answers are missing, then perhaps you need to establish a system that everyone will follow when communicating in written form.

■ Document proposed solutions to patterns observed

Teach them, if necessary, to view all "issues" as growth opportunities.

■ Mentoring

To follow up on the prior point: even better, instead of teaching them yourself, pair them up by empowering someone to be a mentor and help others develop untapped skills.

■ Improve job description & requirements

Because of the rushed pace of the workplace the clear, written delineating of the day-to-day basic activities falls through the cracks and people learn as they go. Why not take a quick moment to jot down things that will save time and be helpful to others following in our footsteps?

■ Advance own skills by doing tutorials (online, books, etc.)

■ Present info learned from tutorials

This will enhance your team member's ability to communicate with larger groups and instill leadership qualities in the process.

■ Job performance update

■ Job shadowing

■ Goal documenting & updating

■ Clean up of computer files (email, Word docs, etc.)

This will help all your systems run more smoothly and avert technical problems.

■ Organize physical work materials

■ Offer assistance to a co-worker or department



It might not be a bad idea to customize a list to your associate's roles, print it and post it in a prominent area of their work space. Let's make today and all of the days to come No Excuses Day.

:: PARTNERING & PAIRING ::

TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Did you ever have a job where the mere act of walking in would

make you feel that you could not breathe?

2. Do you ever stop to consider how many people in

your team could be feeling that way right now?

I bet all I have that question #1 made you go back in time & clench your teeth even at the brief resurfacing of those old feelings.

Remember the frustration?

That frustration that invariably leads to an increased employee issues, wasted time and sooner rather than later productivity loss? Well, just because it is not happening to you right now it does not mean that those feelings are not lingering in your workplace's corridors right as you seat reading this coffee in hand.

Funny thing is how much of this can be solved by the simple act of listening. Not the plain old listening, but the kind of intent listening that must take place during team meetings and any other gatherings, the kind of listening that does not involve the ears. The body language- listening, the results-listening, and the listening for one's team intrinsic mood.

If something does not sound quite right, to your ears, your eyes, or your intuition then action is a must. One of the key issues we find arise during this intent listening sessions is team construction and pairing.





The magic of pairing. So underrated. We insist that people must be able to work with anyone and be flexible at all times. True. Ideally that should work, and so should communism.

But the reality of it is that if you put two people that usually don't see eye to eye to work together for an extended period of time this won't translate into rewards of any kind. No matter what level of maturity, skill and professionalism is at work, if the heart and collaborative spirit is not there, you lose, and so will your company and your bottom line. History shows us that good partnering is essential to any great achievement, why ignore such tried and true wisdom?

While it is true that working with folks who have different points of view is likely to enrich us, if philosophies and personalities are diametrically opposite, the enriching part won't ever matter, because personal issues will inevitably blindfold & undermine more positive attributes.

The right pairings and team building won't take place overnight. This is an art with almost no science to it. So listen. Ask questions. Take the time to re-evaluate who sits next to whom, who seems unhappy to work with whom, what pairs/teams feed of each other's ideas and energy, and begin taking into account your team member's input when designing groups that will work side by side, departments, and shifts.

And why not go as far as to take more drastic measures and even consider having your current employees interview new hires that they'll work with? Studies show that companies that invest on that initial time to get to know potential new hires have a much lower turnaround than companies using more traditional interviewing/hiring methods.

Something to think about.

The most successful pairings occur naturally.

Don't get in the way of what works.

Photographs courtesy of GSN

Much more than physics-smarts...

How timely, here is Albert Einstein's take on hard times.

A good one to pass around the office and spark a solid motivational discussion.

“Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress.

Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries made and big strategies.

He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. He who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent and is more interested in problems than in solutions. Incompetence is the true crisis.

The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems.

There’s no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony.There’s no merit without crisis.

It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us.

Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism.

Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it.”

Midday Slump

If your once-a-day-sluggish-mode is as predictable as Florida’s afternoon summer storms read on.

Creativity. Productivity. A focused mind. These days we want it all, all the time, 100%.

But how we go about achieving it is no standard formula. To combat sluggishness some reach for the coffee, some go for the sweets, but not that many of us go for a little exercise.

I wonder why.

After all, we all remember the first time we ever did something physically demanding or out of the ordinary, like skiing, riding a roller coaster, sky diving, having a faster than usual run or bike ride, etc.…how could we forget? That feeling of I CAN DO ANYTHING-ness mixed with James Cameron’s Oscar acceptance King of the World-ness. Why would we not want to recapture it daily?

What ever happened to us that we taught ourselves to compartmentalize so neatly our humanness and its needs inside and outside of the office? If our bodies have reached a slump why not get creative and truly look for what works for each of us?

"If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever." David Letterman.

Coffee, water, sodas, and sweets may do the trick –momentarily- for most of us (after all, Bach wrote his famous Coffee Cantata under the influence of, what else but caffeine...), but why not get friendly with natural endorphins all over again? Exercise causes these morphine-like compounds to naturally be released into the blood stream. Endorphins, in turn, enhance creativity and productivity. And, best of all, you don’t have to jump out of a plane to experience this natural high, something as simple as a brisk walk will do the trick.

My wife and I are runners and, since we run at a different pace, we often meet and share our ‘running thoughts’ during our cool down walk. These thoughts are usually the most creative of the day and often the catalyst to major ideas for our business and our lives.

Besides the obvious, how does this information affect you as a leader in your place of business?

Well, these days more and more companies are encouraging their employees to take measures to stay healthy (thus productive and creative), some build gyms on site, some offer free or discounted gym memberships, many have showers on site to accommodate those who ride to work, and a few go as far as remunerating their team members to stay fit and healthy. This is a win-win investment as studies show that, within the companies that advocate fitness and prevention, absenteeism is down and so are their overall health care costs.

So, if you are feeling sluggish, gray, unfocused and unproductive stop pushing yourself through that quick-sand pace and, instead, set the example and try something different. Take a walk, run or even grab a cup of Joe if that’s what works best for you. But when you come back to your desk share your running (or coffee) thoughts, they are likely to be some of the best of your day.