Black In Business

As the leader your team needs you to be strong. Your team will become a lot like you in personality. For the title matter, as a leader you have 2 options, you can ignore it and hope it goes away or you can become coach. Fighters fight, lovers love, winners win, but not all coaches coach in business. We get confused by the title manager and by implication boss, it is easy to forget we are suppose to help and develop our team members to reach their goals. Often times we blame our people if goals are not met but if we are coaches that do not coach ,it is our fault.

 Ok you have discovered one of your customer support representatiives dose not listen well and has lost some accounts, what do you?How do you coach through this situation?

1) Set up a meeting to provide feed back.

During this meeting the ask the CSR how things are going, do they enjoy the job, what are their biggest challenges? Try to make them relax and do this by being friendly. Make sure you listen, smile and aknowledge their statements. If your relationship permits, have some light talk, how is the family? how about da Bears? etc. This is called breaking the ice

2) Point out a strength.

Ensure you compliement your CSR on something done right. A booK called “The One Minute Manager,” calls this, catch them doing something right.Often times we excell at telling our people what’s wrong but never get around to what is right. In this case let’s assume your CSR has excellent problem solving abilities. Point that out and refer to how it helps the entire organization. The more specific you can be the better.

3) Link the strength to the weakness. “Your problem solving has helped us save some big accounts and takes amazing focus on your part. I have noticed at times you lose focus when listenting to customers.

4) Provide an example. “I noticed when I was listenting in  on your call with Dr Jones, you cut him off several times and he may have felt you only had interest of getting him of the phone asap. Dr. Jones later took some of his business to competition.”

5) Hear their side of the story. “Why do you sometimes cut people off and some times lose accounts, when we both know you can show incredibile focus at other times?

6) Listen carefully, There may be something the CSR will say that will explain the issue.

7) More linkage. ” I would like to see you exhibe the same focus that makes you a very capable prolbem solver in all aspects of your job. I would like you to become a better listener.

Agree upon a plan. ” I have a tape on developing better listenting skills. Listen to this tape and I will do the same. We will discuss the tape and then I will help you use some of the techniques by role playing.Later I will listen to your calls again to hear the improvement.

9) Agree on follow up dates for coaching, role plays, listenting in on call and general assements.

10) Review concequences of no improvement and benifits of improved performance. Make clear you value them and want their improvement and are available any time they have questions on their progress or need help

Managers that is it. Try it, benifit to you, a better team and more respect from team. Remember coaches coach.

I started blogging in October of last year. I met with a business man about blogging and read a couple of books prior to throwing my hat in to the ring.Just think 10 years some of the top companies in the world did not have web sites. I recall in 1998, when I was VP of world wide marketing for Abbott Diagnostics, we had a major initiaitive to have a web presence for our division, which had sales over 3 billion dollars. This was a company known for developing remarkable medical technology and was a innovation leader in our market segment. We were not alone, many companies at the time had either no or pitiful web presence.

Today, even a small business is expected to have a good investment in their web page. Many regular people have web pages and young people are showing us how to build communities on line. As the milenium generation becomes consumers and business people, we will have to change how we do business. I have noticed many companies are experimenting with text messaging. The world is changing.

Having a web page that never changes, and slow responses to customer’s questions or concerns will not be tolerated. All business owners and key people should blog. We have learned that most black businesses are small.  As black business owners we have the opportunity to be at the fore front of the future of business communication. We have a chance to show innovation and leadership to our customers.

I know for sure you can build community and make friends with your cilents. As a salesman, I always felt better when my customers where friends. It was a win win, I wanted to ensure my friends looked good by picking me. It became easy to have discussions because we enjoyed each other’s company.My friends would provide me the benefit of doubt at times when our products did not work well or something screwed upped.

It is all about relationships and having trust and respect for each other. Good blogging can help in that regard. as I mentioned, my blog started in late October, I had no idea what to do. I joined My Blog Log and my community has grown to close to 170 members. Chris Cree is one of the members and a early supporter. Chris’ blog, SucessCreeations is one of the top blogs in the world. Please check out his link for a proff source indicating how well blogging can work for your company.

http://successcreeations.com/

If you follow politics,”Happy Days are Here again.”There is plenty of excitment on the democratic side. The republicans, Ann Coulter, Scooter Libby,Iraq, the Vice President, nuff said. We did not even speak about son of a Bush! A party in shambles! My friends at the Polical Grind and Media Lizzy have excellent political blogs and are on my blog roll. My thing is business and as blacks in business we must have an awareness of the polical landscape.

Yesterday both Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton were in Selma Alabama to speak at black churches. Hillary brought her better half,particularly when it comes to black folk, former President Bill Clinton. Bill has been mentioned as the first black President and Barrack is the first black main stream canidate.

The dynamics are best exhibited  by the long line of civil rights veterans crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the “Bloody Sunday” anniversity march. Sen. Barrack Obama arms linked with MLK disciple, Joesph Lowery and on the other end,Sen. Hillary Clinton held hands with MLK disciple, Rep. John Lewis. Rep Lewis had all but endorsed Barrack Obama, saying all along, he could not wait for the day when a black could be a serious contender for the Presidency. Then former president Bill Clinton called.

Many black democratic voters are having a hard time deciding between the Clintons and Barrack. It has to anger Sen. Obama, to have to prove he is blacker than a white woman for the hearts of black people.

I support Sen. Obamba all the way but I must admit, I do not like the fact that members of his family owned slaves. I would like to hear the Sen. address this fact.Bill Clinton’s family may have owned slaves as well but I expect that from whites. This is an issue of inter breeding but I am still in full support of Barrack. Please see the link below from the Baltimore Sun on the Obama family linkage to slave owners.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/bal-te.obama02mar02,0,3453027.story

I have received my first honor as a blogger and I am proud to be included in ” The Great” Liz Strauss’ list of SOB’s. You may have noticed the SOB sign on my blog. I wanted to have Liz explain what the honor is and why I am so pumped about it. 

We get into some sticky topics and some that may be for blacks in business. What I have discovered is most people have an interest in serious topics and do not often have to forum for debate. I will use this space and my growing credibility to share the story of black success stories. In the world of blogs, there are many talented black bloggers and most are young. I want to share their stories with you to balance the media’s way of reporting on black issues.

Liz thank you for the shot out. Your support has been a thrill for me. Please see Liz’s link below to find out more about us SOB’s .

http://www.successful-blog.com/301-what-is-an-sob/

I enjoyed sin city and will return. There are many, many other cities I perfer for fun; New York, Miami, LA,London,Warsaw, Paris, Munich, Houston, Buffalo, Burlinton,Vt, Ithaca, NY, Dallas, DC, Philly, Baltimore, Istanbul, Cape Town, Sao Paulo,you get the point. Vegas is cool but not my favorite, Oh I forgot New Orleans!

I did not see that many black folk but black folk were the talk of the town.The prior weekend the NBA all star game was played in Vegas. 300,000 mostly young affluent and black crowded into the 3 mile strip of Vegas. This is where we will speak about race. Often times white friends will say I have them think about things that as a white folk they don’t get it.

Now it is my turn not to get it. I do not understand some of the comments I have heard about the All Star game on tv, radio and in person. This is a business blog and in order for blacks in business to have a chance, we must discuss race. I am pleading for comments because, I need to understand. I want to understand. White folk help me out, Black folk chim in, Biracial, you should have an unique perspective on this topic.

Here goes, On a sport talk radio show, A white caller reported, his family went to Vegas for the wwekend and had gone for 10 years. This is where I need your help, they were scared on the plane to Vegas. No not of terroist but of all the young black people on the plan with them. I have flown most of my life with planes full of white folk, and many times loud drunkyoung white folks. I was not scared. Why were these white folk scared?

The caller went on to say,when they got to Vegas, they were so frighten they stayed in their room. Some of the cabbies told my wife and I, you would see 1 white person for every 100 blacks on the strip. I guess if white people are frighten to leave their room, the stats add up. Now I don’t know about you but, I do not care if my hotel is hosting a klan convention, I will venture out.As a young black in business, my sales territory was made up of some of the racists states in the Union. Most of my assignment was below the mason dixon line.I would go into towns in West Virginia, where I would ride through town first to see if any black people lived in the town befor making the sales call on the local hospital The point is for blackinbusiness being scared is not an option when you want to win.One time outside of Fairmont West Virginia going toward Elkins I went into a bar with a 3 peice pinstrip suit. The sign outside said miners only. My dad was a miner so I went in None of the white miners bothered me. They were nice.I was ready to throw down if neccessary.

Now on to us black folk. There were shootings, fights and over400 arrests. A NFL star beat up a stripper. As my mother use to tell me, when you go some where act like you have some sense. I love my people but it does seem that we have a small percentage of us that do not act like we have sense. I think the small percent is there for white folk as well but they can get away with it. What can we do about our small percentage?

All star weekend was all about big money. It was a record weekend for the city, the most people in one weekend and big money flowed. The only problem as I see is ther were too many of us. Black money is still money but some folk do not want us around when we spend it. Just send your money and leave your black ass home.

We are better people than this, difference in skin color should not be such a dividing factor.

People love to live around Vegas because of the jobs and a low cost of living. The weather is also a plus. I noticed the jobs we had were mostly Limo drivers. The casinos workers, dealers and such had many Asians and White people but few blacks. The cabs and limos are owned by 5 families. The same families that were given the contracts from the early days when the Chicago outfit ran the show.

In closing, to quote Rodney King, why can’t we all just get along?