CF Summit Notes: How The Best Get Better, Mark Sanborn
October 16, 2014
KEYNOTE / General Session: "How the best get better" -- Mark Sanborn
Learning is remembering what's important
Leadership is about asking the right questions.
Not the ability to change, but the ability to change QUICKLY is key.
Customer service is a tool, not an outcome.
How do we help people become more successful?
Are we better because of the people we do business with?
Move focus from client service to client SUCCESS.
Answer your questions, but question your answers.
If you're already in the top of your game, why get better? -- You're always vulnerable to someone who might get better than YOU
Most people when they get success, they stop looking for ways to get better.
And that causes them to start to fail.
Discontent is the first necessity to progress.
If what you think you do is good enough, you won't get better.
Positive discontent: be proud of what you've done in the past, but don't be content with it.
Own it --
Nobody can do it for you
That's why we hire consultants/coaches
The people who succeed are the people who take it as a responsibility
Leadership is an invitation to greatness we extend to others by example
Who or what is better because of YOU?
What's the differences in a Hero and a Zero?
Zero - takes ACTION
Hero - takes RESPONSIBILITY
We live in an age where everybody wants credit, nobody wants responsibility. You get full credit when you take full responsibility.
6 things you control
(we don't control our competitors or the stock market, etc), but you CAN control...
1. how much you prepare
2. how hard you work
3. how quickly you grow
4. how well you collaborate
-- the difference in a community and a crowd is "engagement"
5. how clearly you think
6. the attitude you choose
whenever something GOOD happens, it's because of a PERSON
"maybe it was the software or code" -- a PERSON wrote that the code.
People who leave snarky anonymous comments on line are the same people that used to key your car
Get Focused --
time, expertise and the time and expertise of your team
focused attention beats brains and brawn every time
homework:
1. what are your 6 to 8 MVP (valuable/profitable) things you do every day. things w/ the biggest pay back on your investment of time and expertise
2. schedule 60 - 80% of every day to DO them
3. check your list with your team members. make sure your team isn't spending time/expertise on lower value activities
Work Together --
people change not because they HAVE to -- that's "compliance
people change because they WANT to -- that's commitment
everything is built on relationships
a vendor - you share an economic transaction with
a PARTNER - you share an economic transaction with and you build a relationship with too
If you want to deepen your community
Be interestED
Be empathic
-- the ability to understand even if you don't feel that way
Be honest
-- "spin" sucks. tell the truth.
-- tell people what they NEED to hear because you love them enough to tell them the truth
Deeper community
- go beyond best practices
- today's best practices are next week's second best
- go for BETTER practices
- if you'RE really innovative, you're a game changer
"every friday, let's send out 1 good idea or new thing we learned to 3 people."
-- if you send 1 out you'll get 3 back!
share ideas
ask for what you need, offer what you can to help.
Celebrate success
nobody has ever complained about being OVER celebrated.
Produce great persons, the rest follows -- Walt Whitman
Only 2 ways to grow a business
1. grow yourself
2. grow your team
Act Bolder --
all the notes you take at the conference mean nothing. it's how you act differently after leaving that makes the difference
it's not what you know, it's what you DO with what you know.
Learning is remembering what's important
Leadership is about asking the right questions.
Not the ability to change, but the ability to change QUICKLY is key.
Customer service is a tool, not an outcome.
How do we help people become more successful?
Are we better because of the people we do business with?
Move focus from client service to client SUCCESS.
Answer your questions, but question your answers.
If you're already in the top of your game, why get better? -- You're always vulnerable to someone who might get better than YOU
Most people when they get success, they stop looking for ways to get better.
And that causes them to start to fail.
Discontent is the first necessity to progress.
If what you think you do is good enough, you won't get better.
Positive discontent: be proud of what you've done in the past, but don't be content with it.
Own it --
Nobody can do it for you
That's why we hire consultants/coaches
The people who succeed are the people who take it as a responsibility
Leadership is an invitation to greatness we extend to others by example
Who or what is better because of YOU?
What's the differences in a Hero and a Zero?
Zero - takes ACTION
Hero - takes RESPONSIBILITY
We live in an age where everybody wants credit, nobody wants responsibility. You get full credit when you take full responsibility.
6 things you control
(we don't control our competitors or the stock market, etc), but you CAN control...
1. how much you prepare
2. how hard you work
3. how quickly you grow
4. how well you collaborate
-- the difference in a community and a crowd is "engagement"
5. how clearly you think
6. the attitude you choose
whenever something GOOD happens, it's because of a PERSON
"maybe it was the software or code" -- a PERSON wrote that the code.
People who leave snarky anonymous comments on line are the same people that used to key your car
Get Focused --
time, expertise and the time and expertise of your team
focused attention beats brains and brawn every time
homework:
1. what are your 6 to 8 MVP (valuable/profitable) things you do every day. things w/ the biggest pay back on your investment of time and expertise
2. schedule 60 - 80% of every day to DO them
3. check your list with your team members. make sure your team isn't spending time/expertise on lower value activities
Work Together --
people change not because they HAVE to -- that's "compliance
people change because they WANT to -- that's commitment
everything is built on relationships
a vendor - you share an economic transaction with
a PARTNER - you share an economic transaction with and you build a relationship with too
If you want to deepen your community
Be interestED
Be empathic
-- the ability to understand even if you don't feel that way
Be honest
-- "spin" sucks. tell the truth.
-- tell people what they NEED to hear because you love them enough to tell them the truth
Deeper community
- go beyond best practices
- today's best practices are next week's second best
- go for BETTER practices
- if you'RE really innovative, you're a game changer
"every friday, let's send out 1 good idea or new thing we learned to 3 people."
-- if you send 1 out you'll get 3 back!
share ideas
ask for what you need, offer what you can to help.
Celebrate success
nobody has ever complained about being OVER celebrated.
Produce great persons, the rest follows -- Walt Whitman
Only 2 ways to grow a business
1. grow yourself
2. grow your team
Act Bolder --
all the notes you take at the conference mean nothing. it's how you act differently after leaving that makes the difference
it's not what you know, it's what you DO with what you know.