Head Tilt #39: Make the future you proud

When I teach I provide participants with lots of practical tools. 

For example, in a recent customer service class I covered:

• the service mindset
• how to analyze what your customers want
• three communication essentials for connecting with customers
• a framework for dealing with difficult customers, and 
• how to recover when things go sideways

That's a lot! And it's coupled with handouts, activities, and reflection. 

At the end of most classes, I ask people a variation of the same two questions: 

    What one concept or tool stood out to you? What could you try tomorrow? 

There's no need to take it all on at once.

Through years of teaching and coaching, I've seen that we're often so eager to change that we take an all-or-nothing approach: Do it all or don't do a thing.

And through the years I've tried to let others know that the most important part of development is to do one small thing. 

That thing that stood out? Test drive it! 

Check the results. Are you pleased? 

Good! 

Practice it for a bit and then add another small thing. 

Then do another! 

Stack small steps on top of small steps until you have a whole bunch of small steps leading right to the top of your big goal.

Make the future you proud! 

And here's a secret you should all know: 

The future you does not only exist in that far away place you’ll reach when you:

• have it all figured out
• saved enough money
• found the perfect weight
• earned the right degrees
• applied all of the lessons you learned. 

The future you is mere minutes away. Make that future you proud.

The future you is the one who is pleased with the way you handled a sticky situation. Make that future you proud. 

The future you is the one who said what needed to be said at the team meeting. Make that future you proud.

The future you is the one crossing the finish-line of the workout that you didn't want to do but did anyway.Make that future you proud. 

The future you is the one who just made a micro-movement toward a bigger goal. Make that future you proud. 

Fun fact: I sat down to write this blog post and though I knew what I wanted to say, I wasn't sure how I'd say it. Still, I knew I wanted to make the future me proud. 

And I did.  💕

Yay!

Head Tilt #38: Creeds, credos, cats, and klocks

 

 Do you have a credo?

   I don't... not yet!

Credo (rhymes with Play-Doh) is Latin for "I believe."  A credo is a personal, value-based commitment  statement that guides your behaviors. 

I need one.

Does your company have a creed? 

A creed is like a credo, except it usually boils down the company values to an inspiring phrase or two that reminds the team who they are. 

(It's different than a mission statement, which serves to keep the focus on a company's broad goals.) 

Don't worry-- there's no quiz on this. 

Today I want to tell you about the Kit-Cat Creed. For almost 90 years it has guided the company that makes the Kit-Cat Klocks (pictured above, not to be confused with Kit Kat candy bars). Their credo is so fantastic that I might borrow it as my credo. 

First, some fun facts about these iconic feline time-tellers:

• They've been around since 1932.
• They have always been made in the USA.
• They were designed to spread happiness during the Great Depression.

And here's their fabulous creed:

Put a smile on everyone's face;

Love in everyone's heart;

Energy in everyone's body;

and Be a positive force in everyone's life!

And to that I say, "Yes, Let's!" 

Who's with me?  

Full disclosure: I have no rights to the Kit-Cat Klock picture... but I hope it's good for their business and they don't get too mad. Check out more about this cool company at their website.  

Head Tilt #37: Call Me Miss Spelling

                                  Bitmoji Me

I like to think of business writing as your avatar. It represents you when you are not around. 

Even in the day of acronyms, abbreviations and text-speak, spelling counts! And even with spell-check in place, some words are easily confused, and thus, misspelled. 

1. It's is only a contraction of it + is. It's never possessive. Ever. 

2. Fewer applies only to things you can count (for example, fewer cars) whereas less applies to things you cannot count, like sugar. 

    There are fewer cars on the road. (If you said "less cars" it would mean there were partial cars driving around.)

    I'd like less sugar in my coffee. (You could say fewer only if you are referring to fewer grains of sugar and that would just be weird.)

3. Lose or loose? When you lose something, you lose an O.

4. i.e. or e.g.? 

I. e. = that is. Latin: id est. Use i.e. interchangeably with the word specifically.

E.g. = for example (think: eggzample). Latin: exempli gratia . 

5. There is a place. There is a chair over there. Their is the possessive form of they. It's their chair. They're is a contraction of they + are. They're tired of these silly examples. 

6. Your is the possessive form of you. It's your choice. You're is a contraction of you + are. You're expected to know the difference. 

7. A lot is just that, a lot (think of a parking lot). Allot is to assign a portion. Alot is a misspelling in either case.

8.  Affect or effect? 

Affect is a verb; it indicates action and change. (A is for action.)

    This post might affect your spelling. 

Effect is a noun; think of cause and effect. 

    Appearing smarter might be an effect of this post. 😉

...Except every so often effect is a verb meaning to make something happen... and honestly, that one still confuses me.

Head Tilt #36: It's practically personal!

 Did you know:

• that giraffes can't swim? 
• that elephants can't jump?
• that Scotland's national animal is the unicorn?
• that in any conversation we have two needs: personal and practical? 

All of these facts surprised me, but only the last one was a game-changer. It gave me a wonderful lens for human interactions.

In any conversation, we have a practical need and a personal need.*

The practical need is the objective of the interaction. 

The personal need is the human connection piece that accompanies that practical need. 

Say a neighbor comes to your door to borrow some sugar (hey, it's still a thing. Ask my neighbors--I run out of baking supplies all the time). 

They come to you with two needs:

• Your neighbor's practical need is easy to identify: they need sugar.
• Their personal need might be a desire to be treated well. Along with that practical objective of getting some sugar, they might also have the personal need of connection, kindness, or something along those lines. 

Often though, when we are 

too busy, 

too tired, 

too moody, 

too hungry, 

or just not mindful, 

we cut right to fulfilling another's practical need and we skip the personal need completely. 

Imagine throwing a bag of sugar in your neighbor's hands and slamming the door. Their practical need would be met. But what about their personal needs?

Great communication requires awareness of both needs.

The most common personal needs are to be heard, to be understood, and to be respected. 

Here's another example: you approach your partner to tell them about your stressful day. Your practical need is to inform them about your experience, or maybe you just want to vent. Your personal need is for them to listen attentively with care and compassion. These needs are two sides of the kindful** communicator's coin.

In the workplace, too, particularly when dealing with customers, it's easy to jump straight to the practical need, i.e., the service you provide. Depending on your business, customers might come to you for practical needs such as assistance (help desk), teeth cleaning (dental office) or caffeine (coffee shop). But they have those unspoken personal needs too; they'd like to be heard, understood, and shown a modicum of respect.

Don't fulfill the practical need without addressing the baseline of personal needs, too. 

You'll be amazed at the difference! 

*A special thanks goes out to Development Dimensions International (DDI) for teaching me about the personal and practical needs when I became a certified trainer of their material. 

**Kindful = mindful + kind

Awesome giraffe pool float image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay