Creative Reaction

“People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue.”

Some great advice over at Harvard Business Publishing. If you want to get along with (and keep) your clients, you need to develop a habit of thinking carefully before replying to barbed words.

The advice applies to pretty much any interaction; co-workers, managers, spouses, even TSA at the airport. A few years back on a return trip, a TSA employee  was giving me a hard time as he held up a Ziploc containing three toiletry items. “This is a gallon-sized bag”, said the agent. I said nothing; he was right. I knew I should have used a quart-sized bag, but I didn’t have any when I was packing. I almost interjected that TSA didn’t give me any trouble on the initial leg of my journey. And the items did meet the size & weight requirements. Again he said, “This is a gallon-sized bag”. I kept silent. Perhaps I was simply tired after a long week, but I just stood there looking at him. I refused to argue with him. I glanced over at his colleague for moral support. It worked. He waved me through and the first agent let me continue.

What you really want to say will usually make things worse. Hold your tongue. Reply with kindness and watch the tension melt away.

If you are looking for breakthrough creativity/innovation/customer service/marketing, the last thing you need is employees who merely want “a job“. Meaning, any job where they show up, put in their time, get paid. What you need are team members, together on a mission.

Go read Four Simple Ways to Make Your Employees Happier.

(Ignore the word “Happiness” here; it seems a bit shallow. Think “fulfillment”.)

(Peaceniks, bear with this; there’s some excellent advice!)

I was a bit surprised to see this at Harvard Business Publishing, yet it makes perfect sense.

Why the Military Produces Great Leaders makes a case for “servant leadership“, a concept which I imagine appeals to those of us who cringe every time a CEO  grinds a company into the ground for personal gain, then seemingly gets away with it.

Quoting Colonel Tom Kolditz, author of the post, “military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice”.

“When serving in crisis conditions… transactional sources of motivation (e.g. pay, rewards, or threat of punishment) become insufficient… When followers have trust and confidence in a charismatic leader, they are transformed into willing, rather than merely compliant, agents”.

This is called “transformational leadership” – the kind of leadership that inspires everyone in a company to give his best.

Go read the article. It has additional insights and asks some thought-provoking questions. You’ll be a better leader for it.

Some excellent advice from 37Signals, which compares workplace hiring to parties.

If you have a roomful of strangers, “the conversation is dull and stiff. You make small talk about the weather, sports, TV shows, etc. You shy away from serious conversations and controversial opinions.”

A company like this generates bland ideas and bland service. Read to find out how to avoid this.

Excellent, quick post over at Harvard Business Publishing and without giving too much away, having passionate employees starts with owners/managers/CEOs themselves.

(The attitudes of leaders have a huge impact on employees, so there are quite a few posts related to this topic. See The Power of Happiness Part I and Part II,  Attitude Adjustment, the Day-to-Day Management Affects Creativity series, Part I, Part II and Part III  and Negativity is Poison!)

Springwise profiles Creative Caravan, a house-swapping/subletting service that caters to the creative industry. Great idea!

“Will the niche service be able to compete with established behemoths like Craigslist? Creative Caravan feels there’s a degree of trust in sub-letting to someone from the same industry, making both parties feel more comfortable with having a stranger inhabit their home. Network-building and a shared focus on aesthetics could be added benefits.”

Could be the perfect way to work on a script or a novel, or simply work outside the office.

It seems management, capitalism, and frugality have received a bit of bad press lately. Here’s an inspirational story posted at Harvard Business Review that shows redeeming aspects of all three.

The Boss Who Laid Himself Off tells of the selfless acts of a manager who no doubt impacted the lives of two talented, younger managers and their families, which of itself offers an important example. What many may not also see in this story is the idea of mentoring, then stepping aside to allow the next generation to energize and continue a company’s mission.

And the frugality angle? Well, do you think “Bob” could have done what he did had he been up to his eyeballs in debt? Living frugally and saving allows us the freedom to do the right thing.

I’m not a Dunkin’ Donuts fan, for a number of reasons which I won’t elaborate. I will readily admit, however, that I’m a fan of their marketing, which from their storefronts to their broadcast work, is completely consistent and beautifully executed.

I came across their Dunkin’ Run web site via Idea Sandbox, and once again I’m blown away. This is so perfect in every way, it resonates.

First of all it’s simple. It’s immediately recognizable. It adds three new icons consistent with their “America runs on Dunkin” “vocabulary”.

But here are the most brilliant parts: It simplifies large orders, both for DD and the customers. I repeat, large orders. It makes the “Runner” a hero. (By the way, is there a way for everyone to treat the runner?) Most importantly, it makes a return trip to Dunkin’ Donuts, not merely an event for the office or group, which in and of itself is admirable, but into a ritual, with all the emotional connections and memories that come with it.

(Plus, there’s an iPhone App with the same functions as the web site.)

So, the question for today is: how can we apply this love and care to our own products and services, entrenching our brands and our relationships with our customers? In this day and age, it’s survival.

Harvard Business Publishing has an excellent 10-lesson post about “organizations whose strong and adaptive ownership cultures give them a powerful competitive edge” distilling years of research and insight. In a sentence, a healthy corporate culture leads to happy employees and happy customers. Short, but very meaty post, much of which applies to Small and Medium Businesses. Chew well.