Coaching Moment #207 Put on Your Mood Ring

#207 Put on Your Mood Ring

Do you remember these? I want you to imagine one on yourself, one that works. What color would it be? Ask yourself this question throughout the day. Make sure you can clearly identify your different moods and the mild changes that occur. Get to know yourself better and reflect on how you really feel in different situations.  

Does S/He Have What It Takes? Your Employees.

This week I’ve been visiting preschools for my daughter. Some geared more toward working class people and others more nose-to-the-air type (I say that because who else could afford what they ask). I’m open to either… you never know when you find the right place, right people, right curriculum…. But it must be a beautiful confluence of all of them for me to sign on.

As nature would have it, the working class schools have impressed me most. In fact, at one of the “three times as much” schools, the tour guide (who is likely paid on a commission scale if I’d have to guess) lied to me about the qualifications of their teachers. At the beginning of the tour it was one answer and when specifically speaking of the prospective teacher for my daughter, it was another answer. I had to respectfully address the inconsistency- to which she just danced around it… twice. Not to mention she was as superficially interested as anyone can come and couldn’t be less helpful (I had a 6 month old in my hands and a toddler who loves taking her shoes off mid-walk). Ugh… I don’t think so, thank you.

Now I’m certain that if/when I speak with the owner (a businessman not an educator) of this particular “school” he will be apologetic about my experience (at least I hope to God so) and surprised when I share my impressions of his “sales person”.

I share this with you in so much as to say, if you have sales people or people that are in positions to influence a buy or a non-buy of your service/product, make sure they possess the right characteristics. Also, it should go without mention, but make sure they exude integrity, honest and respect for those they interact with. These are bare minimums, but they seem to allude so many so often. Hirers beware.

Referrals Work ...Beware

Dear friends I have experienced the power of referrals twice in the last couple of weeks. Both highlighting the negative impact of a bad referral. Here's the skinny on both:

Referral 1: one of our beloved sitters referred us to her roofer. He was terrific, as was his crew. Until.... he agreed to do other work for us and then stopped mid-work. He failed to return three phone calls by myself and my husband. I began to think he had suffered an unspeakable tragedy. He didn't. He just became overwhelmed and developed some poor habits as a result. To get him back I had to (1) notify our sitter of his disappearance she in turn (2) notified the person who referred him to her, who just so happened to be his top client, a real estate professional. The RE pro attempted to call him and then alerted others to his poor performance of late. Suddenly he called me. Hmmmmm. Sad that you have to effect some one's bottom dollar before they pay attention to their second-tier clients!

Referral 2: we used the mortgage company that our realtor recommended. Bad move. The service was poor from the start. When you deal with a large amount of money, your personal data and are moving states you should expect a higher caliber of service. We didn't get that. We got dozens of excuses, blame, and mistakes in our paperwork. Our closing was delayed and thus delayed two other related closings. We soon learned that our realtor shares an office with the mortgage contact.... Be careful who you accept referrals from. Ask what their relationship is and get another bid/quote anyhow.

It's been hell of a couple weeks. I'll be glad when the transition is all over. But at the very least it has reinforced my strong belief in being careful about those you refer and be ready to support your referral as best you can (as our sitter did- who is still stellar in our eyes).