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- Peace, Productivity and Embracing Your Piles: Weekly Productivity Advice That’s as Unique as You Are
- How to Handle Returns
- A Business Lesson from “Les Mis”
- How NOT To Use Social Media
| Peace, Productivity and Embracing Your Piles: Weekly Productivity Advice That’s as Unique as You Are Posted: 20 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST
I read your column for Fantasticals last week, and I think you've totally got me pegged. There's just one problem. I'm renting an apartment, and my office is tiny! We're talking walk-in closet size, here, and all of my wall space is taken up with bookshelves. Is there something else I can do to keep my projects visible? Signed, Squished
Dear Squished, How tall are you? I know that sounds like a joke, but I'm asking in all seriousness. There's a huge source of overlooked storage space in your office – the ceiling. If you can't fit a shelf on the wall, chances are you can hang one from the ceiling and use that to hold your project piles. That will cover your project components, but what about keeping your tasks and schedule visible? I usually recommend that Fantasticals start with a white board or giant sticky note, but those require wall space. Books are sacred, so you won't hear me telling you to cull a bookshelf to make the space. But what I will do is request that you order your books so that you have a shelf or two that you don't need to refer to as often. That leaves you free to put a pair of hinges on the top shelf and rig up a whiteboard to hang on the front of the bookshelf. Taa-daa, instant space for plotting and planning, and you simply lift it up to get to the books behind! Good luck! Kirsten Have a productivity question for Kirsten? Send it over!  |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2012 04:30 AM PST After reading that returns of online gifts hit a record high this holiday season, I thought it might be a good idea to discuss how to effectively handle returns in your business. Obviously, it's not a great feeling to know that your product or service has left your customer unsatisfied. But it happens. And, the bigger your business gets, the more likely it is to happen. One of my favorite business gurus, Marie Forleo, recently covered this very topic in one of her weekly videos (part of a series known as Q&A Tuesday on MarieTV). In the video below, Marie offers six great strategies for effectively handling refund requests and unhappy customers. (You'll notice that Marie has a very light-hearted, kind of silly approach, but beneath it, she always has a really strong, genuine message. I think her wacky personality is what makes her advice so much fun to listen to!) Take a look at the short video below and see what she recommends. Do you agree? Is there anything you'd add? And, on a slightly different note, let me ask this: Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee at your business? Or is it strictly no refunds allowed? Please share your insights and experiences in the comments. Feature image photo credit: Daquella manera  |
| A Business Lesson from “Les Mis” Posted: 19 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST
These were the words of a revolutionary speaking to the Bishop of Digne in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. But they could just as well have come from a potential customer or even from one of your regular clients. They might "know" you in the basic sense of the word. They know your name and the name of your business. They know what you do and what you say that you can do for them. But when the revolutionary said these words to the bishop, he wanted more than a surface understanding of the man he was speaking to. What he wanted to know was why this bishop had come to him. As in, the real reason he was there- what his inner motivations were for visiting and what made him unique from others so that he should listen to him. He wanted to know if the bishop really cared about him, or if was he just there out of obligation. Les Misérables was published in 1862, but people don't change much. They still ask the same questions, even if not out loud. People know that you are in business to make money, but they also want to know that you are in business because you believe whole-heartedly that your product or service can help them. So do you? If you don't, you better find a way to get out of the business that you are running and find one that you can believe in. It doesn't matter that you are making a great living selling big SUVs if deep inside you feel that they are destroying the ozone. Not only are you living a contradiction, but eventually you won't be able to make a living anyway. People will notice the dullness in your eyes and hear the boredom in your voice. You absolutely must believe in what you are offering. Then what? How can you prove to people that you recognize that ultimately business is about people, that you care about them? Ideally, you could go find each of them and sit and chat with them one by one on their front porches, asking them about their families and concerns. Obviously that is not a realistic option for most businesses. But what other ways can you let them know 'who you are'? Well, if you own a grocery store, why not get out on the floor once in a while and respond to customers' questions? Let them know that you are the owner and ask them if they like the service they receive there. Don't just send them a little survey card. Talk to them, one human being to another. You may think that you don't have time for that, but I don't mean you should do it every day. Even doing so once in a while will surprise your customers and positively impact what they think of your store. (In fact, you don't have time not to do it.) Or if you own a business where customer service is provided by telephone, get on the phone yourself every now and then. Show your customers how much you care by putting your all into helping them. And again, ask them two or three questions to see how your business can serve them better. And start a blog or a Squidoo lens. Get comments and responses from potential or current customers. Converse with them. Use Twitter to facilitate communication. Search tweets to find out what people are saying about your business or about your industry. Really listen. Then set out to befriend these people and help them, 140 characters at a time. So, to echo what the revolutionary said to the bishop: "To whom am I speaking? Who are you?" Your customers want to know. Make sure they are happy with what they find.  |
| Posted: 19 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST People and businesses alike made some pretty tremendous mistakes via social media in 2011. Thankfully, the good folks at Mashable have been keeping track and have compiled them into an incredibly thorough gallery. There's a lesson in here for everyone using social media, whether personally or professionally. But, more importantly, there's a lot of entertainment (though it admittedly comes at the expense of these poor fools). Some of the highlights include: Anthony Weiner's Crotch Shot
Chrysler's Road Rage
Google Engineer Leaks Memo
PayPal Ruins Christmas
Salman Rushdie's Stand Against Facebook
See them all in the slideshow on Mashable.com. We know some of the best ones were overlooked though. What did Mashable miss? What was your favorite social media fail of 2011? Photo Credits: Mashable.com  |
Dear Kirsten,
"I don't know you. Your name, it is true, has reached me confusedly, and I must say not without respect, but no matter. Clever men have so many ways of impressing the good and simple people…what is unique to yourself, you who probably come with the claim of bringing me wisdom. To whom am I speaking? Who are you?"
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