Biz Buzz

What Are You Hearing?

Contract Training. You're in the business. You've heard the news. Tell me, is it true? Are you really

seeing a shift in the type of work that's being requested? If so, what's seems to be the running theme?

Social Media training? Web 2.0? Drop in IT training, rise in Green?

 

Are you prepared to respond to these requests or are you scrambling to switch and roll in order to meet

your client's needs?

 

What do YOU need to be successful? How have you found a way to achieve this? Talk to me. I really

want to know what you're up against. Let's get a conversation going.

How to Be Seen

Seth Godin, my favorite marketing guru ever, wrote this week about the launch of the iPad, which I have followed deeply, since I am interested in how to get the word out about new products and also in the way that Apple courts and serves customers in general. The things that Seth says Apple did could be used to make your CT unit more known, too.

Here's the list. But read the full text here.

1. Earn a permission asset.
2. Don't try to please everyone.
3. Make a product worth talking about.
4. Make it easy for people to talk about you.
5. Build a platform for others to play in.
6. Create a culture of wonder.
7. Be willing to fail.
8. Give the tribe a badge.
9. Don't give up so easy.
10. Don't worry so much about conventional wisdom.

Millenials Not So Hot on Healthcare Reform

What does Gen Y think of healthcare reform? If a recent poll by Pew is any indication, not much. Get the full report here. Of course at their age, healthcare may not be a key issue for most Y'ers. Ironically, their disinterest is one reason we might want to work hard to be sure they are covered.

Millennials may stand to gain more from an expansion of government health insurance than people in any other age group. Fully a third (33%) of those younger than age 30 say they are not covered by health insurance; that compares with 19% of those in Generation X, and smaller percentages of Baby Boomers (12%) and those in the Silent Generation (3%).

Yet Millennials' support for the health care proposals before Congress has been lukewarm at best. Millennials do favor many of the individual components in these proposals -- for example, 65% favor the so-called "public option." But small percentages of young people expect their own health care or insurance coverage to improve if health care legislation passes. And as is typically the case with major policy issues, Millennials have largely tuned out of the health care debate: They are far less likely than those in older age groups to report they have heard a lot about the issue.

It's Over!

I was on the phone with a client in California yesterday and she said that she was training her staff to understand that the economy as we knew it was over.

She's right. We can waste our time wishing it would go back to the glorious '80's or we can get on with seeing what the new ways will be. I think lots of good has and will come from the recent money crunch and collapse of old and easy ways.

Not making light of people's hardships here--but many organizations had gotten into pretty sloppy habits around customer service and performance. They stopped keeping their word, for crimney sakes.

On the other hand, I went into a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant near my house in Portland. It was under new management and the previous owner had lasted less than a year. The new owner said, "People have been telling us what we want and we've re-written the menu twice this week."

Now THAT's listening to your customers. That's new. I'll go back.

What are you changing, based on your customers' changing needs? Tell us. The new way is turn-on-a-dime flexibility and intimate contact with customers.

A New Year's Gift for The Folks Back at the Office

OK. I don't so much like e-cards. I don't have the patience to open them. I skip right to the end with the message, which I do like to get. I don't like mass mailed office fruit cake and I don't like those calenders with pictures of waterfalls in places I've never been. I am getting rid of this stuff as I clean my office for 2010.

But things are tough in CT. We ought to be giving our staff SOMEthing for the new year. What should it be? How about:

A break.

How about they come in late, leave early or take a longer lunch. Double coffee breaks? Just for a day, a week. How about we cancel a standing meeting and replace it with free time?

Appreciation.

Let's say thanks. let's announce who made things happen. let's put up a poster in the break room saying something besides, "Please remove your lunches weekly." How about a note to families or significant others saying how great this employee is, and how much we appreciate being able to 'share' them.

Network building opportunities. 

How about we teach staff about social networks, virtual or real-time, and give them a little time and help to build one. People need connections more than ever and connections lead to business.

Reprieve from the Red Tape.

How about we ease up on the red tape. Let's extend some trust and let things happen, just for awhile.

A helping hand.

How about we extend a hand on something simple? From moving a desk to making a sales call, let's pitch in for half a day each.

If you've got ideas about how to gift colleagues, chime in.

San Diego in March

J wrote and asked today when the Spring Contract Training Institute (CTI) is. It's scheduled for March 1-4 in San Diego (think sun, think sun) and the certification exam can be taken there or when you get home. There's a Summer CTI scheduled for Baltimore (baseball, baseball) June 7-10. You can get the scoop on both on the LERN site, over on the right side. Should be fun. I will be teaching both.