On WNPR’s Where We Live segment with Al Bhatt last week, the discussion focused on Gen Yers and how they are impacting the workplace. They come with their life experiences (choice, constant and real-time conversation, and access) and expectations in tow and, often, find themselves pushing against the behavior of established collectives.

Collective nouns name groups composed of members, e.g. army, cabinet, jury, faculty, etc. The verb that follows a collective noun can be either singular or plural. If all members of the collective are doing the same action, at the same time, in [...]]]>

On WNPR’s Where We Live segment with Al Bhatt last week, the discussion focused on Gen Yers and how they are impacting the workplace. They come with their life experiences (choice, constant and real-time conversation, and access) and expectations in tow and, often, find themselves pushing against the behavior of established collectives.

Collective nouns name groups composed of members, e.g. army, cabinet, jury, faculty, etc. The verb that follows a collective noun can be either singular or plural. If all members of the collective are doing the same action, at the same time, in the same way  – acting in unison – then a singular verb is correct. “The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not guilty.” If all members of the collective are doing the same action, at the same time, in different ways – acting as individuals – then a plural verb is correct. “The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are hopelessly deadlocked.” (Thanks to www.chompchomp.com for the examples and the explanation. More great grammar stuff is waiting for you there.)

So why the grammar lesson? Because it provides another way to observe and understand your organization. An organization, after all, is one big collective noun made up of a number of smaller collective nouns – staff, board, committee, group, council, team etc. And the way the collective nouns act determines a great deal about the future. If your company manufactures a highly technical element of a combat system, you absolutely want unison behavior from your manufacturing group – all members following the same instruction manual. But, do they (should they?) problem solve in the same manner, with a step by step guide?

You may have a mix among the collectives in your organization. Some act in an individual manner and others act in unison. Or maybe a mix within each collective where behavior moves back and forth. Or you may have individuals within collectives that don’t agree about how they should act, e.g. some want to act in unison and others as individuals.

So, what if you had a better sense of what your collective nouns are doing?

Try this. Identify all the collective nouns in your organization and consider how they behave and what impact they have. Then, detach yourself from what you know and what is on your mind, from past experiences to the stress of the impending future, so you can have an objective lens. Will you work with what you have and build around the dynamics that are already in place? Or, change what you have and rewire the collectives to work more effectively toward your organization’s goals?

Your organization’s needs are different from others. A collective voice, a collection of voices or a mix, are all plausible and worth dissecting to ensure that the work you take on is supported and sustained.

Your future is coming – and unless you do something, that’s the one you’ll get.

On the surface it’s obvious. We each have a future that we’re heading toward. But how many of us, in the midst of our day-to-day routines, appreciate that every second we spend on the path we’re on, further cements what’s coming? If you’re happy with your path, fantastic. If not, you have a limited time to make a difference. Lives are a lot like mutual funds – start investing early and baby steps are OK and the dividends are huge. Start late and your options are [...]]]>

Star-Forming Region LH 95 in the Large Magellanic Cloud Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Your future is coming – and unless you do something, that’s the one you’ll get.

On the surface it’s obvious. We each have a future that we’re heading toward. But how many of us, in the midst of our day-to-day routines, appreciate that every second we spend on the path we’re on, further cements what’s coming? If you’re happy with your path, fantastic. If not, you have a limited time to make a difference. Lives are a lot like mutual funds – start investing early and baby steps are OK and the dividends are huge. Start late and your options are reduced and riskier, and the climb is much steeper.

In Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin describes research done at the Music Academy of West Berlin by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson (The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance) on “why some violinists are better than others.” After examining and comparing virtually every aspect of the musicians’ lives, the answer was found in their histories. By age 18, the violinists in the “best” group had accumulated 1.5x more practice hours than the “better” group and about 2.5x more hours than the “good” group. From Talent Is Overrated, p. 60:

“But now imagine the situation of a violinist in the third group [good] who decides at age eighteen that he wants to become an international soloist. … The hard reality is that the best violinists of his age, the ones he’ll have to match or beat, have already racked up more than twice as much practice time as he has. If he wants to catch up, he’ll have to practice far more than they do, even though he’s currently practicing far less (nine hours a week versus twenty four). So he’ll have to multiply his practice time by a huge factor if he wants to catch up before he is an old man.”

You’re heading toward a future. What it will be is still up for grabs. But one thing is certain. If you don’t do anything differently today, you won’t have a different tomorrow.

When a customer leaves the fold, the tendency is to blame outside forces. They were shopping price. They had a change in personnel. They thought they could do it in house. They know someone over there. Of course any of these, and many others, could be true. Rarely, however, are they happening in a vacuum. There are other dynamics at work that have made it easy for someone to change allegiances.

On my commute there is a Dunkin’ Donuts and a McDonald’s across the street from each other. I always went to Dunkin’ Donuts believing their coffee to be superior. Then [...]]]> When a customer leaves the fold, the tendency is to blame outside forces. They were shopping price. They had a change in personnel. They thought they could do it in house. They know someone over there. Of course any of these, and many others, could be true. Rarely, however, are they happening in a vacuum. There are other dynamics at work that have made it easy for someone to change allegiances.

On my commute there is a Dunkin’ Donuts and a McDonald’s across the street from each other. I always went to Dunkin’ Donuts believing their coffee to be superior. Then McDonald’s did two things. They made all their coffee 99¢ and they introduced what they called their New England blend (from partner Newman’s Own.)

Saving a buck here and there is appealing to me in this time of tightened budgets – so the price caught my eye. Likewise, the new blend and its nice little regional ad campaign. I’d tried and liked Newman’s Own iced coffee so there was a little bit of brand equity at work here.

People, me included, don’t like to change. It’s hard. It means admitting you’ve bet on the wrong horse. It means altering habits. It means changing your identity in some way. (I was a Nike guy, now I’m an Asics guy.) There has to be a good reason, or maybe multiple good reasons, to go through the effort.

There is a Dunkin’ Donuts in my hometown that’s great. Friendly service. Consistent product. In fact most of my DD experiences are good. But at the Dunkin’ on my commute, I started to notice coffee inconsistencies. Some days the coffee was perfect, other days it tasted, well, wrong. That was the first straw. Second straw, service. The folks behind the counter never smiled and were all about getting people in and out – nice for busy commuters but a “Hi, how are you” doesn’t take more than a few seconds. Last straw: lines. Too many people. I was just one of the masses.

McD's and DD Battle for Bruce's Business

I was ripe for the picking. And they got me. But, it didn’t have to end that way. If the people at Dunkin’ Donuts had taken a few seconds to create some kind of bond with me, I would have been less likely to stray. If the coffee was perfect everyday, so that I looked forward to it (rather than wondering what version I would get), I would still be turning right rather than left.

This is just one minor example. But be warned: this same process is happening all the time. Will I change insurance brokers? Will I change churches? Will I change candidates? Will I change toothpaste? Will I change colleges? Will I change mates?

You’re someone’s client. How do you want to be treated? Do you want to be remembered once a year with a holiday card? Contacted only when an invoice is due? Called only when there is an upside for them? Ask yourself: what makes you stay with a product, a company or even a person? What makes you leave?

From your customer’s point-of-view, how do you think you’re doing at making it impossibly hard for them to leave you? Not sure? Ask them directly. Just by opening the dialogue you’ll be starting down the right path.

Relationships of any kind are hard. Strong bonds come from things like familiarity, reliability and thoughtfulness. And from regular, meaningful interaction. (This does not necessarily translate to convenient or cheap.)

In the day-to-day grind, it’s easy to forget who got you where you are today. The problem is, they don’t forget. And, being human, customers will go where they are happiest. Make sure you’re not leaving the door wide open for them to pack their things and move on.