Can we talk?

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business.

But, there is nothing like a tough economy to help a business realize that, ultimately, their most important assets are the people who do the work.
There is also nothing like a tough economy to make you critically aware that any inefficiency in production, product delivery or communication carries a heavy price. Customer satisfaction is key.

I recently returned from a trip into the heart of the great state of Texas.The sheer size of everything is bigger! It's truly amazing! I had the sense that, in Texas, even time itself may very well be bigger. 

...and our client was/is a big fish in their industry. Big fish. Big industry. Big state.

Yet the needs and desired outcomes were much the same as a small start-up. As a very successful and profitable company, they take great pride in being nimble and responsive to THEIR customers needs. Their goals matched, and even exceeded their customers needs.

Working with a group like that is totally invigorating.

At the end of the first day of programming, I took some time for personal reflection. This client had given me a lot of stuff to think on. As I wandered around in a mid-Texas twilight, my thoughts kept going in circles.. 

-Who is our client? not their name, but who are they, really? What's their identity? and, what's their mission?... How do they define themselves? How do their customers define them?
-How does this company so easily self identify, yet others seem to struggle?
-How are we (Teamlink) serving them? according to their needs?... as defined by them? ..or as defined by their customers? .. or defined by us?
-Is our approach connecting with every participant? if not, how do we need to change?
-How do our clients do business? How have they done business, historically? What is their reputation?  ...and more importantly, how do they WANT to do business? 
-Are they committed to, and invested in change? Or, how do WE need to change to better connect?
-What are we doing to help them with their goals? Are we being successful? Are they being successful?
-How have they identified their goals? Are their goals the same as what their customers want their goals to be? Or, are the goals coming from within?

..round, and round, and round.... funny how reflection goes...


Pretty much, every client has, "successful, improved team work" as their goal for one of our programs... regardless of their size. WOW! such a nebulous goal.. 
That is similar to saying "we did 'team building' so, now, we are a team" as if uttering those words was a magic incantation.. It's not.

And, almost across the board many of the road blocks, in any organization, are similar: egos, insecurities, "rice bowl" issues, resistance to change, employee dissatisfaction and feelings of disenfranchisement.... and the inability, or anxiety, or even fear about communicating any of these legitimate issues, honestly and appropriately.

So, can we talk? 
I'm not so sure... After thinking on all of this, after many years in this business, it's my opinion that a tremendous amount of perceived team and leadership failures are due to less-than-optimum communications... be they in-person, spoken, or written and all the variant forms within each.

Team development needs to be enjoyable... The KISMIF principle applies - Keep It Simple-Make It Fun...
... but it can't be gimmicks and stunts. 
... and it MUST include applied communication skill development.

You will never hear me say or even imply that riding a zip line will make you a better team player. 
Zip lines are fun, but that's all.


Our clients are vibrant and growing companies... the BIG ones, and the small ones. Many of them are the mainstays of American business in both up and down economies.. and they all have a very positive view of "what can be..."

As the sun set over the distant hills, I was very content with the realization that it's really fun to work with groups and teams that are all excited about the possibilities of improving, growing and changing.... working on a team when everyone is "synched" and communicating is much more than fun, it's totally energizing for everyone! It truly is "what can be".

The next afternoon, in Dallas again, as I was going thru TSA Precheck, I looked over at all those other business folks in line for TSA screening...drained after a long day...mumbling niceties (I'm assuming) to the agents and each other, habitual rituals... and as I was boarding my plane for my return flight, I looked back out over the whole series of gates.. it appeared to be a sea of  folks who are, each, in their own way, clearly missing out on something.


Someday... hopefully... lets talk.