Silence The Mind To Think Clearly & Deliver Results

#SridharPeddisetty #Agile #Scrum #Motivational #ProjectManagement #Management #AgileBestPractices #Inspirational  

Once there was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the farm. It was not an ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching the hay for a long while, he gave up and sought help of a group of children playing outside the barn. He promised that the person who finds it would be rewarded. Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all this kid looks sincere enough.” So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand. The farmer was happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Using the metaphor, a focused project team more often than not, delivers a project successfully. Project team must remain focused on managing value based project goals and stakeholders instead of simply concentrating on budget and scheduling. Below 5 tips can be used for a project team to remain focused 

#1. Be clear on the project value: Project delivery is not just about achieving agreed scope, schedule or cost but its about delivering value. Its often seen that project team while remaining focused on current work tasks sometimes remain oblivious of the value project is going to achieve at the end. In most cases, statement of work (sow) or proposal is authored by individual(s) who would likely not be responsible for actual execution of the project. So its important for the project team to be always aligned with what would be the end value of project. Project team needs to have a complete ‘buy-in’ into the value for them to appreciate their current work tasks. 

#2. Break plan into achievable milestones: We all understand that for every journey we embark, milestones helps us remain focused. Milestones are the small steps, which leads project team to the ultimate project goal whether it be developing of new product or service. Measurable milestones help the project team remain focused and celebrate their achievements along the journey, which goes a long way for a motivated team. Milestones also help team in executing, checking, planning and acting while keeping tab on quality to ensure alignment with the overall project goal. 

#3. Prioritize impediments mapped with value: In my earlier post Looking At An Impediment From A Value Perspective, I had shared  how when faced with an impediment, enlarge your vision of looking at the impediment from the perspective of delivering value. Matured project teams view the impediments as tasks, which needs to be completed for respective user stories and the tasks could be updated and prioritized for the value. As a Scrum Master or Project Manager, one needs to know how things get done in the organisation and who to speak to when faced with an impediment. 

#4. Separate people from the problem: It is very easy to get overwhelmed with frequent pressures of delivering value and thats when things can get defensive for the team. In my earlier post You Already Have ‘NO', Go For ‘YES’, I had shared how its important to keep emotions under check while delivering and always keeping in mind to respond and not to react.’My side of the boat is not leaking’ attitude does not help so its important to separate people from the problem and be rational in identifying solutions for the impediments or dependencies. 

#5. Look for continuous improvements: In my earlier post Value Stream Mapping As A Process Improvement Tool, I had shared how "Value Stream Mapping” can be applied as a tool for identifying inefficiencies in the processes. Retrospections are also key in identifying opportunities for continuous improvements. Note that singular way of doing retrospections does not necessarily fit culture of all organizations so its very important to customize how the feedback is taken and loop for the continuous improvement is applied.

Summary

Similar to how important it is to allow yourself a few minutes of silence to think sharply, project team needs to be focused for successful delivery of project value. 

Please share your thoughts on how you manage to keep yourself focused. 

Previous posts you might be interested in

• 5 Tips Delivering Quality Services To Your Client
• 7 Tips Having Good Times In A Client Relationship
• Are You Providing 'Right' Status of Your Project, Program or Portfolio?

5 Tips Delivering Quality Services To Your Client

#SridharPeddisetty #Leadership #Management #ClientManagement #ClientRelationship #EngagementManagement #CustomerService 

A gentleman once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?” “No,” said the sculptor without looking up, “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.” The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the damage?” he asked. “There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.” said the sculptor, still busy with his work. “Where are you going to install the idol?” The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. “If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?” the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, “I know it and God knows it!”

It was probably the understatement of the year when President and CEO of Volkswagen's US group admitted that the company "totally screwed up" in using software to rig emissions tests. More than the tangible monetary losses, it's the intangible reputation & loss of customer trust that will impact Volkswagen the most.

According to Gartner, 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers, and it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one satisfied. So it is a no brainer to understand that retaining an existing customer is very important for the continuous growth of any company. In my earlier post 7 Tips Having Good Times In A Client Relationship, I shared tips for helping experience the good times in a client relationship while converting them into everlasting memories & forging long term relationships. According to report from Oracle:

• 81% - customers are willing to pay more for a superior customer experience with nearly half (44%) willing to pay a premium of more than 5%.
• 89% - customers switched brands after a poor customer experience.
• 20% - annual percentage revenue losses due to poor customer experiences.

Below I am sharing 5 tips on how to deliver quality services to your client and ensuring trusting relationships

Tip#1: Understand the strategic objectives of your client - Long everlasting relationships begin with knowing your clients' wants and needs. Most times the focus is on scope, schedule, cost and the solution. It is important to understand the business problem or the strategic goal, which the client needs to achieve. We need to provide simple solutions to complex problems and not the other way around. 

Tip#2: Provide transparency in the delivery process to your client - Transparency is important in every business and client service is no different. Always strive for a high quality output by being transparent with your client on the delivery process and keep them engaged. Being transparent and with robust communication, you minimize the element of surprise and at the same time, earn client’s trust. One reason for wide adoption of Agile is mainly because it encourages customer involvement throughout the delivery process. 

Tip#3: Proactively plan for frequent client feedbacks - You need to measure client satisfaction and engagement by taking frequent feedbacks. Regular check points with the client can help easily identify areas of concern and perform course corrections before issues lead to an unhappy client. Without constant feedback from clients, it's more like working in a vacuum and waiting to be surprised. 

Tip#4: Be consistent in providing your services - Every client is important and you need to appreciate that by creating a unique client experience. Whether your client is a fortune 100 or not, be consistent in providing your services. It's a fact that a satisfied client would be willing to refer your services, leading to increased opportunities; while a non-satisfied client can spread the word faster and even more so via social media. 

Tip#5: Share your new services, processes, tools or competencies - A proactive customer service to help find solutions for continuous improvement not only helps keep the client happy but turns them into your strong brand advocate. You are cultivating shared values by engaging the client in your new services, processes, tools or competencies, which fosters relationships. 

Summary

To summarize, clients do not owe you their loyalty, you have to earn it continuously. Any organization’s strategy for their services should be built around delivering quality customer service. When performed properly, you have earned a happy client for life. 

"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." - Henry Ford

Previous posts you might be interested in:

• 7 Tips Having Good Times In A Client Relationship
• Empower Your Team To Own Responsibilities
• Are You Providing 'Right' Status of Your Project, Program or Portfolio?

7 Tips Having Good Times In A Client Relationship

#SridharPeddisetty #Leadership #Management #ClientManagement #ClientRelationship #EngagementManagement

When you come back from a family vacation, normally you remember all the good times you had including the moments that made you laugh, moments that made you relaxed, moments that made you feel proud, moments that made you feel blessed and moments that made you feel loved. If you have taken a road trip, you do not remember the number of times you applied the brakes or the mechanics of driving unless you met with an accident or had a near miss. Using the same metaphor, in a client relationship its not about the mechanics of delivering services to the client that is memorable but the feel good factors along the way, which the client experienced that remain memorable. It goes without saying that like the accident metaphor, if a service fails to deliver the value, it does stay in the memory with likely negative consequences.

Here are 7 tips for helping experience the good times in a client relationship while converting them into everlasting memories & forging long term relationships. 

#1. Build strategy around client satisfaction: A satisfied client is the best business strategy of all so build your strategy in delivering quality services to the client and define standards in terms of people, process and tools. Client appreciates processes which are standardized, routinized, predictable. Having variances in delivering services most often than not makes it complex while standardizing always makes job a bit less complex with predictable quality. 

#2. Be passionate about client service: Its important to understand how your services relate to the client and how the services solve client’s business problems. Always think about client’s business as if its your own and be passionate about it.  Working out the issues with this frame of mind, we ensure complete honesty while balancing in client’s favor and not merely always on our own wins. Its not the short term wins but the long term client gains, which fosters lasting client relationships. 

#3. Build the trust factor: The toughest thing about the power of trust is that its difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the client. Always keep in mind that courteous treatment will make a client a walking advertisement and will not only help you win return client business but also new hunting grounds with client referrals. Be honest with your client and realistic in the services you provide. 

#4. See opportunity when client complains: Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited as it represents a huge opportunity for more business, provided you handle it appropriately. We all understand that there would be times when client would complain and instead of being negative or defensive, use the opportunity to be an active listener and empathize with client. Earlier I had  shared a post on similar lines Why Active Listening is Key for Successful Delivery of Agile Based Projects

#5. Be Proactive rather than reactive: It is so much easier to be nice, to be respectful, to put yourself in your customers' shoes and try to understand how you might help them before they ask for help, than it is to try to mend a broken customer relationship. “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there”, so instead of being reactive, walk a mile wearing client’s shoe and be proactive. Devise a robust communication and stakeholder plan to manage being proactive and have a vision for client partnership. 

#6. Strive to be the best for client: Akio Toyoda famously said "Everyone says Toyota is the best company in the world, but the customer doesn't care about the world. They care if we are the best in town, or not. That's what I want to be.” Same thing applies when it does not necessarily matter to the client whether you are a top consultancy services company in the world or having more skilled resources but what matters most to the client is that you are best for them and partnering closely to achieve their strategic business goals.  

#7. Understand client expectations: Do not deliver services based on what client wants but deliver services based on what client needs. Its known fact that no customer ever asked for the electric light, the pneumatic tire or the iPhone. To understand client needs, its important to connect with them personally at all levels. Foster relationships through face to face meetings,  small talks and regular check-ins to always map delivering services aligned with the needs of the client. 

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives" 

Previous posts you might be interested in

• 5 Reasons To Let Your Team Struggle Today
• Empower Your Team To Own Responsibilities
• Are You Providing 'Right' Status of Your Project, Program or Portfolio?

7 Tips Having Good Times In A Client Relationship was originally published in LinkedIn