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Having a VALID opinion

CJ McClanahan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:40:23 +0000

“It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you’re an idiot, than open it and remove all doubt.”

- Shelly McClanahan (my mom)

A few weeks back, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about IU basketball. I made the statement that I thought Crean could recruit, but was an average coach at best.

My friend asked me if I could name 3 of our 5 starters. When I couldn’t, he suggested that I reserve my opinion until I could pay more attention to the team.

Good point. I hadn’t done my homework and earned the right to have an opinion.

Unfortunately, very few people do their homework before making passion filled (and often negative) statements about topics.

If you have any doubt, spend 2 minutes on Facebook and look at the political discussions.

This week, keep quiet and just listen.

PS – Watching the debates isn’t enough homework to have a political opinion.

Honesty

CJ McClanahan — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:49:58 +0000

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein

It’s tempting to tell a little white lie.

We’ve all done it at some point. Fudged on our SAT scores, the salary of your latest job offer or the time you got up last Saturday.

This week, a successful client of mine, told me that what differentiates his team from the competition is that they are brutally truthful in all matters, even when it leads to a major financial setback.

Your life is built upon a foundation of fundamental values. One of these is honesty.

How solid is your foundation?

Customer Service – Steve Jobs is Gone

CJ McClanahan — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:50:19 +0000

Mr. Jobs wouldn’t be happy.

Last week (more than 7 days ago) I was at the gym and the screen on my brand new iPod Nano quit working.

That evening I called the Apple help desk to figure out what to do. After waiting on the phone for 17 minutes I was connected to a helpful individual who walked me through a bunch of trouble shooting and concluded that I needed to talk to someone else.

Instead of transferring they indicated this individual would call me the next night (at home). 30 minutes later my phone rang and they were ready to talk.

I was OK with that because I wanted to get the issue resolved. The individual indicated that they needed to replace the iPod and gave me 2 options – have it shipped to my house or visit the iPod store and pick up a new one (which would be quicker).

I chose the second, scheduled an “appointment” and visited the store (actually my wife did).

At this point they told me that the iPod was broken (news flash) and they needed to order a part (doesn’t the whole thing have about $2.46 worth of materials). They indicated they would call me when they received it and would have the part overnighted.

That was 5 days ago.

Apple is lucky. They dominate the market for MP3 players (today…. Check back in 2013 – think Google + Android + Pandora).

Your business is not Apple. You can’t afford a customer service train wreck like this.

What processes do you have in place to ensure that you exceed customer expectations every single time?

Why You Shouldn’t Vote

CJ McClanahan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:33:06 +0000

As we prepare for another presidential election, there’s no doubt that you will see multiple PSA’s suggesting that everyone should get out there and vote! Many will claim that it is an outrage that less than 60% of the voting age population goes to the polls in a presidential election year.

Baloney.

I would feel a lot more comfortable if the percentage were down around 10% and here’s why.

The average American is intellectually lazy when it comes to politics.

Their voting decisions are based almost entirely on emotional perceptions. Worse, those emotional perceptions are based on sound bites, commercials and 90 second profiles on the evening news.

For example, I was having a conversation with a friend of mind the other day about who he was going to vote for in 2012. He is extremely sharp, very successful and thoughtful. He told me that he couldn’t vote for any of the Republican candidates. When I asked why he stated that his opinion was formed by watching the debates.

The debates!

The debates are the last place anyone should go to learn about a candidate. Every candidate is forced to state their opinions in 30 second blurbs that they know will get replayed a thousand times on You Tube or the nightly news. As a result, instead of having a meaningful conversation about any topic they repeat a campaign theme they hope the average voter will pay attention to when surfing the internet or flipping through channels.

So, unless you are going to really begin researching the candidates and their opinions, I recommend you stay home in November.

Passion

CJ McClanahan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:11:40 +0000

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” – Mitch Albom

On Friday, I served as a “Mystery Reader” at my son’s second grade class.

As I greeted the teacher, I imagined that now would be a perfect time for her to get some grading or other admin work completed while I addressed the kids.

But she didn’t.

She did a few things at her desk and then turned around and watched the kids, participating as necessary. You could see how much she loved guiding these young people.

I left thinking how lucky I was to have her teaching my son.

How passionate are you about your work?

PS – If you want to see passion in action click here.

Current Opportunities

CJ McClanahan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:24:35 +0000

“Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand.” – Bruce Marton

As you prepare for another New Year, instead of focusing on the challenges ahead, ask yourself – “What am I going to do with the opportunities I have been given?”

Recongnition

CJ McClanahan — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:15:09 +0000

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). – Matthew 1:23

As you put away the gifts and prepare for the New Year, I want to encourage you to take a moment and reflect on the reason for the season.

Regardless of your religious background, it’s important that each of us recognize the birth of a man who taught a very simple message – love your fellow man put the needs of others before your own.

Holiday card, to send or not to send?

CJ McClanahan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:02:48 +0000

For the second year in a row, our firm didn’t send out Christmas cards.

It’s not that I’ve turned into Scrooge or don’t get into the holiday spirit. I love the season.

I just find it to be a complete waste of time. You buy a “Seasons Greetings” card, have your staff sign it and then place it into an envelope with a printed label, and mail it to your entire database.

And guess what happens when it gets to the recipient? That’s right –it goes directly into the garbage.

In a world filled with clutter, what are you trying to accomplish with this correspondence?

Do you send the letter just because you’ve always done it? Do you really think you clients keep a running total of all of the holiday cards they receive each year?

Your goal is to stand out not blend in.

Keep that in mind the next holiday season.

You can have anything you want!

CJ McClanahan — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:56:37 +0000

“You can have anything you want if you will give up the belief that you can’t have it.” – Dr. Robert Anthony

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of young people about the secret of success.

While I believe that there are many factors (hard work, etc.), I told the group that the foundation for every achievement in life is belief in yourself.

As you reflect back on 2011, ask yourself if your lack of belief kept you from achieving any of your goals.

Focus-One day at a time

CJ McClanahan — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:56:21 +0000

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

Most people feel stress and anxiety when they begin to borrow trouble.

If you’ve ever had an uncomfortable conversation with your boss and spent the next few days worrying about how you’ll find a job in this economy, you know what I mean.

A good rule of thumb is to focus exclusively on what you can accomplish by the time you go to bed each day.