CHANGING COMPETITION INTO COMMUNITY WITH GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Read the latest Drop the Monkey Business column in the business section of the Galway Advertiser (page 80) titled 'CHANGING COMPETITION INTO COMMUNITY WITH GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE'.

Click here to go to the digital edition.

Drop the Monkey Business

WHAT KEY TRAITS MAKE UP A 'BEST MANAGED COMPANY'?

Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategic and International Management and Deputy Dean at the London Business School is the author of 'Reinventing Management'. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to meet Julian when he was giving a seminar at the 'Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards' where the company I work for “The City Bin Co.” won a ‘Deloitte Best Managed Companies Gold Standard’s Award'. I asked Juilian ‘ What’s the key traits that make up a ‘best managed company?’

Juilian shared three tips with me.

• Have a clear end goal and vision of your service.
• Engage with your work. Love your work and get excited about what you do.   
• Have a say in the long-term direction of your company. 

Drop the Monkey Business and think like a best managed company.

IN THE PRESS!

Drop the Monkey Business has it's first outing today in the Galway Advertiser with a piece called   'Managing your business meetings' and  will run every second week. It will go online from the next edition. It is available on the digital edition which is online. click here to read online. This week I have printed the text below, but do pick up a copy for a preview of the real deal!

Page 101 with logo and nice green box!!

Drop the Monkey Business and read the Galway Advertiser!!

FACE YOUR TRUTHS & MOVE ON

Today I spoke to Katina, Social Editor of IMAGE magazine in Dublin. We talked about how when it comes to problems and blocks in life, business and relationships  people need to learn  to face reality, become honest with themselves and where they are, make the change and move on.

Ask Tina, a page in the popular Irish magazine answers people's questions  on moving forward with their relationships and life.  Katina calls it exactly as it is and gave me a small tip that can be applied in Business and life. 

Drop the Monkey business and face your truths so you can move on.

GIVE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

It’s vital when running a business to look at the customer service that you provide. The business basics are to stay calm, speak with a smile, always listen, offer solutions and give positive responses. The most important ingredient in providing excellent Customer Service is that the customer knows that it’s Job Done and No Sad Stories. That is the Brand promise of The City Bin Co., an Irish waste collector. I spoke to Gene Browne, CEO of The City Bin Co about giving Great Customer Service.

Be responsive to your customer’s requests and get the Job done right every time.  A satisfied customer will not only return, but will recommend you over and over again. Without customers your business will not exist, therefore great customer service is key and the customer is the king.

Drop the Monkey Business, & give excellent customer service.

Creativity, Innovation and You

We all have the ability to give and be our best yet we only shine on occasional moments in our life. Most of the time we are living and supporting somebody else’s dream and not giving one hundred percent of our energy to them nor to ourselves. This week I spoke with Marguerite Tonery, owner of Transflow Proformance about creativity. Marguerite  is an entrepreneur who created a new approach to developing creativity and innovation. Marguerite teaches this to businesses throughout Ireland.

To be creative is to come up with, develop or see something new; look from a different angle. Be yourself. It can be difficult to do this when you are confined to the rules of other peoples vision of life, but it's the creative people who shine because of their uniqueness and ability to tap into the creative zone within their given environment. We all have this ability. Marguerite shared with me how we can tap into that zone on a continued bases. 

Drop the Monkey business and be yourself. That's creativity.

LET GO OF YOUR FEARS & GO FOR YOUR DREAMS

Today I spoke to Mairead Heagney , creator of Aonacht, about how we sometimes let the flame of the best business ideas blow out.  She explained to me how fear impacts these creative ideas from the very beginning. 

How many times have you thought of a great idea to advance your business, career or life but it fell through at the starting line. What went wrong? What is the ingredient that successful people tap into in order to put life and energy into their ideas and make them work? I believe there is nothing to lose in life and only much to gain. There are two choices you can make when you get a great idea. You can act on it and just go for it or you can do nothing and watch somebody else make good of the very thing you thought of in the first place. Libby Gill has a great book to help with this very subject called “You Unstuck” where she shares different keys to overcoming the very fear that stops us  from getting to where we want to be in life.

Drop the Monkey business, let go of your fears & go for your dreams