Scott McKain Viewpoint

Just before I started to write this column for our bi-weekly “UCE-zine,” (if you aren’t a subscriber, click HERE!) the “Breaking News” banner flew across the screen. The Minnesota Supreme Court confirmed that Al Franken had won the race for U. S. Senate in that state.

And, while it’s important to emphasize here that I do NOT mean this as a political discussion, it IS vital to note that the newest member of the Senate is a perfect example of a question you need to ask about yourself and your organization: Are you the “safe” choice?

It seemed like it was not all that long ago that “safe” was a pretty…well, safe place to be for any professional or business. “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM,” was the phrase for equipment purchases long ago. Yet, it exemplified the traditional way of doing business – you couldn’t go wrong, as long as you went safe.

Now, however, we have a Midwestern state like Minnesota electing comedians and wrestlers to their highest offices. Rap artists now are owners of elite NBA franchises. They aren’t the safest choices – yet they are representative of what is capturing the imagination of the marketplace.

And, look at some recent history of taking the supposedly “safe” route: Who could’ve been safer than Jerry Seinfeld as a choice for Microsoft ads? Yet, they were abysmal. What was less threatening than selecting a GM car? Now, however, we’ve watched their decline into bankruptcy. What could’ve been more integral to our lives than newspapers and radio? Now, both of those industries are teetering on the brink of disaster. What could’ve seemed safer than having a former NASDAQ Chairman and Wall Street legend managing your investments? We all know how that turned out for Bernie Madoff’s clients.

In my own life, I had a major decision to make just a couple of years ago. An enormous company offered me a very senior position, reporting directly to the CEO. Big six-figure compensation – and the opportunity for even more. It seemed to be the safe choice…yet, I declined the offer. And, that ended up being a good thing. The CEO is no longer there, and rumors are rampant the division I would have been working for may soon be sold. Without question, the position I had been offered would have already been eliminated.

It’s no longer the right approach to simply take the safe route. Too much of what we have assumed to be secure has been proven to be built upon sand. If something or someone is perceived as being “too safe,” it also implies that it’s devoid of innovation. And, if you don’t believe revolutionary originality is winning, you haven’t been paying attention.

At the end of the day, all we can rely upon is our own talent, time, and ability to create distinction for ourselves and for the organizations where we work.

Don’t be safe. Be original. Be distinct.

The post on Twitter from @Lefsetz was simple. It read: “WSJ (The Wall St. Journal): 72% of 1,000 consumers in February have haggled in the past year (31% is the average) and they’ve gotten deals 80% of the time!”

In other words, more than DOUBLE the number of customers who are normally inquiring are now making it a point to ask you if there is a lower price than what you have offered them.

And, four out of five times, we have responded, “Yes! I can cut my price for you!” (Or, words to that effect.)

Several years ago, my good friend, Dr. Michael LeBoeuf wrote a fantastic book titled, “GMP: Greatest Management Principle in the World.” (It’s available used on Amazon HERE.) The thesis of the book is simply that the greatest management principle is that behavior rewarded is behavior repeated. In other words, what you reward is what gets done.

(One reviewer of the book wrote: “This has been one of the best business books that I have read, and I have read hundreds. In many ways, it seems so obvious that many people do not bother to understand it. As a result, we keep re-inventing the wheel and wondering why our resources are being wasted.”)

Consider for a moment how the price situation applies to the statistic from the Journal. If organizations are rewarding customers for asking about lower prices by giving them a cheaper cost on four out of five occasions, guess what we are “training” our clients to do?

If we’ve rewarded them for asking for a cheaper price — obviously the reward is that they receive the lower cost — they’ll keep asking until Kingdom come!

Don’t get me wrong…I would never suggest any absolutes…like you should “never” lower your price. However, would you just try one attempt PRIOR to any reductions? ADD something to the mix that enhances the value they receive for the price they are paying!

It doesn’t have to be extravagant…perhaps it’s faster delivery, an additional period of technical support, throw in a follow-up webinar…just try to first provide more reasons for them to say “Yes!” to your current investment level before you chop the price.

All of us who are working hard to maintain our current structure will thank you…

Four years ago today, my wife of twenty-four years passed away.

I wasn’t going to blog about it…most of what I offer here tends to address the business aspect of things rather than the intensely personal…however, after the passing in rapid succession of icons like Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and even pitchman Billy Mays, there are just a couple of thoughts I hope you’ll indulge…

As Sheri and I faced the reality of the situation, I entered into Christian counseling to help me deal with my roles as husband, caregiver, and soon-to-be widower. Since nothing in my life seemed to be “normal,” I asked the counselor a pretty awful question: “How long does it take to get over something as devastating as this?” I inquired. “Does life ever get back to ‘normal’?”

The counselor offered the most profound wisdom I could have hoped to encounter in my grief-induced cloudy thinking. She said, “Oh no. You’ll NEVER get over this. You’ll learn to live with it…but, you will never get over it.”

Strange as it may sound, her insight was liberating. After twenty-four years, I had no idea how I could ever lose someone so close. And, even though Sheri had constantly insisted that I prepare for “getting on with life,” I just didn’t want to at that point.

I followed Sheri’s request, and moved on with my life over these past four years. As you may know, I’ve since married a wonderful woman who is so supportive on days like today when I’m grieving…and, just as the counselor advised, I am not — and will never be — the same.

I’m telling you this because I want you to understand a couple of important points:

First, make your “bucket list” today — and start checking off the items on it. No one is promised tomorrow, as we see from the rich and famous from Michael Jackson to Billy Mays. You may not have the time that Sheri and I did to talk, pray, and laugh together in the final months and hours.

Second, while we read of the famous who have passed recently, I always remember that for some people that we don’t know, they meant the world. Not as a singer, actress, or television personality — instead as father, mother, grandfather, lover. There are people in your life right now who have that same depth of significance. Don’t wait. Tell them how much they mean to you.

Every single morning, I stop for a moment and think, “This is a day that Sheri did not receive. What will I do with this gift?”

What will YOU do with the gift of this day?

Yesterday, to several hundred high school students at a conference at Pepperdine University I made the very same point at the conclusion of my speech that I do with corporate leaders and business audiences – don’t miss the good stuff in life.

I told them that – although they didn’t realize it at 16 or 17 years old – life is short.

And while many are urging them to “pay the price” that it takes to become successful, they also need to ask themselves if it is “worth the cost.”

Then, I learned that a few miles away, Michael Jackson had just died at the age of fifty.

While many find it difficult to feel sorry for Jackson because of all the strangeness that surrounded him, uber-blogger Bob Lefsetz insightfully noted that Michael was robbed of his childhood by a family that depended upon him for their success and fame; and now his old age has been stolen, too. That’s tragic regardless of the person’s quirks and mistakes.

In his remarkable book, “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell illuminates the price one has to pay for success – literally 10,000 hours of hard work, learning, training, and effort. Yet, while few will pay that price, even fewer will examine the cost.

Michael Jackson seemed willing to pay the price to be an iconic cultural figure, however, the cost – lack of privacy, intense scrutiny – seemed to be something that drove him further into a place of disconnection from the real world, its expectations…and even its laws.

You see, “price” is the specific amount that has to be spent in order to acquire something that you desire. It can be monetary – as in the house or car of your dreams…or it can be a price of time and effort – as in the 10,000 hours that Gladwell describes.

“Cost,” however, is something different. It’s the grand total, the sum of what it requires to obtain and retain what you desire. It includes the price…and what follows.

We see people today who could pay the price to get a new house, for example, yet cannot afford the cost it takes – taxes, maintenance, and so forth – to keep it. We see driven professionals who pay the price – putting in the required “billable hours” and working 24/7 – and then resent the costs – like broken relationships, lack of personal time and growth, and a company that is disloyal towards them even after their individual sacrifice.

Businesses do the same. They pay the price for an acquisition, for example, without examining what it will cost in terms of employee moral, integration of systems and staffs, executive attention internally on the merger rather than externally on the customer, and a myriad of other aspects.

I have a friend who paid the price to become an accountant for a major firm – she has a CPA and an MBA – yet, once she got there realized she hated it. She quit. Wisely, she realized the cost of doing something that you despise is, at the end of the day, a significant part of your very existence.

We can debate endlessly the delicate balance of having an appreciation for Michael Jackson’s remarkable contributions to music and his fans, versus his strange, shocking, and very possibly illegal actions that also captured the world’s attention. However, regardless of where you stand on the King of Pop’s legacy, his passing should move you towards a moment of reflection.

Are you paying the price to achieve what you want?

And, after you achieve it…will you find that it is worth the cost?

So, you have a winery and you want people who enjoy your product in a restaurant to remember you when they return home.

Why not put a label on the bottle the waiter can tear so that you can have, in effect, a little business card — even if you’re only drinking “by the glass”?

That’s exactly what I experienced tonight at my new fave hotel (that I blogged about last month) Hotel Burnham in Chicago.

Yangarra Estate Vineyard created the cool label — and, given their terrific wine, I now have a way to remember them. (Not that their product will cloud my thinking or anything…)

How can you make it easier for prospective customers to remember you?

It’s how you turn them into clients….

This morning I realized that it has been six months since I cancelled my subscription to my local newspaper, The Indianapolis Star. And the enormous problem for the Star — and newspapers everywhere — is that I haven’t missed it one bit.

It’s not that I’ve decided to be uninformed…not in the least. It’s that I can read the news…and my favorite columnists, like Bob Kravitz…for free online. If I’m heading to bed late, I can even check the news then, instead of waiting for the paper to arrive in the morning. If I’m on the road on a speaking engagement, I just check out their website for the latest from my town, instead of having a stack of unread newspapers waiting at home for my return.

The Star isn’t the only paper I read — I also read The New York Times and The Wall St. Journal on a daily basis. I don’t receive the print version of them, either. They’re delivered wirelessly to my Amazon Kindle.

How do newspapers survive when their customers no longer desire the actual paper? Well, we can discuss the monetization of the web at length…but, the honest answer is that I don’t really know. But, the important point is you need to ask: What happens when YOUR customers no longer desire YOUR product delivered in the manner that it currently arrives?

On my recent drive home from New York, I passed the time listening to my favorite sports radio station. It’s in Indianapolis. I can get the station’s streaming audio on my iPhone, and listen to it all the way from New York City to Indy. What happens when your potential distribution extends far beyond your traditional boundaries?

Where will it all go? Even though we’re not certain…we had better aggressively keep asking the question.

Every year, I donate a day to go to Pepperdine University and speak to their incredible Youth Citizenship Seminar. YCS is a labor of love that I was introduced to by my very good friend Charlie Plumb and his wife, Susan. Her father, Charles Runnels, is the long-time Chancellor of the University, and a tremendous inspiration to all.

I’ll be back in Malibu for another year this Thursday…other speakers on the program include former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, LA Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, humorist and pundit Ben Stein, conservative broadcaster Dennis Prager, radio superstar Dr. Laura, and television legend Art Linkletter. I always feel a bit like the “Where’s Waldo”…or “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” cartoons…when you see the other folks with spots on the platform compared to my very modest success.

Today, I received this message from a participant in last year’s program. As you read this…it’s not about what she said to me…it’s to hopefully get YOU thinking about how you can impact and influence the life of some young person that you know…

Hi!

I just wanted to thank you again for your speech at YCS last year. Your words really helped me in my final year in high school.

“As you sow, so shall you reap.” Wow, I can’t tell you how many times I had to remind myself of this. With all the AP classes, extracurricular activities, extra community college courses, community service projects, college applications, scholarships, and still trying to have a social life, I was always busy, always tired, always exhausted. Yet, I really did get back what I put in. I was accepted into 7 universities, and was admitted into UC Los Angeles (UCLA), a school I’ve wanted to go to since I was a child. I won some scholarships, I graduated with honors, CSF (above 3.5 throughout sophomore, junior and senior year), National Honor Society, and with 180+ hours of community service. I was extremely proud to wear so many awards at my graduation. I felt as if my hard work, sleepless nights and zombie-like days at school actually and finally paid off.

“Integrity is a rare commodity.” When you first said this, I really didn’t understand it. Until now. Seeing my friends saying one thing, doing another and telling something else, I finally realized what integrity was, and how important it really is. It is now something I value in the highest regard.

“After every Winter comes Spring.” I first looked at this quote once my ex-boyfriend broke up with me. I also recalled it when I was rejected from Stanford. After being dumped, I could barely imagine being happier, like most naive teenagers. Yet, I realized that it really was for the better, and someone out there would be better for me. I saw the cracks in the relationship and finally accepted the breakup for the better. Once the rejection email from Stanford came in, I was truly devastated. But, I started seeing how great UC Los Angeles would be for me. I would be able to have a little bit more free time, instead of competing with some of the brightest students in the country. I would be closer to home. It would be cheaper. I always wanted to live in the city. The Medical Program is great. And Stanford could always wait a few years, and I could apply for Medical School there. Both of my “Springs” had come.

Anyway, I really just wanted to say thank you again, and show how influential you have been in my life. I couldn’t thank you enough. You have truly impacted and influenced my life, and helped me become the person I am today.

Always,
Reina Amiling
YCS 2008 Participant

YOU can make a similar difference in the life of someone YOU know. It might be someone under your own roof! Start now…find a way to make the life of a promising teen better!

Last week, I wrote an op-ed piece that has been in many newspapers around the nation, including in the Detroit daily. It’s sparked a lot of controversy…and, in case you missed it, wanted to share it here:

If my very future depended upon selecting a single person to sink just one basketball shot, I’m picking Michael Jordan. If my life hung in the balance, and one individual from our history had to present an oration that would determine my survival, I would beg Martin Luther King to speak on my behalf.

So, why in the moment of its greatest trial would General Motors — described by now-CEO Fritz Henderson as desperately needing to succeed in two areas: “product and customers” — turn in its time of crisis to someone with 43 years experience at the phone company? Don’t get me wrong, Edward Whitacre, Jr. changed the landscape of that great American institution, AT&T, re-shaping it from a monopolistic giant into a diversified, competitive enterprise. He took the smallest of the so-called “Baby Bells” — SBC — and created a global powerhouse.

The problem is that what Whitacre foresaw for his company then — colossal technological change and rapid consolidation — is not the immediate future of the automotive industry. It was never the case that customers didn’t want to buy a phone; instead it is that we wanted more of the communication services they had to offer in new and exciting ways. On the other hand, few of us are thrilled by what we have to endure to purchase an automobile. GM has become so disconnected from its customers, that we will do just about anything to avoid interaction with them.

AT&T grew because of the technological advances in their industry — not because there were so customer-centric that they took existing market share from their competitors. Which, of course, is the very aspect that GM needs to execute to survive.

When it comes to AT&T Wireless, for example — does anyone doubt that whatever degree of success they’ve had lately was more dependent upon Steve Jobs than the system that Ed Whitacre established? Apple’s iPhone — and the entire customer experience created by Apple Stores — has driven almost all of the advancements of AT&T Wireless. If the AT&T stores were regarded as customer focused, why did the vast majority of us go instead to Apple to buy our phones, and only reluctantly endure the AT&T experience?

It is a bit odd that in this time where the Administration is stressing fiscal discipline and reduction in executive compensation that the pick for GM’s Chairman is a man who, according to “Corporate Library,” left his previous position with a retirement package valued at $158.5 million. Yet, you don’t assemble companies like the one AT&T became under Whitacre without knowing your way around all three branches of government.

That’s why the fundamental reason for Whitacre’s selection should be painfully obvious — GM is more focused upon a Chairman who can work with governmental overseers than inspire dealers and create products that connect with customers. For all of CEO Henderson’s posturing of the past several days — and he’s done a pretty good job at it — it speaks volumes that the selection of GM’s Chairman is someone from another industry that, like the car business, was formerly bloated beyond description, took those who sold their products for granted, and often treats those who spend money with them as chattel.

If the Administration really believed what their hand-picked CEO was saying — that products and customers make the difference — why not be really distinct in the selection of Chairman?

Why not ask Steve Jobs to lead GM instead of returning to Apple at the end of the month? It would be interesting to challenge him in a similar manner to the provocation he issued to John Scully all those years ago.

Howard Schultz at Starbucks knows a thing or two about the customer experience. Alan Lafley is retiring as CEO of Procter & Gamble and he excelled at retailing, manufacturing, customer relationships, and organizational change. Why insist that Roger Penske purchase Saturn to make his point? He already knows every aspect of the automotive business — and would be someone who would excite the imagination of every car lover on the planet.

In the final analysis, there is really a solitary reason that this particular type of choice is made — GM has a greater desire to get along with the owners than the customers. The skill that was sought — like I’d have Jordan take the shot or Dr. King give the speech — is not to direct the corporate strategy to create distinct products and distinctly positive relationships with prospects and customers.

I really don’t mean to be slamming Whitacre…in fact, I note his accomplishments in moving AT&T into another arena. I just believe it speaks volumes about the direction of GM. If you want someone to lead the company into a customer-centric era of terrific products and compelling experiences, you don’t select the guy from the phone company. If you want to navigate your way through governmental regulation and control, you do.

Whitacre is not the problem. His selection is a reflection of the problem.

I hope the new Chairman is a wild success. As a taxpayer, I want my investment to pay off! But, GM needs to be revolutionary in their approach to customers and development of products. While Whitacre certainly provided leadership to AT&T, my belief is that GM needed a different type and style of direction.

What matters most to those who selected Edward Whitacre is simply the ability to work with the regulators. And, as becomes obvious, from the corporate headquarters it’s now undoubtedly Obama Motors, and not any kind of General, or customer focused, one.

No doubt, I’ve been tough on GM lately…and that doesn’t really put me in the minority. The mistakes that have been made in everything from the selection of the new Chairman of the company, to the product line, to the way in which dealers market the cars, have been points that I — and many other commentators and bloggers — have been writing and speaking about frequently here in these past few months.

However, thanks to Hare Chevrolet of Noblesville, Indiana (in the Indianapolis area), I’ve had an eye opening experience.

Courtney Cole, Vice President and Owner of Hare, contacted me about visiting their dealership and driving a Chevy just to see what TODAY’S experience was all about. She admitted that there are dealerships providing an inferior customer experience…but asked me not to paint all of them with the same brush. And, she indicated that I might be surprised by the quality of the new GM/Chevy product. I agreed to take her up on her offer.

The Hare dealership is a very well designed place of business. It’s appealing when you drive in…and, like most of today’s car lots, has a significant amount of inventory from which to select.

I have lived in Indiana for much of my life, but did not realize that Hare claims to be the nation’s oldest transportation company in continuous operation! According to their website, in 1847, a 19 year-old man named Wesley Hare set out to earn a living as a wagon maker. With his broad ax, mallet, chisel, augers and like tools, he did his work. He opened a shop in Noblesville, and from a very small beginning, it gradually grew to one of the largest carriage and wagon making companies of the Midwest. Automobile sales were added to the Buggy & Wagon business in 1912. Early models of Cadillacs, Hupmobiles, Overlands, and Studebakers were among the first automobiles sold. In 1921, W. Hare and Son began selling Chevrolet automobiles.

Hare Chevrolet even has one of the wagons displayed in the showroom!

After a terrific conversation with Courtney, she introduced me to Ty Lowery, a sales associate, who proceeded to show me the Chevy Malibu I would be driving. Ty was a terrific example of salesmanship! Combining both interest in the customer with immense product knowledge, he created a real sense of anticipation for me about the drive.

And…I was impressed! I couldn’t begin to believe the number of features that the Malibu had for its price. The car seemed to me — someone who isn’t a car expert, but is the typical customer — to be very well constructed and engineered. In fact, it was a TOTAL surprise! This is one heck of a car!

I drove the Malibu for several days, and became increasingly impressed. Great ride, good “feel”, just an all-around terrific automobile. And, with a price fully equipped in the low $30’s, a very strong value.

In coming posts, I’ll have more on the Hare Chevrolet experience — which was terrific. For now, here are the major points for you to consider about YOUR business:

1) Should you offer a “test drive” to someone in your area who may be surprised about the product quality or service experience you provide? Hare Chevy made me a new advocate!

2) Are prospects evaluating your product and service based upon outdated information? Or, perhaps, upon experiences they received before you had control of the connectivity that customers have with your department or organization? How can you update their experience?

3) Courtney from Hare used social media as her method of contacting me — are you active on local blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and the like? If not, you may be missing out on influencing those who are influencing others. And, you are certainly missing out on contact with prospects and customers!

4) Courtney turned me over to Ty so I could have an experience with a salesperson. Do YOU trust your salespeople so much that you would have them create the customer experience with someone you knew was going to write about it to thousands of readers? Or, would you just “do it yourself” so the result was totally in your control? Savvy managers realize that they must trust their team.

While I still am critical of many of GM’s corporate moves, Hare Chevrolet provides a great lesson — DEALERS control the experience that the customer has. Don’t assume they are all just alike.

For a better experience…find a better dealer…like Hare.

One of the great aspects of Twitter is that you make friends that you have yet to meet in person. That’s the situation with Mike Henry, Sr. from Oklahoma. From the “small world” category, we have close mutual friends — Mike attends church with my long-time friends Dee and Shirley Sokolowski — so, perhaps that’s part of why we hit it off.

I want you to recommend that you read…several times…Mike’s blog post titled, “Who Do You Love?” It’s about the point where most organizations center their attention.

Please don’t overlook one of the really thought provoking points Mike makes here — one of the reasons there was a shift from customer focus to stockholder focus was the perception that shareholders in the company were more solid than the fickle customer. However, as Mike’s insight reveals, the investors buying your stock turned out to be even more skittish than customers!

Mike suggests a change — and it’s one that deserves discussion! You can advance the concept by first reading Mike’s blog — CLICK HERE to begin.

It’s one that will make you think…