Barbara Glanz featured in newly-launched book “Who’s Your Gladys?” by Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest

ARE YOU READY FOR THE HYPERSENSITIVE CUSTOMER?

As if businesses weren’t struggling enough these days, a recent study out of the U.K. has revealed the emergence of the “hypersensitive customer,” a consumer that has less cash, more information and less tolerance for poor customer service than ever before. The study, conducted by UK accounting and business consulting firm BDO Stoy Hayward, found that in the last 18 months, customers have become less loyal, as they realize how privileged retailers are to have their business. In fact, 48% of consumers admitted increasing their expectations over the past two years.

Customers are plugged in, with easy access to consumer reviews, detailed technical information and competitive product information. They have tighter budgets, so they’ve become more discerning in both the products they buy and the service they expect. 74% of respondents in the study said they wouldn’t purchase products and would leave the store if they encountered what they deemed to be poor service.

Are you and your business ready for the arrival of the hypersensitive customer? If not, now is the time to examine your customer service practices and get them in line with the needs of today’s consumer.

There’s a new customer service book on stores shelves and online resellers that can help you manage this new breed of consumer. When you order Who’s Your Gladys? today, you get a special package of 40+ electronic bonus gifts in customer service, sales, marketing and professional development. Buy your copy today at www.whosyourgladys.com. Watch the WYG book trailer here: www.youtube.com/whosyourgladys.
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To find out how to get your free copy of Barbara’s article “A Choice in Every Interaction,” featured in Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/gift/.

Barbara Glanz, CSP, Speaker, Author, Consultant, and EMCEE!

NEW SERVICE OFFERED –Hire Barbara to be the EMCEE at your next meeting!

I have just started doing some Emceeing for several large clients like Guideposts, and I am LOVING it! I have developed a “theme within their theme” for each of the general sessions for about five minutes that really facilitate community within the group. i have also requested that when I introduce someone, they tell me something fun and personal about themselves instead of all the “business” stuff that everyone already has in their binders. This, too, has added warmth and bonding within very diverse groups who often do not know one another. In groups that already work together, these additions have created a deeper trust level as well as a lot of fun, so the attendees become much more engaged in the meeting itself as well as developing a new level of community and sharing.

One of my strengths in presenting is that through my own authenticity and creativity, I am able to create a level of trust and caring as well as a sense of joy and openness. I have long seen this happen in my keynotes and workshops; however, I did not realize it would translate into Emceeing until I had the privilege of working with the Guideposts gathering.

Brian Porter, the President of Guideposts Foundation, said this about their national meeting,”The Guideposts Gathering in November was tremendously successful. Our emcee was Barbara Glanz, who did an outstanding job. We were grateful for the tone she set for each session by suggesting a theme or key words–Gratitude, Appreciation, Joy, and Enthusiasm.” I truly was the encouraging spirit that brought everyone together …..and I loved it! 😉 It was my motto of “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™ in action.

Call us at 941-312-9169 for more information on this new service.

Blessings,
Barbara

For more information about what Barbara can do for YOUR organization, visit www.barbaraglanz.com.

Outlining Your Life Story

Last weekend I was asked to do a session at the Veteran Speakers Retreat in Boiling Springs, PA. It is a select group of 60 people who have all been very successful in the speaking business–precious people such as Charlie Plumb, who was a prisoner of war in Viet Nam for 6 years; Bob Orben, who was the speech writer for JFK; Norm Rebin, a Statesman from Saskatoon, Canada; Naomi and Jim Rhode, who have founded several successful companies; Bubba Bechtol, who is a headliner at the Grand Ole’ Opry; George Morrissey, Lou Heckler, Al Walker, Don Thoren, Tony Alessandra, Jim Cathcart, Emory Austin, and Michael Aun who are all in the Speaker Hall of Fame; Ralph Archbold who is known as Ben Franklin; Gil and Esther Eagles who own a wonderful speaker’s bureau; Gayle Carson, the “Spunky Old Broad;” Bill Johnson, the first Executive Director of the National Speaker’s Association; and good friends such as Scott and Melanie Gross, Annette Dubrouillet, and Gloria Jones, all of whom have made such a difference in this world. It was a special honor to be asked to attend.

For my session, I asked everyone to do an exercise which involved thinking about the “story of their life.” I asked them:

* What would be the title of your life story?

* What would the chapters of your life story be?

I read them this quotation:

“THE PAST HERALDS THE FUTURE: the lines that you see in your past will guide you in discovering your mission. As you recall your personal story, you will be recounting the deep work of your soul and you will gradually become aware of inner calls often left unheeded or forgotten. To remember means to re-member or to ‘reassemble what had been dismembered or dispersed.’ Remembering or going back over your story allows you then to ‘reassemble’ into a coherent whole the pieces of the puzzle of your life: scattered memories, unfulfilled desires, abandoned projects, and so on. Bit my bit, you will grasp hints of your mission which, like the stitching on a piece of cloth, appears and then disappears throughout your story.

When you have finished reconstructing your past, you will examine your passions, your tendencies, your persistent interests, your dreams – realized or abandoned. You will then be better able to recognize your soul’s impulses and efforts as it strains to give birth to its mission.”

John Monbourguette,
How to Discover Your Personal Mission

Although we did not have much time to spend on the exercise, I got lots of good feedback from people. We heard words in the titles like “metamorphosis,” “epiphany,” “journey,” “mistakes,” “recovery,” “crash landing,” “emergence,” and “commencement.” One person even told me that the title of his next book came from the session!

I would encourage everyone spend some time thinking about these questions and then share your outline with family members or close friends. We all need to step back from the busyness of our daily lives and survey, both personally and professionally, what our life story has been. Only then can we look to the future with new understanding and wisdom and find our legacy and mission for the time we have left on this earth.

Barbara and part of her life story!

To learn more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com

Question & Answer with Barbara Glanz

How can I get my co-workers to become more enthusiastic about our work?

Click on the link above to watch Barbara answer this question.

For more questions and answers with Barbara, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/iquestions.

Communicate with Assurance

COMMUNICATE WITH ASSURANCE

I am honored to serve on several national Boards of Directors, and at a recent meeting as we were discussing a touchy issue, I ashamedly recalled an experience I had had when I was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association several years ago.

I was a newly elected member and had just been through some really rough times in my personal life, losing my husband of 34 years to cancer and making a move across the country where I knew no one. Therefore, my self-esteem and confidence was at an all-time low, and it did not help that the other people on the Board were very high-powered, wise, and successful entrepreneurs.

At this extremely important meeting to plan an upcoming conference during the leadership year of the President-elect, he requested that we endorse his idea of an offshore, creative workshop that would be dramatically different from anything the organization had ever done before. He had done his research and presented his case passionately and professionally. However, there were a number of negative reactions from other members of the Board, and it did not appear that his proposal was going to pass.

I sat across the large table, thinking, “Why can’t we trust his judgment and allow him to plan this unique opportunity during his year of leadership? He has done the research, and there is little risk for the organization. Why can’t we simply accept his passion and commitment to a new kind of education for our members?”

However, as much as I wanted to speak up, I simply did not have the courage. Some time later in the discussion, another member of the Board expressed exactly my sentiments…..and the proposal eventually passed.

To this day I regret not speaking my mind and communicating with assurance regardless of the eventual outcome. I was more concerned with what people would think than being true to myself and my commitment to the members who elected me.

As I think about communicating with assurance, these are some of the things that would have helped me:
• Know exactly what you want to say. Write it out if possible. If not, rehearse it in your head before you open your mouth.
• Value your own expertise and knowledge. Do not be intimidated by others.
• Look your audience in the eye when you speak to show the confidence you have in your opinion.
• Remember others may be as hesitant or unsure as you are, but you can be proud of yourself to have garnered the courage to speak.

The bottom line is that an opinion is simply that – another way of looking at something, so when you communicate with assurance, you are not risking your reputation; rather, you are simply sharing your thoughts and ideas. Listen carefully and with an open mind, do your homework, and finally, believe in yourself. Then, you will not have any regrets.
The root word of “courage” is the Latin word “coeur” which is the word for “heart.” If you are truly speaking from your heart, your audience will value that, and whether they agree with you or not, they will respect your opinion.

For more Communication ideas, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/ideaofthemonth

Barbara’s Idea of the Week

BLENDING WORK AND SPIRIT

This idea is excerpted from Barbara’s book Balancing Acts – More Than 250 Guiltfree, Creative Ideas to Blend your Work and your Life (Dearborn 2003). To order this book, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books/.

Write a Balanced Mission Statement. Think about all the roles you play in your life. Do you:

Have a job?
Have a spouse or significant other?
Have children at home?
Have elderly parents?
Have a social life?
Participate in an exercise program?
Have a hobby?
Belong to a religious organization?
Volunteer for your church or community?
Believe strongly in one or two cause?

Susan Iida-Pederson, the vice president of corporate relations for Creative Memories, talks about the importance of writing a balanced mission statement. She says it is important to know who we are and what we value. That way when we find ourselves in “fast-forward,” we can hit “pause” and remember that what we do is secondary to who we are. Then we can focus less on our “to do” list and more on our “to be” list. Writing a balanced mission statement is a part of blending our spirit with the other aspects of our lives.

To begin your own Balanced Mission Statement, first list each of the six areas of your life:
1. WORK
2. FAMILY
3. FRIENDS
4. HEALTH
5. SPIRIT
6. SERVICE

For each area express in one or two phrases or a sentence what you value about that area or what you want to be in that part of your life. Then put these sentences or phrases together to form your Balanced Mission Statement. Here is an example from Rhonda Ellis, a senior director for Creative Memories: “I want to contribute to a happy, loving, encouraging family and maintain a peaceful, secure home… to operate a profitable, part-time business… to grow in god’s wisdom and reflect this to others … to encourage and mentor others, especially women… and I want to be strong in character and gentle in spirit.”
As you think about each area, consider these questions:

WORK — Is this about income, an entrepreneurial spirit, security, sharing with others? Is it a creative or social outlet, a personal development opportunity, the application of a gift or talent? Do you have a sense of mission about your work? What do you value or want to be in your work?

FAMILY — What do you value for your family — harmony, peace, quality time, love, respect, fun, communication, caring for others? What is important to you about your home – order, hospitality, comfort, joyfulness? Do you value quiet, peace, and serenity or activity, energy and community?

FRIENDS — What value do you place on friends in your life? What kind of relationships do you want to have and what kind of friend do you want to be?

HEALTH — What value do you place on your health? How do you want to live and care for yourself?

SPIRIT — Is spirit to you about God, prayer, and reflection? Or is about being ethical, moral, loving, forgiving, or generous, being a person of grace? Do you value doing the right thing, spending time in church or a synagogue, helping others, inner peace? Do you value education, lifelong learning, using your gifts? Do you value the joy of living each day to the fullest? What do you want to be in this area of your life?

SERVICE — Are you passionate about a cause? Do you feel a need to give back to the world? Where do you want to make a difference?

Notice if you had difficulty clarifying any of these six areas of you life. Often this exercise will help us to see which areas of our lives we might have been neglecting.

Finally, define the essence of who you are as a person. This is about character traits such as integrity, caring honesty, enthusiasm. Are you task-minded, free-spirited, and adventurous, or are you conservative, quiet and thoughtful? What do you want to be as a person? What traits do you value most?

Question & Answer with Barbara Glanz

What’s the best way to create an effective presentation?

Click on the link above to see Barbara answer this question.

For more questions and answers with Barbara, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/iquestions.

Fun Thoughts for your Day!

A good friend sent me these delightful thoughts. They made me smile AND think! I hope you enjoy them.

1. If you’re too open-minded, your brains will fall out.
2. Don’t worry about what people think; they don’t do it very often.
3. Going to a church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage
makes you a car.
4. It isn’t the jeans that make your butt look fat.
5. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
9. For every action, there is an equal & opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway. (Just remember how ?lucky you were to get a free trip
around the sun.)
14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind & ?narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you’ve kept for years & ?throw away three weeks before you need it.
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you ?to recognize a mistake when you
make it again.
22. By the time you can make the ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides ?a nice contrast to the real world.
25. If you must choose between two evils, ?chose the one that you’ve never tried before.

Have a BLESSED day!

To learn more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.

Question & Answer with Barbara Glanz

How can you make a lasting difference in the relationship you have with your customers?

Click on the link above to see Barbara answer this question.

For more questions and answers with Barbara, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/iquestions.

Barbara’s Idea of the Week

Appreciate your employees as Individuals

This idea is excerpted from Barbara’s book CARE Packages for the Workplace–Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work, (McGraw-Hill, 1996) available at www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books/.

The Idea:

Sometimes in showing our appreciation we give others a generic reward or even what WE think they would like. To truly recognize someone in a special, caring way, concentrate on that person as a unique individual.
The Idea In Action:

At Blanchard Training and Development in San Diego, California, Ken Blanchard, whose new title is “Chief Spiritual Officer,” as a special surprise gave each of the 125 employees $50.00 with the following instructions:

“You each have one hour and 15 minutes to go out and do something special just for yourself. At the end of that time, come back and each of you tell us your story.”

This creative surprise to appreciate their employees not only added wonderful fun and spirit for that day but more importantly contributed to company legend by creating lots of stories.

Another way the Blanchards showed special appreciation for their employees was taking the entire company with the exception of a skeleton crew who volunteered to man the phones to the International conference of the American Society for Training and Development. This was not only a fun trip for them, but they also got to learn more about the training industry of which Blanchard T&D is a part, and they were able to attend sessions that contributed to their own professional growth and development. The eight people who stayed behind to man the office were treated to a special appreciation luncheon.

At Enterprise Systems in Wheeling, Illinois, $1500 in gift certificates are available for employees to give to one another for special appreciation. The presenter writes a sentence or two about why the award was given, and they decide the amount and the way they want to present the certificate. Each employee at the beginning of the year fills out a form listing things they would like to receive for recognition such as theater or sports tickets, dinner at a certain restaurant, a beauty treatment, etc. That way the presenter knows exactly what would please that particular employee and can give them a certificate for a uniquely special thank you. Also employees have come up with some really creative ways to present the certificates, so many spirits are regenerated!
Tips:

Rewards and recognition, to be truly meaningful, should be given to the individual in a way that says, “YOU are special.” Keep an “R and R” file with a list of each employee’s or co-worker’s interests and hobbies. Then USE this when planning a thank you just for them!

Read more about easy, low-cost or no-cost ideas to show appreciation for your employees in other articles by Barbara Glanz, available at www.barbaraglanz.com/articles.

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