Article about Bad Behavior

I have written for the Washington CEO magazine six times - all columns for their section called the CEO Advisory. I have gotten more emails from this last article than all the others combined. And it's a rant about bad behavior (an expansion of an earlier blog post). Cell phones, Blackberries, email, and the like.

You can check out the short article here (click on current issue, go to CEO Advisory).

I found one email message, in particular, very interesting. The person who sent it to me said I could share his example with you:

I enjoyed your article “Yeah, It’s Noticeable” and couldn’t agree with you more.  Those are things I NEVER do.  Maybe I’m just from a different generation.

It’s not a new problem, of course.  There’s a third generation family-owned hardware store chain in northern New England called Aubuchon Hardware.  Although they are fully 21st century, using computers and telecom for inventory control etc., that’s all in the back of their stores.  You won’t find a single telephone or email device in the front of any of their stores.  The story is back in the mid-1930s, one of the family members was visiting one of their stores.  He watched a clerk stop waiting on a customer to answer a ringing phone.  After that all telephones were taken out off their stores – they felt strongly that the customer in front of the counter was more important than any telephone.  Maybe that’s why they’ve been so successful.

That's a great example. I wish more businesses did that!

Comments

[Bruce Lewin]

So do I... I always 'try' and avoid answering a phone (mobile or otherwise) if I am already chatting to someone else!

[Wally Bock]

Sales clerks answering phones and chatting away while we customers wait in line is a pet peeve. When it happens to me, I get the clerk's attention and remind him/her that "I was here first." It doesn't always work, but at least I feel better.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Yes, and how is this different in an office environment? I can understand answering the phone if you are just doing idle chit chat about what you did last weekend, but if you are having a legitimate business conversation, you should not answer the phone.

And how about those cell phones with walkie talkie type features - that's totally intrusive because the person does not have the option to not answer.

[Wally Bock]

Howell Raines said of Bear Bryant: "Coach Bryant had an idea about how a man ought to act and if you watched him, you could figure out what it was." I have ideas about what courtesy and manners are and about how you should treat people. I hope if you watch me you can figure out what those ideas are.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Great quote. I often use this same line of reasoning when talking to senior leadership teams when they share their frustration about why certain undesireable behaviors are occuring.

"They are not undesireable," I say. "Every day you communicate your expectations and standards. It is quite obvious that you are communicating that this negative behavior is good enough. This also lowers the bar on what excellence looks like. Your standards are much more a function of what your do, and what your do not do, than of what you type into some management manual."

[Wally Bock]

I do an exercise in my basic supervisor training where I ask the participants to share what was important to their last boss. After we've discussed this for a few moments I ask them: "How did you know what was important?" The answer is overwhelmingly action-based, and usually includes several folks who share that "My boss said X but we knew s/he really wanted Y."

[Lisa Haneberg]

When I consult with a company, I talk to people, see what's going on, feel the general vibe, and then tell them what their culture, mission and vision are. I don't ask them to tell me first. It's always an interesting - and sometimes shocking - exercise. But helpful.

[Stanley]

Hi. The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.
I am from Greece and learning to read in English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Ends who show alone match once or typically as the firm little than that convinced at purpose."

Thanks for the help ;), Stanley.