Trust takes Time... and also the ability to be oneself at work - The RedBalloon corporate team - I wonder what teenagers would say if this was their first experience of work.

I have teenagers – their friends are beginning to get part time jobs… I am fascinated to watch them learn and discover the world of work. The experience that they have with these businesses my well determine what ‘work’ looks like for them.

Trust is paramount in every employment relationship – without it, it is really difficult to achieve great things.

So imagine a young person – his first work experience job – 5 days in total he has been told that he will receive $20 per day. He is happy with this because it covers the cost of his bus and lunch. At the end of the week no one mentions it – he leaves with out his $100… feels unable to say something to someone… and is quite hurt that they said one thing and did another. To a 15-year-old $100 is a lot of money. What is his impression of work so far?

Simon Sinek told us at his presentation this week that the biggest abusers of trust are organizations. (And large organizations the worst.)

“Trust is a feeling, it is a human experience” he said – our instincts tell us when things are not right. So much of business is now conducted ‘online’. The Internet is an amazing tool to connect people around the planet (and locally) to spread the word quickly and also to massively increase the speed of transactions…. but what it is not good at is building relationships. And an employment relationship is one of trust. Negotiations for instance are emotional activities – and as are better done face to face. Let’s not confuse technology for a relationship builder – email is ideally used to confirm the facts rather than a vehicle for emotional thoughts.

Trust takes time – as do all relationships. It is something that is given not earned. I said recently to all RedBallooners – “you have my trust – it is not something you need to earn – it is implicit” – that is I trust my choices in those leaders around me, I trust those leaders to fulfill on and live and honor our values – and that everyday they encourage and develop those around them…. first of all you have to trust yourself and your choices. There is no power in blame.

As employers though our role is to lead by example. I was saddened that one of my children’s friends, who had been so excited when they got an interview and then two ‘trial shifts’ at the local store… was not only not paid for their time – but the employer did not even give them feedback if they were good enough… they simply never called with another shift. What is that young persons experience of work… how easy it is to create a ‘them and us’ attitude. At $12.50 per hour for the sake of a total of $50 this young person would have respected, and perhaps even trusted the employer…  Now some other employer at some other stage is going to have to rebuild that persons trust in authority.

Trust is the very premise of all relationships – and the first employment relationship is critical. Leaders please give your people a reason to trust.

The documentary the Inside Job named Goldman Sachs two years ago

Greg Smith’s open letter of resignation from Goldman Sachs that appeared in the New York Times last week has been devastating on many levels. Only with time will the real impact be revealed, however already billions of dollars have been wiped off its stock price, with clients deserting at a fast pace. It has been a public relations fiasco. The questions I ask are: what about the colleagues and co-workers who remain at Goldman Sachs, and what of its employer brand?

Mr Smith, after 12 years at Goldman Sachs, writes that he could no longer participate in an institutionalized ‘toxic culture’ that he considered ‘moral bankruptcy’. This is strong language – and his allegations are directed at the most senior leaders the business.

I remember when I was at Ansett years ago (clearly) a colleague in his farewell speech chose to sledge his peers and superiors. He was young and thought it would be ‘insightful’. Whilst many of us may have concurred with his insights it was completely inappropriate to diminish others efforts publicly– quite frankly he came off as smug and superior… nothing was gained.

So what might be the outcome for Mr Smith’s colleagues at Goldman Sachs? His intention may well have been for the ‘greater good’, however for those people at Goldman Sachs who work hard and show up every day believing that they are doing some good work for their clients, they will be feeling angry and bewildered. Only time will tell if this letter is a catalyst for change, but the workaholic culture of this institution makes me suspect it will struggle to change its behaviour. Will Goldman Sachs employees dismiss or disregard his comments? Will they deny there is any truth in what he says? After such a damning public letter, would you admit that you were working in such a place with such a value system? It’s hardly the best employer brand to say you’re associated with. So will employees take a stand and agree with Mr. Smith. Or will they dismiss it as sour grapes?

Let’s look at employer brand for a moment: the reputation of an organization is critical to its ability to recruit and retain the best of the best. Goldman Sachs woos young smart graduates trying to attract them to a life of long hours and sacrifice. Will graduates think twice about what they want their CV to look like? Will they vote with their feet and not want to apply to work there? Without the best and brightest will Goldman Sachs be able to stay competitive? On the flip side, those current employees who have worked there for a long time may well have their career choices limited. Smith’s letter may well tarnish their reputations by association.

Last year in the GFC documentary Inside Job, Goldman Sachs was named as being culpable in the share crash and mortgage debt pyramid. Was than not warning enough that their business practices could not continue? Yet – going by Mr Smith’s letter – nothing has changed culturally. Is there a way Goldman Sachs will be able to lift and reinvent itself after 143 years?

There is a difference between a disgruntled employee leaving under a cloud and looking for revenge; and someone who is prepared to make a stand for integrity. History will show which camp Greg Smith is in – in the meantime, the question remains whether the Goldman Sachs employee brand can ever recover?

As leaders, we can learn a lot about our own organisations from the Goldman Sachs affair. Take a moment to think about your business values. Are they aligned and cascading through every level of your business? Our values are everything at RedBalloon. It’s who we are. What and how we do.  Letters like Mr Smith’s are a great reminder to stop, breathe, and take the pulse of your business.

Kofman’s basic premise is two fold: Firstly that great leader’s take responsibility for their actions, as well as how they choose to react to any situation that presents itself.

Secondly, a clear sense of purpose is critical to successful leadership. A leader cannot buy commitment (as I have said on many times– “no amount of money will keep people happy long term if you don’t capture their hearts and minds.”, and “discretionary effort something people choose to give, it is not something you can ask for”)– which means that it is up to the leader to inspire people to ‘the noble cause.’

“If a leader demonstrates that his purpose is noble, that the work will enable people to connect with something large – more permanent than their material existence – people will give the best of themselves to the enterprise” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Clearly the actions we take as a leader speak very loudly to those around us.

My father told me as a child “Do as a say not as I do.” Which he said tongue-in-cheek, but I always a bit confused by this – my mother would say “people will judge you by the jobs you don’t like doing – not the ones you do”… As great people said:

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Emerson

“We must be the change we want to see in the world.” Gandhi

Simply ‘Actions speak louder than words’ which both my parents drilled into me.

As leaders what we ‘do’ moment by moment creates the culture around us. I cannot expect people to arrive on time for a meeting if I do not do so myself. I must pitch in a lead by example if we are in need of extra support in answering customer emails. Quite simply our actions set the tone – and the values.

“As the leadership team goes so goes the rest of the organization”. So the question remains do you operate from a clear sense of purpose and do you take responsibility?

Too often people blame the circumstance or someone else – because somehow we find it difficult to fess up to ‘I stuffed up’.  For example, the traffic did not make me late – I didn’t leave early enough. So often we find excuses to justify our own behavior.

How would it be different if you said to yourself –  ‘Anything that effects me is my problem and I am part of the problem’

• Consider: “You are the pilot to your own life.”
• Consider: “What is your businesses noble purpose?”

How would you explain to your child your company’s purpose in a way that makes you proud? (and maybe this applies to parenting too)

Peter Schwarts - Futurist

In no particular order I present quotes from the event which either made me reflect, ponder, question or dream. (I have only added links for the people who were speakers at the event – the other quotes were part of either the work book or presentations)

1. “Every morning is the beginning of a brand new day. You have been given this new day to use it as you want. You can waste it, or use it for good. What you choose is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it! When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. In its place is something that you have left behind. Let it be worth it!

2. “If there is a hole in the boat – it does not matter if you have the cabin on it.” Mr Kofi Annan

3. “Again some questions to answer. The first answer that comes to mind will be interesting; the second that comes to mind will be very smart. The third answer that comes to mind might well be the truth. Find your third answer.”

4. “The problem is not how to get new thoughts into your head – but how to get the old one’s out.”

5. “To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.”

6. “We live in a time of profound turbulence” Peter Schwartz – Futurist and world wide web user #70

7. “By 2030 70% of the worlds population will live in cities and the most likely source of conflict in the future is over water.” Peter Schwartz – childhood friend to Steven Spielberg and adviser to movies such as the Minority Report.

8. “Prosperity – Peace – Sustainability must go hand in hand – it is not one at the expense of another – we only have one planet.”

9. When asked, “What should we teach our children?” Kofi Annan answered “Give them the right set of values, and start early. Character is everything. It is extremely important. Teach your children to be true to themselves.”

10. “It is necessary to the happiness of a man that he be mentally faithful to himself.” Kofi Annan.

11. When asked about what it was like to sit and negotiate with dictators he responded “when the man sitting across from you is a murderer, a person who kills people and the only tool I had was persuasion – you do it because you know that you will leave a better human being – and maybe have made a difference.”

12. In 1974 as an experimental atomic physicist at the University of Oxford, Joshua Silver asked himself the question “Why are there 3 billion people on the planet who need glasses and they can’t get them?” So began his life journey to develop cheap, self-adjusting glasses that could be manufactured for a dollar and distributed through existing world health organizations. So far he has 40,000 self-adjusting glasses in the field being tested – but they still cost around $19 to produce. Here is a man who is asking the big question. (see TED talk inserted below)

13. “At the end, entrepreneurship is not about wearing expensive suits and earning a lot of money. It is all about being true to yourself, to your values in life. Your dreams.” Richard Branson

14. “ To be an entrepreneur is the degree to which you can handle uncertainty.” Peter Sage.15. “The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need women and men who can dream of things that never were.” JFK

16. “Our legacy is to teach our children to move their value set from individual/greed to collective/generosity. There is only one people, there is only one planet”

17. “Who dares to get lost discovers new roads.”

18. “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” Morpheus – The Matrix movie

19. “Even the wisest mind has something yet to learn.” George Santayana

20. “Possibilities do not add up they multiply.”

21. “We don’t do this because it is easy we do this because it is hard.” JFK

22. Entrepreneurs don’t wait – they shape their own world – the bigger the challenge the greater the opportunity.

23. “To dream anything that you want to dream, that’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the entrepreneurial spirit.”

24. “Surround yourself with people who are only going to lift you higher.” Oprah Winfrey.

25. “I learned the power of conviction, the potential of community, and the imperative of action.” Chris Turner springwise.com

The originals, Beth Kyle, Mark Dureden, Kirsten Munachen, Kathy Mason - where the values stories came from

As we approach our 10 years anniversary I realize that not everyone knows the origins of the way we do things. Megan, the RedBalloon employee experience manager, asked me to document where our values came from.

Our values are such an integral part of life at RedBalloon – and they have been a part of us for nine of the ten years. (I dedicated a whole chapter to them in ‘I want she’s having’) Kirsten Munachen, business development manager at the time and I attended Verne Harnish’s first Rockafeller Habits seminar in Sydney. Both of us were incredulous and inspired to discover what amazing resources were available to RedBalloon in its start up phase – we were not alone – others had travelled this path before. We could learn from other great businesses.

Verne’s key message was about vision, values and alignment (though he might not have used that language). It was Kirsten and I who at that workshop identified our sense of purpose.

Jim Collins in his book ‘Good to Great’ implored that great organizations have a set of values – they truly embrace. It does not matter what those values are – but that the organization has them, and lives by them is important.

A great way to discover an orgnizations values is to explore the folklore of the business. It is the people, and their actions that create the stories that make a business what it is.

As Kirsten and I sat around the table… we had a good laugh as we talked about what made RedBalloon RedBalloon. What was a true RedBallooner?

We wrote down a whole lot of stories and then we grouped them together in similar topics… we didn’t want too many – and we wanted them to be memorable. So this is what we came up with in 2003… and they continue to serve us very well.

Do what you say you’re going to do. (Integrity)

Kirsten and I both talked about our frustration of working in large businesses and how often it was our managers who did not follow through. We (and most of the other RedBallooners at the time) had done the personal development course Landmark Forum and we all had learned about how integrity and the strength of one’s word is very powerful. We did not want to be just another organization that ‘tried’ to fulfill on what it promised. Simply we were going to put our word to it… and get it done. Kirsten gave the example of working with Fuji Xerox as our first corporate client – and they asked us to build a special system for them as an incentive program. We did not have the capability at the time. I put my word to it – and said ‘we don’t have it now but we will by July’ and though I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen – we delivered – and Fuji Xerox went on to be a great and ongoing corporate customer.

Generosity of our time and knowledge.

Obviously we are in the gifting business so it would make sense that ‘generosity’ is one of our values. Both of us had been frustrated with automated telephone services of large organization (for many years we resisted voicemail because I insisted we answer phones). Beth Kyle answered phones as part of her role (not so formal as our customer experience team now)… and one day she had a very upset customer on the phone because her partner was in Kalgoorlie and she did not know how to get him his gift (this was before we had email vouchers)… Beth contacted her brother who from time to time had to go to Kalgoorlie from Perth for business…. And she convinced him to drive the voucher out to the customer… unbelievably generous and legendary customer service. Folklore was created.

Leadership

We had both seen bottlenecks in corporate life when projects stalled because no one would make a decision – or worse management by committee. We wanted everyone to feel like an ‘owner’ and that they could get things done. One of our colleagues at the time Mark Deurden, ColdFusion developer exemplified leadership. We could come back from a client or potential partner meeting and say ‘Can we have..?’ he would always answer “Of course – it will just take time and money”. He had an unbelievable ‘can do’ attitude. Sometimes he had no idea how he was going to build what we had invented… but he went off and discovered it. And always took responsibility for the out come.

Sense of Humor and fun

I had worked in some pretty serious places – I had also worked at Apple. At Apple we worked hard and played hard. And I always went home thinking my day had been worthwhile. I wanted to work at a place that I wanted to work in. It might sound selfish – but if I was going to choose to be away from my children then it had better be worthwhile. We laughed a lot in the early days… I think we still do. We never took ourselves to seriously. If ever I got a bit dramatic about something – Kirsten would remind me “Did anyone die? –Then it is all okay…”

Being a little dog with a big dog attitude.

This was about being risk takers, flexible and courageous – ‘Having more front than Myer’. This came from picking up the phone and talking to anyone. Kirsten would pick up the phone with such an air of authority when talking to potential corporate clients – and the majority of the time she got the appointment.– she was like a terrier dog – once she got hold of an idea – she wouldn’t let go (she was ‘not so tall’ feisty and determined. Most of all it was the contractors and Kathy Mason who endlessly and relentlessly pursued potential suppliers. We often felt we had to ‘beg’ to do business with them. Dexter never seemed worried about our relative smallness… he treated everyone as an equal – and so did we.

Those days were so very different, yet I am so proud that the essence of who we are remains.

I happened upon an old survey that I completed years ago. I’m not sure where it came from (as I had it in a spread sheet) but I was asked to rank from 1 to 10 each of the questions below. (10 representing doing really well.) In some way the questions represent a notion of ‘success’. Over time my answers may change. Interesting, however that most of the questions do relate to those five fundamental components of well-being documented by the New Economic Forum

1. People Connection
2. Being Active
3. Take Notice
4. Learning
5. Give

Take a moment and rate yourself – and see where you want to focus your energy (not all questions might be relevant). Your own ‘success’ and well-being is a personal journey.

• Finding meaningful and fulfilling work? ___
• Finding suitable spouse partner? ___
• Building a successful relationship with your spouse/partner? ___
• Raising your children? ___
• Building and/or maintaining a close relationship with your parents? ___
• Building and/or maintaining a close relationship with your siblings? ___
• Developing close friendships? ___
• Stewarding your financial resources? ___
• Living up to your intellectual potential? ___
• Nurturing your spiritual potential? ___
• Dealing with your fears? ___
• Finding wisdom? ___
• Taking care of your physical health? ___
• Taking care of your emotional health? ___
• Being of service to others? ___
• Being at one with yourself? ___
• Accepting your limitations? ___
• Coming to terms with aging and your own mortality? ___
• Everyone at birth is ‘dealt a hand,’ so to speak rate the quality of the ‘hand’ you were dealt? ___
• Overall, rate yourself on how well you believe you have played the game of life, given the hand you were dealt? ___

I have always operated believing that ‘if it is meant to be it is up to me’ – Where did you score below 5? And what are you going to do to work on that area. I’m reviewing my life in terms of the above and there is actions to be taken…

It is just as important to ask yourself hard questions about your life – and review how it is going – as it is for a business.

I recently attended TedX Sydney as a guest of PwC… I enjoyed most of the content… but this speaker particularly resonated with me. I particularly enjoyed the way Saul Griffiths approaches the data of the impact he personally is having on the planet.

So I had a bit of a giggle when I discovered how the Marketing Team had taken this particular value to ‘heart’ (no pun intended) in the  latest Valentine’s Day campaign “WIN a date with our work mate” featuring our head of marketing Kristie and you’ll understand why.

They chose to spare a thought for the eligible bachelors out there this Valentine’s Day who don’t yet have a date and give them the chance to go on a RedBalloon style date with the fabulous Kristie.

The creative really does represent who we are (is this taking employee engagement too far?) oh and gentlemen… start your keyboards!

Here’s the link to the Facebook campaign (and to enter)

Clearly you will want to share this will all those single men that you know enter. It could be fun!

Is exemplary customer service about having ‘Happy Customers’ at all cost? Does a business need to do everything it possibly can to keep customers ‘happy’ – or is it a case of ‘you cannot please all the people all the time’?

I’m tremendously proud of RedBalloon’s growth, and the sheer quantity of customers we now are privileged to serve. Plus I am very aware that RedBalloon has been built by many people: customers, suppliers and employees.

I have really focused on creating the right team at RedBalloon and part of that included choosing a fabulous leadership team. I have never been a CEO before, so from the start I read as much as I could – still do – and continually learn from others.

In the very early days I read the organisations that continue to grow and thrive are those built on values with a shared sense of purpose. Plus a successful business cannot be dependent on any individual… and the leader cannot be a bottleneck.

I very much see myself as a mentor, and coach to those around me… but importantly I constantly use RedBalloon’s values to guide me through decisions.

My title CEO stands for Chief Experience Officer, which means I’m accountable for how people experience the business.

So back to my three curly questions:

The consumer has spent much time and energy phoning and emailing our customer experience team about her issue. Our team consistently and professionally acknowledged her concerns, and referred to our terms and conditions and fulfilled on them. The consumer has since written to me as CEO, asking me to ‘break’ the terms and conditions.

I suspect she will not be happy with my response:

“RedBalloon prides itself as being a values driven organisation. Our first value is simply ‘to do what we say we will do.’ As such we consistently execute our terms and conditions. This is often difficult when we also pride ourselves on our customer reputation. However, in the long run our customers and suppliers know that they can always count on us.

As the leader of the organisation it would be a bad example that I set if I were inconsistent in any aspect of our terms and conditions. It is simply not the leader I am. So whilst I know that I have an upset customer, I also know that on a personal level I have fulfilled on my promise. No matter how difficult that is.”

Would you have answered differently?

Now to the corporate customer – who also wishes RedBalloon to ‘bend the rules’ for his circumstances. He argues he has great influence and implies he will tell the ‘powers that be’ that he is not happy with us. Do our rules (and values) change because the potential audience, or fall out, is potentially much larger than the consumer issue? RedBalloon’s head of corporate drafted a response, and I quote in part:

“Considering the circumstances issue that you outline to us, it would place this particular voucher in a preferred position to others. The inconsistent application of our terms and conditions creates adverse consumer sentiment. We treat all of our customers as equals and are proud of our ongoing partnership with your organisation.”

Should a larger customer be given preferential treatment over other, smaller customers? Would you change the rules for one because they were ‘worth’ more financially?

Finally, the supplier. Without our amazing experience suppliers we would not have anything on the shelf to deliver to customers. So we have always considered our suppliers as customers.

One supplier is not happy with an aspect of how we are growing the business. His RedBalloon account manager has kept him informed the whole way, and – as all our team members do – is executing our growth strategy based on our values.

Yet the supplier has requested a meeting with me. Should an important supplier determine the execution of our strategy? What message would it send to the RedBalloon team if I ignored our values and chose not to support this account manager?

I’m curious to hear your opinion on keeping customers happy – and at what lengths you would go to. From this experience today, I ask you if the customer experience is one based on mutual respect? Or one based on doing anything, anytime for everyone? If I say the source of Happy Customers is having a Happy Team – then how would the team be happy if I overturned every decision they made, when they made those decisions based on our values?

Business is not easy. Choosing our RedBalloon values and living a business based on these values has been both tough and easy. Easy because our values have been like ‘guiding stars’ helping us make decisions and recruit people to build the amazing workplace I’m incredibly proud of. Tough when they are the final touchstone between you, the rock and a hard place and by living them you know you won’t please everyone all of the time.

I look forward to your insights.

In November I also caught a radio vox pop asking Americans what Thanksgiving meant. In the US, historically, Thanksgiving began as a tradition of celebrating the harvest of the year. However, listening to the responses, it became clear that the meaning has been lost in basting the largest turkey, cooking yams and pumpkin pie.

How has gratitude been so forgotten? Do we need television presenters reminding us of the simplicity of thank you? Surely it’s a virtue that should be remembered and acknowledged everyday, by everyone.

I have a passion for gratitude: in our lives and in the workplace. Generosity of spirit isn’t often taught in an MBA. Yet generosity in the workplace can lift the employer/employee relationship from a purely economic transaction of skills for money to something far bigger.

What’s at stake is the discretionary effort an individual brings to their job role. The difference in the level of effort one is capable of bringing to an activity or a task, versus the effort required only to get by or make-do.

For an employer, what’s more preferable? Engaged employees who go the extra mile? Or the disengaged, only doing enough just to get by? Research shows us that employees prefer to work in organisations that offer them a shared sense of purpose.

Generosity in the workplace starts with an authentic thank you. Recognition. A manager noticing a job well done, then leaving a thank you card and coffee/tea/chai voucher upon the employee’s desk. Putting a structure around gratitude – like a rewards and recognition program – doesn’t make the gratitude less authentic. Instead it brings it front of mind. It creates a value that’s valued.

Recognition Every Day (RED) Toolkit

The RedBalloon for Corporate Team have just launched the Recognition Every Day (RED) Toolkit, an initiative I am particularly proud of. It’s designed to assist managers recognise and thank their team for their daily efforts and achievements. The Toolkit includes everything managers need to deliver everyday praise – including recognition tips, templates and forms, so managers can store important personal information about their employees to know what motivates their people, plus instant reward coupons with ideas like: Take a Time out, Lunch on me, Coffee on me, ‘Notice You’ recognition cards and Praise Post It notes – great for peer-to-peer instant thanks.

So even though I’ve been accused of leading a namby pamby revolution, I encourage you to put generosity at the heart of your workplace this year. Notice people, love them, value their contribution and make them heroes. Make their dreams come true and they will be with you forever – and at the same time they will also give you their valuable discretionary effort.