Close encounters of the third kind

Words: 311
Reading Time: 1 minute 2 seconds

What is it that brings out the volunteer in us?

There are 10 million openings for volunteers in what is known as the third sector. And the number of voluntary organizations in the UK is staggering. Such organizations are found across the spectrum from healthcare to book clubs, sports to crisis support.

Whatever help you need there is almost certainly a voluntary group out there somewhere that can help you. I even came across one that helped third sector organization tender for funding.

There are even clubs for particular makes of car peopled by enthusiasts, like the MG Owners Club.

Specific software – such as accounting packages – will often have users groups, some supported by the vendor, to provide mutual assistance and lobby for changes and improvements.

How cool is that; people getting together in organized groups to help you do a better job of marketing your product. It has to be a gathering of Raving Fans, or they would have already voted with their wallets and gone elsewhere.

When people get together in support of a cause they are expressing passion. They can also leave themselves open to accusations of merely serving their own ends, special pleading, nimbyism and being obsessed.

Well, sometimes that’s what it takes to change things and change starts with just one person being ready to step forward and be counted. That’s an energy and commitment that can be used in all aspects of life and business.

Business suggestions:
1) Encourage complaints – it shows people care;
2) Publish both good and back feedback on your website – it shows openness;
3) Form and support a user group – and then listen;
4) Don’t survey customers, it’s cold and impersonal – talk to them;
5) If there are voluntary groups around your industry, then join them and contribute to the energy;
6) If there are no voluntary groups, then start one.

Inconvenient dialogues

Words: 421
Reading Time: 1 minute 24 seconds

An appointment is an arrangement to meet at a specific time and place.

Now, to my way of thinking, that involves two or more people agreeing to a date, a time and a rendezvous. However, certain parts of our wonderful NHS continue to send out letters claiming that an appointment has been made without first talking with the person involved.

They then post large and irritating notices in their clinics and waiting rooms that announce how many appointments patients have failed to keep in the last month, or the last year.

There is no breakdown detailing how many such broken “appointments” were unilaterally decreed by the NHS.

If I was running a restaurant and sent you an “appointment” for coffee and croissants at 8.30 a.m. on the 25th without your agreement I could hardly blame you if you decided not to come.

Why does the NHS think it is so different?

Perhaps the NHS believes our health would naturally be our primary concern. Indeed, in a recent poll it was placed first, ahead of wealth and happiness. However, on a day-to-day basis it often ranks lower than that.

If someone close to us is unwell we may postpone seeking treatment for a minor ailment of our own. Some people put off seeing the doctor, fearing the possible diagnosis. Others struggle into work despite being ill. So, clearly, health does not rank No.1 in all circumstances.

Those “broken” appointments may have been sent to someone who is out of the country, unable to read, otherwise incapacitated, or dead. How would the NHS know without trying to speak with the person in order to agree – rather than decree – an appointment?

Having a dialogue before setting a date and time would probably cost less in time and money than the all the subsequent rescheduling and the unused resources resulting from non-attendance.

Of course, the NHS is not alone in taking a cavalier and high-handed attitude. Too often businesses blame unreasonable and uncooperative prospects and clients instead of looking for the root cause of discrimination and displeasure. Too often the approach is ‘don’t bother me with the facts, I prefer my prejudices.’

Everybody loses, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Business suggestions
1) Talk to your prospects and your clients;
2) Don’t blame the customer when things go wrong;
3) Uncover the facts instead of making assumptions;
4) Seek feedback from those who are not your customers as well as folks who are;
5) Ask ‘how do I?’ rather than ‘why?’ – it’s forward looking and much more productive.

Voices in the void

Words: 80 Reading time: 0 minutes 16 seconds

Many of us need the echoes of others to confirm our belief in ourselves. Perhaps it is this that lies behind the undeniable success of sites like Facebook and Twitter, the provision of feedback on blogs and the value ascribed to them.

That evokes even more admiration for those who plough the lonely furrow of an inner conviction, which society does not share, until they are eventually proved correct.

Are you a modern day Galileo?

How do you know?