I was re-reading the book, THINK AND GROW RICH, by Napoleon Hill, and I cant tell you how impressive this self-help classic still is! Among other fascinating sections, Hill explains The Ten Major Causes of Failure In Leadership. Unwillingness to render humble service is the one that caught my eye and instantly I was transported back to Columbus, Ohio where I was training hundreds of customer service people at a major company. Some of these folks were true misfits; they had no business being in a customer service capacity, because they really and truly disdained helping others. This came out as we were implementing my Call Path for service, which has a line in it that is particularly effective in putting listeners at ease: Sure, Ill be happy to help you with that! I cant say that a few of my trainees claimed. Why, not? Because it sounds fake! Why is that? I asked, knowing this line had proven itself in millions of calls at my clients sites. Because it isnt me; I just wouldnt say thatthats all. And we went around and around, until I had an epiphany, which I shared with these reluctant people right away. I said: The only reason it would sound phony is if YOU REALLY DONT WANT TO HELP THEM, IF YOURE NOT HAPPY DOING IT! This was an amazing moment, because none of these trainees could dispute it; we had hit some kind of bedrock truth. To borrow from Hill, they couldnt comfortably render humble service; they were so full of themselves. If you feel this way, and you deal with customers directly, do everybody a favor, including you: resign as soon as possible! Its impossible to consistently satisfy customers if youre only committed to self-service. |
