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For the past couple of years, I’ve been running half and full marathons in my spare time. My next scheduled half marathon is in Anaheim on Labor Day and I’ve decided to do something a little different. This year, I’ve decided to do some “good” and will be running on behalf of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation’s Team for Life, which is the official charity for the Disneyland Half Marathon. The Team for Life program is unique in that it enables supporters of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation to participate in a variety of both local and national events, and provides the participants with coaching and training expertise in exchange for raising money to support their favorite cause.
As a team member, I’ve agreed to raise money to support patient services for those affected by cancer. My fundraising goal ends on August 20th and am reaching out to my family, friends and business network for help. Please send any donations online at http://www.active.com/donate/disneyland2010/PSim1. All donations to The Lazarex Cancer Foundation are 100% tax-deductible. Thank you in advance for your support of not only me, but the entire Team for Life and the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. To learn more about the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, you can also visit their website at www.lazarexfoundation.org.
Please do not feel obligated by any means to support me and The Lazarex Cancer Foundation. But if you are able to help, that would be greatly appreciated and goes to super cause!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Change is Hard
I recently read an article in a health magazine which was excerpted from the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath. Some of you may know of Dan Heath from his first best-selling book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, which was selected as one of the best 100 business books of all time. As you can probably see, it was very easy for me to tie running and CRM together since the article was found in a health magazine and Dan Heath writes business books!
Instead of blogging about change management, which I’m sure I’ll discuss in future blogs, the article I was reading was around 3 surprises about change. In running, change was a big topic for me since it took quite a bit of change to get my lazy butt off the couch and to further augment my health strategy (I’m saving “strategy” for a future blog) by eating better. CRM has changed written all over it since it incorporates corporate change, process change, behavioral changes, etc…
The book Switch talks about 3 Surprises when it comes to changes.
The first surprise is What Looks like resistance is often lack of clarity. The concept is that the rational part of your mind is tasked with certain elements such as planning, organizing, analyzing and long-term thinking. Without clear instructions, that part of the brain tends to overanalyze and over think. Sort of a paralysis by analysis. When it comes to running, it’s akin to “Run more!’ instead of “Increase your running capacity by following this plan…” With the “Run more!”, it’s not that a person is resistant, but just lacks clarity to fulfill that goal. In CRM, it’s the same thing. You can tell your staff to “Use the CRM more”. But to add clarity, the vision to the staff should be “Use the CRM more by recording each communication with your prospects and leveraging the built in quoting process.” Again, it’s not that the staff is resisting using CRM, they lack the clarity to use it effectively.
The second surprise is What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. The concept is that self-control is an exhaustible resource. It’s sort of akin to bench pressing at the gym. The first one is easy when your muscles are fresh, but with each rep, your muscles get more exhausted. In simpler terms, change requires mental muscles and when a person undergoes big change, they have the chance of burning out by exhausting those mental muscles (mental muscles is used loosely here – no need to email me about the lack of muscles in the brain). So basically, change is hard because people wear themselves out trying – not because of laziness. When we have to change what we eat or change how much we exercise, sometimes the failure is not because of being lazy – but because we’re trying to change too much too fast and mentally wearing ourselves out. With CRM, it’s the same thing. If you flood your staff with too many changes at once, you run the risk of wearing out your team because your team’s mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, and to tackle frustration or failure head on. There is a reason why change needs to be managed, controlled, and rewarded.
Lastly, the 3rd surprise is What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. In Switch, there is story about a company that used a variety of flammable products in its production process. Unsurprisingly, fires broke out quite often in the plant. But, the president of the company did not think he had a situation problem but a people problem. He sent a letter to all 10,500 employees pleading with them to set fewer fires. It’s like me telling my kids to stop coming home covered in sweat after running around all day. When we look at CRM, the same concept is true. I just did a business process review with a new customer, and one of their complaints was that their remote, travelling sales staff never entered notes while they were on the road. To them, it was a people problem. But if we analyze this further, the sales staff was constantly on the road, driving from meeting to meeting, and the mere fact of pulling out the laptop, logging in and typing notes took up to 15 minutes. This was a situation problem. The solution was to give the remote staff the right tools to make entering notes quick and convenient.
In short, if you want change, you can address the “people problem” by providing clear direction, boosting motivation and determination. But, also provide momentum for the change. Provide positive reinforcement and tell them how they are changing for the better. Resolve the situation problem.
Instead of blogging about change management, which I’m sure I’ll discuss in future blogs, the article I was reading was around 3 surprises about change. In running, change was a big topic for me since it took quite a bit of change to get my lazy butt off the couch and to further augment my health strategy (I’m saving “strategy” for a future blog) by eating better. CRM has changed written all over it since it incorporates corporate change, process change, behavioral changes, etc…
The book Switch talks about 3 Surprises when it comes to changes.
The first surprise is What Looks like resistance is often lack of clarity. The concept is that the rational part of your mind is tasked with certain elements such as planning, organizing, analyzing and long-term thinking. Without clear instructions, that part of the brain tends to overanalyze and over think. Sort of a paralysis by analysis. When it comes to running, it’s akin to “Run more!’ instead of “Increase your running capacity by following this plan…” With the “Run more!”, it’s not that a person is resistant, but just lacks clarity to fulfill that goal. In CRM, it’s the same thing. You can tell your staff to “Use the CRM more”. But to add clarity, the vision to the staff should be “Use the CRM more by recording each communication with your prospects and leveraging the built in quoting process.” Again, it’s not that the staff is resisting using CRM, they lack the clarity to use it effectively.
The second surprise is What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. The concept is that self-control is an exhaustible resource. It’s sort of akin to bench pressing at the gym. The first one is easy when your muscles are fresh, but with each rep, your muscles get more exhausted. In simpler terms, change requires mental muscles and when a person undergoes big change, they have the chance of burning out by exhausting those mental muscles (mental muscles is used loosely here – no need to email me about the lack of muscles in the brain). So basically, change is hard because people wear themselves out trying – not because of laziness. When we have to change what we eat or change how much we exercise, sometimes the failure is not because of being lazy – but because we’re trying to change too much too fast and mentally wearing ourselves out. With CRM, it’s the same thing. If you flood your staff with too many changes at once, you run the risk of wearing out your team because your team’s mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, and to tackle frustration or failure head on. There is a reason why change needs to be managed, controlled, and rewarded.
Lastly, the 3rd surprise is What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. In Switch, there is story about a company that used a variety of flammable products in its production process. Unsurprisingly, fires broke out quite often in the plant. But, the president of the company did not think he had a situation problem but a people problem. He sent a letter to all 10,500 employees pleading with them to set fewer fires. It’s like me telling my kids to stop coming home covered in sweat after running around all day. When we look at CRM, the same concept is true. I just did a business process review with a new customer, and one of their complaints was that their remote, travelling sales staff never entered notes while they were on the road. To them, it was a people problem. But if we analyze this further, the sales staff was constantly on the road, driving from meeting to meeting, and the mere fact of pulling out the laptop, logging in and typing notes took up to 15 minutes. This was a situation problem. The solution was to give the remote staff the right tools to make entering notes quick and convenient.
In short, if you want change, you can address the “people problem” by providing clear direction, boosting motivation and determination. But, also provide momentum for the change. Provide positive reinforcement and tell them how they are changing for the better. Resolve the situation problem.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Running and CRM are Lifetime Commitments
When I started running, I did not realize what I was getting myself into. Call me naïve – but my plan was to run in order to lose weight, maybe do a half marathon, get to my weight loss goal and voila – I’m done. What I did not realize was that running is a lifetime commitment – a lifestyle and habitual change to how I take care of myself. I now run about 4 times a week in preparation for my next event, whether it be a 10K, half marathon or full marathon.
The way I look at it, I use each events as a “checkpoint” to evaluate where I am at and to figure out what to work on next. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I ran in an event called the Bolder Boulder. It is an amazing event consisting of 10K (6.2 Miles) through scenic Boulder, Colorado with 50,000 other runners. Between this race and the previous one (DisneyWorld Marathon), I had one goal – to increase my speed. As I trained for Bolder Boulder, I spent much of my training time on speed intervals and fartleks. I knew what my DW Marathon speed was and my goal for the Bolder Boulder. The outcome was that I set a new PR and had my fastest speed ever, matching the goal I set forth 6 months ago. My next event is the Disneyland Half Marathon. What’s my plan? Endurance. I’m currently happy with my speed but want to extend the speed from 10K to 21K.
All of these racing events do not serve as my destination, but just a series of checkpoints in my overall journey. Is there a destination? Not till I die. I will never hit my potential as a runner and there are always things to improve, whether it is speed, endurance, strength, etc… Through these checkpoints, I am able to evaluate my progress, pick something to work on, and execute till my next “checkpoint”.
CRM is eerily similar to my running. I have so many customers who believe that the starting point and the ending point is approximately 3-6 months. What they don’t realize is that CRM is a lifetime commitment, much like running. CRM is all about evolutionary change, process engineering, cultural adjustments, metrics and strategy, to name a few. Sure, there is technology sprinkled in there with “sprinkled” being the operative word. Like running, companies need to identify the checkpoints, whether that is an annual, biannual or quarterly checkpoints. As you go from checkpoint to checkpoint, make sure you identify what you are working on and how you are measuring it. Whether it is refining how you quote, refining user adoption, increasing leads to opportunity conversion ratios, increasing cross sell opportunities – know what it is and measure it.
Companies will never reach their final destination because companies evolve – companies can always improve. It is so important for companies to realize that CRM is a strategy that never stops. Know your CRM strategy. Plan, execute and evaluate and repeat. If you don’t, your competitor just might pass you up before the next checkpoint.
The way I look at it, I use each events as a “checkpoint” to evaluate where I am at and to figure out what to work on next. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I ran in an event called the Bolder Boulder. It is an amazing event consisting of 10K (6.2 Miles) through scenic Boulder, Colorado with 50,000 other runners. Between this race and the previous one (DisneyWorld Marathon), I had one goal – to increase my speed. As I trained for Bolder Boulder, I spent much of my training time on speed intervals and fartleks. I knew what my DW Marathon speed was and my goal for the Bolder Boulder. The outcome was that I set a new PR and had my fastest speed ever, matching the goal I set forth 6 months ago. My next event is the Disneyland Half Marathon. What’s my plan? Endurance. I’m currently happy with my speed but want to extend the speed from 10K to 21K.
All of these racing events do not serve as my destination, but just a series of checkpoints in my overall journey. Is there a destination? Not till I die. I will never hit my potential as a runner and there are always things to improve, whether it is speed, endurance, strength, etc… Through these checkpoints, I am able to evaluate my progress, pick something to work on, and execute till my next “checkpoint”.
CRM is eerily similar to my running. I have so many customers who believe that the starting point and the ending point is approximately 3-6 months. What they don’t realize is that CRM is a lifetime commitment, much like running. CRM is all about evolutionary change, process engineering, cultural adjustments, metrics and strategy, to name a few. Sure, there is technology sprinkled in there with “sprinkled” being the operative word. Like running, companies need to identify the checkpoints, whether that is an annual, biannual or quarterly checkpoints. As you go from checkpoint to checkpoint, make sure you identify what you are working on and how you are measuring it. Whether it is refining how you quote, refining user adoption, increasing leads to opportunity conversion ratios, increasing cross sell opportunities – know what it is and measure it.
Companies will never reach their final destination because companies evolve – companies can always improve. It is so important for companies to realize that CRM is a strategy that never stops. Know your CRM strategy. Plan, execute and evaluate and repeat. If you don’t, your competitor just might pass you up before the next checkpoint.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Why does CRM and running fail?
Years ago, I weighed 50+ pounds more than I do today. I use to be physically active in college but when my career started, my level of activity plummeted and my caloric intake remained the same. The next thing I knew was that I was overweight and unhealthy. This was my "business problem". I tried losing weight by eating less and exercising, but after a week, I gave up. I tried this multiple times and failure was always knocking. I blamed my knees, the weather, my shoes (the technology) and everything I could think off.
My thought was that if I could one day enjoy running, I could use that to lose weight and become healther. So one day, I was flipping through a running magazine looking for that magical pill that would make me a runner. I did not find any, but did find multiple articles on running and training plans. What a novel concept - a plan to follow to become a runner? The article laid out the metrics to use (resting heart rate, max heart rate, heart training zones, average MPH, distance and time) and the plan to follow for the next 3 months. I used that plan in order to train for a half marathon. And guess what - I improved, finished a half marathon and running became fun.
CRM is very much like running. Many organizations throw CRM in front of their sales staff and expect the organization to be a marathon runner. But how do you measure success? What are the metrics that's been identified to gauge the success criteria of your staff and your processes? Many things go into a successful CRM marathon, but at a minimum, have a plan and know how to measure it. I would love to hear your input on running and CRM.
My thought was that if I could one day enjoy running, I could use that to lose weight and become healther. So one day, I was flipping through a running magazine looking for that magical pill that would make me a runner. I did not find any, but did find multiple articles on running and training plans. What a novel concept - a plan to follow to become a runner? The article laid out the metrics to use (resting heart rate, max heart rate, heart training zones, average MPH, distance and time) and the plan to follow for the next 3 months. I used that plan in order to train for a half marathon. And guess what - I improved, finished a half marathon and running became fun.
CRM is very much like running. Many organizations throw CRM in front of their sales staff and expect the organization to be a marathon runner. But how do you measure success? What are the metrics that's been identified to gauge the success criteria of your staff and your processes? Many things go into a successful CRM marathon, but at a minimum, have a plan and know how to measure it. I would love to hear your input on running and CRM.
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