Right Time, Right Place & Your Best Year Ever

Back in the 1990s I was working in the mobile phone business here in Atlantic Canada.  One summer when I was on leave of absence completing a degree, I spent a summer selling mobile phones, including the big, old bag phones and the fixed-installed phones that were popular at the beginning of the industry.  It’s astounding how many people I met in later years who proudly told me that they bought the first mobile phone in the province. I swear I didn’t mislead anybody.

Marketing Analysis

Later in the 90s, I was working in marketing, poring over spreadsheets and working to understand past trends, patterns, and drivers of change, looking to improve margins and invent new product offerings.  One day I saw an interesting anomaly in annual sales and revenue.  The company I was with was the result of a merger of four smaller companies. As I looked at the past revenue and sales results from the four companies, I noticed that all four had record breaking years in the same year.  I believe it was 1997 when each performed exceptionally well.

It was time to make some phone calls and see what had happened that year. In my home province the answer was that the company had released a ‘self-optimizing’ rate plan and customers never again had to worry about exceeding their voice usage allotment. The customers loved it and as a result the company had their best year ever. (It’s hard to believe that data usage came along later and originally the traffic was all voice or text).

I called someone who was with a second company back then and she responded that they had introduced the Motorola Star-Tac phone for $99 on a 3-year contract. Customers loved it and as a result, they had their best year ever.

I called someone who was with a third company and he said they had introduced simplified long-distance calling zones and boundaries to simplify long distance charges.  Customers loved it and as a result they had their best year ever.

I called someone at a fourth company and she said they hadn’t done a lot that year other than open a couple of new retail locations, but yes, that was their best year ever.

Right place, Right Time: Be Prepared

So, four companies in close geographical proximity, four separate actions, and each with their best year ever.  I think the real answer for their success in 1997 is that the entire industry took off that year, and while each company took well considered actions, all benefited from overall industry growth. We were all in the right place at the right time, and prepared to benefit.

I enjoy remembering this story, and those conversations, and the pride in the actions taken.  The preparations each had made was so important to realizing their opportunities. They were ready as the industry blossomed.  Each had retail operations, customer management systems, physical inventory and more. If they had not, the opportunity would have been lost.

In contrast, I watch our current challenges with affordable housing and note that governments pursued population growth and immigration, both of which are desirable. But without planning for where people will live, any population growth could be short lived if newcomers can’t find affordable accommodations and speculators drive up the prices on existing housing inventory. 

Be Prepared

I relate this sort of preparation to communication and leadership training.  Some people take training because they’ve had an experience which taught him that his skills were not as sharp as they should be. I view communication and leadership skills as core skills, and I want mine to always be sharp. Communication skills include responding to awkward questions, giving timely feedback, and organization of thoughts and ideas. Leadership skills include running meetings, keeping teams focused, providing performance feedback and more.

Toastmasters

If you agree with this point of view and you wish to keep your communication skills sharp, I invite you to visit one of our 16,000 Toastmasters clubs, to join, and attend regularly or semi-regularly.  You can learn more at www.toastmasters.org

When your industry takes off, when opportunity knocks, you want to be ready and prepared. If you’re ready and prepared, you can have your best year ever. 

Dysfunctional Meetings

Have you ever attended a meeting that has gone off track and you’re left wondering what the original purpose of the meeting was, and just how the assembled group veered off to an irrelevant destination and discussion? Of course, you have. We all have. Understanding and practicing some simple principles and meeting disciplines can help avoid such occurrences.

There are many models and rules of thumb I use for speaking, leading and running meetings.  Two of the most helpful principles for running meetings came from an experience that I initially strongly disliked.  These are from the practice of parliamentary procedure.

You’ve likely seen clips from Canada’s House of Commons or the U.S. Senate or other governing structures. If so, you’ve observed the formal language and procedures with members rising on a ‘point of order,’ or being declared ‘out of order,’ etc.  

When I first joined Saint John Toastmasters the club would regularly practice parliamentary procedure. Some members were quite adept and would flex their skills arguing silly motions such as whether to replace the regular coffee servings with tea.  I hated these typically frivolous exercises of skill and this part of the developmental meetings. When I initially joined, I didn’t understand the principles, the language and the purpose, but did come to respect and value them. Unfortunately, the club doesn’t exercise these skills in practice sessions these days.

Tools To Help Run Meetings

Parliamentary procedure was developed to help regular people run meetings. The principles are simple and brilliant.  My favorite principles are One Thing At A Time and Majority Rule Minority Rights.  I use these principles all the time, while not using the formal language of parliamentary procedure. I will illustrate how to use these.

One Thing At A Time

When a meeting veers badly off track it is usually because the meeting leader did not use the simple principle of One Thing At A Time. Using parliamentary language, a leader would keep discussion focused and avoid going off track by saying ‘the speakers point is not germane to the question (under discussion)’.   In a less formal environment a leader can say something like “this seems to be a separate thought, isn’t it? Can we conclude the current discussion, and reach a decision, and we’ll return to this new point towards the end of the meeting?” Simply asserting One Thing At A Time can prevent much meeting dysfunction and confusion.

Majority Rule Minority Rights

My second favorite principle is Majority Rule Minority Rights.  This is simple in concept, a little harder in actuality, and so very valuable. A meeting leader needs to be alert to ensure all voices are being heard. In parliamentary practice the custom is to alternate speakers between those in favor of a motion and those opposed to a motion until all that wish to speak have spoken. In a less formal setting a leader needs to be skilled to watch for facial expressions and body language that suggests a point of view and invite the attendee to voice any opinion.

Simple invitations such as “Mary we haven’t heard from you on the topic,” or “Bill I sense you have some discomfort with the direction” provide attendees and opportunity to participate.  Should he or she choose not to participate, that’s their choice. However, if I’m leading a discussion on a contentious subject, I will usually note for myself that an invitation was extended to specific attendees. I often keep a personal list of meeting attendees and check names off when people have participated in the conversation. I usually try to ensure all who are obviously engaged or seem to be in disagreement voice their point of view. 

Meetings That Fail To Deliver Results

I often hear from frustrated friends who share experiences where they attended a meeting that lasted for hours and the group ‘got nothing done.’  You can assemble a group of well-meaning people but without some meeting leadership skills, accomplishments may be minimal or nil. Worse, attendees who were initially excited to participate and make a difference can become disengaged.

One Thing At A Time and Majority Rule Minority Rights are two simple principles that when practiced well can result in more favorable outcomes for all involved.