Ignite Passion and Performance with User Friendly Brain Tools
Craft Power Reframes to help those mired in conflict shift their brain chemistry to become more flexible and creative. I even use them to motivate myself.
Warning: Use Power Reframes with integrity. Done well, you become respected and influential. Done deviously you’ll look like a sleazy used car salesman.
Christopher Elliott interviews Bob Faw about culture
See the USA Today article with the brief quote from Bob.
Below is the full interview.
CE: Is JetBlue abandoning the values that made it great, in the minds of consumers, or simply adjusting to the needs of the marketplace?
BF: I think that JetBlue has slipped a bit from its original values, but the company can still regain its best DNA through a combination of diligent effort and thoughtful changes. Sometimes a company does have to change certain practices simply to continue to be viable. JetBlue has made some changes well, such as its ticket change fee, which was reasonable. The key is to avoid the lure of quarterly earning goals trap. The company needs to continuously nurture its culture, and make decisions based upon the long-term ability to stay true to its best DNA.
CE: What is JetBlue’s corporate DNA? Has it changed at all, in your opinion, or is it the same company, only bigger?
BF: JetBlue’s CCO Robin Hayes says this about its DNA: “We focus our professional energies on creating a great JetBlue Experience for our customers, and a big part of that is in creating a brand and environment that is welcoming. The true honorees are the 12,000 JetBlue crewmembers who bring our brand to life every day, every flight.”
Based on this, JetBlue is focused on creating a welcoming dynamic as a key part of its DNA. The challenge becomes maintaining an authentically welcome environment even under circumstances that are less than ideal. Providing a consistently perfect customer experience is beyond even the best companies like Nordstrom and Disney. However, JetBlue’s customer experience must be consistently high enough to make its brand inviting.
Pleasing the FAA, TSA, fearful flyers, and the customer can be a huge challenge. This was demonstrated during a recent kerfuffle that ended with a 3-year-old urinating in her seat, and her mother almost kicked off the plane for cleaning the seat. No matter their size, it’s fair to say that all airlines want their employees to gracefully handle challenges like this, but especially a company that values a welcome customer experience.
CE: Can you think of a travel company that has stayed true to its original mission?
BF: Southwest Airlines has come the closest to staying true to its original mission. It not only offers low-cost flights, but it also has a customer-friendly policy for changing flights and free baggage check. And by keeping its seating process mostly egalitarian, the company has been able to maintain its DNA. These conveniences and perceived value stand out compared to most airlines that are adding more and more fees.
CE: How can travelers tell if a company has “good” corporate DNA?
BF: Companies that treat their people well usually have better customer service. Many companies have issues that hit the news from time to time. You can tell a lot about a company’s DNA by how quickly, gracefully, and authentically they apologize and fix problems.
You can also discover plenty about a company’s customer experience simply by visiting user-review sites. That’s the beauty of the social media experience—a company’s best DNA is on display and regularly tested, which causes companies with good DNA to constantly evaluate how their values are being reinforced throughout the company.
CE: Is there anything a large corporation can do to return to its original mission, or are changes inevitable?
BF: Depending on how far a company has strayed, it is possible, but often not easy, to return to a company’s original best DNA. That is, if top management is still aligned with the original DNA.
Starbucks has been a great example of this. When Howard Schultz retook the helm in 2008 and redirected the company back to his original vision—a focus on coffee and the customer experience—it was a massive undertaking. But obviously it worked.
JetBlue and other airlines could improve the customer experience by developing “caregiver” employees through training that enables them to clearly understand what the laws require, but also to know how to give the warmest, most welcoming service that those laws allow. Employees can adopt a “yes and” mindset. This means that they either find some way to give passengers the care they ask for, or empathetically guide them to the care they are allowed to give.
For example, in the incident with the little girl, the attendant could have apologized profusely, explained that the FAA doesn’t allow people to stand up while the plane is awaiting take off, and provided a plastic bag to put under the toddler, or helped clean up the mess herself. Also, rather than seeing the mother as “noncompliant” could she have empathized with her and promised to help as soon as they were at cruising altitude. The key here is giving the warmth and service that is possible, rather than simply saying “no.”
Employees need to be given a fair bit of leeway, and to be held accountable, to achieve a high level of service. This culture of service needs to be continuously nurtured as Zappos so famously does, with plenty of training, employee perks, and most of all by treating employees the way the company wants its customers treated.
I’m honored to be a “successful person” asked to give my top 10 pieces of advice for a new book just out.
Here’s what I wrote, followed by how to learn more about the book.
Bob Faw is a positive change consultant, transformational thought leader, and sought after dynamic speaker who motivates people around the world to make positive changes in their lives. Bob lives in New Hampshire with Zsuzsi Gero (his sweetheart) and Nisha (their dog). His passions include hiking, dancing, swim-ming, and learning the latest on brain science.
You can check out the full book at either of these websites (just click the logo).
This is an inspirational blog post from a dear colleague/friend of mine that just completed a cross country bike ride! She is amazing, and has wonderful things to share.
Bob
Tom Raffio interviews Bob Faw about how to get your ACT together on their radio show.
Here are tips for motivating yourself, and others, particularly during busy or stressful times.
Tom Raffio is the leader of Northeast Delta Dental. He is also the co-author of “There Are No Do-Overs: The Big Red Factors For Sustaining a Business Long Term” with Dave Cowens and Barbara McLaughlin
How can you harness the power of a team’s creativity?
Energize Brainstorming is one of the highest rated tools we teach in our Energize Universities. Your brainstorming process must be good to counterbalance the recent research that shows how average brainstorming doesn’t work well. Here I’ll share Energize Brainstorming techniques that galvanize true innovation.
There are a few major factors necessary for a truly innovative brainstorming session.
More on each of the Energize Brainstorming Guidelines:
I hope you find these ideas helpful.
Please post below any other ideas or experiences you’ve had with successful brainstorming.
Bob
In addition to calming the Caveman’s fears and energizing the Artist, positive change of any type also requires convincing the Thinker. This part of the brain wants to have a clear vision of how to get to your goals. If there’s too much detail, the Caveman gets bored and confused, but too little detail leaves the Thinker unconvinced. For example, when I had to change the vicious cycles of economic despair into the vital cycles of a great career, I created a few steps that I thought would lead me to my goals. I planned the first step, but I didn’t worry too much about the following steps until I was ready for them. Each person’s Thinker is different and requires a different blend of information. Experiment to find out how much planning is enough to make your Thinker confident, without planning so much that you lose motivation in the process. The Caveman part of our brain starts to rebel when plans get too complex.
Some people need lots of background information and analysis to help convince the Thinker. However, people who have stronger Artist tendencies are happier with a big picture and motivating reasons; and are impatient with too much data. When motivating others, choose your approach based on what they prefer.
There are some things that both the Caveman and the Thinker like. For example, both like it when you are clear about a specific amount to accomplish. This works whether your goal is money, job satisfaction, depth of relationship, or any other goal in life. Both of these parts of the brain also like things that are clearly beneficial to all aspects of your life. For example, when I started doing more public speaking, my Thinker enjoyed the mental stimulation and potential for bringing in more work, my Caveman enjoyed the fun I had working a crowd, and my Artist thrived on the passion I felt talking about positive change.
Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wisely stated, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Mastery is the same way. It takes step after step in the right direction. I have my own model, which describes the journey of mastery a little more explicitly. Although we’re going to measure this in hours, ten thousand of them, according to the research shared in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers: The Story of Success”.
Read books to gain knowledge. Do activities to earn skills. Practice skills successfully in many situations to develop the ability to use them where you want to. Perform these abilities long enough, and they will become habits you can do instinctively. And after ten thousand hours of practice, you will achieve mastery. That’s when it becomes part of your personality.
When I was a teenager, people described me as shy, angry, depressed, and rebellious. Now people describe me as positive, outgoing, confident, and energizing. This transformation came from walking my journey of motivation mastery over the decades. I’ve seen thousands of my clients transform from being quite negative to becoming motivational. I’ve also seen hundreds of the trauma survivors I volunteer with become far more positive about themselves and their lives. You, too, can learn ways you can move yourself further along the continuum than you are today. Once you’re far enough along, create steps that specifically fit you. Part of how I’ve created my steps is borrowing from books, workshops and the masters themselves.
