John Ploetz Bloggin

John Ploetz

11 Dec, 2013

John Ploetz Bloggin

We’ve all been there.  How do we begin to discuss a difficult topic?    To make it more difficult, many times personal and business issue overlap.  In this post we will cover difficult business conversations.  Here are some points to follow to make the whole process go more smoothly:

  1. Is it a business related issue?  Don’t try to turn a personal issue into a business issue.   Attempting to control personal choices, where company policy doesn’t cover or regulate employee conduct can lower employee morale and can lead to legal issues.  Before moving forward with a discussion, review your employee handbook or talk to your HR department.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.
  2. Are you the appropriate person to have the discussion?   Make sure you are the right person to discuss the issue, given your business relationship with the other person.  Is there another more direct supervisor or a supervisor with a closer working relationship that might be better suited to discuss the issue with the employee?
  3. Keep the discussion on a strictly business level.  This can be even harder with small businesses where personal and business issues are more likely to overlap.  If there are business and personal issues intertwined, clarify how the issues affect the business side of things.  For example if you are raising a concern about proper attire, keep the discussion on how the employee’s attire affects customer perception and company policy.  Don’t judge that person on a personal level.  Personal issues should stay personal, make it clear whether the issue you are discussing is a company business related matter or only a personal recommendation.
  4. Discuss the topic on terms that will make the other person feel comfortable.  It isn’t about your comfort level it’s about their comfort level.  Don’t profess to understand exactly what that person is thinking or feeling.  Keep the discussion focused, short and to the point.   Simple statements will tend to take emotions out of the discussion. With that being said speak in a manner and tone you would want to be spoken to.
  5. Say something sooner rather than later.  By waiting a situation tends to fester.  It won’t just go away because you aren’t talking about it.
  6. Do you have all the facts?  Don’t discuss based on assumptions.  Only discuss as far as you know is fact.  Once you say something you can’t take it back, so be careful what you say.
  7. Follow up after the initial discussion.  Don’t belabor the initial discussion, but if there are additional things that need to be followed up on do it in a timely manner.

A good article on dealing with difficult topics can be found at –http://hbr.org/web/management-tip/tips-on-having-difficult-conversations

Dealing with difficult topics is all about keeping the discussion timely, relevant, and focused, and doing it with respect for the other the person.

Next up – Discussing difficult personal topics

John Ploetz

3 Dec, 2013

John Ploetz Bloggin

Now with all the electronic gadgets taking up our time and distracting us we need to give more effort communicating with one another for our communications to be effective.  Texting, e-mailing, and other forms of electronic communication have transformed how we communicate, making our communicating less personal.  Yet, on average we spend 70 to 80 percent of our time communicating (http://extension.missouri.edu/p/CM150).  Following are some thoughts on how we can get the most out of communicating with others.

  1. Know your audience.  Make sure you have their attention, that they are listening and not distracted; communicate in a format that is friendly to them – using texting or e-mailing in place of face to face contact might work better with certain age groups; use words that are mutually understandable; choose your words wisely, make sure the industry jargon you use is understood by the other person.  Something to think about –  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-colier/communication-tips_b_3856199.html
  2. Talking isn’t communicating.  Communicating is all about interacting with another person.  Make sure you are interacting with the other person.  Talk, but take time to listen.  Look for the message the other person is trying to deliver to you as well.  Remember, communication is a two way street.  Cues to look for –   http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm
  3. Make sure there is a meeting of the minds.   The same words mean different things to different people.  Make sure you are both on the same page.  A good article on this is at  http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2010/03/09/the-hardest-part-of-communications-literal-thinkers-vs-abstract-thinkers/ .
  4. Defining expectations is important.  Determine in advance what you are expecting to happen with the communication.   Is the communication intended to be personal or business related?  Are you just expressing your opinion? Do you want someone to take action? Are you looking for information?  If the communication is beyond a personal conversation you may want to plan and outline the communication in advance.
  5. Simple steps to communicating.  A Simple rule of thumb for any communication is – tell people what you will tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them.  Make sure to state your ideas concisely; get a verbal response to resolve any misconceptions; make sure you’ve reached a mutual understanding; and always be willing to follow up and clarify as needed.

Not everyone communicates in the same way you do.  In order to communicate effectively you need to meet people on their terms – communicate with them in their favorite mode of communication as much as possible.  You may not think of communication as an art, but next time before you communicate with someone, take an extra moment and think about how you actually will do it.  Communication is all about mutual interaction and understanding.

Next Up – Discussing difficult topics.

John Ploetz

20 Nov, 2013

John Ploetz Bloggin

Established companies already have a pool of customers they market to on a regular basis or at least know who they want in their pool of customers.  Working with marketing data that you get from your customers is similar to wading through a simple stream of data; working with Big Data on the other hand involves searching through an ocean of data.   Big Data is all about pulling together trends and patterns from massive amounts of data, from a wide variety of sources over a broad range of industries and then trying to apply those trends and patterns to make specific business decisions.  The main questions for the average marketing person about Big Data are:

  1. How concerned should I be about understanding Big Data?
  2. Is it a helpful tool for my company?
  3. Will focusing on Big Data blur my company’s current marketing focus?
  4. How do I go about using Big Data?

Some things to think when deciding about your need to understand and use Big Data are:

  1. In the broadest definition big data is really about statistics.  It’s about collecting and then analyzing data.  A good general article on understanding the basics of Big Data can be found at http://www.cio.com/article/700804/Big_Data_Causes_Concern_and_Big_Confusion .
  2. The need for Big Data analytics comes into play when you don’t know where to begin to focus on your marketing pool.  This is normally when you are preparing to market a new product or you are looking at changing your marketing strategy to develop a new trend based design for your marketing.  Look at http://www.thoughtworks.com/big-data-analytics for the full discussion on this topic.
  3. Usually you should let the big boys do the heavy lifting and rely on their tools and data collecting efforts to help assess whether you are marketing correctly.  Google, Facebook, and Apple ( through its Siri app) are doing just that.  For most companies it’s enough to stay on top of recent trend reports derived from big data mining efforts.  For a discussion on this go to http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sunday-review/big-datas-impact-in-the-world.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
  4. Big Data focuses on the data and its analysis.   But, does it take the human element out of marketing all together?  It downplays the personal opinion and referral give and take process many companies rely on through social media.  A company still needs to stay on top of its referral and public opinion pipeline.  There will always be the personal touch in any buying decision that can’t be fully broken down by analyzing Big Data.
  5. There are numerous companies out there that offer services to help analyze Big Data and design a marketing strategy for your company.  Make sure this is a step you really need to take at this time. Don’t change a workable marketing plan just to include Big Data.

We must use Big Data wisely.  Any marketing professional should understand the concepts and principles of big data, but must also be prepared to use their experience in their own field to tailor the focus of their marketing in a way that reaches their potential customers.  Big Data isn’t the end all solution it is just one tool of many marketing tools available to a marketing executive.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Next up – The Lost Art of Communication