The 'B' Word

I received the following from a professional from one of my programs:

I have been reading ‘Sell Little Red Hen Sell.’ I thought you would be interested to hear that I thought of your program last night as I was watching the Obama address to the nation. There were a number of key points addressed from the first 100 days, to the economy to Iraq. I have to say I did not take much away from the address with the exception of the amount of times Obama said ‘But’ throughout the course of his answers. Honestly I couldn’t concentrate on the content of his answers as I was too busy watching his body language and counting the ‘buts’. I have a long way to go before this word is eliminated from my vocabulary but I am progressing in monitoring responses to questions and comments on a daily basis. I thought it was funny the such an engaging public speaker, let alone someone with his power was negative without possibly even realizing.

This is a fantastic observation and this person is on the road to better communication because they are improving their level of listening. In my programs, I suggest that they completely remove the word 'but' from their vocabulary.

Here was my response:

Great job! Awareness (recognition) is a huge part of making the change.

Three items:

1. He's the CEO of the USA and CEO's have butitis, because they are there to see what is wrong and fix it. As you pointed out though, it's even more important for them to keep but out of their language.

2. Remember we talked about having the skills during times of 'stress'. This is the 'choke' factor.

If you go to youtube and see Obama's earlier speeches, he doesn't use but as much. The stress is piling up and he's over his stress line which is why he's using it more. He's falling back to 'poor' habits.

3. I make a point about getting but out of your vocabulary because it is such a nasty habit word and the best way to change is by getting rid of it completely (like being part of AA and never taking a drink).

The reality is, there are times that it can be used effectively and purposely. Use but whenever you wish to eliminate what you just said. An example Obama would use, as a democrat, is 'the republicans care about the country, but they are slowing down the progress'. In this case, the compliment is removed and the sentence actually implies the reverse.

Keep up the great work!!!!!!!

We all wish our country and our leaders success - maybe they'll see this and make a change to their language.

Powerful Words: Can you help me?

Fargo has flooding. The meeting is canceled. The problem is my ticket says LOS ANGELES-DENVER DENVER-FARGO then FARGO-CHICAGO CHICAGO-PITTSBURGH.

I talked to the AMEX, the booking travel agency, and they said they'd have to issue new tickets and that'll cost money.

At the counter of United Airlines, 'Can you help me?' and bingo. Reticketed to Pittsburgh with efficiency and a smile. What else would you want? Many thanks. Special thanks sent to United for the assitance and courtesy of the agent.

The Power of Your Front Line People

If you're mad at the airline you're flying, don't read this, because it will upset you more.

This blog is about the pleasant experience I'm having today because of technology, frequent flier status, and some very nice people.

I'm flying Continental out of Orange County (John Wayne Airport) to Houston and was upgraded to first automatically by their system because I'm a frequent flier with them. Very nice. Since I just got off an airplane back and forth from Wisconsin on a very crowded plane, this will be a nice change.

I'm waiting in American Airlines Admiral Club because they were kind enough to send me a free visit because I am a frequent flier with them also. Waiting here is a small surprise because the invitation expired 4 days ago, and I wasn't sure if they would accept it. American Airlines can be a bit rigid in their rules. It's not so much the frontline staff, it's a management team that sometimes forgets their in the customer service business.

I got a big welcome at the front desk and a big smile. Lorraine Gonzales-Gallagher then took the opportunity to ask me about my flights, my general traveling, and solicited me to join the club in a very pleasant and professional way. This is the behavior you want your frontline staff to exhibit.

I had planned to write this blog before I took the elevator up to the club. I'm very pleased to be writing this version of the incident: the incident of the very happy customer. Made even happier by the attentive service of Michelle McAndrew who was handling the refreshment bar and the substituting on the front desk also.

Speaking of frontline people, I need to thank the baggage handlers in Greenbay Wisconsin for not shipping my bag to Grand Rapids (GRR). You see, even though I arrived at John Wayne early for my flight to Greenbay, they had boarded the plane prior to the scheduled boarding time. This means that the new policy (a bad policy I believe) set by Arion Saatzoi, AA General Manager at the airport, where no wheelie bags are allowed after 130 passengers have boarded, are allowed on. When I went to board, they wanted my bag, I hate checking bags, and pack light just so I don't have to check bags. Scott Love, Customer Service Manager, who was handling check in, said the luggage bins were full. When I boarded, without my bag, it was easy to see the luggage bins were wide open. So I went back out to get my bag back. This is when I heard about the new policy, which took longer to explain than simply saying 'the bins were full'. What I didn't know at the time, was the handwriting on the bag check ticket showed destination GRR (is was really GBB, but the B's looked like R's). Anyway, when I landed in Green Bay, thanks to an extra effort by the bag handler to take an extra look and check the passenger manifest, they didn't put my bag on the plane going back out because it looked to be in the wrong place. This also means the guys in Chicago did some extra work also to make sure the bag was on my flight to Green Bay.

The point is the front line people always carry the brunt of stupid decisions by management, and yet they do it with a smile and courtesy even for the millionth passenger they've seen that day. To those on the frontline, thank you. The work you do is very much appreciated



When you're traveling lots of little things make a big difference.