Archive for February, 2010
Idea #2 : Inspire and Unite Your Team!
How to Drive Accountability …
By creating a common language.
Gompers, Couillard, & Wolfe, Inc., a prominent insurance agency in southeastern Michigan, determined that integrity, innovation, compassion, team synergy, initiative and professional service were the core values that would drive their success.
“The team was energized and united after participating in the core values exercise with Aha! Leadership. The outcome: our entire team created and agreed on our six core company values. It was so exciting to watch everyone engage and become passionate about our company.
We kept the momentum going by encouraging everyone to help create our ‘values’ posters. Their buy-in soared, and the posters remind each of us every day the values we, as an agency, agreed to live by and work toward. You’ll often hear teammates ‘joke’ with one another when their actions tie in with one of our values. Often our customers will ask about the posters displayed throughout the office, and when they do our team members proudly tell them about our values,” said Kelly Bottcher, Assistant Operations Manager.
She added,
“Overall, this process has granted us the ability to understand one another better, service our clients better and move forward as a team.”
Today’s Aha! Great ideas can come from the craziest places…
Don’t underestimate the source of a great idea. Over the past week, I can’t tell you how many times I have said “Aha!“ or “Wow! …that’s an awesome idea!” The simplest comment can be so profound. And it can come from the most unexpected person or place. So, check this out…
I am on the treadmill watching Oprah (yes, I am a closet Oprahaholic…) and she is having a conversation with some big important movie star using Skype. If you’re not familiar with Skype it is a free online video telephone. Seriously, it’s like George and Judy Jetson used to use in the old cartoon “The Jetson’s”. Anyway, I thought to myself …Oprah keeps using this Skype gizmo to have guests on her show. Why does she do that? Well there are probably at least two good reasons: 1) it saves on travel costs and 2) it saves a ton of time shuffling last minute guests to and from Chicago. I thought to myself… that’s it, I can use Skype to connect with customers all over Michigan. It’s free… it’s fast … most important it’s fun! I now Skype 6 to 10 times a week and beam myself from location to location in minutes. Pretty cool!
My point, open your eyes… your ears and your mind… There are so many great ideas out there that can be used to solve so many different problems.
A couple of days ago, I was in a leadership meeting at our church. Just like the for profit sector, non-profit organizations are getting creative with cost cutting ideas. We learned that the janitor came up with a $12,000 per year cost cutting idea. Get this… by closing off one section of the massive parking lot on weekdays the church saves money by not salting the parking lot. Because the parking lot fully surrounds the building there are over 6,000 other parking spots to choose from. Besides the demand for parking is obviously the greatest on Sunday morning. So, none was really inconvenienced by the change. Now … that is a simple idea from a truly unexpected place.
If there is one thing that I have learned over the years it’s that sometimes we just look too hard and take ourselves way too seriously when looking for great ideas. So, today put on your pink sunglasses and go out looking for ideas. See every encounter, every interaction, and every situation as an opportunity to spark a new idea. I guarantee you will be amazed at how many great ideas you’ll spot.
Just think of the possibilities….
Pay it forward and share your Aha!
Idea #1: Inspire and Unite Your Team!
How to Ignite Passion…
By having fun!
Alfie, one of 2009′s “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch”, transformed both their branding and corporate culture in the autumn of 2008. The entire team came together to create the new mission statement and to determine their core values: integrity, effective communication, creative vision, attitude, excellence, and customer delight.
Last August, Bonnie Alfonzo, Alfie’s President and CEO, awarded $500 cash to the winner of Alfie Idol; the company’s first annual talent competition. The only requirement — incorporate the Alfie mission and values.
It was a amazing to see the team bring down the house with tunes such as Call Me, Sweet Caroline, and Tomorrow, just to name a few.
For the grand finale the entire team preformed Summer Lovin’ from Grease. Everyone had a blast!
Watch this and get inspired!
Keep in mind… just a few months ago this was an very shy production team.
Idea #5: Inspire and Unite Your Team!
How to keep your team engaged…
| With WOW! Wednesdays…
The Alfie team gathers weekly for Wow Wednesday which is a 15 to 20 minute team huddle. Each week a different team member chooses one of their core values and highlights its purpose. “There is no restrictive format; we encourage everyone to express their thoughts about the value they have chosen in a way that reflects their personal style. These conversations help keep our culture alive in a couple of ways. First, we review both positive and not-so-great examples the team demonstrated the value over the past week. We refer to the latter as an ‘OUCH’ – Our Unusual Challenge. With this format we focus on situations that will provide our clients with an even-more-phenomenal customer experience. And by encouraging each team member to express themselves in their own way, we build trust and empower each member of the team,” explains Tricia Bowman, member of team expedite. Check out the great promotional products Alfie offers by clicking here.
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