What makes Bharat different??? A driver is a driver…Right??? WRONG. A driver is just a driver when he does not aspire to be anything more. But when you’re Bharat, you expand the dimensions of your role. Add so much value that you are missed sorely when you are not around. What Bharat does different is what all of us can learn & do as Business People.

1. Treats the customer like an Emperor
All of us love to feel good. That’s our favorite thing to feel – GOOD. Bharat makes his customer feel not just like a King…but like an Emperor. Bharat, as the picture shows, is not entirely athletic. But as soon as he sees the customer walking from a distance, he springs out of his seat to help the customer with his bag (however small it is). He treats his customer like the customer is the most important person to him. All our jobs either have us serving an Internal or External Customer. Do we make our customers feel like Emperors?

2. The Helping Professional
It always seems like it’s never about the money – although every business eventually is About the Money. It seems that he is genuinely interested in the welfare of my business – which in this case is the meetings he takes me for. He will do what it takes to ‘help’ me succeed. Bharat is always ready to help.

3. A Learning Professional
Bharat is a perpetual learner. The biggest deficiency I have seen in professionals during my trainings is the fact that they have stopped Learning after their formal education. Bharat’s command over the English Language is far better than most call center executives I have met. He knows Jet flight timings better than Naresh Goyal. In his previous avatar, Bharat worked at a Hotel, and has used all his learning’s from there in the Taxi Business.

4. An Adaptable Professional
The first time we hired Bharat’s services, I thought he was driving a little too fast for my comfort. I told Bharat I was slightly uncomfortable with the speed. Since that day – Bharat has adapted his driving style to suit my requirement. I have never had to tell him a second time to slow down. Bharat can make fabulous small talk when I’m up to it. He also knows when silence is precious (especially after I’ve yapped at a 2 day training program). If I’m with an associate he would never contribute in the conversation unless it’s something he can help with (like Cricket Match Scores, Railway Timing, Traffic Status, etc.).

Bharat is so good that we as Customers are ready to forgive him for any errors that happen. When you delight your customers time and again, they become more tolerant to your screw ups. And that’s the key to a lot of businesses. All of us as Business People will screw up. But how tolerant will our customers be with us? That would depend on whether you delighted your them in previous engagements.

Bharat blew me away with this one line where he sounded like Steve Jobs when he said “I don’t think of me as being in the Taxi Business. I’m in the Hospitality Business.”

In the business world – what you say and what you do are the only 2 things that matter. Nobody really cares how good or bad you are from the Inside.

Remember that once you say something, you can never take it back. If you are upset and you tell your subordinate that he is a worthless Idiot – telling him later that you didn’t mean it, won’t repair the damage done. Once you say something it stays. Irrespective of whether you mean it or not – words once uttered cannot be taken back.

Be careful of what you say when you are in a bad state of mind. One thing said could damage a relationship you have built over years. The scare you put on that relationship would be a lasting one. The good deeds you have done through the years will be sidelined and the few nasty words you said would take focus.

Professionals usually lose their cool on people they believe they can afford to lose their cool on – like their small customers, their subordinate etc. The Manager would usually blow his top at his team and yet not do the same with his own boss since he knows the repercussion would be detrimental to his own career. That is proof that all professionals can keep their calm and control their emotion even if they are seething from the inside.

The difference between a good professional and a bad one is one’s ability to soak work pressure and not pass it on to the other people. Eg. If you are at the receiving end of a chiding from your boss – you should not go and download the same to your team. This passing on of anger & frustration in business is called Emotional Leakage. Pass on the message. Do not pass on the use of nasty words because it may not help the cause. The same is true with dealing with the customer. You could have had a tough interaction with one customer which could put you in a bad state of mind. But if you pass on your frustrations build up due to one customer on another customer, you have created bad blood with both customers.

Are you not going to be in a bad state of mind when at receiving end of a customer/boss/colleague that looses their cool? You definitely will. However, the key to being a good professional is your ability to control your cool right at that time by being totally conscious of your behavior. Take a walk outside if that helps. Do the stuff that puts you in a good state of mind. You may have to act like you are normal even if you are not.

The higher you go in any organization, the more pressure you will have. Your responsibilities will increase manifold. The frustration & problems will mount too. One of the keys to being a good manager/professionals is your ability to maintain you’re cool.

Everything in life is easier said than done. That’s why such few people end up doing the more difficult things in life. Cause if it was easy, just about everyone would have done them. Just about everyone would have had super successful careers.

When I interact with people through workshops all over the country, I am surprised by the amount of knowledge people possess about subject like Leadership, Customer service, Sales etc. Give them a class room and the right frame work and people come up with brilliant things In theory. Why is it then do we fail in translating what we know into action ? Why is the gap so big between thought and implementation ?

Implementing and executing anything is much more difficult than knowing what’s right to do. That’s why the most prized asset in business are people who can translate plans/ meeting discussions into action. In Business, nobody cares how much you know or how brilliant you are. What people care about is what you do as a professional.

The biggest excuse we give ourselves for not doing what we know is the fact that we get caught up in our ‘daily routine’. That we are too busy to put these things into action.

But how can we do it in our professional lives? How can we apply our existing behavioural knowledge into action ?

1. Don’t try to do too many things. Make a list of the things you wish to achieve and then implement them one things at a time till you achieve competency in that behaviour.
2. Remind yourself about it all the time. Desktop Wallpapers, post it
3. Have someone keep an eye on you. Give you frank feedback when you stray.
4. Make a public announcement on Facebook etc. maybe the pressure of going back on what you said publicly will be a stimulant enough
5. Have learning buddies. People that are working with you on these issues so you don’t feel alone.
6. Don’t wait for any date in the future to get started. No start of the month or year bull shit. Get started today. Right now. Now is always the most auspicious time.
7. Don’t play mind games with your self. Don’t fool yourself into believing that the things that you decided are not important. The mind can come up with a million completely reasonable sounding excuses when you like. Remember, the only person you are fooling is you.
8. Don’t give up. Keep at it. When you don’t do what you were supposed to do, don’t give up and say pessimistic ally ‘ well this is the way I am’ OR ‘ these things work better in books, not in real’. Get up and get going.

For example, if you have decided to be more appreciative as a leader, ensure that it’s something that you incorporate in the way you are irrespective of the situation. There will always be pressure. There will always be your boss baying for you blood. There will be the targets to achieve and month ends. But if you have decided to incorporate a certain behaviour, let it not contingent to a lot of different factors being perfect or ideal. If you wait for your surroundings to be ideal before you start incorporating a behaviour in your life, you will have to wait your whole life.

If you stick to the above, you will realise that before you know it, you have incorporated different elements in your life that you knew. Each one of them helped you grow more that anyone else.

So do yourself a favour, by doing what you already know.

My workshops and writings revolve around one idea – The little things that we do everyday matter more than the huge audacious goals we set at the workplace. Do the little things right, the big goals will take care of themselves.

Execution is always the key. If you get that right, you and your business will grow. If you don’t, you will be the person that had great ideas and wanted to do a lot of things but ended up doing sweet nothing. Good intentions don’t matter, what matters is what gets done.

A few things the best professionals (that I have come across) do day in and day out to succeed at the work place.

1. Fanatic about Diaries/To Do Lists
   1. Write everything down: ‘The faintest of Ink is better than the sharpest of memory.’ This is a quote I use almost every day in my workshops. I harp about it – whether I’m conducting a Managerial Effectiveness workshop or on Sales. Write every small bit down on your diary. If it’s a meeting you have in 3 days OR the commitment to call someone back in half an hour OR an idea about a new project. Make a note of it. Once everything is written down, it frees up your mind to think more creatively about each of the subjects. Otherwise we are busy trying to recollect the things that need to get done.
   2. 3 minutes, 3 times a day: Check your diary 3 times a day for 3 minutes. Once in the morning, before you start the day. Once in the afternoon, before you do Lunch. And once before leaving for the day. Doing this will help you assess the work you have finished and what needs to get done.
   3. Carry stuff Forward: Please ensure that you take the trouble at the end of every working day, to carry what has not been completed on that day, to the subsequent pages on your diary when you would do them.
   4. Keep going Back and Forth through your diary: To constantly check what you need to do in subsequent days – so you can plan now if required. Go back to see if you have missed out on something that needs to be done.

2. Tackling Procrastination: Irrespective of how passionately we feel about the work at hand, ever so often we will get into a mental space where we won’t feel like doing stuff.
   1. Get Started Quickly: There is a certain power in quickly getting started with something you don’t feel like doing. Once you start, the rest usually follows.
   2. Do the thing you feel like: At the work place, we often have multiple tasks to do. If you don’t feel like making that report, quickly knock off something else on your to-do list that you feel like doing currently.

All the things mentioned above seem simple. Some seem like plain common sense. Doing them consistently is the challenge. Happiness for most is about converting their dreams into realities. These simple tools are a few ways to making your dreams come true. One day at a time.

The truth of the matter is: To optimize your productivity, you need to focus on one task at a time. You need to Mono-Task!

As Timothy Ferriss said: “Multi-tasking is dead. It never worked and it never will. Intelligent people love to sing its praises because it gives them permission to avoid the much more challenging alternative: focusing on one thing.”

Given that Mono-Tasking has worked wonderfully for me, I would like to share some tips on how NOT to multi-task:

1. Set up a block of time to work without interruption: You might try one-hour blocks, or half-hour blocks, depending on what works for you. Or 40 minute blocks, with 20 minutes in between them for miscellaneous tasks.
2. Stay away from distractions: Turn off all other distractions. Shut off email, and the Internet if possible. Don’t sign on to Twitter or Facebook. Shut off your cell phone or put it on silent. Try not to answer your phone if possible. Focus on that one task, and try to get it done without worrying about other stuff.
3. Make a list and cross off items accordingly: To do lists work wonders for the multitasker. Mono-task using the list. Cross one item off at a time. As each item is crossed off, the day’s outlook is better. When focus is needed, return to the to-do list and start with the top item – and don’t stop until you can cross it off.
4. Take care of your most important task first: First thing in the morning, work on your Most Important Task. Don’t do anything else until this is done. Give yourself a short break, and then start on your next Most Important Task. If you can get 2-3 of these done in the morning, the rest of the day is easy. Otherwise it will always be on your mind taking your attention away from your current assignments.
5. Make a schedule: Schedule time for all the routine tasks. Schedule email time, time to return phone calls, lunch, time for networking and all the other little things that eat into your day. By scheduling a certain time and a certain amount of time for each, you won’t have to do it at the same time as your important assignments.
6. Don’t get up until a job is done: It’s that simple. Sit down, finish the task and then get up.
7. Don’t try and take on more work than you can handle: If it’s hard for you to juggle multiple tasks, don’t accept so much work. If you have so much you can’t focus on one thing at a time, maybe you have too much work. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
8. Delegate: Share tasks with your colleagues. There’s no shame in delegating.

Finally, it’s good to remember that we’re not perfect. Every once in a while it might be OK to allow for a little multitasking.

But if we are serious about producing better results at work, then we not only have to start doing a few things differently but also STOP doing several things — and multi-tasking is definitely one of them!

What is the extra Mile?

The Extra mile is any extra efforts put in by a person for another person. The extra mile is difficult to define as it means different things in different situation. Remember, that the extra mile must be visible and felt by the receiver of it. As people, we tend to remember only the extra that someone does for us. The regular is taken for granted.

Examples of Extra Mile

A Customer Service Executive working after hours at office to help his customer out; Delivering something to the Customers residence when it is not part of standard procedure; Taking an extra effort at your end to sort a customer problem in a huge company. The list is endless.

Types of Extra Mile

You can go the extra mile proactively and reactively. Proactively going the extra mile means doing something extra for the customers without him asking for it. For Eg. At the Taj Gateway Surat for the first time I was staying there, Post dinner, the Bakery Chef came to my room with a free desert. Two years after having stayed there, I still remember how the chef looked. I stay in a Hotel almost every day of my life and I don’t remember my stay at any other place so distinctly. The Pastry cost the hotel Rs. 15 -20. But they created a raving fan for a long time. Companies should figure out ways to proactively go the extra mile for their customers. Make it a part of their process to do so.

Reactively going the extra mile is about doing something extra when the customer asks or requests for it.

Going the extra mile in both ways is very important.

How does the extra Mile help?

Going the extra mile forms a long lasting relationship with customers. It helps build loyalty and delights the customer. Going the extra mile leads to the customer forgiving you if you make a mistake while servicing him.

What to take care of while going the extra mile?

Don’t let people exploit you. Go the extra mile but don’t let someone take you for a ride. There could also be a tendency among people to try to exploit the fact that you are willing to do something extra.

Secondly, don’t let it become the norm. When the extra becomes the norm, it becomes a problem. Hence it’s important to ensure that you make sure that the person you are going the extra mile for is aware that you are doing so and does not take you for granted.

Going the extra mile is something that takes more effort & sincerity. When you do something extra for people, most people want to do something extra back for you. You help them meet their goals and objectives and they help you meet yours. It’s just about the only way to succeed as a Business or person. So don’t shirk off that extra effort when it needs to be put in. More than anyone else, it’s you whose suffering.

Our lives are shaped and influenced by the environment we choose for ourselves. Some of the factors that make up our environment are totally out of our control. Like the family we are born into. Or the parents we have. The neighbours. But beyond that I believe every other influence is a choice we make. And that choice shapes our personalities and the careers we have.

Most people believe they have very little control over these things. I believe otherwise. For eg. The school you go to is something that may not be in your control. But who you befriend at school is a choice you make.

How do we create a positive environment for ourselves?

Be conscious of your environment – As a starting point, be completely aware of the environment you create for yourself. This is the first and most important step towards influencing yourself positively.

Who do you hang out with? This is the make or break factor. We tend to become the sum average of 5 people that we associate with the most. When I am with friends whose approach towards work is causal, my drive to produce good work tends to blunt. On the other side, when I meet friends who are in the pursuit of excellence, it inspires me as well.

What are you reading? Books have been one of my biggest influencers. Irrespective of what our surroundings are, we have the choice to expose ourselves to the right books. What you read is who you are. I would read autobiographies of entrepreneurs and businessmen ever since I was young which shaped my thoughts on business and life. When I went through a rough phase in business, my thoughts went back to how so many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs bounced back from worse situations. Hence read positively.

What are you watching and surfing? We are lucky to live in an age of unlimited access to information. The Internet has the world information at your finger tips. Are we using that resource well? One of my big influences of the Internet has been TED.com. In the comfort of a bedroom I have access to the world’s thought leaders talking passionately about a subject and broadening your mind with brilliant concepts.

Seek varied experiences – There are so many conferences, seminars, talks, etc. that happen in your city. These are great forums to meet interesting, like minded people and also to get exposed to great ideas and get inspired.

In each of the elements above, ensure that you bring in some diversity. Read something light to break the monotony of Business Biographies. Meet different people (who may be totally unlike you). The sheer exposure to different kinds of people will help immensely in your understanding of human dynamics.

To excel in life, to be able to work with optimum use of our potential, it’s important that we create an inspiring and a high learning environment for ourselves every day. It is not something that can be done just once in a while. So work towards it every day, starting today.

When I interact with people all over the country, I am surprised by the amount of knowledge they possess on subjects like Leadership, Customer Service, Sales, etc. Give them a class room with an audience and people could talk on brilliant concepts, but in theory. Why is it then that we fail in translating what we know, into action? Why is the gap so big between thought and implementation?

Implementing and executing anything is way more difficult than knowing what’s right to do. That’s why the most prized assets in business are people who can translate plans and meeting talks into action.

So how can we act on what we know in our professional lives? How can we apply our existing behavioural knowledge into action?

1. Remind yourself about it all the time.
2. Have someone keep an eye on you. Give you frank feedback when you stray.
3. Involve buddies. People that are working with you on these issues so you don’t feel alone.
4. Focus. Then focus again when you lose focus.
5. Don’t try to do too many things. Make a list of the things you wish to achieve and then implement them one thing at a time till you achieve competency in that behaviour.
6. Don’t play mind games with yourself. Don’t fool yourself into believing that what you have planned is not important. The mind can come up with a million, completely reasonable sounding excuses when you like. Remember, the only person you are fooling is you.

For example, if you have decided to be more appreciative as a leader, ensure that it’s something you incorporate in your conduct, irrespective of the situation. Cause there will always be pressure. There will always be your boss baying for you blood. There will be that target sword over your head. But if you have decided to incorporate a particular behaviour, let it not be contingent to certain factors being perfect or ideal. Else you will never get started or even if you do, it will take you a very long time.

If you stick to the above, you will realise that you have incorporated different elements in your life. Each one of them helped you grow more than anyone else.

So why not do yourself a favour, by doing what you already know?!

Remember that once you say something, you can never take it back. If you are upset and you tell your subordinate that he is a worthless Idiot – telling him later that you didn’t mean it, won’t repair the damage done. Once you say something it stays. Irrespective of whether you mean it or not – words once uttered cannot be taken back.

Be careful of what you say when you are in a bad state of mind. One thing said could damage a relationship you have built over years. The scare you put on that relationship would be a lasting one. The good deeds you have done through the years will be sidelined and the few nasty words you said would take focus.

Professionals usually lose their cool on people they believe they can afford to lose their cool on – like their small customers, their subordinate etc. The Manager would usually blow his top at his team and yet not do the same with his own boss since he knows the repercussion would be detrimental to his own career. That is proof that all professionals can keep their calm and control their emotion even if they are seething from the inside.

The difference between a good professional and a bad one is one’s ability to soak work pressure and not pass it on to the other people. Eg. If you are at the receiving end of a chiding from your boss – you should not go and download the same to your team. This passing on of anger & frustration in business is called Emotional Leakage. Pass on the message. Do not pass on the use of nasty words because it may not help the cause. The same is true with dealing with the customer. You could have had a tough interaction with one customer which could put you in a bad state of mind. But if you pass on your frustrations build up due to one customer on another customer, you have created bad blood with both customers.

Are you not going to be in a bad state of mind when at receiving end of a customer/boss/colleague that looses their cool? You definitely will. However, the key to being a good professional is your ability to control your cool right at that time by being totally conscious of your behavior. Take a walk outside if that helps. Do the stuff that puts you in a good state of mind. You may have to act like you are normal even if you are not.

The higher you go in any organization, the more pressure you will have. Your responsibilities will increase manifold. The frustration & problems will mount too. One of the keys to being a good manager/professionals is your ability to maintain you’re cool.

Most celebrities, politicians & high achievers start losing the plot because they have a coterie of yes-men around them. People who don’t tell them the truth because they are scared of the consequences. This often leads to their downfall as they start believing what they want to believe, which may be far from the on ground realities.

Leaders & Professionals who produce great results in the long run often encourage their Inner Circle to contradict them and tell them things as they are. Hearing & knowing the truth in the right spirit is a key factor to one’s professional success. Here’s how we can get started:

Step 1: Ask people the truth

Encourage people to tell you the truth about yourself. If they say something nice, great – but encourage them to tell you the negative & the improvement areas. People love giving opinions and will give enough if you ask with an open mind. Appreciate your truth tellers for being honest with you.

Step 2: Having the gumption to LISTEN to the truth

This, most of us can’t handle. Listening to the truth when it’s not nice-sounding. We run away from it. We counter people’s opinions with justifications instead of just listening. Tell ourselves it’s not true. Get defensive. All of this instead of listening and probing for more feedback.

Step 3: How to use the Truth?

The problem is there is no one truth. It often is an opinion/interpretation which is highly subjective. If 3 people report to Manager – each will have a different truth [opinion/feedback] about the Manager which in their mind is the absolute truth.

If the manager wants to improve her performance, it’s important she heeds their feedback and starts dealing with each one slightly differently based on how they see the truth.

Is the people’s truth always accurate? Not at all. But remember that you are using their truth to improve. To make necessary modifications & become a better professional. People are entitled to have opinions. In the end, you need to try to do as much of an impartial assessment of yourself based on the people’s “truth”. Then take the required improvement action, because you know your situation best – they do NOT. Use the truth as others see it, don’t be a slave to it. Make it your slave.

The higher you go the more risk you have of not hearing the truth or dismissing it. Nothing stops you more from hearing the truth than success. That’s why very few people last at the top. For your own sustained success, stop doing that. Trust me it’s never too late to start hearing the truth about yourself.