Operating in the NOW

As we continue to grow I see some headwinds for the company, one of which is the increase in employee base and the water-down effect that happens with trying to maintain any one attribute at the same level it was when it was just the three of us. One of the very things that has always made us different and thus, successful, is that we have always operated in the NOW. As we continue to grow this attribute for success is harder and harder to maintain as it requires that all new employees live up to the same attribute that propelled us to where we are today. What typically happens in an organization is that the "differences" that separate the organization from another similar are harder to maintain, and thus they get watered down to some sort of middle ground as the organization adds more and more people and the "difference" becomes all too "common". In simple terms, you can train three people how to answer a question easily, but to train 50 people to answer the question the same way is not simple.

So what do I mean when I say we need to be operating in the NOW? It means that you drop everything to take care of your customer whenever possible. In less broad terms it means that when someone asks you for something, they are your customer, you get them the answer or you complete the task, following up isn't necessary as you are already done. What I learned in the corporate world is that nothing happens in the NOW and thus everything takes two or three times as long to get done, if they actually ever get it done. Between bureaucracy and scope creep large companies fail, we may be a "small" company but compared to when there were just 5 or so of us we are big, close to 10 times larger, and thus people now are expected to live on the same passion and philosophy to achieve the same goal we have always had, Provide the Best Possible Customer Service.

Is it possible to do everything NOW, no, that is not humanly possible, but it is a goal to strive for and something to always remember when someone asks you to do something for them, they are instantly your customer and you control their satisfaction.

This philosophy is why we demand and hold the Customer Service team to answer emails as fast as possible, it is the reason that we push to get all orders received before a shipping truck leaves. These are easy examples as there is an end "Customer" that everyone can see and understand. The internal customer is a bit more elusive and not as obvious or to some, not as important, but the request internally may be vitally important to the end-Customer and you may not even know there is linkage between them. Every request is out of a need that somehow drives back to the end-Customer, the one that gives us money. It isn't always obvious as to what the goal of the request is and it doesn't really matter, the person asking needs the answer for something, assumes it is important and provides the answer or completes the task.

Some tips for trying things to consider when trying to achieve NOW:

• Reply to emails instantly, if you know the answer, give it. If you don't know the answer and it will take a bit of time to provide the answer, let the person know that so they understand you understand - never let an email span 24 hours without some sort of response
• Make a list of all tasks you need to achieve for your customers; when completing the tasks, notify your customer that you completed it, if you can't complete it timely, let them know and tell them why it is taking longer than anticipated. Gmail has a great Task system that you can set due dates for them to appear on your calendar and create multiple lists
• Prioritize your requests. Some requests take 5 seconds, others 5 hours. Be cognizant of tasks that may take a long time and prevent you from completing 5 other short tasks. Making 5 people happy while delaying one person a few minutes is better than taking care of 1 person and making 5 people wait.
• Communicate your plan if the request is lengthy - this assures that everyone understands it and is aware of the time required
• When meeting with someone - take notes preferably on paper so you aren’t distracted by your computer

It may feel sometimes that we are demanding too much or you have too many demands at once, this is because in our heads we are expecting the NOW to be happening and prioritizing to occur to keep the wheels turning and the ideas generated may require more bandwidth than you have to achieve, it is prioritizing is vitally important. It is always a far more productive environment when you understand all tasks expected from you and you are clearing them as fast as possible and when your Customers are aware that you are working to complete their request.

Lastly, I am humble enough to understand that I am not fully successful at operating in the NOW every time. I am not! Quite frankly many of you may be waiting for replies or something to get done by me at this very moment. But, I strive for it and it isn't something that is easy and it isn't something that you can do once and claim victory. I once got to zero emails requiring a response only for the next day to happen - there isn't an end - this is more of a mindset shift than a hard set goal to achieve.