The Corporate Woman

Setting aside time to reflect gives you the opportunity to see how things fit together and identify gaps.  This nothing new, right?  You know this, have experienced it, whether it was in your personal life or work life or both.  So if we know it, have felt the benefit of it, why is it so hard to do?  Why do we feel compelled to fill up every precious waking minute with a task?  How many of you feel the impulse in an idle moment to pick up your Blackberry or iPhone (or similar item)?  Do you ask yourself why?  I do.

I’m a big fan of reflection and thinking time.  I am also an unrepentant and inveterate multitasker (yes, I’m doing it now - picture me listening to music, checking email, Twitter, blogging and researching chi square testing).  I find that I have to remind myself of how much I can get done by taking the time to step back from it all and reflect.  Even given that, some of my best insights and ideas have come from when I am doing some mindless task instead of doing nothing at all but thinking.  Knowing that, I seek out that form of reflection and integrate it into the flow of my life.  Don’t think I’m all successful at it though - it’s an ongoing practice.  And although it doesn’t come naturally, I do the quiet, non-task version of reflection too… just not as often.

I can tell you that I have learned that if I don’t have this time on a regular basis, I’m less happy, less productive, less creative, less insightful - more restless, more stressed and more easily distracted.  There’s an inner warning bell that goes off when I start to feel like this.  I know it’s time to step back.

How have you found the power of reflection working for you?  Do you make time for it?  How does your life feel when you don’t make time for it?  Share your stories with me because I’m really interested in learning how it works for others.

Tags: insight, Reflection, thoughful

I know that I am going to be in the midst of competing views here but I use NPS where I work and have built a previous NPS program as well - I like it and it works.  Say what you will of the method (and believe me, there is much that has been said/written/blogged on it, good and bad), the core of it comes down to really listening to your customers, taking action on what you learn and letting them know they are heard.  For me, that’s the key.

I’ve often said that the NPS question itself (and the resulting score) are the least important parts of an NPS program and survey.  Before I anger anyone, please note that I said least important, not that they aren’t valuable at all.  What is more important, in my view, is the “why” for the score given and “what would it take to improve”.  This is where the listening gets good.

Once you have all that great data from your customers, it’s time to turn it into actionable information.  That’s done by taking the NPS data and tying it to other key data.  That’s going to vary for your business but it could be market channel, customer value, number of customers, retention, country, product, brand… well, I think you see where this could go, right?

Customer feedback that’s just a number that everyone watches and argues about is not really all that helpful, is it?  The real power comes from the program you build around the NPS data you collect and the tools you develop as a result.  Taking action on customer feedback and letting your customers know they are heard.  And who doesn’t want to buy from a company like that?

Tags: action, customer loyalty, listening, Net Promoter Score, NPS

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of my mom’s death.  After everything we had been through together, good and bad, this month has been hard emotionally for me.  Because she was ill for so very long, we were fortunate she held on (despite tremendous pain and suffering) to give us so much more time together than we thought we were going to get when she was diagnosed with cancer.  She was able to see and share in moments she never thought she could - the birth of her granddaughter and the chance to see her first few years.  Now my daughter has memories of her Nana, which I am thankful for. 

It’s the little things that are getting to me, the sharp moments of pained surprise like helping my daughter pick out a card for her Grandma (my mother-in-law) and realizing that we weren’t going to do that for my mom for the first time.   Seeing my little girl in her first play and realizing my mom wasn’t going to see it.  I’m feeling more emotionally sensitive too.  Odd, unrelated moments bring tears to my eyes that wouldn’t normally.   I think my tongue is a little sharper too but my oh so patient husband could speak to that more than I… 

Beyond the pain is peace as well.  I had time to come to grips with the loss of her before the time came, which helped me enjoy our time together more fiercely and thoroughly.  I have little treasures of her at home and in my office, keeping the memory of her near.  In my office, it’s an interesting mix of keepsakes - there’s what you would expect (pictures of her) but there is also one of her paintings and the first gift I gave her after I moved away from home.

So here’s to my mom, who lived her life on her own terms, with a strength, verve and determination that I hope I can match.  She never let obstacles or bad times keep her down forever and even death came when she was ready and not the other way around.  I hope to be able to pass on the good memories and good lessons to my daughter.   Never forgotten, Mom - your best lives on in your son, daughter and granddaughter.  I know you were proud of that and I am too.  I love you, Mom.

Tags: death, Family, loss, love, memories, mom

I’m going to try and avoid my soapbox here but I will warn you in advance that I may not be successful.  You be the judge…

In my experience, most surveys I’ve taken and seen (includes both those I’ve been asked to provide input on as well as those I couldn’t bear to actually complete), don’t really get actionable information as a result.  I get the sense that most people think surveys are easy to do and really, how hard can it be to come up with a bunch of questions?  In a way, they are right.  It’s not usually the questions that trip you up (although there are those and we’ll get to that in a bit).  The hard part, the tripping point, is really purposeful information.

1. If you had the answer to this survey question, what action would you take with it? 
2. Pretend you’re the opposite of a lawyer and don’t ask any questions when you already know the answer. 
3. Would you take this survey if you got it? Really?
4. Avoid conjunctions.  I don’t know why this comes up so often.  Conjunctions don’t conveniently shorten your survey by grouping concepts, they cloud your results.  (And, but, or, yet, for, nor, so).  “Please rate your satisfaction with the cleanliness and quality of our bathroom.”  Really, is cleanliness the same as quality?  Perhaps it was clean but the toilet paper was of poor quality… but I digress to another potential blog here.
5. Don’t be so wordy.  Overdone corporate speak, really long questions and acronyms are the usual culprits here.  Keep it short and simple to get the best results.
6. Have at least one open text/feedback question.  Instead of trying to cover every possible base, leave the customer the chance to share what they want to share, the way they want to share it.

And my last thoughts on the manner - keep the whole survey short and focused on your point.  Tell me how long the survey is or will take in the invite.  There’s always more but these are the things that always seem to come up in one form or another.  Now you tell me - how many times have you seen these simple rules violated?

Tags: best practices, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, design, suggestions, survey

Hello all - as promised, this is my final report out on my surgery results from Feb.  I would say I have reached full recovery now.  Still some minor pain on big sneezes and occasional twinges but good for my purposes.  Now for the good news - did it deliver on all the anticipated benefits?  I give it a resounding YES!

1)  Am I sleeping better?  You betcha.  I not only sleep better, I dream more.  Go figure on that one… or perhaps I just remember my dreams even more.

2) Is my husband sleeping better?  Yes indeed.  If anything, the total silence when I sleep is a bit concerning for him.  He has yet to adjust and still checks to see if I am actually breathing now and again.

3) Am I breathing better overall? Yes, I am.  It still feels a bit odd to actually be breathing on both sides of my nose but I am doing much better.

4) Do I have more energy? Oh yes… I haven’t had this much energy in years.  Must be a combo of more oxygen in my blood and better sleep but I am loving it.  I feel like my energy level has improved significantly.

5) Would I recommend the surgery to others? Yes I would.  It hurt more than I thought going in (and I thought it would be bad) but it was worth every bit.  I genuinely wish I had done this sooner. 

As a reminder, I had the “snoring surgery” and repair for a severely deviated septum at the same time.  The two together is what resulted in more pain than I anticipated.  For those who are going for one or the other, the recovery should be easier.  Throw in the fact that I lost five pounds during the recovery, which was a lovely added bonus. 

This makes excellent progress on my personal goals for the year.

Tags: Health, positive, results, surgery, wellness

I was inspired by a conversation with a colleague, to write about this very topic.  Why do we tend to add complexity?  In other words, why is simple so darn hard?  We appreciate it, we recognize it when we see it, we even admire it - but aspire to it as an integral thing, nope, that’s just not natural behavior - or so it seems. 

I’d like to say I’m exempt from such bewildering behavior but I’m not.  I remind myself daily, like my very own mantra, how could I do this simpler, clearer, easier? 

So, not being an expert, I can merely pontificate on the potential causes - Is it human nature?  History might well bear out the truth in that.  My thought is that it has something to do with being an adult or the process of becoming an adult.  Children can be quite direct and simple with veritable effortless glee.  So I wonder if it has something to do with the socialization process that forces us to add complexity rather than automatically strive for the simpler the better.

But enough about me and what I think!  I’m far more curious to learn what you think about this topic.  Leave a comment and let us all know why you think simple is so hard.

Tags: Communication

My daughter is six years old and very imaginative.  Her creativity fascinates me.  This week, she lost her second tooth - let me tell that it has seemed both a dramatic and funny saga that I simply had to share.  Maybe it will make you laugh too (-:

It starts like this… On a dark and stormy night - oh wait, wrong story.   <rummage, rummage, rummage> Ah, here it is… About a week ago, her second tooth (bottom, center, right) reached a point where it was hanging by minuscule means.  So we began the nightly practice of me asking for one chance to gently tug on the tooth to remove it and her having dramatic hysterics for at least ten minutes before reluctantly letting me try.   Each night, no success (I am fortunate if I can even get a hold of the tooth, much less actually tug).

On Monday night, I finally get to reach in there and it pops right out.  But she is still wailing and begging me not to pull it out.  I start laughing so hard that I can’t even show her the tooth is already out.  She gets more upset that I am laughing.  Finally, I manage some semblance of control and show her the tooth and like magic, all tears and various other symptoms of histrionics disappear.  She is now all smiles.

But suddenly, a new concern rears its ugly head - tomorrow is her playdate with her best friend Esther and she has to show her this tooth.  So nothing will do but we must find a hiding place for the tooth, so the tooth fairy will not take it.  And, to be totally certain there is no misunderstanding, we must leave her a note, in case she ransacks the house looking for the tooth in hiding and takes it.  You can imagine our thoughts at this point, right?

The tooth is fortunately still there to be shown to her best friend and is dutifully placed on the nightstand for pick up by the tooth fairy.  This morning in the car, my little girl starts telling me that the tooth fairy can walk through walls (must be a great skill to have, better than the chimney gig).  She also states, quite firmly, that the tooth fairy gives a kiss for every coin you receive.  Two gold coin dollars translates to two kisses.  Okay, I am with her there although I don’t recall kissing her at that point.  I recall desperately trying to sneak out her room as quiet as I could, despite the various toy obstacles leftover from the previously mentioned playdate.  Then she declares that the first kiss is felt but the second one cannot be felt.  Perhaps because the tooth fairy is already dematerializing in preparation for heading out through the wall, on to her next appointment.

So I walked into work this morning with a big smile on my face, because I had such a great start to my day.  A story moment to treasure and share.  My day is good!

Tags: daughter, Family, love, memories, treatsure

I admit to fear and to worry and to doubt.  I am fortunate in these times of fear and uncertainty, where many are suffering the most dramatic and awful change of their lives.  I am thankful, every day, for what I have:  my good health (and health insurance), my loved ones (and their good health), my great job (that I am lucky to love) and the basics we all need (food, shelter, etc…).  My heart goes out to those who are suffering because I remember earlier days where a roof over my head was uncertain, not much food (so thankful for free school lunch programs) and no health insurance (or money for much needed medicines, like my asthma inhaler).  I remember and my heart cries out for them.

What I wonder about is the thread of small, angry voices I hear on the web.  Why?  Is it fear that causes some to rant and say others deserve such awful reversals of fortune?  Is it spite or small mindedness?  Self-righteousness and smug insensitivity?  I guess I just don’t get it.  Yes, some are in their current situations due to unwise choices.  I don’t know about you but I’ve made more than a few “unwise choices” in my life and had to live with those consequences.  This doesn’t mean that I don’t feel for them though.  It doesn’t mean that I take pleasure or feel smug about their situation.  I know I am not alone in this because I read and hear those voices too - the wondering ones who feel empathy and are thankful for what they have.

Each day, I will live in joy (for my good fortune) and fear (that it might somehow go awry) and empathy (for those who have lost so much).  I suspect, this is how my year will go.  How about you?

Tags: Change, Endurance, Fear, Spirit

Okay, I admit it, I am new to the social media whirl.  I am an admitted party wallflower - sociable and gregarious in compact and focused settings but throw me into a party of strangers and watch me cringe.  I spend more wondering what to say, trying to remember my “hmmmm, that’s interesting” questions and trying to determine what the polite time to leave is, that I never get to the actual enjoying part.  Sad, is it not?

So why would I be willing to plunge into the social media merry-go-round with so many I don’t know (and some that I do)?  Think of it like therapy.  If I can come up with interesting things to say that total strangers could possibly enjoy without thinking me entirely untenable, I might, just might, get more confidence and comfort level on the in person thing.  I also get the chance to learn interesting (and sometimes not so interesting) things, which is good, because I love to learn.

So where did I take the plunge, you ask?  Well, I chose Twitter (@TabithaDunn) and Facebook.  Twitter because it seemed the most challenging and Facebook because my friends seem to inexplicably hear a bellwether that caused them to migrate there.  So, after some polite social pressure, I caved and joined.  Now I have friends and tweeps.  I am even slowly collecting followers, which may or may not mean anything, depending on who you ask.  <grin>

What about you?  Have you taken the plunge?  If so, where did you dive?

Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

My view of my septoplasty and the snoring surgery.  For those of you who don’t know me, I was born with a severely deviated septum, with only a tiny opening in the right side of my nose.  For me, this is normal.  Little did I know that it is part of why I have low energy levels and don’t seem to get enough rest, even after a good nights sleep.  The nose actually needs both sides to work right and properly oxygenate you.  After years of dreading the surgery pain, I finally decided that my gift of better living to myself this year would be breathing better.  I do one of these every year - for example, one year I gave up soda, another fast food, another caffeine.  Each a step towards changing my lifestyle to a healthier one.

Last week I took the plunge and had the surgery.  The rest is about this week and how it went.  Here’s a little spoiler warning - for those who really don’t want the details, just know that everything is going well in my recovery and stop here.  For those who really would like to know, here goes (don’t say I didn’t warn you):

My surgery was last week Monday morning.  It started with a lot of waiting and no book to read for half of it.  For those of you who know me, this is a bad situation to be in.  I laid there on the table, staring at the ceiling drop tiles and found myself thinking all sorts of what if scenarios.  The people at the Santa Barbara Surgery Center were great - patient, pain sensitive and supportive. 

As promised, I didn’t feel them taking the breathing tube out after the surgery.  I did wake scared though - I couldn’t breathe without concious effort and I hurt like mad.  I had my first warning of how it was to be when she gave me some pain medicine to swallow and it hurt even more.  Not a good sign when you are in pain and it hurts even more to take the medicine.   After waiting in recovery, Shawn carefully brought me home.  I prayed for sleep that wouldn’t come.  I could doze for ten to fifteen minutes at a time and then wake up and spit out blood. 

The next couple of days brought me lots of lost blood.  So much so that I began to worry that it was too much, despite what the doctor said I was losing what he expected.  The packing came out on Tuesday and that was a shock and a relief.  All I could take was water. 

Thursday, I tried food.  An egg.  And I was successful in keeping it down.  Hooray!  Try to take joy in the little things.  I’ve been living off one egg a day and a small bit of applesauce.  The good news is that I’m not actually hungry and I am losing weight.  So there is a side benefit to all of this.

The good news today is that the internal splints came out of my nose.  Very little pain and suddenly its an amazing how much more I can breathe through my nose.  The sharp pain in my throat should start to recede in another couple of days, so food may be back in my near future.  If all continues to go well, I should be just about fully healed this time next week. 

Was it worth it? (I know you’re going to ask.)  I’m going to go with yes at this point.  I breathe better and I am not snoring either.  I suspect that I will also get the benefits of sleeping better (once the pain goes away) and having more energy.  Everything worked just like my doctor told me.  I have to admit to some fear and regret that I experienced on the first couple of days.  I was so miserable and exhausted that I did wonder why I did this to myself.

Tonight I go back to sleeping horizontally, rather than the prescribed 30 degree angle.  Tonight I will get to sleep breathing through my nose.  And last, certainly not least, tonight my husband will come back to bed, since sleeping at that angle was too hard on him.  So lots of good things tonight and I am starting to feel human once again.

Would I recommend this to others?  (Just in case you ask.)  I think yes… not entirely sure since I haven’t reaped all the benefits yet (still early days) but yes, I would.