The Corporate Woman

In discussing a customer touchpoint mapping project recently, I was asked this question, “Have you formulated your ROI for this project yet?”  Well, no… at the beginning stages of this type of project (touchpoint mapping, customer expectations capture, gap analysis) you simply don’t know what your ROI is going to be, mostly because you have no idea what problems you’ll identify.  All of the ROI glory goes to the projects that come out of a customer touchpoint mapping project. 

I think this is the reason why so many companies don’t make the effort to do it.  Because it’s hard to quantify up front.  Because some people have that little voice sing-songing “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, never realizing that we might not think it is broken, but our customers might.

Having done these types of projects before, I know they can have tremendous positive impact (increase revenue, improve cusotmer loyalty, even attract more customers).  But the patience and willingness to invest (time, resources and money) for the currently unquantifiable gain, that’s hard to find.  What do you think holds companies back from doing these types of projects?

Tags: barriers to success, Customer Experience, projects, ROI, touchpoints

Customer experience is a growing specialty field.  It goes by many names and titles but the disciplines are quite similar.  As a member of this growing group of practitioners, I’m fascinated with the backgrounds where my colleagues come from.  Many are from market research backgrounds (since getting the customer feedback  is where you start a program) but mine is a different path.  I come from an improvement background (project management, Lean Six sigma, program development, etc).  I believe the heart of a customer experience program is identifying and driving customer fed improvements.

Measure – analyze – act – measure.

I’ve had the pleasure to work in this specialty for ten years now.  I continue to be fascinated and challenged.  I wonder where this career path will go.  I’ve heard some say that it doesn’t have “legs to grow with” as a career path or that it is limited in executive potential but I don’t agree.  I believe that the growth of social media highlights the potential need for even more people to participate in this discipline and more companies to adopt it.  Customers are demanding to be heard.  Customer experience professionals are here to listen and learn, using that customer voice to help companies grow and make customers happier at the same time.  What do you think?  Where is this field going?

Tags: Act, Analyze, best practices, Customer Experience, Customer Insights, customer satisfaction, Improvement, Measure

Few things will kill the development of a successful program designed for change than unengaged stakeholders.  For many, the desire to get things done quicklycauses the elements of communication and engagement to fall by the wayside.  If you have been in that situation, you know how easily you end up wondering at the end why your new or improved process isn’t going as well as planned. 

I have found that it saves a great deal of time and work if you spend the up front time engaging key stakeholders across the business.  This process is critical, yes, I said it, CRITICAL, to ensuring change is successfully enacted.  It helps on several levels, for example:

• You identify your internal supporters and detractors.  Listening to them helps you develop their WIFM and ensure you are able to overcome obstacles.
• The stakeholders feel a part of the change.  Their voice is heard and thoughtfully understood.
• The initial stakeholders identify other people you need to add to the list.

This is a process I teach my team and advocate for every new program or process.  When you have stakeholder interviews up front, you get great ideas to help you be even more successful and identify the obstacles to overcome.   Having this group on your communication list for ongoing updates also helps keep your improvement top of mind.  Do you engage your stakeholders at the beginning of every new project or program?

Tags: Program, Stakeholders, Success

A dear old friend of mine wrote to me today and reminded me that distance from friends and family means they keep up with me via things like my blog, Facebook and Twitter.  So when I have times like I have had lately, when my small team is short staffed, there is never enough time to write.  Which also means there is a backlog of ideas that I would like to share and get your thoughts on but somehow never seem to actually touch keys to keyboard.  Know what I mean?

So here I am, honoring her gentle nudge and making the room to write.

I’m fortunate that after months of searching, my team and I have found a new program manager.  We get to have a new set of skills and experience to add to our small team.  It gives us the ability to add even more value to our organization and delve deeper into understanding our customer experience.  I believe passionately in the service we provide to the business.  I love being able spend my days thinking about our customers.  Part of the search for a new team member means finding someone who has a similar passionate view. 

What’s most interesting to me about this process is how important company culture fit is to the discussion.    How many times have you been on an interview (or interviewed candidates) and found the focus being all on skills and experience – with little or none on that important “fit”?  That fit is more than just do you like this person and think you can work well with them.  It’s an important concept because I don’t want it confused with homogenisation.  Having diversity is equally key.  So how do you define your company or team culture?  How do you find that right fit for your team?

Our way was thoughtful, open discussion and decision consensus across the interviewers.  What works for you?  What hasn’t worked for you?

Tags: Hiring, Team

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

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.

I recently met a great social media expert and interesting guy (who I now follow on Twitter).  Anyway, he recently wrote a great blog about how he does his annual goals and I really liked his approach.  It’s memorable and thought provoking.  http://www.chrisbrogan.com/your-3-goals-for-2009/  He talks about finding three words that represent your filter, your purpose, your goals for the year – so here are my three words:

1) Breathe – this year, I will breathe better, it is my health goal – I will do what it takes and I know what that is (ever had surgery for a deviated septum?  Then you know the pain of which I speak.)

2) Pocket – I always think of time in carved out sections now.  Probably because I have been trained in the corporate view of time in half hour or hour increments.  But this year, I will make more small pockets of time for those I care about.  Pick up the phone for just a few minutes, play a game with Samantha, go to lunch with Shawn – that kind of thing.

3) Fearless – I love that question, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” So that is going to be my filter, my gut check for my decisions this year.  I may not change all of my choices based on that but I will know more about why I make the choices I do.  I am going to try to fear less in 2009. 

My three words for 2009.  Let’s see how I do with this, shall we?  Stay tuned and I will let you know.

Tags: Change, Goals