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The Corporate Digest
  
 
Dear David,
 
A couple of interesting thoughts.
Social DNA
People are not all the same.  They act differently, behave differently and deal with exactly the same issues differently.
 
The key to managing this phenomenon is your ability to read people and adapt to their social DNA.  People who succeed, succeed with people.  As a leader, one of the most important skills to develop is an ability to assess people's social DNA and to engage and manage it accordingly.  Part of the social DNA is the personality.
 
Two popular personality assessment programs are Myers-Briggs and DISC.  The core of many of the results can be summarized by the illustration below that shows that people are either more introvert or extrovert and more people or task oriented.  No type is better than any other.
 
1. Extrovert/Task   2. Extrovert/People
 
3. Introvert/Task    4. Introvert/People
 
These four basic personality types have the following characteristics:
 
Extrovert/Task Oriented
  • Driven
  • Seeks freedom from control and detail
  • Fears to be controlled and micro-managed
  • As a manager, delegates easily and expects results
  • Enjoys a person that takes initiative
  • Has a confrontational style when in conflict
Extrovert/People Oriented
  • Enthusiastic, outgoing
  • Verbal - enjoys talking
  • Likes change
  • Fears being rejected and will have a very social style of management
  • Will seek a social relationship with manager
  • Enjoys working with people that are flexible
Introvert/Task Oriented
  • Follows the rules, keeps to standards
  • Security and assurance, with no risk taking
  • Tends to over analyze and seeks detail and proof
  • Fears irrational, impulsive behavior and will tend to micro-manage
  • Enjoys people that are accurate and precise
  • Needs specifics from his/her manager
Introvert/People Oriented
  • Patient, settled
  • Authentic, what you see is what you get
  • Motivated by stability
  • Fears confrontation and change
  • Seeks managers that are friendly
  • Tends to get managed, even though a manager
  • Sometimes too soft, a walkover with no boundaries
The key with the personality component is to understand your own personality and develop an awareness of how that will impact your social DNA.  Then you need to use the four basic personalities and assess the people you work with and answer the questions, "What is their personality type?" and then "How would they like to be treated?"  You will be better at this with more experience.
Addison Schonland, the President of Innovation Analysis Group, is the guest contributor in this edition of The Corporate Digest.  Addison, an acclaimed expert in the field of customer satisfaction and surveys, shares some thoughts and ideas on this interesting subject. 
 
Customer Satisfaction - Insurance for Bad Times
The economic meltdown is hurting lots of companies and their people. For many, this is the first taste of a severe economic downturn. The lessons being learned by everyone going through this phase are often lessons that need not have been learned for the first time.
 
Probably the first lesson that should already be ingrained is the paramount importance of taking care of customers. Keeping an existing customer is much more profitable than acquiring a new one; consequently protecting an intact customer base is critical. A Google search shows 42 million links pointing to various sites offering information on customer satisfaction. Yet any consumer can tell you of a wide range of negative customer experiences in the market.
 
Customer satisfaction is hard to define and yet easy to understand. Only the customer's perception matters. Even if that expectation is unreasonable.
 
Whereas one customer will tell three people about satisfaction, the same customer will tell multiples of that number about dissatisfaction. Think about the last time you sat around chatting with friends - at least one person spoke about a poor consumer experience.
 
It is important to use an independent third party for customer satisfaction monitoring because when employees intercept negative feedback they often hide it from decision makers. That does not protect the business.
 
A customer satisfaction application can be implemented quite easily. For example, once a feedback form has been set up, you can drive customers to provide feedback through hyperlinks on your website and invoices. Phone calls to a customer could also ask for feedback. Indeed, every touch point for a customer should offer an opportunity to provide feedback. Your customers will realize that they matter.  You can even ensure that the feedback is directed to the appropriate decision maker, using an online solution. The person can then respond in minutes. The customer providing the feedback will likely be astounded at the prompt follow up and resolution.  Your company will be suitably discussed among friends as customer centric and forward thinking.
 
Increasing competition is forcing businesses to pay much more attention to satisfying customers. Customer satisfaction is a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer satisfaction for firms.
 
The old adage is true - Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.
 
 
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, or discussing its applicability to your company, please contact David Levy, or Addison directly via e-mail or phone him at 858-536-9900.
_________________________________________________
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June 2009

 
Picture of David Levy 
David Levy
Principal - Consult Levy
                                       
In This Issue
Social DNA
Customer Satisfaction
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Contact Information
  
David Levy

8731 Caminito Abrazo,     Suite 201
La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
 
Phone: 858-453-3778   
Fax:     206-279-1606
 
E-mail:
For more information on these topics - or to discuss any of your business operational needs, contact David Levy or call 858-453-3778

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