What would Peter Drucker do if he were laid off?

I'm quoting from an interview by Meredith Levinson with Bruce Rosenstein the author of a new book on Peter Drucker as a life coach. It was published today (click on link above) at CIO Magazine. I really like the way he prefaces the comment because it rings very true from my own interactions with Doug Engelbart - you never knew what he was going to disagree with, he had such a unique way of seeing the world, you were always surprised, just when you thought you understood, the rug would be pulled out and you would realize AGAIN, how much more there was to learn and understand.

I have framed the response to be as though to the question, what would Peter Drucker do if he were laid off?

Bruce Rosenstein:

I want to preface this by saying that I don't want to put words in his mouth. I can't say exactly what Drucker would have said because he could be kind of a contrarian and say things you wouldn't necessarily expect. I want to be clear that these are my thoughts based on my study of Drucker's thought.

A lot of times he took a tough love approach. These may not be ideal circumstances, but you have to face the reality of what happened and what you're going to do about it. There's a direct quote from The Effective Executive from over 40 years ago that's still applicable: "Focus on the future and not the past." In other words, don't get too hung up on what you've done in the past.

I think Drucker would also say focus on the opportunity. As bad as it can be to be downsized, it gives you the opportunity to ask yourself if you want to continue in your line of work or do something different in the future. One of his other points was aiming high at something that will make a difference.

Drucker was big on this idea of balancing action and self-reflection. Take some time for self-reflection. Don't spend too much time feeling sorry for yourself. Use that time productively to do some self-assessment on where things stand now. Do you need more schooling? If you haven't been networking, build up your network. Find out what you can learn from other people. Use the time for some sort of volunteer activity. If you're not involved in a professional association, get involved. If you are involved, deepen your involvement.

He would focus on the whole opportunity [that the layoff presents]: It's not great, especially if it was a job you liked, but what can you do in the future that's meaningful to you. You've got this opportunity. Where are you going to go with it?

Service by the people, for the people

Yes, its true. I am a Lincoln-ista. And the service leaders of the 21st century can learn a lot from Abraham Lincoln, as I've noted in an earlier post.

The Wikipedia entry for the Gettysburg address by Abraham Lincoln - and it says that the iconic last phrase:

"government of the people, by the people, for the people" stemmed from a quote from a pastor, Theodore Parker

'Democracy is direct self-government, over all the people, for all the people, by all the people.'

Sitting here in Bogota Colombia, after three wonderful days visiting Macchu Pichu "the old mountain", the lost city of the Incas, I am thrilled by the human potential possibilities here in South America. The diversity and the challenges of diversity are strong in this land. A land that is, a little known fact, that is the continent of my forefathers. My grandfather was born in British Guyana in South America, the grandson of an indentured slave, shanghai'd from southern China in the 19th century to work in the cane plantations.

My belief in the possibility of human potential are not theoretical.

I am living proof of those possibilities come to life.

The sense of art, commmunity and living with the land, from the land is very strong.

Can't wait to interact with my first Spanish speaking audience at my workshop on 21st Century Service Leadership tomorrow at the Cumbre Internacional CRM-CEM 2009

Looking forward to meeting my great buddies Paul Greenberg and Jim Sterne and my wonderful host Rafael Rodrigues - we have planning on this trip for many years.


A beautiful land and a most comfortable climate - they have made me feel very welcome and conscious of the possibilities of the place.


Mei Lin

Customer Service : A Customer Speaks Out and a CSR responds

Hank Green posted this yesterday. And today a CSR responded today.

I'd like to be the first to break it on to the CRM Customer Service networks

The people who work in our industry, ME absolutely included are working to do something about this (Apprenticeships, see http://ccat.wik.is) , it will take all of us the industry pundits, the CSR's, Team Leads, VP Customer Service, CFOs and CEO's AND our customers to take this vivid moment of crisis to shift customer service into a self-serving global good:

Service by us, with us, and for us

So far 946 comments on the video by Hank posted yesterday. I love this one by JennaBunnkkins which sums it up beautifully.

"I agree. I work in retail and every time a customer is rude we give them what they want, but if they are polite and cordial we generally decline their requests."

Yes, there is something deeply wrong bout this picture.


Warning - some bleep language in Hank's post. Which Hank regrets having to get to that stage, but, was pushed to it much to his regret, which he expresses at the beginning of the video. And sadness and sorrow by the CSR who wishes it could go better than this - what its like to be on the receiving end and not be able to respond.

In Hank's video, he has the idea that CSR's are not paying full attention - in fact the amount of monitoring on CSR's to make sure that they are paying full attention in many contact centers is almost higher than any profession - no use of cell phones, no use of any personal electronics whatsoever, fully monitored Internet browsing, voice analytics applied on every call...

We can and should do better than this in enabling meaningful and valuable conversation between customers and businesses.


Watch it on Youtube - Real People, Real Customer Service in our world today.
Is this weird or not?

What the Customer thinks is happening

http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers?blend=3&ob=4

What the CSR sees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0weLJmS_G3Q&feature=related

Wisdom of the Crowd | Library - Useful Resources - OneCoast

Wisdom of the Crowd | Library - Useful Resources - OneCoast

Abraham Lincoln the ULTIMATE networked Leader?

I have been developing with Carol Blanchar a curriculum for the "Networked Leader" and as we thought about how to convey the qualities and skills for networked leaders, we realized that Abraham Lincoln offers the clearest and most compelling example of what a networked leader is able to do.

In 2009, the 200th anniversary of his birth, Lincoln's seemingly contradictory sides - the slow path wherein he reached the unbreachable convictions that good would prevail:

"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." Lincoln's Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860.

...made it possible for him to provide the solid anchor that ultimately resulted in the notion of government of the people by the people for the people.


Networks are the next extension that the Internet has made possible:

Networks of the people, by the people for the people.


This is the compass for Networked leadership.

I would love to hear YOUR nominations of role models for network leaders.