Friday, September 27, 2013

Pay Attention, Get Business


It's been said that "the devil is in the details", and I prefer to think awards come from interest, meaning there is a progression, when sincere, in making an effort and getting results, meaning:  Attention leads to taking Action, which drives a response in the form of Communication, and such interaction builds to a Relationship based on Honesty, and people do Business with people they know and trust!  So, pay attention, and get business!

Be a SQUEAKY Wheel

"Stay committed to your decision, but stay flexible in your approach."
- Tony Robbins
American life coach, self-help author and speaker.
(b. 1960)

It is often said, felt, and believed that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", and in some locales, it's expressed "the squeaky wheel gets the oil".  Either way, it's about the squeaky wheel.

While I have seen the negative side of squeaking "work", meaning the person was "handled", and gotten rid of, recently, a few things did not go as planned, and in each case, I got that proverbial "grease" or "oil", and yet my squeak was less of a negative to a problem, and more of a nice approach to solutioning together.

If you want to be the SQUEAKY wheel for solutions, please consider this approach: 
S - Smile (note, not smirk!) 
Q - Question by asking in terms of "what" & "how" for conversation (instead of "why?")
U - Understand the situation by hearing, and listening to both sides 
E - Expect results and resolution (not a fight) 
A - Appreciate the position and/or authority of the person with whom you are speaking 
K - Keep calm, focused, fair and aware (of you and for you!) 
Y - Yell if you have to (just kidding...to a certain extent...it is more about yelling, or singing praises when something goes right, or gets fixed, and not just when something goes array!)

Being a part of a battle or an argument is not healthy, happy, professional or productive typically.  Still, things go wrong.  When they do, remember, it really is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease/oil.  How do you want your SQUEAKY to be delivered and perceived, it up to you!