Tag Archives: guy

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Reward Commitment: Invent a buy-back program

I picked up my daughter’s basketball sitting

Deflated basketball

where she practices at home.  It was as smooth as an apple.  Useless.  All the bounce was gone, and it was becoming threadbare in some areas. I was about to toss it in the trashcan and get her a new one when my daughter stopped me.  She told me she was taking it to practice with her that day and that her coach would give her a new basketball. In fact, she elaborated, her coach would give her a new basketball for every one she wore out.  Wow! What a fabulous idea!

My daughter’s coach did in fact give her a basketball for every one she wore out, but more amazing than that is that her coach instilled in her a desire to practice, gave her a visual goal, and reinforced the successful habits of a committed athlete. Well done.

I incorporated that idea into my own life. I have been wanting a new laptop for some time. Not just any laptop, but the new MacBook Air from Apple. I have saved my money and all I need to do is place the order, but I made a commitment to myself to wait until I have finished the book I have been working on for the past two years. My current laptop used for writing will be replaced with the new one when the book is finished and query letters mailed.

It’s easy to become distracted, but there are techniques we can employ to counter them and become more productive, and I believe creating your own buy-back program is an excellent idea to meet your goals.

Discipline, focus, commitment, and training are the keys to success in any area in life, whether it be writing, sports, art, or anything else. The distractions become less influential when we have a clear measurable goal in front of us.

I hope you can find an area in your life that you can set-up a similar buy-back reward program. Perhaps you can use it with a friend or family member, or perhaps even with yourself.

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation

including corporations, schools, churches, conferences,

and anywhere people come together to be entertained and inspired.

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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What’s Next?

Question mark“What’s Next?”

Is there a marathon in your future? Certification? A trip? A new house? A book?

Asking, “What’s next?” can be incredibly powerful, perhaps even a life-changing question. A question that can change the quality of your life. A question that can change your purpose, perhaps even create your legacy. Too often the question is either avoided completely or embraced too quickly.

Some people ask, “What’s next?” with excitement and anticipation. Others avoid it outright.

Avoidance: Why are some people afraid to ask, “What’s Next?” Perhaps they are comfortable and complacent where they are at and they don’t want to disrupt that false sense of security. They live in their past accomplishment, and talk about what they have accomplished. Everyone should celebrate their victories in life, but everyone needs to move on to a new challenge sooner than later. Asking, “What’s Next?” creates progress and forward movement, and it’s fun. Sitting down and planning your next big move, goal, event, project, race, or plan is excitement building time. I love these creative periods of brainstorming and envisioning.

But I’m Content: A friend of mine tells me he is content. He believes what’s next will find him when the time is right. In the meantime he relishes in his stories of past accomplishments. I understand that, because he really has accomplished much, but for me I must ask what’s next and seek it out. Life is short and I want to make the most of it. When opportunity presents itself, I will pounce on it. In the meantime, I will be attempting to make my own luck in this world. I will show gratitude, I will be thankful, but I will not be content. There is too much in this world to do. I am thankful for the innovators before me where not content. Mother Theresa could have stopped her life of service in her sixties.

Are your greatest days in front of you or behind you? It doesn’t matter what your age is or your physical status. You can accomplish great things and you should be asking what’s next.

Premature: Some people ask “What’s next?” prematurely. I suffer from this. I am always anxious to move on to the next BIG thing, sometimes my energy shifts before I have completed an important project. What’s next is powerful and important, but it has it’s place and time. Make sure you finish up your project or dream before moving on too quickly. If this happens to you, I encourage you to read my post, “It’s Not Time for That Yet!” and learn how you can maintain those great ideas, finish what you’ve already started, and prepare to ask yourself, “What’s next?”

Magic Hour: The best time to begin envisioning what you will do next is not after you accomplish your current goal or project, but as you enter the final finishing stages. Hemingway always abandoned his writing for the day mid-sentence to keep himself fresh and eager to dive back in to writing. I know I must sign up for another athletic event before I finish competition on my current race or I will get a touch of the blues and fall out of training. I know my wife always enjoys looking forward to a trip. Apple computers has a pipeline of “what’s next” products they are preparing. You should have a list ready in your journal and actually begin working on it as you finish your latest and greatest life victory.

I hope you decide to connect with me on Facebook or Twitter and let me know what’s next for you.

www.kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and anywhere people come together to be entertained and inspired.

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

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Five Ways to Improve Your Customer Service

UnknownI just went through an uncomfortable customer service experience with The Ford Motor Company and the handling of their recall of my vehicle. While I understand recalls happen and improve safety, I believe corporations should recognize some very basic principles in the handling of their customer service. Customer Service is paramount.

Here is my advice about how you can improve your customer service:

1) Care. Customer service is truly that simple. Show the customer that you genuinely care about them, and that you’re not just trying to cover your butt. Recognize the importance of the customer’s time, and acknowledge its value. Show the customer you care about them, not the problem, not the product, not who’s right, but the individual customer. Care.

2) Answer the Customer’s Question. Don’t answer questions so guardedly and evasively that the consumer is confused. Don’t make the customer go through a series of handlers before getting someone that can actually answer the question. Respond to the customer’s questions timely. Unanswered questions makes the customer feel unimportant. Ultimately the customer just wants to know if someone is doing something.

3) Ask The Customer The Magic Question: What can I do to make this better? You don’t necessarily have to give what they ask, but if it is the right thing to do, I hope you consider it. The customer will at least feel as if they were heard. Perhaps the customer doesn’t even know what they want, and this line of questioning will lead to a solution. Listen to the customer. Keeping records does not make good customer service. Just because you took notes about our conversation does not prove to me anything is being done, nor that you even listened.

4) Offer Something The Customer Cannot Obtain or Achieve on Her Own Personalize the experience. Offer to do something the customer cannot do on their own. Ford offered to call the local dealer for me and the car rental place and make an inquiry. I had already done that. Living in a small town I asked them not to bother the dealer because the recall wasn’t his fault. I even asked them to document that request. It was overlooked and made me uncomfortable in my community. Again, listen to the customer. Don’t offer to do something I can do on my own, provide me with something beyond my ability.

5) If your Company has a slogan or motto, Live up to it! On Ford’s website it says: Ford: Drive one. Yet during the three months I was without my vehicle I was never offered one, even after I requested one. Ford hired Enterprise to provide me with a rental vehicle. Their slogan is “Enterprise: We’ll Pick You Up.” Yet, when I called them to schedule to pick up, they told me I was out of their delivery range. What!? If you have a slogan, live up to it.

I wish Ford well, in fact I own stock in the company, and I applaud the workers that build their amazing vehicles. However, Ford’s future success, and that of any company is not solely in their product, but their customer service. Sadly, my next vehicle will not be a Ford simply because they had me test drive a competitor’s vehicle for the three months of recall repair. (I share this post in hopes it helps Ford improve. I reached out to Ford through their toll free number, Facebook, and Twitter during my unpleasant Ford experience.) Recalls and repairs happen, but take care of the customer. For better or for worse, the experience will be memorable.

My local Ford Dealer was awesome! Each and every member understood and delivered excellent customer service. They followed each of the five suggestions for Great Customer Service above. The Ford Corporation however, didn’t deliver a good customer service experience at all.

A couple of my followers on Twitter shared these customer service suggestions:

@jcorppio on Twitter says : @kellycroy Best cust service concept: “I will handle that” and then doing it on time, with no negative nonverbal cues, even if you hate it

@grocer0123 on Twitter says: @kellycroy Well, don’t tell me I’ll get it tomorrow and it still not be here the day after tomorrow.


www.kellycroy.com

Click to email Kelly questions about presenting at your event!

1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker.

He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and anywhere people come together to be entertained and inspired.

Please consider booking Kelly for your next event

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Great Leaders Respond Timely.

What’s your response time?Stop watch

Communication is essential to leadership. To communicate well is to influence others into making a difference. Most leaders understand the importance of communication, and they spend a great deal of time on what they want to say and how they want to say it. Unfortunately, many emerging leaders do not understand that WHEN they respond is as important as their message, and in some cases even more.

A leader must master responsiveness.

The story of NASA’s Apollo 13 mission is a highlight in history of how leadership emerges during times of trouble, and how great response time identifies leaders within an organization and in life. The story of Apollo 13 mission is full of heroes, but what I love most about it is how the men in mission control, not just the astronauts themselves, are proven to be heroes for responding timely. They emerge as leaders.

In a world dominated with the ability to communicate quickly with smart phones, laptops, and social media sites, it is sad that so few do. Calls are not returned promptly. Thank you cards are never sent. Emails fill inboxes. Text messages hang in limbo. Assignments miss their due date.

What is the consequence of not responding timely?

Much. You may not be leading a mission to safely return wayward astronauts from a mission gone wrong, but you really should respond to every message with a sincere level of diligence and importance.

Remember, you’re not replying to a message, you’re replying to a person.

How do you feel when you wait on hold, an email remains unanswered, a call unreturned? If you’re like me you begin to question whether it was received, question the person on the other end, become frustrated or worse.

When questions go unanswered people fill in the gaps. They often assume the worst. False information is spread, and negative impressions are formed. Am I not important enough to merit a reply? Is my question less important than others?

Some leaders mistakenly believe that to respond quickly (aka promptly) is a sign of weakness: they’re afraid it will show they don’t have more important activities, and that others will judge them inferior for too quick of a response. But what does a quick response mean to the person receiving it? It tells them, “Hey! I matter. I’m important.” We like people that recognize us, spend time with us, and reach out to us. We admire them. We become enchanted. We want to do business with them. We want to help them. A quick response is endearing. It fosters loyalty. It matters.

I’m hoping that the leaders that dig these communication moats around their castles don’t mistakingly believe they are protecting themselves or their business by delaying their response. They’re not. They are, in actuality, creating more problems, creating more work and damaging the positive image they work so hard to make.

The solution: Respond Timely.

But I don’t have time to respond to everyone. Wrong! You can’t afford not to.You will be surprised how little time it actually takes.

What does a leader need to make timely responses? Some courage, some time, a good attitude, and most importantly a plan. In a future post I will address some productivity secrets that I have gleaned from the greats, and some I probably mistakenly credit to myself. These will be helpful, but you have to convince yourself of the need to respond to the people that contact you.

Great leaders in all walks of life master the timely response. They don’t react. They don’t shoot from the hip.  They measure, weigh, and time their response accordingly. Please consider your communication habits and see if timeliness is an area you may wish to give some greater attention.

www.kellycroy.com

Click to email Kelly questions about presenting at your event!

1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker. He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and anywhere people come together to be entertained and inspired. Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

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Tenacity: Leadership Series Part Four of Seven

Part Four of Seven on Leadership: The Seven Commitments to Answering the Call to Lead

Tenacity! What an unusual word! But I love saying it out loud, and I love it even more when it is used to describe someone. (Especially me!)

You want respect? Develop tenacity, the ability to never give up, be discouraged, or quit. I can think of few greater qualities in a person. Seek the thrill of a challenge.

Tenacity is within every person who has ever accomplished something great. It’s the most important quality of any hero in a book or in the movies. You must enjoy the thrill of a good challenge.

Leaders finish what they start. They finish it even when doing so is no longer convenient and requires some incredible effort.

I found out long, long ago that I simply cannot always be right.  I will make mistakes. I have decided, however, that the mistakes I do make, will always be made in attempt to make a positive difference in the world.  I will never make the mistake of inaction. There is no such thing as failure.  There is succeeding and there is not trying. Each failed attempt is a step toward success. Maybe a tiny step, but a step none the less.

The secret to his success?  Keep trying.  Seek the thrill of a challenge.

The word leader comes from the concept of being out in the front. In fact, one of the oldest leadership principles is: Lead from the the front!  As obvious as this principle is, sadly it is in fact one of the most ignored.

Throughout history the leaders were the ones who led their men in battle from the front, exposing themselves to great danger in the process. Seeing their leader out in the front inspired the soldiers to give their best, extinguish their fears, make sacrifices, and most importantly become a leader themselves.  When one leader would fall, he would be remembered fondly as a legend, and another would rise up in his place.

Typically war is long with many a battle lost. Leaders need tenacity to fuel themselves and those they lead to fulfill the vision, achieve the goal, secure the reward, complete the quest.

Tenacity is the fuel in the belly of leaders.

Tenacity is gained by a true belief in the vision you are leading everyone toward.  You can’t fake that. It’s assisted certainly by confidence and courage, but it also has much to do with personal pride.

Commitment and loyalty are two fading qualities in the modern world.  I think that is why we find tenacity in so few leaders.  We see many qualified men and women give up in the face of adversity because it got hard, it became unpopular, or it was going to take too long.

Tenacity is built with every decision no matter how small.  You discipline yourself into having high levels of tenacity. It’s partly physical; you need to work out. It’s part mental; train your mental endurance. Don’t stop short of any goal no matter how small and you will build your tenacity.

The greatest attribute of tenacity in a leader is that it spreads!

You remember the game Simon Says: everyone does what Simon says to do.  Well, a lot of people think that is leadership.  There is this mentality that whatever the boss says everyone will do.  In reality, everyone does what the boss does.   If the boss comes in early, everyone is a little more willing to do so.  Same thing if the boss stays late, picks paper off the floor, and rewards people for their efforts.  This is also true if the boss comes in late, goes home early, and ridicules.  People do what their leaders do. Don’t quit, and neither will your team.

Develop your tenacity each and every day.

Kelly is an inspirational speaker, author, and artist.

www.kellycroy.com

Click to email Kelly questions about presenting at your event!

1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker. He has entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and anywhere people come together to be entertained and inspired. Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.


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Why ‘On My Honor…’ Still Matters: The Importance of Keeping High Standards


This week’s news of Brigham Young University’s suspension of basketball phenom, Brandon Davies has surprised and shocked the nation. Many were upset by the decision to suspend the leader of the nation’s number 3 basketball team just days before March Madness begins, but not me. I am proud of BYU’s enforcement of such high standards. I applaud their action.  It is an example that will serve us all well.

Bad behavior among athletes at both collegiate and professional levels has become accepted.  Hollywood bad boys and girls like Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan dominate television, press, and the internet.  No one wants to be anyone’s role model any more. People don’t want consequences, they just want left alone. It’s a private matter. I’m not hurting anyone but myself. I’m special. I’m the exception to the rule. Move along.

I beg to differ. We have an obligation to our families, friends, colleagues, and communities to maintain high standards. We owe it to those who came before us, and to those who will follow after us. We should always give our best, live by a creed, and draw lines in the sand that we will not cross. Ever. But if we do, we need to accept the consequences and atone. It’s not easy when mainstream television reality shows sell the concept to win at any cost.

We begin with high standards but allow them to dissipate over time. With each success and failure we lose sight of the standards we hold ourselves and others to. In Scouting we recited our Oath and Motto aloud.  It was a commitment we made in front of each other verbally each week. It was stitched into our uniforms, embossed on the covers of our books, and displayed in posters on the walls of our meeting rooms. It was a regular part of our routine and life. I can still recite the Oath, Points, and Motto. More importantly, I still follow them.  I know they make a difference.

Davies’s actions, however, were not criminal and would not be seen by the majority of the country even as wrong. (He had premarital sex with his girlfriend.) Brigham Young enforced its honor code this week that forbids it. They chose not to turn a blind eye to a breach in their policy, which in this case may very well cost them placement in the NCAA Tournament.   I cannot even think of another college that would enforce this rule.  Still, it is their rule. Their incredibly high standard.

What happens when you set and keep incredibly high standards? You achieve incredible accomplishments.

Do you have an honor code? Does your family have standards? Do you know your company’s policies on misconduct? What rules have slipped into that gray area of indifference?

Renew, refresh, restore, and reinitiate your personal high standards. Surround yourself with people who hold you to a higher standard. The Marines and others known for their incredibly high standards incorporate them into their emblems and logos. They follow them, enforce them, and reward them. Do you?

I hope BYU and the hard working athletes on the team that kept to the rules do well. I hope Davies returns and becomes one of the great, memorable players of the game. I hope BYU’s high standards become the example of class for universities across the nation to follow. And I hope everyone looks at this news story as a personal opportunity to set or renew high standards for themselves.

We need to become better men and women, not lower our standards. Applaud and recognize those who maintain high standards. Call out those who do not, and ask them to renew their commitment or exit.

What an amazing example of leadership!

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker. His presentations have entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and wherever people come together to be entertained and improve their lives. Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

Please visit Kelly’s website to book him  for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

info@kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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It’s Not Time for That… Yet.

A good friend of mine is a successful writer and speaker. His books quite simply change lives. An aspiration for any writer. An aspiration for any speaker. An aspiration for any person.

Every now and then I contact my friend with an idea that I truly believe he must act on immediately. He casually responds nearly every time with, “Great idea, but it’s not time for that yet.”

Brilliance.

I’m blessed with Attention Deficit Disorder, better known to all as ADD. Blessed? Yes, because it is one of the muses that feeds me such creative, out-of-this-world ideas. I love it. One of the drawbacks, however, is of course the fact that I get so many ideas that I want to jump from project to project and then I don’t finish things. I never, ever, refer to my ADD as anything but a blessing.  I mean that. It’s as much a part of me as my blue eyes. In fact, I try not to refer to my ADD at all. (I love it so much I feel it’s like bragging about how much you can bench press. After all, I consider ADD one of my super powers.)

When all of these creative ideas start flooding my brain and pushing out the project that I really need to buckle-down on and finish, I just need to remind myself that it’s not time for that, yet. And I do. My brain starts  screaming, “Let’s do this!” I just say to myself, “It’s not time for that brain.” I take out my journal and I write down the amazing idea that just popped in there. I date it. Sometimes I even do a very quick sketch or two of what it’s suppose to look like or do. I give the idea a bold heading  so when I flip through my journal I see it.  Then I skip a line or two and write why I need to return to the project I interrupted and what it will mean to me and my family when I am finished.

It’s very important that you complete that last step. Once that new idea pops into your brain it steals some of the excitement and energy from the project you are working on. You have to invigorate that passion and energy into your project again. You will need to recapture that purpose and energy. Then immediately jump back into that project and make some real progress. Remind yourself of why you want to finish, what it will mean, and the date you want it completed. Being successful is not just knowing what to do, but knowing when to do it.

Here are the steps to take when your project gets interrupted by a new, wonderful idea:

  1. Remind yourself, “It’s not time for that, yet.”
  2. Take out your journal and write down your new idea quickly with a big, bold heading, and a quick sketch if needed.
  3. Reinvigorate your current project with a brief journal entry highlighting your passion, interest, and what it means to complete.
  4. Dive right back into the project you were working knowing the epiphany you just had is safely locked away and won’t be lost.
  5. Use visualization and self talk to restart the project and regain your energy and commitment.

Finish that project. Everyone loves and respects those who do what they say, and follow-through on their dreams and ideas.

Dream big, but finish!

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker. His presentations have entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and wherever people come together to be entertained and improve their lives. Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

Please visit Kelly’s website to book him  for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

info@kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825

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Create a Monthly Billing Statement for Your Goals!

My recent natural gas bill arrived. While bills are my least favorite piece of correspondence each month, I have to admit the helpfulness of the statement. It included a nice graph of my usage over the last year.  It let me know how much I have paid and what I owe. Interestingly enough, it even predicted my usage for the following month. Each statement serves as a reminder and holds us to a certain level of accountability of what we owe. It lets us know where we are.

Wouldn’t it be great if we received a similar billing statement each month for our goals?

Seriously! Most people never know where they are with the goals they wish to accomplish. It would be awesome to receive a statement each month telling us how much time we’ve put into our dream, what we owe, where we are at, and what we need to finally finish it.

Well, we can. My billing statement each month is in my journal. I choose the 28th of each month as the due date for my dream statements because I was born on the 28th of July and that’s easiest day for me to remember.  It’s like a private monthly celebration of my life and what I plan to do with it.

You can do the same.

You see, if we don’t review our life goals regularly we get behind, just like we would with a real bill. Unlike the natural gas company, we won’t receive any late notices, but what we owe starts piling up. (Most of the time to a level that makes it appear impossible to accomplish. That’s why people quit.)  Can you imagine how hard it would be if you tried to pay two months at a time, or your entire bill all at once? Ouch! The same is true of our goals and dreams.

Just like our billing statements from our utilities we need to make monthly contributions and track our progress.

So, bust out that journal daily or weekly if you can, but especially on the date of your birth each month. Create a reminder or alert on your phone or calendar if needed.

Write down the big three questions that will drive you toward success:

  1. What do I need to continue doing?
  2. What do I need to start doing?
  3. What do I need to stop doing?

Kelly Croy is a chalk artist and professional speaker. His presentations have entertained and amazed audiences across the nation including corporations, schools, churches, conferences, and wherever people come together to be entertained and improve their lives. Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.

Please visit Kelly’s website to book him  for your next event.

www.kellycroy.com

info@kellycroy.com

1-800-831-4825