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020: Karl Sharicz: Perseverance can pay off

Karl Sharicz Show Notes

Karl was told no. But he didn’t stop there. He was a new training director for a company but he didn’t have any education in the art and science of adult education. Not wanting to wing it, he found Boston University offered a master’s degree that only took nine months to complete. Karl asked his organization to allow him the time off to go to classes and to pay for the program. He was told no. Not stopping there, Karl eventually got his organization to agree to the time off and pay for the program in a creative and collaborative way. Listen to this episode to learn how Karl’s story can help you move onward and upward faster.

Karl Sharicz was born in Somerville, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston) but he lost his Boston accent as a result of being in the United States Air Force. When Karl was three, his parents moved from the city to the suburbs and he lived near a small farm. He instantly fell in love with the farming life and worked there from age 10 to 15. On the farm, he fed cows, cared for horses and collected eggs from angry chickens who pecked my hands for stealing their future chicks from under them. He also became steeped in the art of shoveling pig manure into a spreader during corn season.

Karl was attracted to music at an early age. Just about everyone in my family played an instrument from his grandparents on down. Music was all around him. His family wanted him to become a classical pianist but his rebellious nature led him to the guitar sounds of the Ventures, Chet Atkins, Link Wray, Dick Dale, and Duane Eddy.

Vietnam was raging by 1968 and Karl was drafted into the military. While some of his friends sought shelter in the university or ran off to Canada, he wasn’t ready for either of those and so he took his draft notice to the Air Force Recruiter and said “Sir, can you help me with this?” and he said “sure” and that was the last he ever saw of his draft notice. Karl served for four years.

After serving his country, he went to work in a chemistry lab. During the interview he could recite the periodic table of the elements so they hired him on the spot. Listening carefully to that science teacher in high school really paid off.

Working in a laboratory got Karl even more interested science and so he went for other lab work and studied chemistry at night. Over eight short years of intense study he graduated cum laude from Suffolk University with a Chemistry Degree in 1982. All was fine in the lab for several years until he discovered he liked dealing with customers more than molecules and atoms. So out of the lab and into the world of marketing, robotics, and training & development he went. That led him to going for a Master’s Degree in Adult Education.

Karl’s education degree served him well and in 1997 he joined a company called Simplex Time Recorder Company and went immediately on the road as a traveling instructor. He spent several years inside developing a training curriculum for a group of certified professional customer service experts. In 2001, Simplex Time Recorder was sold to Tyco, merged with Grinnell, and that became Tyco SimplexGrinnell.

After 17 years there, the last 11 in the customer experience discipline, Karl now is the Founder of his own consulting practice called CX Partners.

Tweetable Quotes and Mentions

Listen and @ksharicz will help you get over the hump on @FastLeaderShow Click to Tweet

“Give everybody a little bit of attention every now and then.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Live the legacy you want to leave.” John Maxwell by Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“You need to demonstrate in actions what you believe.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Teams can come up with more creative solutions than you can as an individual.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Don’t give up and don’t try to go it alone.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Everything has a solution.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to think through it all on your own.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Every day we’re faced with a problem we need to solve.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“It’s a lonely process if you try to do it on your own.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Whatever holds you back is self-imposed.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“If you’re not trying and failing, you’re not learning.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet 

“You have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get into the action.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet 

“When they see that you care they’re willing to be part of the team solution.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“Motivation fails when problems don’t have that obvious solution.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

“If people are disengaged that means their voice isn’t being heard.” Karl Sharicz Click to Tweet

Hump to Get Over

Karl was a new training director for a company but he didn’t have any education in the art and science of adult education. He found Boston University offered a master’s degree that only took nine months to complete. Karl asked his organization for the time off and to pay for the program. He was told no. Karl didn’t stop there and ultimately they agreed to the time off and paid for the program. Listen to this episode to learn about the creative and collaborative way Karl got over the hump.

Advice for others

Don’t give up and try to go it alone. There’s a way to just about everything. Everything has a solution.

Holding him back from being an even better leader

Not a damn thing.

Best Leadership Advice Received

Being honest with yourself and integrity goes a long way.

Secret to Success

Getting down in the trenches with people I am leading.

Best Resources in business or Life

Reading lots of books.

Recommended Reading

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Contacting Karl

Email: karl [at] cxpartners.us
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksharicz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlsharicz
CX Partners: http://www.cxpartners.us/

More Resources

Interview with co-founder of Synectics George M. Prince

Show Transcript: 

Click to access edited transcript

020: Karl Sharicz: Perseverance can pay off

 

Intro: Welcome to the Fast Leader Podcast, where we uncover the leadership like hat that help you to experience, break out performance faster and rocket to success. And now here’s your host, customer and employee engagement expert and certified emotional intelligent practitioner, Jim Rembach.

Jim Rembach:   Thanks Kimberly. Okay Fast Leader legion, I have the opportunity to share with you somebody who I admire in a lot of different ways. He is multitalented and also has a sense of humour that just seems to be never ending, it comes out like, ‘that’s pretty darn witty.’ And it’s not everything that he may have said before, his name is Karl Sharicz.  

Karl is a native of Summerfield, Massachusetts just north of Boston. He prides himself in losing his Boston accent as result of serving our country in United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in the south and was ridiculed as a Yankee, which is no surprise there, but now he can say, I can park my car rather than I can than “I can pak my cah”. 

When he was three his parents moved from the city to the burbs and he lived near a small farm. He instantly fell in love with the farm life and work there from the age of 10 to 15 until he can get a job so the government could take his taxes. On the farm, he fed cows, care for horses, and collected eggs from chickens, who peck his hands for stealing their future chicks from under them. 

He also learned a lot of wisdom by gaining knowledge shoveling pig manure into a spreader during corn season. Karl is also an avid musician and was affected by it at a young age. Ultimately, Karl received a Master’s degree from Boston University. And he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and is on several CXPA committees.

He also served in past leadership positions within the American Society of Training and Development. Karl is well published, two most recent articles which appeared in two prominent customer experience management journals. In addition to his professional customer experience persona he doubles as a singer-songwriter musician and has recorded two CD’s of his original music today. 

Karl currently resides in Quincy, Massachusetts with his wife Carol who’s a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston in systems thinking, He has two kids that live in the area Andrew and Aaron and one grandchild and two stepchildren in California. Okay, Karl, I’ve shared with our listeners a little bit about you, can you share what your current passion is so that we can get to know you better?

Karl Sharicz:     Well, everything you mentioned is my passion and if I could work on a farm today I probably still be doing it. If I could be a rock ‘n roll musician and tour the globe I think I’ll do that too, it’s all my passion. And thank you for that introduction, you made me sound like a real renaissance down here. 

Jim Rembach:     I think you kind of are. You can even hear the energy in your voice when you talk about those things it’s kind of like, unending, un-bounding, where does which come from?

Karl Sharicz:       I don’t know. I’ve always had a pretty optimistic and positive attitude towards life and it’s my downfall too because I enjoy so many things, sometimes I think I spend myself too thin. But it’s all out there, it’s all there to experience, I love to do it. 

Jim Rembach:   I find myself having some of the same issues and I say that a lot time I chase shining object.  My word for this year was focus cause I need to do a better job of that. And so, for you, how do you stay on track?

Karl Sharicz:  It’s not easy sometimes. You indicated I do a lot of things and a lot of committees and I’m trying to run a business and I’m trying to keep up with all of my colleagues, friends and family and it’s just a matter of time sharing, it’s just making sure that you give everybody a little bit of attention every now and then. We have a lot of friends, my wife and I, we managed to see everybody on an intervals that is acceptable to everybody, so we just do our best to doing that. It’s not easy but you have to want to do that, I think is the real key. 

Jim Rembach:   I think what you just hit on is a really important point and doing those things and kind of being methodical in having structure around that while you continue to move a lot of things forward, you can’t just sit back and wait from that to happen you’ve got a be active and engaged within it, I think that’s where your energy kind of helps. 

Karl Sharicz:     And it comes from spontaneity to, so, I’m not a big planning person. You would think I have the spreadsheets on all these, no. [Laugh] or project plans, no I don’t. 

Jim Rembach: That’s awesome that you can keep moving forward. I know that you being a musician and someone who’s focused in on people and passion, you’re very passionate man I appreciate that in you, is there not a quote or a passage or something that kind of drives you, I know you know a lot of lyrics from different music…

Karl Sharicz:  Song lyrics always resonate with me and there’s one bit of a lyric from a song by Spandau Ballet, and the lyric goes: “Tears turns to rust that fall on steel hearts.” When I first heard that it didn’t quite grab me then I started picturing that and I thought to myself, “Yeah, there’s a lot of steel hearts around and that’s what happens tears turned to rust. I don’t know how that kind of relates to a driving energy but it’s an inspirational phrase, I guess it’s what I’d say. But if we want to bring it back to a leadership quote, the one that kind of resonates with me and it comes from a gentleman, an author by the name of John C. Maxwell, and this is it:”Live the legacy you want to live” and it has a lot of significance to credibility as a leader cause it’s really saying you need to demonstrate an action on what you believe. And this comes from a book of his called “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. He also said: “Our ability as leaders will not be measured by the buildings we build rebuilt or the institutions we’ve established but by how well the people we invested in carried on after we’re gone.” 

And you know, I have a personal example of that, because in my days as a training instructor for prior organizations, I had an opportunity to work with a lot of customers in trying to impart knowledge and skills that they needed to be able to do their work. And I must have had a profound impact on some of them because even to this day when I reconnect with some of them I still received comments from former students that say, “Gee, what a great learning experience you created there”,  back in 1984. And that’s the experience they had in the classroom, and that’s a very rewarding feeling for me to hear that from them, after all these years it sticks with people. 

Jim Rembach: I want to go back to the quote that you had mentioned about the tears and the steel hearts and the rust because I do think there is a lot of inspiration when you said that it connected for me when I think about you and that positivity piece that you were talking about. Oftentimes,  the positivity piece and also know be hit with some resistance, it could be the tears, so to speak, sometimes it’s a tear of joy, oftentimes it’s a tear of frustration. We talk about getting over the humps on the Fast Leader show in the onset of challenge, can think about a time when you had a hump to get over that may have generated some tears, something that is stuck with you and hope move it to a right direction?

Karl Sharicz:  Yeah. The one that comes to mind the most, and this has occurred over and over again, was when I was leading a training function that sounds like, I’m going back into the past year but this was a really… one that really stuck with me for a long time. It was back there in the 80’s and I was in the Sciences, I had a challenge because I was brand-new training director for a company and I really didn’t have any real education in the art and science of adult education, suppose I could have gone ahead and just as they say, “Wing it” but for me it’s not my style, so I looked into it and I said: “Is there way that I can get here fast?” And it turned out that Boston University offered a program on adult education, a Masters degree that you could get in nine months, that’s essentially a school year. It sounded great, I look into it, I knew it was the right program for me but the only hitch was you have to attend class on Friday and Saturday all day, so, try to sell that to your spouse at home and then you try to sell that your organization to say, I need every Friday off for the next nine months and get paid for it and also to my full-time job, it meant going to my organization and having to ask them to support me in doing this. The initial answer was, no, but not being one to take no for an answer, I thought, “How do I get to yes?” So, make a long story short, I got a group of colleagues together while I was on a business trip and we sat around full one day and I decided that this is the way to get DS I’ve got a bunch of people here, they’re all smart people, teams can really work together and come up with ideas, we start doodling on this and what we came up was the idea of creating an employment contract, in a way, if you sent me to school and you pay this money, the tuition had to paid upfront cause there was no tuition reimbursement opportunity here for this program because it was a bunch of money that has to be paid upfront. So, we put this idea together, I went to the HR department and kind of ranted by them to say to say what do you think? My boss at that time was the VP of Marketing, I brought this plan to him and he bought it and I sold them the plans but to me they had to pay 2/3rd of the tuition upfront and 1/3rd…after that you have signed up to the course and they did that and I had a contract with them that allowed me to continue working, and of course, I have to pay them back if I left the organization cause they invested in me. I mean it’s a creative way of trying to get yes and I always thought that was one of my more significant sales opportunities, let’s put it that way. Perseverance can pay off and what it said to me was, teams can often do and come up with more creative solutions than you can as an individual. And basically focusing on the customer because I’ve really counts the benefits to the organization rather than what was going on within me. I knew I needed this education but I’m not surely they realize this much but the benefit of it to them, I think it’s what sold it. Basically, I ask for the order and I got it, name your sale. 

Jim Rembach: We’re telling that story to others something that’s kind of really stood out to me, and that, oftentimes, folks when they are told no they won’t do what you did from a very methodical, you say you don’t did checklists and all that stuff but I hate to tell you that that was very methodical. [Laugh]  So, you’re doing the computations and the framing and all that stuff within your head, obviously because going through the process, gaining that commitment and consensus that social buying and proof, a going through and in building the business case, and taking time doing it not getting aggressive and ugly in the process, staying positive, really there was several factors that got you to the point of yes. So, if you think about today, where we are today what you see most people do of that story, what was one piece of advice you would give to our listeners?

Karl Sharicz:  Don’t give up and don’t try to go it alone, very simple. There is a way around just about everything. Everything has a solution. I think a lot of times we want to give up on it because we think we can’t see it, and it could be it’s just lurking out there. There’s a barrier and that barrier has to be removed in order for you to see it. And I think that whole approach to bringing in and working with other people is real key element to that because a lot of times you could drive yourself crazy trying to do it all and trying to think through it all on your own. 

Jim Rembach:    It’s a great point that you mentioned that. Myself, I found that I was getting a little bit stagnated in regards to being able to expand some of the things that I was wanting to think about. I knew there was more wanted to talk to early think about media. I knew there was more, I knew I had to get a different perspective and so I just reached out to strangers and said, “Hey, would you be interested in participating in this small group of folks so that we can coach each other, and help each other, and support each other. And the first question that people were asking me was, “Okay, what does it cost me?” It’s like no I’m not asking for money I needed to seek out that that mastermind or hunt group to be part of, so that I could get the coaching that otherwise would not be getting on my own and sometimes it’s not so easy to find. I think you bring up a really good point, is that, don’t sit in isolation. And you know, and sometimes that isolation isn’t necessarily very visible. You have to realize the environment you’re in and to expand yourself you have to be the first one to do the experience. 

Karl Sharicz:  Can I share with you, there was a piece of this that came out of my experience at Boston University and I think it’s relevant, and now you’re going to say, Oh, Karl you’re really an organized  person, after you hear this. Problem solving—every day we’re faced with problem we need to solve, you wake in the morning and the theory doesn’t work. Okay, so, I put less technical problems aside and make it a humanistic problem but it’s a long process if you try to do it on your own. When I was at Boston University, I learn the concept called Synectics, it’s a long story but I’ll give you essentially the summary of it, problems can be solved in methodical ways by first when you look at a problem and you say, “What are the three most positive things that I can say about this issue that I’m facing here?” So, let’s say it’s not raining today here but it could be and if it was, and I’d say, “I’m not particularly fond of a rainy day but what three things can I say about a rainy day that would be positive?” I could say, “Well, you know, we needed the water it’s pretty dry and if you’re in Southern California you might say, ‘Finally we got rain’ or you can say, ‘Rain helps the garden grow’ so, that’s another positive side on it. Or you could say, “I am into a project that I needed to do, it’s good that it’s raining so I don’t feel the need to be outside in that warm sunshine that I like to be out at.” 

So what you do there, you’ll look at the other side of the spectrum and so, there’s always the problem has some negative aspects of it.  So, what you do is you helps them in opportunities that you are trying to overcome. So for example, on a rainy day you could say, “Rainy days are gloomy so all I need to do is find something that would cheer me up like maybe listening to those 1,250 CD’s there in my cabinets upstairs.” So, you get the idea, you focus on three positives followed by three challenges that if they were overcome this would lead you towards the possible outcome. So, there’s a lot more to it than that but that’s the general concept.  I’ve used that in number of times since those days at Boston University and it served me well. 

Jim Rembach: I thank you for sharing that. That is something that we all could look into to see if they can help us over the hump faster. I know that you’re going through some transitions, you’re doing some things a little bit differently you even became a content curator for the CX-PA, you’re doing some really exciting things right now, but of all things that you are currently looking at it have on your plate, what is one just really excites you the most?

Karl Sharicz:  The big thing that’s happening right now since I left my former organization, Tyco, last fall, is building a consulting business and that is CX Partners, that’s what I’m called. I had been thinking about that for several years, I started developing the business plan, there I go again in my organization in my mind, a couple of years ago but I put it aside because I’m working full time and nothing really prompted me to leave and start my own business. But then last summer the organization in their creative approach to downsizing started offering packages to keep the 15 plus years in the organization, and I had the opportunity to say yes or no and I said yes. So, I left the really good program that I’ve built over 11 years in good hands and that gave 

I also do some teaching. I did some teaching at Boston University, my alma mater, and taught some courses or classes I say in customer experience. But it’s amazing to see the young minds of people who are about to graduate in college and they earn a graduate degree, get enlightened with customer experience and I enjoy bringing them into the fold if you are bringing them into the process.

Jim Rembach: The Fast Leader legion wishes you the very best. Alright, here we go Fast Leader listeners it is time for the—Hump Day Hoedown. Okay, Karl, the Hump Day Hoedown is the part of our show where you give us good insights fast. I’m going to ask you several questions and your jobs is to give us a robust, yet rapid responses that are going to help us move onward and upward faster. Karl Sharicz, are you ready to hoedown?

Karl Sharicz:  Hoedown then. 

Jim Rembach:    Alright. What do you think is holding you back from being an even better leader today?

Karl Sharicz:  I don’t think a damn thing. [Laugh] Whatever holds you back is self imposed, go for it. Try new things. If you’re not trying and failing you’re not learning.

Jim Rembach:  I love it. What is the best leadership advice you had ever received?

Karl Sharicz:  Well, I’m not going to put it in the terms of advice, but I would say being honest with yourself, integrity and being honest with yourself goes a long way. I can’t make this in short; I have to tell them a little bit of a story. My uncle, he passed away some years ago in Canada, thought me a valuable integrity lesson when I was in my teens. I use to spend summers in Nova Scotia and he made a living, in part out of up breaking moss, Irish moss, off rocks in a boat at low tide. 

So, he had to get up in some early mornings and so you’d rake these moss off of the rock you bring it back, you’d spread it out on the side of the road and you’d let it dry because it had to be soiled dry, it was sold by weight. He was a stickler for that moss being dry, he would not pick it up and put it in the knapsack when the burlap stuck until that was dry, that was integrity because he could have left it damp and he could gotten a higher weight, and he could have made more money, people didn’t have a lot of money but he was stickler for that honesty and integrity in making sure that product was completely dried so that he could sell an honest product to the buyer year after year, and to me that was a valuable lesson at a young age. 

Jim Rembach:   What is one of your secrets that you believe contributes to your success?

Karl Sharicz:  As a leader, I’ve always been one that gets down in the trenches of time with people that I’m leading. I’m a natural doer, you can tell, and that comes from having been there and done that, probably derived from the farm years ago. When you’re in a leadership position you have to willing to roll up your sleeves and get into the action when it’s necessary to show people you not just talk you’re part of the action, you’re part of the team. When they see that they know you care they’re willing to be part of the team’s solution and people respect you more. What’s that saying, People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

Jim Rembach:    What do you feel is one of your best resources that helps you lead in business or life?

Karl Sharicz:  I read a lot of books. I think you know, let’s see which one of the more recent ones, I think it was Drive by Dan Pink. This one’s about motivation, what’s gets people to do things, this is the influence of partner, it turns out in research shows that it’s intrinsic motivation that helps fire up businesses because problems are complex they’re not linear problems it’s not a carrot stick model in leadership and motivation sales when problems don’t have that obvious solution. In fact, Dan Pink, if you look him up on YouTube, you’ll see a 20 minutes Ted talk and he does a real good job of summarizing that book. I’m a reader. I like the slower pace of reading and highlighting, underlining, and be reading sentences because I like the way they’re written, writing notes in the margins and making it personalized, that’s how I engage in books. But I would say, continuously keeping up with your profession, whatever aspects that takes on leadership or otherwise.

 Karl Sharicz:  Well, I was going to ask you about a book, we’re going to make that connection with drive on our show notes page and you’ll be able to find that at fastleader.net/Karl Sharicz. Okay, Karl this is my last Hump Day Hoedown question: Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and you were 25 years old again and you’re supposed to begin a new job as a manager of a team that is underperforming and disengaged but you have retained all the wisdom and skill that you currently have, your job, of course, is to turn the team around, so you get up, you get ready and you head out to work, what do you do now?

Karl Sharicz:  [Laugh] Well, if people are disengaged that means they’re probably their voices aren’t being heard, I’d sit down with each member of the team individually and let them tell me from their perspective what’s going on, what’s working, what’s not working. And I’ll also use that as an opportunity to give them insights on me. What I’m all about, how I lead, how I manage, how I make decisions. There may be some people that are on the team that aren’t onboard cause they don’t want to be part of the team, and that’s fine too. And it’s right and proper to help people get to where they want to be even if that means leaving the team neither that’s by their choice or my choice. 

And then I’ll probably start having some team dialogue sessions with the full team, provide everyone with an open forum to bring out and discuss and dialogue and issues and share ideas or resolutions and I’d use that Synectics tactic that I’ve described earlier. And once speak about these issues that are on the table and clearly understood, delineated, and I’ll write it I’ll put it in written form so everybody can see it and think about it just as the teams’ project we all have a part in this. And I think that gets you on the pathways towards engagement and improved performance.

Jim Rembach: Karl, it was an honor to spend time with you today. Please share with the Fast Leader listeners how they can connect with you?

Karl Sharicz:  Email me at Karl@cxpartners.us that’s my website. They can go to www.cxpartners.us which is my website, there’s contact information there. Or they can reach out to me through the CXPA.

Jim Rembach:     Karl Sharicz, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, the Fast Leader legion honors you and thanks you for helping us get over the hump. Woot Woot!

Thank you for joining me on the Fast Leader show today. For recaps, links from every shows, special offers, access to download and subscribe, if you haven’t already, head on over the fastleader.net so we can help you move onward and upward faster.

 

END OF AUDIO

 

 

jeannie walters leadership podcast fast leader show

019: Jeannie Walters: It felt like I wanted to run away

Jeannie Walters Show Notes

When Jeannie Walters learned about the acquisition of one of her favorite clients during the financial crisis of 2008 it wasn’t the loss of a major contract that impacted her most. Instead she found meaning in something bigger. Listen to Jeannie tell her story of how she got over the hump so you can too.

Jeannie Walter grew up in North Brook, IL as the youngest of five kids. Her fondest childhood memories were of epic camping trips with Dad, Mom, kids and the dog in their pop-up trailer. Despite the conflicts that can happen in large families Jeannie lives her life with the goal to leave a legacy of kindness.

Currently, Jeannie is the CEO/Founder of 360Connext, a global Customer Experience consulting firm. She has more than 16 years of experience helping companies improve retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience.

Jeannie’s expertise in customer experience is what earned her place as a TEDx speaker. The video’s popularity inspires her to collect microinteractions, which are the small, sometimes unnoticed things that can have a huge impact on the customer experience.

She is a charter member of the Customer Experience Professionals Association. As a member of Vistage International, she was Member of the Year in 2007. She was also a member of former Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka’s Advisory Board for Women’s Issues. Walters was awarded the Businesswoman of the Year in 2001 by the Business Ledger and as An Outstanding Woman of Achievement in 2002 by the Girl Scouts of America.

Jeannie is also a very active writer and blogger, and has a large social media following and was recognized by the Huffington Post as one of “The Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros on Twitter.”

Jeannie currently resides in Oak Park, IL with her husband Mike and her two sons Brady and Nolan.

Tweetable Quotes and Mentions

Listen and @jeanniecw will help you get over the hump on @FastLeaderShow Click to Tweet

“Social media puts a magnifying glass on certain areas, and gives certain people a megaphone.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“There are people who love to get up on their soap box and complain.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“I really believe that most humans are reasonable.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“We all have to get a little better and that’s really what life’s about” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“I tried always to do better, saw always a little further, I tried to stretch myself.” Audrey Hepburn by Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“I really like to focus on making small changes and looking one step ahead.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“Life’s too short to work with people you don’t admire and respect.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“If you have the choice, work with people that inspire you.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“If you don’t have anybody in the room to look up to then you have to be the one.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

“Set small things and take the right action every day.” -Jeannie Walters Click to Tweet

Hump to Get Over

Jeannie learned about the acquisition of one of her favorite clients during the financial crisis of 2008 and found herself in a personal moment of truth that impacted here more than losing a major client contract. Listen to Jeannie’s story so you can learn to move onward and upward faster.

Advice for others

Life’s too short to work with people you don’t admire and respect. If you have the choice work with people who inspire you and they will continue to do that.

Holding her back from being an even better leader

I am not as hyper organized as I should be.

Best Leadership Advice Received

It’s better to tell the truth early, rather than to try to cover it up.

Secret to Success

Staying positive and taking one action a day that will lead to the next big goal.

Best Resources in business or Life

My kids. They provide a lot of wisdom at odd times and keep me grounded.

Recommended Reading

The Leader’s Voice: How Your Communication Can Inspire Action and Get Results!

Contacting Jeannie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanniecw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters

Crack the Customer Code Podcast: http://www.crackthecustomercode.com/

More Resources

Jim Rembach on Jeannie’s podcast (Crack the Customer Code): http://crackthecustomercode.com/102-jim-rembach-fast-leader/

54 Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Competencies List: Emotional Intelligence has proven to be the right kind of intelligence to have if you want to move onward and upward faster. Get your free list today.

Show Transcript: 

Click to access edited transcript

019: Jeannie Walters: It felt like I wanted to run away

 Intro: Welcome to the Fast Leader Podcast, where we uncover the leadership like hat that help you to experience, break out performance faster and rocket to success.  And now here’s your host, customer and employee engagement expert and certified emotional intelligent practitioner, Jim Rembach.

Jim Rembach:   Alright, Fast Leader legion, I am so excited to have the person who I have on the show today, she is one of kindest people that I have had the opportunity meet in my life and that’s the legacy that she wants to leave. She’s also a phenomenal leader. Jeannie Walters is a member of Faith Popcorn’s Talent Bank and a charter member of the Customer Experience Professionals Association.

 

 As a member of Vestige International, she was a Member of the Year in 2007. She served as a member of former Illinois State Treasurer, Judy Baar Topinka’s advisory board for women’s issues. Walters was awarded businesswoman of the year in 2001 by the Business Ledger and as an Outstanding Woman of Achievement in 2002 by the Girl Scouts of America. And you know what, she has two boys, so we have to find out how that came in [inaudible 1:03] she’s a very active writer and has her own podcast called Crack the Customer Code, which you can find on iTunes.

 

She has a large social media following and is recognized by the Huffington Post as one of the top 100 most Social Customer Service pros on Twitter. Jeannie grew up in Northbrook, Illinois and was the youngest of five kids and had some epic camping trips with mom, dad, kids, dog and a pup of trailer. And she stayed in the Chicago area lives in Oak Park with her two sons Brady 10, Nolan 8 and her husband Mike.  Jeannie Walters, are you ready to help us get over the hump?

 

Jeannie Walters:     Wow! I hope so. Thanks Jim. 

 

Jim Rembach:      Thank you for being here. I’ve given our listeners a brief introduction but can you please tell us what your current passion is so that we can get to know you better?

 

Jeannie Walters:      Sure. A long time now my passion has been around Customer Experience. And the mission of our company is to create fewer ruins days for customers. And the reason I created that mission statement was because when I think about my own experience as a customer, I am fitting to a lot of demographics, I am “sucker mom”, I’m a business owner, I’m all these things, so when I go in and have a bad experience at a bank or when I can’t do something on mind that I want to do, or something doesn’t work on mobile that can ruin my day. And unfortunately, sometimes we carry that throughout our lives and so this is why I’m so passionate about it, I really believe that if we provide better experiences for people in general, everybody else benefits from it. 

 

Jim Rembach:     I think we all lose track, in that, all of us have customer experiences even if we have customers and these days who doesn’t have customers who doesn’t have people that they have to interact with in order to have whatever experience it may be, really full of less stress, be more enjoyable, be something that we could not be used as something to pinpoint as being lousy in our day. So, the definition is so broad, for you, when you start saying customer experience what does that mean to you?

 

Jeannie Walters:      It’s a great question. I think customer experience is often define as perception as how people feel about an overall company or organization based on the experiences they ask have. I actually feel like—that’s part of it. But the customer experiences everything from how you are introduced to a company all the way through when you might leave them and why you might leave them. It’s every single reaction you have and the perceptions that go along with that. 

 

I have a perception about some companies even though I’ve never worked with them even though I’ve never been their customer. But I understand that their customer experience maybe isn’t something I want to purchase paid in, that’s part of the customer experience too. 

 

Jim Rembach:     You know, that’s a very interesting point you bring up and with you being recognized someone who’s very socially active in the customer experience space. There was a study that I was reading that talked about the complaints that are on social media about different companies, and that for one particular company when they analyze those complaints they found out that 80% of the negative noise were from people who weren’t even their customers. So, do you think that perceptions about companies are growing from a negative perspective or indifferent or positive perspective? Where do you see the trend going?

 

Jeannie Walters:      I think social media helps us put a magnifying glass on certain areas and also gives certain people a megaphone, but those people have always been the loud mouths anyway. I’m not a huge fan of focus groups as a way to do research simply because there’s always one really opinionated loud mouth in the group and that can sway a lot of people who are just willing—they don’t want to put themselves in that situation of being confrontational. And I think the same thing happens with social media, there are people who love to get up on their soapbox and complain and talk about what’s going wrong. And then they are the people who sit back and they might take in that information but then they’re reasonable people, I really believe that most humans are reasonable. 

 

And so, if you have something that happens and as an organization, come back and say, “We looked into this and this is what we learned about it” and present that side of the story it gives everybody a fair shot to understanding experience better. Well, I think that, social media is a tool that is great for communication. I also think we can get caught up in looking at the negative side of it. It’s an important tool for organizations to understand that they have that same ability to share their side of the story and to be human about it and if you are human, humans respond to that, it’s really that simple.

 

Jim Rembach:  I think what you’re talking about is really inspiration and even your message is saying that: Look, don’t focus on the negative stuff, here’s an opportunity to have a positive platform and that in itself is inspirational, so thank you for sharing that. And we focus on leadership quotes here on the Fast Leader show, cause they are just that, they’re inspirational and they’re perception based, we take some information within words and then we start pulling it inside and it has some strength for us, is there a quote for you that has some strength?

 

Jeannie Walters:       Yeah. A few years ago, I heard a documentary or quick bio piece on Audrey Hepburn and I’d always admired her because I grew up watching her movies with my mom, it’s really great memory for me to see what she did with her life, she became an ambassador, she did all sorts of things. And I had to look it up today because all I could remember about it was she talked about how we all have to get a little better. And that’s really what life is about, so the quote is: “I tried always to do better so always a little further I tried to stretch myself.” It’s so simple but it’s so meaningful because I think it’s easy when you’re a leader sometimes to go for big goal and when you get knocked down you think you failed or think that it’s over or you can’t get to that next big goal. And I really like to focus on making small changes and looking one step ahead instead of getting too caught up in trying to overachieve, I guess. 

 

Jim Rembach:     Even when you say that I started to think about how I even do that personally. It isn’t necessarily trying to do it for others. One of our previous guest, a leadership freak, Dan Rockwell talked about what drives him in order to write about leadership every single day of the year. And he says he has to remind himself, “You better get down there” because he wants to make a difference, and so it’s very inspirational. I think that quote in itself is going to have a lot of different meaning for different folks both men and women. Thank you for sharing that. Now, without a doubt, even if you start going back and looking at all you siblings and those camping trips, we have humps to get over in our life and they define who we are really help us grow and reach just like that quote that you shared with us? Is there a time where you had a hump to get over that defined you and that has really stuck with you? Can you share that story with us please? 

 

Jeannie Walters:      Sure. We were consulting very large organizations when the financial crisis hit in 2008 and one of my favorite clients was this amazing bank that serve people through community development and they had a triple bottom line approach with the environment as one of the factors profitability and community development. And they were going through a terrible time and when they were acquired, which we expected, I went to the women I was working with and I said, “How can we help you here? Because I knew that our contract was basically over, based on the bigger bank taking over and I knew that she was in a top spot. She was worried about us and she was saying, “Well, I’m trying to get your contract” and I said, “Don’t worry about that, what can we do for you?” And it was really a great example for me to go back on and think about at that time I really needed her as much as she needed me and we were supporting each other for the very right reasons of just being kind to one another. And I was very inspired by her because she really went out of her way to take her of her community even though the resources were so limited at that point of what she could do.

 

And so, it was a huge blow to lose that contract, honestly, but what I took away from it was it was about something bigger, it was about that relationship. And she ended up retiring a few years later and inviting me to her retirement party and it was amazing because I learned even more about her and the things she had done and the people who turned out and the recognition from the city and all these places that she was just remarkable person and I was so grateful that in that moment that was scary that it felt like I wanted to run away a little bit, that  it was a lesson for me of—you know that sometimes it’s about doing the right thing and that serves you in different ways and maybe your initial goal. 

 

Jim Rembach:     I can imagine that—going through that for both of you like you were talking about, it had to be very stressful. You had to open up just a whole lot of different thoughts in your mind that sometimes later we can adjust—oftentimes move past that time or get over that hump later. But if there was one piece of advice that you would give to our listeners from that story, what would it be? 

 

Jeannie Walters:      I’d like to say life’s too short to work with people you don’t admire and respect. And even clients and customers I think that if you have the choice work people who inspire you and to continue to do that even if the business opportunity isn’t there in that moment look beyond that and really look to that relationship.

 

Jim Rembach:    That is something that I think ultimately we can all strive forward we’d like to have. It’s kind of like that business utopia when we’re serving. But if you’re not in that position and you fell stuck and I’ve seen it—I’m probably there now in certain situations, how do you position yourself get past that so you can seek those clients and you can be not worried about the fact that you have to feed your family, do you have some advice on how we can do that?

 

 Jeannie Walters:   Yeah. I got great advice from one of my very first mentors and he told me once that if I don’t have anybody in the room that I can look up to, then I need to be the one look up to. And there are times where sometimes you have to own that a little bit and understand that maybe in this situation your role is to be that person instead of looking for that.

 

Jim Rembach:   That’s an awesome piece of advice. A lot of times we do, I mean, our eyes are pointing out and so were looking but oftentimes maybe we need to be reflecting. Maybe it’s us that we have to stand up and take that responsibility. Thank you again for sharing that. So, I know you are doing a lot of things with your company, being a mom of two young boys as a mom and sure as a spouse as well, but what about your current—well, life or business is really driving you and giving you that energy ?

 

Jeannie Walters:      Well, it does comes down to my two boys because part of why I started this business in 2009 was because it gave me the flexibility—it’s a virtual business, I have a team but we are all over the world, I work from home and I’m able to do things like walking my kids to school every day. They go to school three blocks from Ayren. When we’ve had school events I just put that on my calendar and I’m able to go do that. And so, knowing that I have that flexibility, knowing that there are times I’m sacrificing by working late hours or by getting up very early to get some work done, I know what’s driving me to do that and it is about creating a life—it’s not perfect and it’s not easy but at the same time I know that I’m going to have all this time to look back on where I was really there with my kids.

 

Jim Rembach:    I think for me too, kind of in a similar situation, I probably don’t take as much time doing that and listening to—I need to make sure I put more things on my calendar do just that. If you start thinking about yourself, going back to the quote that you had mentioned from Audrey Hepburn, what are some of the goals that you have?

 

Jeannie Walters:       I always have way too many goals [Laugh] that’s one of my downfalls. I set a goal last year, I started running last year so I’m doing my second 5K this weekend and eventually I’d like to do a 10K and keep moving up on that. I am doing a lot around writing and podcasting as you know, but I would love to write a book, that’s on my list. I would love to work with more organizations that inspire me and I have aspirational list of organizations I want to work with. And really it’s about—and I of course, as somebody who works from home and is in my house a lot, I have a list of things I want to do house, cause I see them all the time. Overall, I feel like it is about setting those small things and just taking the right action every day, that’s what I try to do. 

 

Jim Rembach:     I think that’s a good point. Just take an action even if it’s a little one at least there’s movement. I often say, sometimes you need to just go ahead and take those two steps back because ultimately it may lead to three steps going forward, that’s kind of hard thing for us to swallow, the Fast Leader legion wishes you the very best. 

 

Alright here we go Fast Leader listeners, it’s time for the—Hump Day Hoedown. Okay, Jeannie the Hump Day Hoedown is a part of our show where you give us good insights fast. I’m going to ask you several questions and it’s you job to give us robust yet rapid responses that are going to help us move onward and upward faster. Jeannie Walters are you ready to hoedown?

 

Jeannie Walters:    I’m ready. 

 

Jim Rembach:    Alright. What do you think is holding you back from being an even better leader today?

 

Jeannie Walters:       I’m, not as hyper-organized as I should be. 

 

Jim Rembach:     I can attest to that one myself. What is the best leadership advice you have ever received?

 

Jeannie Walters:     It’s better to tell the truth early rather than try to cover it up. 

 

Jim Rembach:     Noted. What is one of your secrets that you believe contributes to your success?

 

Jeannie Walters:       Staying positive and taking one action a day that will lead you to the next big goal. 

 

Jim Rembach:    What do you feel is one of your best resources that helps you lead in business or life?

 

Jeannie Walters:       My kids. [Laugh] They provide a lot of wisdoms at odd times and keep me grounded. 

 

Jim Rembach:     What would be one book you would recommend to our listeners? I know there’s many, just kind of that go-to that you always go back to?

 

Jeannie Walters:        One that I really love is called the “Leaders Voice” it’s by Boyd Clarke and I’m going to blank the other guy, but they work for Tom Peters and it’s about how we internalize communication and three ways and how to provide communication that way. It’s a really great book. 

 

Jim Rembach:    That’s awesome. Okay, Fast Leader listeners you can find link and other bonus information from today’s show by going to fastleader.net/Jeannie Walters. Okay, Jeannie, this my last Hump Day Hoedown question: Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and you were 25 years old again. You’re supposed to begin a new job as a manager of a team of people that is underperforming and disengaged but you have retained all the wisdom and skills that you currently have. Your task is to turn the team around so you get up you get ready and you head out to work, what do you do now?

 

Jeannie Walters:      I listen. I’ll take them in one by one and listen to what they have to say, and then basically there’s a new sheriff in town, and help the right people get on the bus. 

 

Jim Rembach:    That was good. Alright, Jeannie it was an honor to spend time with you today. Can you please share with Fast Leader listeners how can they connect with you?

 

Jeannie Walters:      Absolutely, thank you. You can find me at 360connext.com as well as crackthecustomercode.com. 

 

Jim Rembach:      Jeannie, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom the Fast Leader legion honors you and thanks you for helping us get over the hump.  Woot Woot!

 

Thank you for joining me on the Fast Leader show today. For recaps, links from every show, especial offers and access to download and subscribe, if you haven’t already, head on over the fastleader.net so we can help you move onward and upward faster. 

 

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