Products by

Susan Fee

In This Issue

News & Notes: Where Are You Now?

Manager's Tip Sheet: Noteworthy Thanks 

Personal Tip Sheet:  Pitching a Four-Day Work Week

Difficult Conversations:  Terms of Endearment      

...................................

News & Notes:  Where Are You Now?

Every time I take a flight, I find it amusing how passengers seem so anxious to whip out their cell phones upon landing and detail every second of their mundane flight to someone else who probably couldn’t care less.

That’s why I laughed out loud when I read this quote from Stanley Bing, author of Executricks:  Or How to Retire While You’re Still Working (Collins):  “Nearly 80 percent of the content of all human cell phone conversations seems to be about where the caller is located.  Why do people have to constantly inform other people of their whereabouts?  In certain cities around the world, it is impossible to see any person actually walking down the street thinking his or her own thoughts.  Don’t we need thoughts?”

If you’d like to fill your head with stimulating thoughts, check out my summer reading list.  I’ve listed some of my favorites and I’d love to hear yours.  Next time we talk on the phone, you can tell me where you are and what you’re reading!

Until next month,

 

Susan Fee

---

Manager's Tip Sheet:  Noteworthy Thanks

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus and I have at least two things in common:  We call Ohio home and we believe in handwritten thank you notes.  Each June, Nicklaus sponsors the Memorial Tournament played in Dublin, OH.  This year, Kenny Perry won joining Tiger Woods as a three-time winner. Woods was absent from this year’s tournament due to knee surgery.

In the press leading up to the tournament, Nicklaus noted that he has never spoken to Tiger Woods on the phone – only his agent.  “It’s a different day,” he said.  Nicklaus said he was taught by Arnold Palmer early on to drop a note to the sponsor after every tournament.  He’s done it every tournament since.  Nicklaus said the Memorial receives one or two such notes each year.  Regarding e-mail notes he said, “I think it’s a cop out.  I’ve got notes myself, and in fact I’ve got them sitting in the museum.  I don’t put my e-mails in the museum.” 

Business today is far too competitive to overlook the small gestures, like handwritten thank you notes.  Encourage your staff to create personal relationships with clients and customers with these tips:

Be specific:  State the reason you are thanking the person and how you were positively impacted.  Personalize your comments by including a reference to the meeting or exchange so that your card has meaning.

Make it timely:  Write and mail thank you notes as soon after the event as possible.  It doesn’t hurt to send a brief email acknowledging appreciation, and then send a more detailed note that will arrive within a few days.

Proofread:  If you rely on your computer’s spell check to catch all your mistakes, be sure and give your note a second read before mailing it.  Poor grammar or spelling could ruin the whole effect of the card.  Also, use legible handwriting! 

Make it a habit:  Give staff examples of noteworthy situations such as business lunches, dinners, large purchases, referrals, and excellent customer service. 

More ways to make a positive impression: 

 

---

Personal Tip Sheet: Pitching a Four-Day Work Week

One good thing about the rise in fuel costs is the creative ways people are finding to reduce consumption.  I recently cut down the number of days I’m in my office, but increased my hours, and it seems to be working out just fine.  If you’re currently working (and driving) five days a week, perhaps you’re ready to consider tele-commuting or working four ten-hour days.  Here are four tips for pitching the idea to your company:

Gather groups.  Ask around and see how many other people might be interested in supporting a change in the schedule.  You’ll have more success if your idea benefits the masses, not just you. 

Approach HR.  Start the conversation with Human Resources.  You’ll need this department behind you for changes to occur.  If you run into objections immediately, ask if you can return with solutions.  Keep the door open on this relationship.

Do your homework.  Think like the company and speak in terms of bottom line numbers instead of saying, “This would be good for my family.”  Prepare a cost-benefit sheet, discuss how team projects could be completed, and show how your idea would save the company money.  Research other companies or departments that are currently using shortened work weeks and offer them as examples.

Answer objections.  Be prepared to meet objections with solutions.  There’s a reason (or reasons) your company has maintained traditional work hours.  If you can’t address those objections, your idea will flop.  Suggest a trial period and a way to measure productivity and cost savings. 

---

 Difficult Conversations: Terms of Endearment

Q:  (Note:  I was asked to respond to the following question for the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Business Etiquette column by Marcia Pledger.  Here’s an excerpt:)  How do you tactfully tell someone to not call you sweetie, honey, dear or sweetheart?

A:  The most respectful way to address someone is the same way one offers in an introduction.  Unless the person gives permission to use a nickname or says, “Call me Honey,” you shouldn’t.  However, age and context will play into how you respond.

Most likely, the person using these terms of endearment means no harm.  If the person is significantly older than you or is from a culture where everyone is referred to this way, try not to take it personally.  However, if the person is your same age, younger, or it makes you uncomfortable, speak up.  In a private moment, you might say, “I’m sure you don’t mean to be disrespectful so I wanted to let you know that I prefer to be called by my first name.  I really appreciate your consideration.”       

 

Submit your difficult questions to Susan_Fee@msn.com.  If your question is chosen for publication, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of Dealing With Difficult People.

   

   

---

Interested in booking training or coaching?  Let me know how I can help, Susan_Fee@msn.com. 

 

Susan Fee is a licensed counselor, personal coach, and national speaker.  She is the author of Positive First Impressions, Dealing with Difficult People, Building Resiliency, Secrets of Successful Presentations, and the college survival guide, My Roommate Is Driving Me Crazy!  She can be reached through her Web site at www.susanfee.com or by email at Susan_Fee@msn.com. 

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008