www.helpdeskconference.com

<file://www.helpdeskconference.com> or call 425-398-9292 now! You don¹t want to miss this event!


We saw great examples of real dedication and teamwork in every sport from all the countries, especially the United States and China. So what can you take away from these last two weeks to help your team and coaches perform at their gold medal best?

First, they were carefully selected to have the potential to go all the way to the gold. Then they were coached by the best coaches available on a regular basis. They made sacrifices over and over to meet their goals. They didn't let defeats or injury setbacks stop them from pursuing their dream. They collaborated with parents, siblings, coaches, teammates and the Olympic organization to reach their goals.

So can you -- to reach your work and home goals and dreams!

Contributing Editor Stephen R. Covey wrote in USA Weekend, July 11-13 edition, about the three simple guidelines to make collaboration work, and the secrets behind great teams.

Covey wrote, "No matter what workplace team you're on, you'll make a greater success of it by following these simple guidelines:

Establish your mission.

Sounds like an obvious step, doesn't it? But you'd be surprised by how many times a new team will plow right into the work and assign tasks without ever making it clear from the beginning what the ultimate objective is. So establish the purpose. Get it in writing. And keep it in front of the team at all times so that everyone will stay focused.

Set the ground rules.

Lay down the group's ground rules and values on Day One. Make it clear what kind of criticism of member's work is acceptable and what is considered destructive. Promote other key values, such as the integrity of the work that is produced by the group's members. Also, establish some working
boundaries -- for example, one member may want to contact others 24/7 via BlackBerry, but others consider certain times of the day and night off limits. Now is the time to determine what's acceptable.

Identify each team member's strengths.

Early on, establish the individual strengths of each member. Everyone has weaknesses, but when members focus on complementary strengths, then weaknesses are minimized. Too often, a team member is reluctant to concede that another member's strength in a particular area is greater. But teams are successful only when those egos are checked at the door."

Covey is the author of the best seller The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. For more information about Covey and the book, go to stephencovey.com.

So with the Olympic examples in mind, you will want to choose better, collaborate more, and follow these proven guidelines to eventually win your gold medals too!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JJ's FAVORITE QUOTES and TIPS From READERS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Always call the customer by name, instead of a generic Sir or Ma'am. It lets the customer know you are genuinely interested in them and will strengthen that trust in you when you recommend a sale item to them."
- Sharon Harrison
Louisiana, MO


"I added a "customer support moment" to our regular full staff meetings and use it to discuss "US" being customers daily outside of the work place. We review "the" customer support interaction - what was good or bad about the service/personnel/interaction - how does it relate to our phone based customer support - How did we feel as a customer in that situation- What can we learn from our daily interactions to better service our customers, etc.?"
- Phyllis Wasmuth, Manager, CH2M HILL
Technical Assistance Center (TAC)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tele-COACHING & Tele-MENTORING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE in an area? Service? Sales?

* Motivation and growth of your people?
* Dealing with irate internal or external customers?
* Leading and Coaching your staff?

TRY our one-on-one Tele-Mentoring (phone coaching service) that is available to business owners, executives, managers, supervisors and staff members.

Call for your FREE CONSULTATION now! 800 500-9656 or 408 445-1590

__________________________________

EVALUATION OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT:
__________________________________

Have you had an Evaluation of Your Environment lately so you could receive suggestions on improving it? (It's like the doctor's check up, you often don't know you need it, until after you've had it.)

http://www.jjlauderbaugh.com/about.html

****************************************
ABOUT JJ:
****************************************

JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC
408 445-1590 or 800 500-9656, 1716 Husted Ave., San Jose, CA 95124.

JJ works with companies that want to give exceptional customer service to increase sales, and with Directors and Call Center/Help Desk Managers who want to improve human performance.

She's an international speaker, trainer, facilitator and certified management consultant (CMC) on customer service management, specializing in performance improvement, call centers, up/cross selling and outbound calling.

For training resources, free articles, tips and streaming video, go to our web site at http://www.JJLauderbaugh.com

----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright and Reprints:
----------------------------------------------------------

Reprint permission is granted when the following credit appears:

© JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC, JJ Lauderbaugh & Associates, 2007. Reprinted with permission from JJ's Tips, a monthly internet newsletter. For your own personal subscription, E-mail:

jj@jjlauderbaugh.com

REFERRALS Requested: Please pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues who would also benefit from it. If you want to unsubscribe, reply Unsubscribe on the subject line. Our database is "never-sold or shared".

You can make a difference! Send your questions and comments as they are always welcome.

Thanks,

JJ