Cooksey Connects

As I found Seat 18A aboard a Continental Express flight from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport to the Midland/Odessa airport, I settled into my routine.  Sony noise-cancelling headphones? Check.  Kindle stowed in seat pocket for takeoff? Check. Carry-on bag neatly stowed in overhead bin? Check.

Admittedly, I don’t pay much attention to the goings-on of other boarding travelers on most days.  That day, however, I noticed something different.  The flight attendant was amazingly polite.  Her banter pleasant and sincere.  Each passenger was greeted with a “thank you for flying with us today” and gentle suggestions for comfort as the attendant performed her pre-flight check of the cabin.  Normally, I wouldn’t notice.  Today, however, there was something VERY familiar about the attendant.  Probably just coincidence.  Then, something caught my eye…and I grinned.

I settled back in my seat, and before I knew it, the aircraft had leveled out at our cruising altitude, and the attendant began our in-flight beverage service.  Normally, I don’t get excited about an over-iced, 5 ounce plastic cup of soda and a Hobbit sized handful of peanuts.  Today, I couldn’t wait.

Cooksey with Judy McClure January 2011

The flight attendant approached my row, made eye contact, and, as I expected, asked, “Mr. Cooksey, what could I get to you drink this afternoon?”

“Judy”, I smiled as I answered her, “you won’t remember me, but a few…”

She put her hand up to stop me mid-sentence to say, “You’re the gentleman who wrote the blog!”

“So you got it?”, I asked, unsure if my message by way of the @Continental account on Twitter had been received.

“My supervisor brought a copy of it to me.  Before that, I didn’t even know what a blog was.”

We laughed, chatted a few minutes, and she continued service to the remaining passengers.

Upon our arrival at the Midland/Odessa, TX airport, I slowly gathered my belongings so I could exit last.  I wanted to make sure to thank her again for continuing to make a difference in each passenger’s experience, whether THEY noticed it or not.

After thanking Judy for the opportunity to share her story from that flight nearly three years earlier to my audiences, she said to me, “You speak and train on customer service, right?”

“Among other topics. Why do you ask?”

Then she dropped the bombshell, “What could I be doing differently to be even better?”

Stumped, I replied, “Judy…just keep doing it.  YOU are the example I’ve been using for the past three years of someone who takes initiative, is sincere, and puts others before herself for the sake of great service.” Then I asked her, “If I may, where did YOU learn about the importance of great service.”

“Probably from my parents”, she humbly replied. “They owned a dime store while I was growing up.  My father always said the key to his success was treating people with enthusiasm and respect.”

Judy, I’m not sure what the future holds for you, but I know you will continue to share your smile, sincere voice, and quiet confidence about you wherever the road (or the skies) may take you.

In a world with thousands of domestic flights each day, thousands of flight crews, and countless travel schedules, it isn’t often that I see the same flight attendant more than once.  When I do, rarely have they left the impression Judy has on me. Every time I board a Continental Express flight, I look for Judy.  If you see her, please be sure to tell her I said hello!

And, yes….she DID give me the entire can of Diet Coke during beverage service.  I didn’t even have to ask!

Consistently, when people ask me “how can I get people to see me as a leader?”, I ask them a simple question. “Why should they?”  If the answer suggests it has something to do with their own benefit, suggest they consider their teammates’ points of view.

If you are like most leaders, undoubtedly you are in a continuous mode of learning.  And, if you are on the path to achieving the success you deserve, I certainly hope you are also unafraid of failure.  Yes, that’s what I said: UNAFRAID OF FAILURE!

In pursuit of his efforts to convert electricity into light, Thomas Edison has been quoted as saying “I never failed. I only found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” Dare I suggest it was attitude, not necessarily know-how that created the lightbulb.

Take a look at how you are approaching growth of your own business, climbing the ladder of success, or giving to people around you.  If it’s all for your own benefit (e.g. a sale, self-promotion, doing it “your way”, or the like), you are most likely walking past a dollar to pick up a dime.

This week’s challenge is to think about how you can help eliminate “pain” or take away other people’s problems with solutions you are able to provide.  When you stop selling a product, you begin providing solutions.  People PAY for solutions because they are too lazy or lack the expertise to solve the issue themselves.

Repeat after me, “The solutions I can provide my clients/customers are more valuable than the products I sell.”

Share how you are beginning to see things differently below.

Last week, I left you with a challenge. Did you accept it?  Why or why not?

A few years ago, I accepted a challenging assignment as an investment representative inside a community bank…only I didn’t realize how difficult a task it was going to be when I showed up for work that first day.

I was the fifth representative in as many years to occupy that desk.  Ironically, management saw the office as a “five year old business” when it fact, it was only a collection of pieces of “five, one-year businesses”.  Collectively, there was $2.9 million in assets and from looking at the client files, it was impossible to tell which accounts were still open, which were long ago closed, or how any decisions had been made for each client.  My charge was to turn it around.

My first day was just before Independence Day 2001.  The financial markets were still uncertain following the investment bubble which had popped only 15 months earlier, clients were skittish, and to make it worse, the world as we knew it (financial or otherwise) completely introduced a “new normal” that fateful day in September—only 90 days into my new assignment.

It would have been easy to throw my hands in the air, declaring the task impossible, and not many people would have blamed me.  Not having many other options of where I might take my talents (financial firms were in “protection mode”), I decided to dig in and make it work.

Three years later, almost to the day, the book of business I’d inherited was now $12.5 million in asssets and produced a more predictable and stable annual revenue than ever before.  The markets had been against me.  For 18 months, my co-workers didn’t believe I’d actually stay (no other representative ever had). Management refused to offer more support or strategic direction than to tell me simply to “just keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about the rest of the department”.   The success (and the rocky road I traveled to find it) can almost completely be attributed to my own deliberate focus on relationships with clients and co-workers.

In the midst of significant roadblocks, true leaders will emerge and success will shine, if they continue to focus on the relationships with everyone around them.

Until the next blog posting, I challenge you this week to complete this phrase OUT LOUD at least once per day:

“Today, I will focus on customer / client/ co-worker relationships by __________________________”.

Be deliberate.  Be honest.  Let others hear about what you notice in the comments below.

In just the past twelve months, I have enjoyed the opportunity to facilitate conversations with leaders all across North America and the Caribbean.  These people represented publicly traded & privately held companies; for profit & not-for-profit ventures; volunteer & paid roles; governments & government agencies; some with many years of experience & others who were green in their positions.

No matter how one might describe their positions and organizations there are, in my observation, two areas that all leaders seem to struggle with at one time or another.  I kept hearing stories, reasons, justifications and just plain ‘ol excuses from “leaders” as to why they just couldn’t connect with their “subjects”….and that’s when it hit me.  The problem, about 89.9% of the time, is rooted firmly in issues of communication and business relationships.

Over the coming weeks, I’m going to shed some light on how you can avoid the pitfalls holding back so many other people, so you can enjoy the success you have earned and should be sharing with those around you.

I challenge you to copy down the following idea and review it each day for a week.

“Leadership is not a title, it’s a show of respect which occurs only when people choose to follow .”

After a bit of a hiatus, I traveled this week to Dumas High School in Dumas, TX to deliver a couple of presentations to the Junior and Senior classes.  I’ve been a presenter for Monster.com’s Making It Count Programs for about three years, a relationship I’ve had much fun with!  We had a great time, and the students there were fantastic!  ( CLICK HERE to link to the video montage of the presentation created by the folks at the local online paper, High Plains Observer-Dumas.)

Watching the video, I found myself smiling, laughing, and re-enjoying the time I spent there…at work!

Sure, when I headed to the airport the day before, it was just like one of those days when you aren’t looking forward to the commute.  Once in the air, though, I opened up the blank, leather-bound journal my wife gave me not two weeks ago on our wedding day.  With the gift, she’d included a note of instruction that I was to use that journal to capture the plans and dreams in my head, and begin putting them into action. So I started writing…

As the sun set over the horizon (it’s a beautiful sight to watch through the window of a plane at 31,000 ft), I was settled in with my iPod, pen in hand, and before I knew it, I’d written about 6 pages of ideas which have become the early draft of my business plan for the coming year.

The next time find yourself dreading your commute, turn up an old album you haven’t heard in a while, settle in for the ride, and open up your mind to ask, “How can I make today count?”.

Cole Porter wrote the song.  Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sang it in a movie of the same title.  Now, Cooksey is CONNECTING this idea with your organization’s needs!

This weekend, I was introduced to an amazingly low-tech, highly effective group tool known simply as Open Space Technology.  If you’re looking for a technique to tantalize your team, wake up your weary, or engage your effectiveness as an organization, this is it. CONNECT with COOKSEY and his associates to learn more about this remarkable facilitation technique and how we could bring it to YOUR ORGANZATION!

As we in the United States of America prepare for a weekend to celebrate the declaration of our country’s Independence in 1776, I share this prayer with those, like myself, who are forever indebted to those who have served our country in defense of our freedom and the freedom of others around the globe.

A Prisoners Prayer

Oh God, my creator and protector, I know though art near me, so I adore theee body and soul with complete submission to thy will.

Thou hast saved me from death, which has overtaken my companions and hast permitted me to be a prisoner.  I will bear patiently and hopefully for the love of thee, all the difficulties of my state.

Bless my companions here.  Grant us to live peace, comforting and consoling one another with fraternal love and charity.  Bless my family who are far away, my friends, and all I love; my country and comrades in arms.

Give me peace and protect me from offending thee.  My God, I thank thee for all thy blessings and I will try and serve thee as St. Paul has told us, “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, instant in prayer.”

Amen.

- from the personal diary of POW Robert W. Cohan, dated between 28 Dec 1944 and 13 May 1945.

Last week, I had the distinct honor of presenting to a community bank in Oklahoma for their officers and personal bankers.  A bank with over 108 years of history had invited me in to deliver a motivational speech about change- a topic they have placed an emphasis on for the past several months.  Over the past few months, multiple trainers and consultants have delivered their material to many of the same people.  This time, however, something was different.  There was a CONNECTION.

By being introduced as a nationally known consultant with a 14+ year career in banking and financial services, my audience decided before I had spoken a word that I was “one of them”.

Throughout the presentation, I was able to share real stories of overcoming tradition, change, and unexpected challenges to find success.  I connected with some of the very pain their organization is experiencing today, and left with them some very specific NEXT STEPS they could put into action by the end of that day to set them on a course to success!

Think back to a time when you were in an audience and felt as though YOU truly connected with a presenter. Or, more powerfully, think of a time when you presented to an audience/your team/organization with which you sensed a noticeable, positive, connected energy.  What was it that made it so magical?

When I teach on leadership, I often say the two most important ingredients for achieving success are DESIRE and KNOW-HOW.  Following the feedback of last week’s presentation, however, I believe there is one more: INSPIRATION.

EXERCISE: This week, write down the names of three people who inspire you.  Next, write down as many descriptive terms about those people, being specific to focus on their observable actions and behaviors you admire most. Finally, consider how you can begin to make changes to your own actions and behaviors others see when they observe you.

By taking on the above challenge, the leader within you will begin to emerge in an entirely new way.

Cooksey’s Challenge:  Reach out to the people you listed in the exercise above and share with them what you admire most.

Friends-
The time has come to try something new, so I’m asking for your assistance. I’m putting up for grabs a CASH PRIZE for someone to design a new logo for CookseyConnects!

Here are some of the parameters for you to consider:
* Using the element of a carabiner, or other clever connecting device
* Something using the words: Cooksey Connects
* Keep in mind the various directions my firm provides services, including: Keynote Speeches, Event Emcee, Corporate Training, Personal Coaching
* Logo should also be easily convertible to Black & White version so it can be placed on promotional items, etc…

In addition to a $100 cash prize, the winning firm will also receive an exclusive posting on the CookseyConnects blog, an agreement to help promote your design company/services (Hey, if you’re not a design firm, I can just say cool things about you as I travel around the country), and other swag I’m working hard to gather (some of which will sport your fancy, winning logo).

I’m starting with YOU, Connectors! Let me see what you’ve got!

CONTEST DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED TO SCOTT@COOKSEYCONNECTS.COM

This past year has proven remarkable for Cooksey Connects. Following a Headquarters relocation to Houston, TX, business has exploded (in a good way)! In fact, my first engagements OUTSIDE THE FIFTY STATES have just been booked! To find out where they are, CLICK HERE.

As I continue to lead training workshops around the country, a growing number of people have been inquiring as to how they can Connect with me.  To make it easy, here are a few links:

• Social Media
  • facebook.CookseyConnects.com Connect with the Official Facebook Fan Page
  • linkedin.CookseyConnects.com Get yourself connected with Cooksey’s LinkedIn profile
  • twitter.CookseyConnects.com Keep up with the latest Tweets from Cooksey Connects
  • delicious.CookseyConnects.com When I find interesting articles online, I’ll link to them here. Just for you!
• Training Workshops, Keynotes, and MORE!
  • A menu of services and ways to Cooksey can CONNECT with your organization!
  • Ask about special ON-SITE TRAINING tailored especially for YOUR organization.

Watch for even more updates coming over the next few weeks, including a NEW SECTION on Recommended Reads to keep your Success Library growing!

Remember, you cannot FORCE someone to follow you…but you can give them a REASON to call you a LEADER!