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The I's Have It

I didn't sleep well last night. For moments like that, I keep a notebook next to my bed just in case some brilliant thoughts show up. So in the middle of the night I wrote down these three words: Intention, Insight and Implementation.

I didn't sleep well last night. Guess there was a lot on my mind. (The hot flashes didn't help either!) For moments like that, I keep a notebook next to my bed, just in case some brilliant thoughts show up. The unconscious mind works out at night and occasionally tosses us a good idea, something worth keeping. So in the middle of the night I wrote down these three words: Intention, Insight and Implementation.

I took the message to mean that I could be more productive if I set an intention, asked for insight as to how to achieve it and then followed through by implementing it.

So, this morning, while mulling over what to write for this week's tip, my intention was (as always) to say something that would inspire you to action or deeper thought, this time to get it done quickly and with ease, since I have to travel later in the day. I asked for some insight and remembered I had once, a long time ago, had written a tip about the important "I's", and here I am implementing it. Yahoo! So here you have an old, but quite worthwhile story some Incredible "I's".

Ideas, innovation, invention, imagination, inspiration, ingenuity, insight, intuition, "intrapreneurship," improvement. What organization wouldn't like to have these qualities at their disposal everyday?

And while these are things everyone says they want, what are you actually doing to get them? What mechanisms have you set up in your company to assure that these qualities are nurtured, used and rewarded?

What have we challenged ourselves as individuals to do, on a regular basis, to allow our innate creativity to emerge?

Are you asking yourself each day, "What can I do to make it better?" "What can I improve today?" "How can I look at this differently"?

If you are a manager, do you routinely acknowledge the acts of courage necessary for innovation? Have you created a climate where people can try new things, take risks, experiment with new possibilities? Have you created an environment where people are proud to participate in the generation of improvement? Do you remove the obstacles that stand in the way of curiosity? Do you reward that generation of ideas?

If you are in a customer contact function do you ask yourself and the customer, "What can we do to make it easier for you to do business with us?" Do you ask yourself, "What can I do to be a better service provider? What can I do to improve the process?" "How can I add more value?"

Nothing improves unless we make the effort to improve it. Companies that celebrate ongoing improvement get more of it, companies that ask the provocative questions get interesting and innovative answers. Start today, ask yourself three questions, every day, for the next several weeks. Keep track of your answers. You just might find the ideas you've been looking for.

Here's to your Inspiration!

JoAnna Brandi

JoAnna Brandi is Publisher of the Customer Care Coach® a weekly training program on mastering "The Art and Science of Exquisite Customer Care." She is the author of books such as "Winning at Customer Retention - 101 Ways to Keep 'em Happy, Keep 'em Loyal, and Keep 'em Coming Back" and "Building Customer Loyalty - 21 Essential Elements in ACTION."

A Speaker and consultant, she is publisher of the bi-weekly Customer Care Tips Bulletin. To receive her free bi-weekly tips bulletin, sign up at www.returnonhappiness.com. You can also reach JoAnna at 561-279-0027 or e-mail joanna@customercarecoach.com.