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I am always struck by businesses/organizations who are unresponsive.  My experience with a Washington State winery is a perfect example.  I’ll leave the name out and tell you I used to be a consumer of their product (if you’re interested in the health benefits of red wine check out Roger Corda’s book The Red Wine Diet). 

After reading Mr. Corda’s book I wanted to ask the winery about their production processes.  Specifically, the maceration period during the making of the wine.  It was and is an important question as I choose what I will buy. 

Here’s a flash; I’m a customer looking to make a buying decision-educated decision.  I emailed their "info@______.com link.  Do you think I heard back from them?  Nope!  Why create the link if you’re not going to do anything with it.  Name it "noresponse@_____.com.  At least then we’d have some honesty.

Every customer matters.  Not responding to them sends a message that you do not care. 

I have only one tip today:

• Respond to your customers!  They’re the only reason your organization exists.

Have you ordered your priorities?  Are you allegiant to them?  Are you working them out like a runner training for a marathon?

The answers for the above will tell you a lot about how bright or dim your light is in your area of influence (God, family, friends, work, health, etc.).  Penelope Trunk has a great post on the subject of one woman’s priorities.  Sallie Krawcheck is an executive at Citigroup and sheds some telling light on her choices (good or bad).   

So is family your number one priority (defined as the thing/engagement you pay most attention to)?  If it is, how much of your calendar, thoughts and practice do they get of you?  If the answer leaves you embarrassed, family really isn’t what you tell yourself it is.  I don’t write this post to throw judgment at you.  I just want you to wake up before you find you have no more time.  Often the violence of tough questions creates an opportunity for a change/learning.

The following will give you some help on staying aligned with your priorities:

• Stop what you’re doing and decide.  What’s number one, number two, etc.
• After the decisions (don’t make these in a NY minute…think them through) be subject to the priorities.
• Seek a great life, which is made up of many ingredients.  Don’t fall into the trap of worshiping your career when it is only an ingredient.
• Remember life is a motion picture unfolding before your eyes.  Don’t be aimless.
• If you’re thinking that money, position, power and prestige say anything about your worth, stop.  Steve Jobs was fired from Apple almost two decades ago.  He was one of the founders and even he was considered dispensable.

You’ve probably already heard about the private security firm Blackwater.  They’ve been in the news about their practices in Iraq.  I’m not here to judge what’s truth vs. fiction.  However, who decided they were the right company for the job?  What was the interview like when Blackwater was hired by our beloved bureaucrats in the State Department?  See this article from the NY Times for more.

Wonder if any of the following questions were asked:

1. Is it ever ok to do something outside of the law?
2. What’s the accountability line (up and down) in your organization?
3. What’s the profile of your field workers?  Have they been tested from a leadership perspective.
4. Are you just looking for another big contract?
5. Do you really care about doing the right thing?

The above are good questions for any organization that is being considered for a contract.  How often do you think tough questions (ethics/heart) are asked?

Yesterday’s post from The Juggle explores the issue of career vs. family.  Some might not relate to this because they’ve made peace with the argument.  This group is small though, so I anticipate my comments will be of value to you.  The fight is always about being loyal to our priorities.  Priorities are the things that shade these conversations.

The big question is whether you’ve actually defined your priorities.  Have you?  Are you willing to exercise the discipline to live them out in the order you placed them?  Don’t feel bad if you’ve failed at it…we all have.

Here’s some advice on getting your priorities in sync:

• Set your priorities.
• Live your priorities.
• Prepare to be tempted to compromise your priorities.
• Prepare for the lonely road that having priorities will create. 
• Most people haven’t a clue about what’s number one, number two, etc., so don’t expect a large crowd applauding.
• Practice the art of connecting the dots.  This art is live out through seeing how being true to your values produces great results over time.  Life is like Hebrew…you need to read it backwards to understand it.

Motivations are everything and is especially true in networking.  I’ve found that many don’t network for the following reasons/excuses:

• They see no value in who they are.  Ironic, sense God made us totally unique (check your DNA compared to every other human being on the planet).
• They are too busy.  Too busy to connect…hmmmm?
• They only care about themselves.  This is a huge problem unto itself.
• They don’t know where to start.

I found this post on 800-CEO-READ titled: " Six Essentials for Networking – Rules for Renegades."  The author gives some great tips on how to make networking effective.

Go spread your story.

I like The Juggle blog.  However, today’s post "CEOs, Just Like Us?" leaves me sighing.  Do we believe that the majority of CEOs are super human?  Do we think they’ve drank from a well of Teflon?  The findings in the study are telling.  Most executives (even the non-CEO) are granted rock star status because of our worship of power and celebrity.  The fact that a study like this was conducted is evidence of that. 

I’ve encountered more than a few executives in my time who were shocked that I didn’t treat them like royalty.  At the end of the day what long term impact have most executives in corporate America made?  Particpating on a two-hour conference call doesn’t count.  So declaring them human as it relates to the death of a loved one is no big surprise.

If you’re a CEO/executive and you haven’t sacrificed your family, friends and health, then you may consider yourself exempt from my passionate rant.  This is for those who worship and those who seek to be worshiped

If we continue to drink the kool-aid, they’ll keep making it.

You might be a big fan of Sprint Nextel, but I can’t help wondering whether they realize how many people view their service levels.

Check-out this commercial and laugh or cry.

When organizations live in a fantasy world where they think they’re great, but they really aren’t is truly a story for a nude emperor.

Here Comes The Flood

When the night shows The signals grow on radios All the strange things They come and go as early warnings Stranded starfish have no place to hide Still waiting for the swollen Easter tide There’s no point in direction we cannot even choose a side. I took the old track The hollow shoulder, across the waters On the tall cliffs They were getting older, sons and daughters The jaded underworld was riding high Waves of steel hurled metal at the sky And as the nail sunk in the cloud, The rain was warm and soaked the crowd. (chorus) Lord, here comes the flood We’ll say good-bye to flesh and blood If again the seas are silent In any still alive It’ll be those who gave their island to survive Drink up, dreamers, you’re running dry. When the flood calls You have no home, you have no walls In the thunder crash You’re a thousand minds, within a flash Don’t be afraid to cry at what you see The actors gone, there’s only you and me And if we break before the dawn, They’ll use up what we used to be. The above is a song by Peter Gabriel.  It was based on a dream he had where people were exposed to their thoughts being laid bare for all to see (interpret).  In other words, everyone would know if you were authentic or not. Sounds like a cure for all the actors we have in corporate America.  Hey, these folks might appreciate the liberation of a flood.  The liberation from portraying someone or something they are not. If you plan on building something (life, work, family, etc.), then I would suggest you get the habit of making people know where you stand…win or lose.  Check-out Seth Godin’s post "Authentic."  It’s a great story of someone who inspired by being who he really was.

Signed an agreement today to publish the book.  I anticipate a release date of December 15 (give or take).  More updates to come…

You’ve heard it before that to get what you want you need to know what you want.  Never more true in the pursuit of a job.  You could be a software engineer looking for a vibrant place to pursue your craft, but you’ve been burned by toxic work environments and/or toxic bosses.  So do you roll the dice again and hope that what’s portrayed in the interview is really an accurate representation of the organization?  There is hope in reducing the consequences of the "gamble."

Certainly, social networking is a big help in seeing the face behind the face.  But eBossWatch.com is taking things a step further.  They’ve introduced an online jobs board called jerk-free jobs.  I highly recommend you look at the site and the mission behind it.  If you’re looking for a job it could help you, and if you’re not you’ll get a taste of what is happening in the workplace.

The founder of eBoss is on mission.  Let’s join him in the movement to make the workplace a jerk-free experience.  Besides, you and organization will be more successful when jerk managers are sent out to pasture.