Distinguishing Factors Between Domestic And International Clients

Michelle explains the differences between domestic and international clients.

And now also on iTunes

Wells Fargo, you’re measuring the wrong things

“You’re measuring the wrong things,” is what I was thinking as I initialed a piece of paper to acknowledge being told how much my business was appreciated. My satisfaction was not being measured, I had to sign a piece of paper to verify that an associate had told me that my business is valued.

I received this while being told that through an error in the Wells Fargo system, I had been erroneously charged several hundred dollars in fees, and could I figure out how much it was then email the banking agent. I had already been at the branch for 45 minutes. This was my third visit attempting to resolve this issue.

Really, you can’t make this up.

I run a small business. Like every other business I pay my vendors so that I can focus on delivering my highest and best value. Namely providing excellent value to my customers.

Wells Fargo either is unaware of the needs of business owners or they don’t care.

As part of my 45 minutes in the branch I had been told that fees on my personal accounts had been instituted, “because of the economy.”  Wells Fargo reported record net income of $4.11 billion, yes billion, in Q4 of 2011.

Glad I could help.

Oh, and what’s your problem with the economy?

I ended personally funding of the Wells Fargo subsidy program by canceling my personal accounts. I did this while looking out the Wells Fargo window at the Chase branch across the street.

Taxpayers rescued the big banks, and our thank you is a complete absence concern about customer satisfaction. That’s what Wells Fargo should be measuring. And measure it through customer retention, not initials on a piece of paper.

Instead of displaying an actual interest in my business, as I was walking out the door the agent asked if I couldn’t just check for mistaken fees more often. Fees that were completely their error. That I had attempted to have fixed three times already.

Amazing.

Wells Fargo, stop measuring how often your say you value my business—prove it to me.

What Our Clients Do Differently To Achieve Success

Michelle shares four things that set the success of her clients apart from others.

And now also on iTunes

Profile Of Our Best Clients

Michelle describes her best clients are and how she helps them achieve great results.

And now also on iTunes

Are some more culturally agile than others?

And now also on iTunes

3 Things Groupon (Or Anyone) Needs To Do If They Want To Succeed In China

When I saw a poster for Groupon in a Shanghai subway this summer, my first reaction was, “What a perfect match!” I love buying Groupons on my iPhone and I thought that the cost-conscious, cellphone-toting Chinese public would too.

And they do. But Groupon has proven that it’s not ready for them.

The company recently announced that it will be “fine tuning” its strategy in China. By that, they mean shuttering many of their 80 Chinese offices, slashing 400 jobs, and dealing with a pending lawsuit from former employees. They may be tuning, but it isn’t fine.

Groupon made a number of blunders in China. Here are three things they will need to do differently to have a shot at success in the future.

Read the entire Groupon article at Fast Company.

Interested in more discussion on this topic? Contact me to receive a recording of my teleseminar “Fantastic Cultural Failures and How You Can Avoid Becoming One.” Develop your cultural agility and improve your leadership skills by learning what not to do. This teleseminar includes current examples such as Barbie and Best Buy.

5 Tips for a Comeback Even During the Toughest Professional Times

Success Magazine featured Michelle’s expertise in the article, “American Comebacks.”

Have you felt there have been more than your fair share of hurdles to overcome in meeting goals and creating results this year? There are days it can seem that turning things around in your professional life may be too overwhelming. Even during the toughest times, you can create a comeback for your business and implement a course of action that will be a game-changer for you.

How is it possible to create a comeback? Here are my recommended tips for a comeback as outlined in Success Magazine:

  • Don’t go it alone. When things are toughest, many business leaders isolate themselves. That’s precisely the wrong response, since it’s nearly impossible to be creative in a vacuum, says executive coach Michelle Randall. Talk with coaches, mentors and members of your team. “When things do turn around, the leaders who do this have created a more trusted team than ever before,” says Randall, the principal of Enriching Leadership International, a global management consultancy.
  • Turn vendors into allies. Ask for more generous terms and programs while always positioning them as being in the vendors’ best interest—because they are.
  • Get focused. “People I’ve seen stage successful comebacks were completely focused on the desired outcome. As a result,” Randall says, “they sought any course of action that would get them there.”

To read the remaining tips, click here for the full Success Magazine article.

A Solid Plan to be on Solid Ground

It’s the first of September, which means that in the blink of an eye, we will begin the 3rd quarter.

Are you happy with the results that all of your efforts this year are creating?

If you’re concerned about the possibility of a renewed recession or even wondering when, exactly, the last one ended, it can make planning tough. Lack of focus or fighting too many fires severely impairs the clarity needed to deliver your best possible results. If you’re feeling some of this, you’re not alone. I’ve been receiving an increased number of requests for help from business leaders who are looking for more out of 2012.

In September I’m introducing a new eBook, “Results Driven Strategy: Transform Results by Integrating Strategy, People and Execution,” to give companies a roadmap to developing a results-based strategy.

Pre-order your copy today to be one of the first to start creating your results driven strategy!

October is strategy season. A solid plan will put you on solid ground for making the most of 2012.

New Global Consulting Group Provides Dramatic and Diverse Capabilities

We’ve increased our worldwide reach! Michelle was invited to join a group of outstanding consultants worldwide. Read more in the following press release….

A new network of outstanding global consulting practices, Summit Global Network™ (SGN), is providing outstanding results to hundreds of clients in dozens of countries. Founder Alan Weiss, PhD notes, “We’ve formed a coalition of longstanding, highly respected consulting firms with offices in over a dozen countries to bring the best practices of the entire body to bear on the individual client needs of any one member.”

Qualifications for membership include work with outstanding organizations willing to provide testimonials and endorsements; unique intellectual property and thought leadership; global applicability of approaches; and innovative, growth-oriented strategies. The average tenure of the 22 member firms is 18.5 years in business; over 90 books have been written by the principals and published; over 1,500 clients have been helped, including a range from Fortune 25 to small businesses, governmental agencies, and nonprofits.

Members include:
ACM Consulting, Inc. Canada
Alba Consulting Ireland
Ascendant Consulting US
Aviv Consulting US
Beavis Consulting Group Australia
Brighton Leadership Group US
Cultural Synergies Australia
Engage Selling Solutions Canada
Enriching Leadership International US, China, Germany
Evidence Based Management UK
Libby Wagner & Associates US
M.B. Brandt Associates China
Morgan Cross Consulting UK
Opus Performance UK
Purcell Enerprises Canada
Roundtable Consulting Australia
Sensei International US, UK, Bangladesh, Dubai, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Australia
Symco & Co. Canada
The All Access Group US
The Chad Barr Group US
Visionary Leadership US
Wintrip Consulting Group US

The group’s capabilities include strategy, leadership, communications, change management, ethics, safety, cultural change, performance improvement, sales, marketing, organizational development, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, training, finance, technology, psychology and counseling, coaching, accounting, and international business expansion, among other skills.

The network comprises scores of PhDs, MBAs, and university guest lecturers.

Awards include:
- Consulting Magazine Top 25 Consultants in the World
- Excellence Magazine Top 30 Leadership Development Firms Globally
- Young President’s Organization “All Star” (highest honor)
- Lifetime Achievement Award, American Press Association
- National Speakers Association Hall of Fame
- Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants
- Best Book Award winner.
- Board of Governors, Grammy Awards.
- Mentor Hall of Fame.
- Web Marketing Association Web Award.

“We believe we’re the only global, growing network of its kind,” says Weiss, “representing the best of consulting expertise gathered from pragmatic work with some of the largest and best organizations in the world in all economies.”

Links to all members and their specialties can be found at http://www.summitglobalnetwork.com

全新的全球咨询集团具有惊人的多方面能力

一个全新的出色的全球化咨询组织—Summit Global Network™(SGN),为很多国家的大量客户带来了令人瞩目的成果。创始人Alan Weiss博士通知各位说“我们建立了一个同盟,该同盟是一支长期存在的,倍受尊敬的咨询行业联盟。我们在十几个国家设有公司,为我们的任何一个联盟成员的客户提供最好的服务,满足客户的需求,并使我们的服务水平保持全球一致的高水平”。

会员资格要求会员在有名的单位或机构工作,并愿意出具相关的证明,具备特有的专业知识,有着能够深思熟虑的领导能力,能拿出可供全球范围使用的整体解决方案,善于创新,能制定以增长为导向的策略。20个分公司在该行业的平均从业年数为18.5年, 各公司的负责人一共著作并出版了90多本书, 1500多家客户从我们的服务中获益, 这些客户中有的是世界前25强企业,也有的是小的政府商务机构和非营利组织。

成员包括:
Evidence Based Management 英国
ACM Consulting, Inc. 加拿大
Aviv Consulting 美国
Purcell Enterprises 加拿大
The Chad Barr Group 美国
Ascendant Consulting 美国
Brighton Leadership Group 美国
Beavis Consulting Group 澳大利亚
Roundtable Consulting 澳大利亚
Alba Consulting 美国
爱尔兰
Libby Wagner & Associates 美国
M.B. Brandt Associates 中国
Opus Psychology 英国
Symco & Co. 加拿大
Engage Selling Solutions 美国
加拿大, 美国
Visionary Leadership 美国
Morgan Cross Consulting 英国
Cultural Synergies 澳大利亚
Enriching Leadership International 美国,中国
Summit Consulting Group, Inc. 美国
Sensei International 美国,英国,迪拜, 新加坡, 斯里兰卡, 澳大利亚, 巴基斯坦,孟加拉国

该集团的业务领域包括策划, 领导, 沟通,管理更新, 道德规范, 安全, 文化改变, 业绩改进, 销售, 市场, 组织发展, 公司的重组, 合并, 收购,培训, 财务, 技术, 心理辅导, 咨询服务, 指导, 财务, 国际业务扩展,以及其它技术。

组织内部有很多博士,工商管理硕士,和大学客座讲师

所获奖项如下:
- 咨询杂志评出的全球顾问25强
- 优秀杂志评出的全球领导能力发展公司30强
- 年轻企业家组织评出的“全明星”(最高荣誉)
- 人生成就奖,美国媒体联盟
- 列入国家演说联盟的名人纪念馆
- 管理咨询研究所的成员
- 最佳出版物奖
- 联邦储备委员会,年度奖
- 列入顾问名人纪念馆
- 网络市场联盟的网络奖

Weiss 说:“我相信,我们在这个行业是唯一的在全球范围内不断成长的公司,我们为世界各种经济体中存在的很多出名的公司机构提供服务,在务实的工作中,我们代表了最高的咨询服务水平。”

通过下面的链接,您可了解我们所有会员和他们的专业领域http://www.summitglobalnetwork.com

结束