2023: The Nightmare - Part 1

When customers call, um, you may want to answer...

I've alluded to it a few times, but now it's time to dive into the mud.

2023 was perhaps the most challenging year of my life. Like, "it changed me" hard. It was that bad.

But was it really that bad if the change was needed and beneficial? Yes, stop asking that.

Here's the deal: I don't really want a repeat.

So, like a cross through a vampire, I want to slay 2023 with this series about lessons learned from 2023. There are many lessons, and making this a single post would cause your eyes to roll into the back of your head.

Here is part 1 of 6. I'll be dripping these out over the next few months, so subscribe!

When Customers Call, Um, You May Want to Answer

The Challenge:

I discovered we were not consistently answering the office phone at my home renovation company.

This led to a significant reduction in lead flow, which in turn contributed to our abysmal revenue in a year of booming home improvement.

The Lesson:

Embarrassment tinged with mortification is a great teacher!

Team members who are not A-players will perform only as well as the weakest part of your systems. We had a team member who fell way short of the GWC , and our system at the time had no 2nd set of eyes watching the call logs.

What I Do Differently Now:

We now have four, count them four, team members involved with the inbound calling system. And these are indeed A-players. The difference has been monumental.

But more importantly, we strive to improve our systems every day. (Mostly via EOS.) Not every role will be filled by an A-player; that's a fact. So, the system needs to be good enough to "shore them up."

You know, organizations that rely on systems are sometimes criticized for “putting process over people.” That’s unfair, in my opinion. Great people love working within great systems. And not-so-great people are “propped up” by great systems. Everyone wins and is better for it.

Gotta go: phone ringing.

Thanks for reading this post. I appreciate you. In return, please share this with those you know who may be interested.

Books of Note: Do you have books you read secretly and don't talk about too much because you wonder what people will think of you for reading them? Well, Chip Conley's Learning to Love Midlife was one of those. When I thought of mentioning it in conversation, it made me feel so old-sounding. So, consider me not mentioning that it was a really encouraging and thoughtful perspective on the benefits of getting older.