Having described the four principles of what constitutes a Fred, Sanborn continues on to explain each one further, and then how to develop others into Freds or teams of Freds.
It would be superb if everyone who reads The Fred Factor would adapt their own work habits to become a Fred. But just imagine the possibilities if their colleagues were inspired by the difference it made, and then followed suit to also commit to that change. This would give their company such an edge in the marketplace, as customers would certainly spend their money with teams that gave such excellent service.
It isn’t easy to change your work habits, especially if you’ve been in a rut, maybe for years. But part of the potential enjoyment that you could have, by making others happy, is to re-invent yourself and your job. How can you change what you currently do to give more value, and thus give you more satisfaction?
You may have read this series and thought that it only applies to customer facing roles, particularly salesmen. But if you are in a job that deals with other departments, this works just as well and is just as important.
Take time to find out how other departments work. What information do you currently provide, and how do they use it? When you find out what is important, and what else you could provide just as easily that would make their job easier, you will be looked upon as a valued colleague. If you keep providing value to other colleagues then this will be noticed and you may be asked to participate in interesting projects.
What must always be remembered though is that the reward for adapting your work habits to the benefit of others is the satisfaction that it gives you in doing the best job that you can. If other benefits follow, then that is all well and good, but that is not the aim of the practice.
Fred Factor Principle 1 - Everyone Makes A Difference
Fred Factor Principle 2 - Success Is Built On Relationships
Fred Factor Principle 3 - You Must Continually Create Value For Others
Fred Factor Principle 4 - You Can Re-Invent Yourself Regularly
Fred Factor - Quick Summary
For UK readers
For USA readers
If you would like to read more about Fred, click here
If you would like to read more about Mark Sanborn, click here
[The Fred Factor]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
When I speak about The Fred Factor, I make a point of telling audiences that the best way to have more "Freds" in your organization is to first be a Fred, and Paul has hit on that in this post.
I've asked the real Fred Shea what motivates him, and he also reinforces a point that Paul makes: the doing is its own reward. You may or may not get recognized or rewarded for an extraordinary effort or job, but knowing what you did is its own reward.
Thank you Mark for reiterating this. It must be easy to say to yourself if I make an effort over the next 6 months, I will get promoted. And when it doesn't happen then you get even more discouraged.
But if you follow Fred's actions and make that extra effort because you want to give a better service, then any benefit to yourself in the way of promotion or pay rises is additional.
Post a Comment