Decker Communication

JUNE 28, 2021

I’ve been lucky enough to manage people for most of my career. Every role over the next few decades involved people management. While I loved all my roles, one in particular really helped me grow as a leader — managing a call center in financial services. The energy in a call center is incredible.

Call Center 52

Call Center Energy Tools Participative 52

Leadership Freak

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

In the book, Friedman revealed how drive-thru windows aren't staffed by attendants inside, but by a call center hundreds miles away, so of course, I had to run out, jump in my car and see it for myself! The first time I read Paradigms almost 25 years ago, it led me to disrupt and then change my career. You are correct.

Trends 100

Trends Open-book Blanchard Learning-by-Doing 100

Strategy Driven

JUNE 19, 2014

We sent out a survey (which we still do today) to ask our employees about the cleanliness, the temperature in the building, the security, the lighting, the management, the pay, the incentives, the likelihood that they’d leave if another company offered them more money, all-in-all we had about twenty five questions.

Call Center 92

Call Center Incentives Library Document 92

Surviving Leadership

OCTOBER 29, 2018

I also truly appreciated some of the business practices that leadership followed that I have missed in other organizations, including ones highlighted in McCord’s book. This would include a day spent with an installation tech and a day spent with a call center agent – preferably, in a market other than your own.

CFO 58

CFO P&L Call Center COO 58

Women on Business

JANUARY 11, 2011

Your federal small business loan can fund a call center and answering service , linking local talent to employers nationwide. Women Leadership and Mad Men Some revolutions are bloody, and some are flash-in-the-pan moments. Authentic Leadership I was recently at the Pa. Governor’s Conference for Women.

Press Release 157

Press Release Discount Education Transportation 157

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 31, 2018

Developing a diverse leadership pipeline can benefit companies in all sectors. And yet black women’s advancement into leadership roles has remained stagnant , even as the number of them in professional and managerial roles has increased. How did (or didn’t) managers play a role? What made their ascent possible?

Management 13

Management Tacit Knowledge Diversity Leadership Pipeline 13

Miles Anthony Smith

APRIL 1, 2019

Unsure of how to talk to management? No matter what your company hierarchy (authoritarian leadership or servant leadership , it is important to improve your communication skills. Have an "Open Door" Policy One of the biggest obstacles that employees face is not knowing how to communicate with managers and CEOs.

Skills 60

Skills Tips Call Center Bottom-up 60

Strategy Driven

APRIL 24, 2014

Army Infantry, and later in my career as a Drill Sergeant. This is leadership! Instead of having an odd man out, I kept an old, beat up call center chair and my team got the good chairs until mine could be replaced. A Shift in Leadership Can Make a Multi-Million Dollar Impact.

Development 59

Development Team Loyalty Due Diligence 59

Terry Starbucker

AUGUST 27, 2017

Then, people start getting reprimanded, or held back, or worse yet, fired by these managers. The best example of “trap avoidance” working in the real world, for me, was during my cable TV career when I was talking to a call center agent about the “ policy ” of doing everything in her power to avoid a costly truck roll to a customer’s house.

Call Center 192

Call Center Letter Policies Guidelines 192

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Witnessing the downward-spiral of Carla Sanders' career was painful — yet her experience offers an important commentary on the requirements of executive leadership in today's organizations. Carla was literally bred for success as a business manager. Shortly thereafter, the pace of her career progress began to stall.

Proposal 11

Proposal Cialdini Execution Influence 11

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 17, 2015

While there are some factors that make social innovation more likely than not — such as intrapreneurs who will champion them — Davis and White find that competing for talent, strong brands, and leadership transitions all correlate with stronger social initiatives.

Innovation 8

Innovation Company Supply Chain Open-book 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 17, 2016

“When I joined the company, the front line management jobs were the best,” the CEO told us. He had started his career in one of those jobs, as a country manager, and worked his way up. A Tuesday follow-up call is used to see whether the blockages are being removed. It is the most disciplined thing we do.

Execution 10

Execution Bureaucracy Self-aware CEO 10

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 7, 2016

One of the great innovations in business, which has held sway since 1976, is the idea that professional managers should have an owner’s mindset—that is, they should treat their company’s money as if it were their own. But there is a problem with the owner’s mindset.

Bureaucracy 8

Bureaucracy Short-term Budgeting Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2016

Beyond traditional hierarchies and contracts, networks and social and external collaborations will make leadership more horizontal, shared, and collective. Boundary-less work partnerships and networks augment capabilities and redefine careers, learning and workplace fairness and attractiveness. All-inclusive global talent market.

Human Resources 8

Human Resources Technology Globalization Trends 8