Measuring Up

Share a little book

I'm utterly hooked on books. I have been known to place two Amazon orders within 24 hours of each other and I have run out of shelf space in my office - the overflow is piling up on the windowsill. My big problem is that there is something so inviting about a new book, I just can't resist starting it immediately. This means I have varying number of books 'in progress' at any time. I've come to realise that this isn't necessarily a problem - its just the way I read.

In his blog yesterday, Seth Godin asked readers of his book, The Dip, to double its readership by lending it to someone else. Since I've already done that, I can't do it just at the moment, although I'm very happy to do so again and again in the future.

Seth's request reminded me to write about Bookcrossings. Bookcrossings is a web-based system of sharing books and letting people know what books you have available, and where they can find them. The idea of 'releasing' a book into the wild for someone else to read is really cool. Its one of the best ideas I've heard of in a long time. We like it so much that we set up a Bookcrossing drop point in our shop and its been a great success. Customers come in for a coffee or for lunch, browse, pick up a book and take it home to finish it. Our only problem is that in less than a month, we've had to find a second bookshelf. As with Seth's suggestion of lending The Dip to someone else, our Bookcrossing shelves in the shop don't make any money - but they add something special and they spread knowledge and pleasure. That has to be a good idea.

I have to remember to stay away from the Bookcrossings shelf in the shop though - can you imagine how high the pile on the windowsill would be? I'll go and have a browse once I've finished all the books I'm reading at the moment - could take a while.

(I've just checked BookCrossings, and there are two copies of The Dip currently in the wild - one in Montreal and one in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The book gets a great endorsement from the readers (8 out of 10). So if you're in Montreal or Pennsylvania, you may want to go hunting.)

Walking the walk

At the beginning of 2007, we announced that we would be willing to offer up to ten free 360 feedback review to one charity each month of the year.  Our training partners loved the idea so much that many of them offered to provide some free coaching sessions to go with the 360 reports.

We’ve now decided to make this a permanent offer.

So, if you’re a UK-based charity and you’d like some management development work for free – get in touch

In the meantime, find out how Sporting Equals benefited from this offer in 2007…

Please don’t buy a goat for Christmas

How many Christmas cards have you had from suppliers and associates? And how many e-cards have you got so far? And this is just the start…

Personally I’d rather get an e-card from a business than an envelope through my door. I’m all for using electronic communication instead of chopping down trees to say Merry Christmas. Anything that reduces the impact on the environment is just great with me – it makes absolute sense.

I get a little bit uncomfortable though when I keep getting messages to say that a business has donated a goat, bought a water pump for a village or paid for school shoes for a third-world child in place of spending the money on Christmas cards. I guess in the big scheme of things, this is a better option, but if you really care – why not just do it all year round? Why wait for Christmas? If we support a good cause at Christmas, does that mean we can ignore the problem for the other 11 months of the year?

Call me a cynic, but I don’t remember which of my suppliers sent me a Christmas card last year and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. I certainly don’t remember which ones donated a goat in my name. So why do companies send cards? They’re not personal – they’re a poor substitute. I'm really not that bothered if my business contacts don't send me a Christmas card. To me, Christmas is about family and giving something back - Its not a marketing exercise.

As an alternative to donating a water pump/goat/shoes at Christmas, why not consider:

-          Supporting the charity of your choice all year round

-          Supporting them because you think its important – not so you can send out a press release about it (the exception to this is if you can create a benefit for the charity by doing so)

-          Giving them time or services instead of just writing a cheque

-          Donating a percentage of your products, services or profits to charity

-          Don’t send any Christmas cards – not even an e-card.

-          Send out a positive message on an electronic greeting at a different time of year – one that highlights an issue, raises the profile of a charity or fills a need in some other way

-          Challenge your customers to join you in supporting a cause

-          Spend the next 10 days coming up with 12 great ways you can give something back in 2008 – one for each month of the year

-          Share your ideas so more people follow your lead.

Your customers are much more likely to value the personal touch:

Call as many customers as you can to wish them a Merry Christmas. It gives you a chance to catch up with what’s happening in their lives. As long as you keep it brief (or even leave a message if they are just too busy to talk) they will value the fact that you took the time. If you don’t get to speak to all of them, call the others in January to say Happy New Year.

Instead of following the pack, spend some time thinking about what your customers would really value, or how you could give something genuine back to them or the community at large. Do something different this Christmas.

Drop me a line to tell me what you’re doing in place of sending a Christmas card to your clients. Even better, share your ideas for 12 fabulous ways of giving back in 2008. I’d really love to hear about it – vandy@msainteractive.com

Helping organisations focus on areas of maximum value and impact

We've made good progress on the project we announced last year which aims to provide charities with free 360 feedback services this year. We've now got 4 charities signed up for the project and our first completed project was a great success.

Here's our official press release about it:

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MSA Interactive CEO Vandy Massey announced today that the company, in partnership with Performance First, will offer free staff development services to the UK charity Sporting Equals. “As part of our charity initiative this year, MSA are offering a 360 Review and a one-to-one feedback session for senior executives at Sporting Equals, all at no cost to them,” Massey said. The Cambridge-based company is working with a number of charities that support education and training in the UK and abroad in 2007.

Sporting Equals works to promote racial equality in sports throughout England, and it is the first charity to benefit from this initiative.

“We’re all sports enthusiasts at heart, and we know that training is essential to success – that’s why Sporting Equals was delighted to respond to MSA and Performance First’s invitation to participate in L360 and coaching development. PF and MSA have helped us to target specifics and focus on these areas for maximum value and impact.” said Sporting Equals Director Lorraine Deschamps.

MSA helps organisations make fast, positive improvements in staff performance using online assessment tools. Performance First is a specialist consultancy based in London that focuses on delivering performance improvements to its clients. Together, the companies look forward to helping Sporting Equals maximise its performance as an organisation, and ultimately, the clubs that the charity benefits across England.

Massey explained, “MSA is thrilled to be working with Sporting Equals. Their work with governing bodies of sporting agencies is making great strides to promote racial equality, and we think that our online tools and support can help them build on their impressive results.” MSA will announce further charity partnerships in the weeks and months ahead.

There is still time to benefit from one month of free online utilities and support services offered by MSA and its training associates. Charities wishing to take part in MSA Interactive’s 2007 Initiative are encouraged to contact Vandy Massey, either by email, on contact@msainteractive.com, or by post, at MSA Interactive, PO Box 972, Whittlesford, Cambridge CB2 4WQ.

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Do let us know if you would like to take part in this project.

The Gift of Effective Feedback Part 2

Recently, I wrote about how seasonal 'giving' relates to an important gift that that we can make part of our day-to-day lives - effective feedback - and invited you to share your experiences. I'd like to thank everyone who sent in responses, and pass on some tips.

The first reply that caught my eye was from Shamus Doherty, who gives us all a reminder that feedback is a two-way street: "When giving feedback make sure the other party is willing to listen, otherwise there could be tears at bedtime." Good point, Shamus! Even feedback delivered with the best intentions can be counterproductive if given at the wrong time. But remember that uncomfortable, or even unwanted, feedback can be some of the most useful. As Binh Zientek writes: "Painful as feedback can be at times, I have always tried to listen to constructive ones and have always improved personally and professionally because of them. I also thank the other person for their feedback."

A formal feedback exercise can help take some of the pressure out the exercise, but it still requires some thought to get the most out of it. If you've been invited to give feedback, either in person or as part of a formal process (for example an appraisal or a 360 review), here are a few tips:

• Give clear, honest feedback - comment on aspects of specific behaviour. Often the person requesting feedback is not aware of how their behaviour affects others. You may be able to highlight and reinforce certain positive and helpful characteristics. Equally, your feedback may clarify the reasons why it would be a good idea for them to make some changes.
• Be constructive - it isn't helpful to comment on things they cannot change, or to write feedback in a thoughtless way. If carelessly worded, at best, your comments could be dismissed - at worst, they may be damaging.
• Think informally - be respectful, but not deferential; rather than focusing on your relative positions within the organisation, concentrate instead on the impact of the recipient's actions.
• Treat the request responsibly - don't let personal quibbles or a bad day have an impact on the feedback you give. Give yourself time to do the review properly. If you want to have a look at the questions first and think about them before responding, log in to the questionnaire, but log out without submitting a response (once the review has been submitted, it cannot be re-done). When you are ready to complete the review, give the task your full attention.
• Finally, remember that by giving good feedback, you are helping a colleague improve their performance. Ultimately, this benefits all members of the team.

I'll leave you with a great response from Steve Pendray of ProCustomer, a Reputation Marketing company. When talking about his experience of 360 degree feedback, Steve's comment was: " I realised that I now had a solid foundation on which to base my personal development. I would say that it was the most useful development tool I have ever used." He goes on to say, "Feedback for a business is a bit like going to the gym - you know it can be painful, but it's also good for you. You pay the subscription with eagerness but, having joined, you can find 1001 excuses for not actually going."

Well said, Steve. The message here is if you take the task seriously and follow through with the exercise, then you reap the rewards!

Can Christmas last a whole year? We're going to give it a try

As the seasonal Christmas frenzy sets in, our thoughts can turn to those less fortunate than ourselves - especially as charities enter their busiest season of the year to draw attention, and much-needed cash, to their causes. But what about the charity organisations themselves? It's a crowded and competitive marketplace out there, and attracting support is getting more and more difficult.

At MSA, we're trying something new in order to help charities improve the performance of their organisation. We're offering our services free of charge to 12 different charities, one for every month of 2007 (see our official press release here). We'll provide a 360 Review and one-to-one feedback session for senior executives at each charity we work with, all at no cost, and no obligation to work with us beyond that month. We're inviting charities that work in education and training to get in touch with us at contact@msainteractive.com .

I've been interested in finding new ways for the non-profit sector to benefit from staff development for some time now - and at this time of year, entering into the spirit of the season seemed like the right way to do it. So if you know of any education or training-related charity that might benefit from our offer, please let us know about them, so we can help make next Christmas their best ever!