Post by ofrancesconi on Nov 3, 2021 12:58:51 GMT
Telling the Story Alfredo Salazar, the president of Fluffy Bedding, calls a special meeting to let his employees know about the success of the company’s new website and to express his appreciation. These are two different ways he might want to make his presentation. Answer the questions as well as you can after both examples. Which presentation do you think works better? Why? Example
1: Thanks to the dedication of our marketing staff, Fluffy Bedding was able to launch its new web site in record time. Customer response to the site has been excellent and orders have increased by 10% since its introduction two weeks ago. Our free pillow promotion has had great success at encouraging our customers to order from the online catalog. Here’s a check to show our appreciation. Thank you for your hard work!
What problem were they trying to solve?
Assume they had an old website that wasn’t generating much traffic, hence the increase of 10% with the new site.
What actions did these people take to meet the challenge?
Assume they had a strategy to ‘encourage’ customers to order from the online catalogue ie; free pillow promotion.
How did they accomplish the task?
They must’ve worked hard, been better resourced or did something differently to launch in record time.
What were the results of their actions?
An increase in sales and positive reinforcement.
What is Alfredo Salazar’s relation to his employees?
He’s their boss.
Example 2: I was working late one night and when I left about nine, I noticed a light on in the marketing office. Now, normally, Christine is out of there by six because she has to make dinner for her kids, and Frank has his Tuesday night basketball game, which he’s never missed for as long as I’ve known him. But when I peeked in they were both in there, eating cold fast food, looking a bit work, and cranking out one idea after another. They told me no matter late they had to stay they were going to come up with something within the next day that would knock my socks off. Sure enough, the next day when I got into work at 7:30, they were already here with big smiles on their faces. They had worked the night before until they were exhausted, and Frank had actually fallen asleep. Well, that was the spark for the idea that’s turned out to be the best marketing campaign we’ve ever had. “Shop until you drop” and get a free pillow for late night shopping. They had even taken photos to show us how the ads would look, with Christine in bed, shopping the web on her laptop, soft pillows all around her. Because of their hard work and creativity, we were able to get the website up and running one week early and customer awareness is sky high. So, in honor of Frank and Christine, here are the socks they knocked off me, fully laundered, and here are some unlaundered checks as tokens of our appreciation.
What actions did these people take to meet the challenge?
They worked really hard, pulled late nights and didn’t give up.
How did they accomplish the task?
Working together, persevering, brain storming, doing whatever it takes to exceed expectations.
What were the results of their actions?
A creative and tailored thank you from Frank (laundered socks) as well as a financial token of appreciation.
What is Alfredo Salazar’s relation to his employees?
Although he’s their boss, he obviously knows them very well. He knows Christine has children whom she needs to go home and look after. He knows Frank never misses a basketball game on Tuesday nights.
C. Please post your responses from last week's "Encouragement or Discouragement" so we can see them!
Scenario #2: You catch some of your team members talking about last night’s football game when they should be working on a very important project that’s due the next day. Everyone’s been working hard on it for a week. Negative response: “I’ve been working my tail off to get this out and you’re not ready with your end of it yet. Save the TV talk until your break!”
Positive response: ‘Hey team, I know game talk is really important and potentially more exciting than the project. How about we focus on finishing this project and we can celebrate the completion AND talk football over a couple of drinks tomorrow night?’
Scenario #3: An employee, who’s otherwise reliable has missed a deadline for the second time in a month. This happened before when her mother was sick but this time she didn’t give a hint of any problem until it was too late. Negative response: “When you miss a deadline, you set back the whole team. If this happens again you are off this project.”
Positive response: ‘Jane, I know you recently mentioned your mother was sick. I’m just checking in and wanting to ensure everything is ok? You missed a deadline for the second time, which seems very unlike you. You’re usually very reliable. I want to make sure that you and your family are ok and see if there’s anything I can do to support you’.
1: Thanks to the dedication of our marketing staff, Fluffy Bedding was able to launch its new web site in record time. Customer response to the site has been excellent and orders have increased by 10% since its introduction two weeks ago. Our free pillow promotion has had great success at encouraging our customers to order from the online catalog. Here’s a check to show our appreciation. Thank you for your hard work!
Who are the people involved in this venture and what do you know about them?
The marketing team who showed ‘dedication’ and set-up a new website in record timeWhat problem were they trying to solve?
Assume they had an old website that wasn’t generating much traffic, hence the increase of 10% with the new site.
What actions did these people take to meet the challenge?
Assume they had a strategy to ‘encourage’ customers to order from the online catalogue ie; free pillow promotion.
How did they accomplish the task?
They must’ve worked hard, been better resourced or did something differently to launch in record time.
What were the results of their actions?
An increase in sales and positive reinforcement.
What is Alfredo Salazar’s relation to his employees?
He’s their boss.
Example 2: I was working late one night and when I left about nine, I noticed a light on in the marketing office. Now, normally, Christine is out of there by six because she has to make dinner for her kids, and Frank has his Tuesday night basketball game, which he’s never missed for as long as I’ve known him. But when I peeked in they were both in there, eating cold fast food, looking a bit work, and cranking out one idea after another. They told me no matter late they had to stay they were going to come up with something within the next day that would knock my socks off. Sure enough, the next day when I got into work at 7:30, they were already here with big smiles on their faces. They had worked the night before until they were exhausted, and Frank had actually fallen asleep. Well, that was the spark for the idea that’s turned out to be the best marketing campaign we’ve ever had. “Shop until you drop” and get a free pillow for late night shopping. They had even taken photos to show us how the ads would look, with Christine in bed, shopping the web on her laptop, soft pillows all around her. Because of their hard work and creativity, we were able to get the website up and running one week early and customer awareness is sky high. So, in honor of Frank and Christine, here are the socks they knocked off me, fully laundered, and here are some unlaundered checks as tokens of our appreciation.
Who are the people involved in this venture and what do you know about them?
Christine and Frank, who are the marketing people. Alfredo, their boss. Christine is a mum and Frank enjoys playing basketball, never misses his Tuesday night game.What problem were they trying to solve?
How to come up a with a creative ad campaign for buying pillows to increase sales. What actions did these people take to meet the challenge?
They worked really hard, pulled late nights and didn’t give up.
How did they accomplish the task?
Working together, persevering, brain storming, doing whatever it takes to exceed expectations.
What were the results of their actions?
A creative and tailored thank you from Frank (laundered socks) as well as a financial token of appreciation.
What is Alfredo Salazar’s relation to his employees?
Although he’s their boss, he obviously knows them very well. He knows Christine has children whom she needs to go home and look after. He knows Frank never misses a basketball game on Tuesday nights.
C. Please post your responses from last week's "Encouragement or Discouragement" so we can see them!
Scenario #1: Your assistant sent an important memo to your boss that had a number of embarrassing errors. She’s usually very efficient, but sometimes she does too much at one time and she’s made mistakes like this before. Negative response: “From now on I want to proof everything you send.”
Positive response: Jane, thanks for sending that memo out. You’re always so efficient, it’s one of your many skills that I value. What do you think’s the best way we can ensure future memos are error free, as I did notice a few errors in the memo?
Scenario #2: You catch some of your team members talking about last night’s football game when they should be working on a very important project that’s due the next day. Everyone’s been working hard on it for a week. Negative response: “I’ve been working my tail off to get this out and you’re not ready with your end of it yet. Save the TV talk until your break!”
Positive response: ‘Hey team, I know game talk is really important and potentially more exciting than the project. How about we focus on finishing this project and we can celebrate the completion AND talk football over a couple of drinks tomorrow night?’
Scenario #3: An employee, who’s otherwise reliable has missed a deadline for the second time in a month. This happened before when her mother was sick but this time she didn’t give a hint of any problem until it was too late. Negative response: “When you miss a deadline, you set back the whole team. If this happens again you are off this project.”
Positive response: ‘Jane, I know you recently mentioned your mother was sick. I’m just checking in and wanting to ensure everything is ok? You missed a deadline for the second time, which seems very unlike you. You’re usually very reliable. I want to make sure that you and your family are ok and see if there’s anything I can do to support you’.