20 Ways to Bend the Trend.

Posted by: Kevin Casey

So, things aren’t going so well… sales soft, traffic down, competition at your heels, customers not showing the love, team rowing in different directions.

Maybe you don’t need that fancy marketing plan in the 3 ring binder after all.

Instead, try all or as many of these 20 mini game changers and see what happens.

1. Come to work earlier.
2. Leave work later.
3. Bring a good attitude to work.
4. Fake it if your good attitude fails.
5. Practice your “game face” in the mirror before you leave the house.
6. Forget about the “good old days”… nostalgia is self destructive.
7. Work the phones, call a customer, and then work the phones more.
8. Simplify something complex.
9. Sweat the details.
10. Overreact and be militant when responding to even the smallest screw-up. Overdeliver when they least expect it.
11. Be around young people as they are less likely to be members of the “sky is falling” club.
12. Invest heavy in your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media skills.
13. Network like a tasmanian devil. Volunteer.
14. Manage by walking around in places you always avoided in your company. Speak to people outside your comfort zone.
15. Offer thanks by the truckload if good things happen. And take the heat and ownership if bad things happen.
16. Shrug off the losses. Repeat, “and this too shall pass.”
17. Avoid negative people. It contaminates. Misery loves company.
18. Leave the blamegame at the office door.
19. You call out, in a dramatic way, those who continue to play the “office politics” game. They are DNA ruiners.
20. Get way bigger ears and stop talking so damn much.

At one point in almost every week I try and do one of these 20 things even if it’s the last thing I wanna do. We all get in ruts. I do too. It’s what we do to get out of them that really counts.

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8 Comments

8 Responses to “20 Ways to Bend the Trend.”

Tweets that mention 20 Ways to Bend the Trend. | The Idea Factory -- Topsy.com says:

August 5, 2010 at 2:18 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Geri, The Idea Factory. The Idea Factory said: Is your office in a rut? Try these 20 mini game changers: http://bit.ly/d1krBf [...]
//d. says:

August 5, 2010 at 2:22 pm

great post Kevin,

*runs off to overreact while speaking to people outside my comfort zone, then while sweating the details of that engagement i start calling everyone out on facebook about all of their office politics (facebook is dramatic enough isn’t it?)*

In all seriousness though, i’ve been really enjoying the Idea factory’s blog posts.
Jimackey says:

August 5, 2010 at 3:22 pm

You forgot a couple…
21. Point out other people’s faults in an open forum. They’ll be surprised by how much it makes you laugh.
22. Park in a handicap spot. Always leave ‘em guessing.
23. Wait till a co-worker leaves and then call them from their office line after placing the receiver in your pants.
24. Go to the bathroom 6 times a day with a copy of the bible.
25. Go home lunch time and come back dressed exactly as the boss is dressed. Stare a lot.
Kevin Casey says:

August 8, 2010 at 9:02 pm

Big Mac – you know me well. Ok. Guilty. I have strayed outside my list of 20 and committed at least one in your warped list of five – which one? Not bloggable at this time.

KC
Harry Connors says:

August 10, 2010 at 8:54 am

Great list, includes a few that really helped me.

“Come to work earlier; Leave work later”- Absolutely! Arrived at the office at 6 a.m. and left, usually around 7 p.m. With an early start one can be really prepped for the 8:30 a.m./9:00 a.m. meeting. The late finish meant that you are able to complete, at least to a sufficient degree, what you had started, and/or do the follow-ups. To be honest, getting to work early is more valuable than just coming in on regular time and working late, because then you have the normal interruptions, so all you’re doing is, at best, keeping even, but not actually getting ahead.

“Bring a good attitude to work.” – Boy, is this true; co-workers and superiors will actually give a bit of ground on performance to a person who is basically easy to get along with, and conversely, very little leeway to a person who is “prickly” or self-involved.

“Sweat the details” – And with that, beware of anyone, including yourself, who says “No problem”! Work, work, work, and outwork everyone around you. If you think for a moment that some detail is “beneath you”, not worthy of your attention, then here’s a truth: that thing that was “beneath you” might just be a trap door, and guess what, it’s opening…

“Network like a tasmanian devil. Volunteer; Manage by walking around in places you always avoided in your company. Speak to people outside your comfort zone.” – Starting the day early allows time for management by walking around, which is one of the most effective ways of networking. I certainly agree with visiting places you don’t usually circulate in; everyone is happier to know you are interested in their work, and they will explain their work to you, with quite a bit of other info. When you engage people in conversation, focus on listening, not talking, and get their opinions on current doings, even their wilder speculations can provide an insight, it tells you what kind of person they are, or at least, gives you a sense of “the temperature” in the organization.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Thanks for the list, I really enjoyed it.

Cheers

Harry Connors
gerardhealey says:

August 12, 2010 at 10:45 am

#26 should you be having an affair please go to a more private area while on the phone preferrably outside the bldg to do so.
Kevin Casey says:

August 12, 2010 at 8:47 pm

Well Harry – I know how successful your career was at Aliant and how you transferred that excellence to your work in your community – if you want to be our first ‘guest blogger’ and share your secret list then we’ll give you a chance to use this as your funnel – we love secrets!
Thanks again

KC
Deb Cakes says:

January 14, 2012 at 11:17 am

The 20 Commandments! Love it!