Hints, tips, insights, resources and non-traditional thoughts given in the spirit of sharing information.

 

In Memory of
Annie Reimer

April 2007

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In This Issue

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Earth Day

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Events

The 6th Annual Government Customer Support Conference and Expo
May 7-9, 2007
Alexandria, VA

The 9th Annual Help Desk Professionals Conference and Expo
October 22-24, 2006
Phoenix, AZ


GCSC 2007
Event Partners

Aspect Software

Association of Support Professionals

Autonomy eTalk

BMC Software

Brad Worthley Intl.

Call Center School

Column Technologies

ContactCenterWorld

CRMAdvocate

CRMXchange

Customer Service Group

Datatrac

DEMA Education

Federal Consulting Group / Department of Treasury

Driva Solutions

Fed Tech Magazine

Fuze Digital Solutions

Government Customer Support Community of Practice

Help Desk Northwest

Help Desk Xlence

HDI Capital Area Local Chapter

Line4, Inc.

Master Counsel / Infra

Mikki Williams

Nish

NWCCP

Oracle

Prosci

RightNow Technologies

SCInc

Symon Communications

The Fraser Group

The Telework Coalition

TMC

VoIP Institute


"Influencing Service using The Butterfly Effect - Small Things Can Have Big Impacts"

The butterfly effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory.  (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.

Another example is if a ball is placed at the crest of a hill it might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

"Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" meteorologist Edward Lorenz once asked in postulating the "butterfly effect," the idea that the flapping of fragile wings could start a chain reaction in the atmosphere. In today's world of the Internet the question might be rephrased: Can a single e-mail from Brazil set off a torrent of action in Texas?

Sociologists postulate that what a few influential leaders think and say can spread and grow and bring about big changes in the thinking of large numbers of people. The Internet offers a compelling new place to look for this phenomenon by studying very large groups and especially, seeing how groups change over time.
Source:
www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb04/AAAS.Kleinberg.ws.html

The Butterfly Effect in the Service and Support Center

What if you used this theory in your help desk or contact centers to effect change?  A program could be developed called "Influencing Service Using The Butterfly Effect" or something along those lines. An effect that you want to spread across your company, agency or customer base could be started in your help desk or contact center. When the desired effect is realized, something with a butterfly on it could represent the recognition award.

A butterfly represents transformation: Our path of transformation can be likened to that of the butterfly's. Generally, when we embrace transformation, we only want to think of the end result. We don't want to think about the work that goes into it, or the sacrifices we'll have to make to be able to soar. We can think about how to transform ourselves, our peers, our business and so much more. The Butterfly Effect is one of the ways you can spread the power of transformation with others.

Ideas for Applying The Butterfly Effect

  • Start a corporate focus group to influence a culture change and use the Butterfly Effect to get people involved in the effort.
  • Bring your team together and identify an innovative way to improve service, reduce calls, etc. and use the Butterfly Effective to drive transformation through the group and neighboring business units.
  • Use the BE approach to increase the number of prospects in your database. (Think of applications like LinkedIn, Jigsaw, etc.)
  • Manage down stress by managing your own stress. Propose ideas how individuals can identify stress in the group or an individual and how they can suppress the impact of it on others. If stress is permitted to foster, the Butterfly Effect could be that others in the group feel the negative stress and they transfer the attitudes and tension to the customers. This is a reverse use of the BE that results in a negative outcome.
  • Give everyone you pass in the hall a smile and answer every call with a smile on your face. The effect should be a smile passed along will pass along other smiles and many people will have a much better day. This ripple effect can be initiated by one individual and change the day of hundreds.

It looks like I wasn't the only one thinking along these lines of effecting change. When the words "butterfly effect in business" and "butterfly effect in service" were Googled, I came up with all sorts of articles. Here are a few to get you started.

In 1969 Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". She never imagined that barely a decade later her historical analysis would receive empirical support from natural studies in the form of the new science of complexity.  A small group of innovative call center and help desk professionals can change the business and it's success.

Make a difference and try to make a "Butterfly Effect" and transform something or someone today.

Have an unbelievable day,

 

Ivy Meadors
High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc.

www.ivymeadors.com or www.hthts.com

Office: 425-398-9292

   

This Unique Event is Only Three Weeks Away

The 6th Annual Government Customer Support Conference and Expo

What does the Space and Naval Warfare Systems , IRS, Office of Personnel Management, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Finance Center, FEMA, US Navy, Miami Dade County, and the Federal Consulting Group / Department of Treasury have in common?  They are all delivering case study presentations at GCSC 2007 sharing success stories and teaching how you can use these techniques in your own centers.

Leadership development programs create employee engagement through trust-building, providing mentors and a systematic approach to feedback that helps leaders connect with employees, which encourages them to stay.  If companies invest in developing their leaders, they can maintain their staff and reduce turnover. 

Making a small investment of about $2500 and spending three days with brilliant and experienced people affords the ultimate learning investment to contribute to the rest of your career.  If you don't find your time well spent after three days, we will give you back the money invested in the conference.

Contact Ivy directly (Ivy@hthts.com) if you would like some help in finding a means to attend GCSC 2007 this year.  She will help design a creative option just for you to make it possible to attend one of our educational events.

* * * * * *

The 2007 Customer Support Excellence Awards will be presented at GCSC 2007.

Sign up now!


NAUTILUS'S CALL CENTER MOTIVATES WITH EXERCISE  (top)

Nautilus delivered an exceptional case study presentation for the Neighborhood and Worldwide Contact Center Professionals (www.nwccp.com) this week.  They have a 250-300 person call center, depending on the season.  To keep the people motivated and stress low they provide them a 25,000 sq. foot exercise room.  OK - so most companies don't have the square footage available or the funds for this sort of equipment but what if you had a few machines in a nearby area.  One of the help desks High Tech High Touch Solutions designed a few years ago included a treadmill and it was used on a regular basis.

The Nautilus Call Center manager told us that over 50% of their call center staff take advantage of the facility and they have seen a measurable improvement in productivity and reduced stress levels.

They are receiving over one million inbound calls per year so you can imagine the need for high productivity is essential. www.nautilus.com/nautilus_brand_home.jsp


Want to know what the Best Contact Centers, Best Customer Service Centers, Best Leaders, Trainers, Supervisors & Agents in North & South America do day in day out to be the Best?

  • Want to learn from them?
  • Want to share ideas with them?
  • Want to meet them and exchange business cards?
  • Want to aspire to be like them?
  • To be the Best in Class you need to associate with the Best.
  • Join us and the Best in North & South America

    At the 2nd Annual Contact Center World Awards & Conference Best In Americas at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center, Orlando, USA 4-5th June 2007

    The Presenters organizations such as FedEx, Hewlett Packard and Royal Caribbean - will share their story, answer your questions and network with you – the elite gather in just one place. Be under no illusion, these are not vendors or consultants selling to you. They are Leaders, Vice Presidents, Supervisors and Trainers. These are the people that do the job, day in and day out! Learn More About The Conference

    Limited Time Early Bird Pricing

    Great savings on 2-day Conference Passes if you Register Now!


    EARTH DAY APRIL 22nd  (top)

    Celebrate Earth day now and forever

    please HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  we HAVE only 9 T-SHIRTS left FOR EARTH DAY FOR $25.00 (includes S & H).  ALL PROFITS ARE BEING DONATED TO THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND.  THEY'RE REALLY COOL T-SHIRTS.

    Email us at solutions4u@hthts.com and let us know how many you would like.

     

     

    "Endangered means there is still time."

     


    IN MEMORY OF ANNIE REIMER  (top)

    A beautiful and enthusiastic young woman of 22 years old, Annie Reimer, who many of you met at our conferences, has sadly taken her life using a firearm.  She was a friend, employee, and like a daughter to me.  She gave me the privilege to be her mentor and we were able to turn her life around in many ways.   Jealously and deep routed anger pushed her feelings too far.  Unfortunately, the anger inside her was not recognized in time to prevent this terrible tragedy from happening.

    In the wake of the recent tragedy in Virginia, we can all benefit from learning how to see the signs and react to them sooner with the hopes of influencing a life before it is ended too early.

    - Ivy Meadors

    Statistics

    • Suicide is  the 2nd leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds.

    • In King County (Seattle, WA), in 2005, an average of 41% of suicidal deaths resulted from the use of  firearms.

    • Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence. However, 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women.

    • Seventy-five percent of all suicides give some warning of their intentions to a friend or family member.

    • Remove from the vicinity any firearms, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt.

    • Do not attempt to argue anyone out of suicide. Rather, let the person know you care and understand, that he or she is not alone, that suicidal feelings are temporary, that depression can be treated and that problems can be solved. Avoid the temptation to say, "You have so much to live for," or "Your suicide will hurt your family."

    Suicide Resources


    Sharing Solutions and Ideas

    If you have solutions or non-traditional ideas you would like to share with our readers, please email me so we can share it with the thousands of readers from all over the world who subscribe to eSharings. 


    Will you be at the 9th Annual Help Desk Professionals Conference?

    October 22-24, 2007 in Phoenix Arizona at the incredible Pointe South Mountain Resort

    Hurry and Register before April 30th to Save $300


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