Jim Bindl

Highlights the results of a quality improvement training program at Wisconsin Power & Light. Training of two six-person pilot groups in statistical process control; Application of knowledge to actual problems; D.R. W. Edwards Deming's development of statistical process control theories in World War II factories.

Small Steps Big Reward Quality Improvement Through Pilot Groups

We live in times of intense competition—for the best talent, for greater share of market, for customer and employee engagement. The target continues to shift as new innovations, changing requirements and mindsets are altered in a fast changing world. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) plays an increasingly important role, as a consequence of globalization and shifting demographics.Organizations seek to attract, retain, and develop the best employees, regardless of their place of origin, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, and other dimensions of diversity, yet long-entrenched biases can get in the way. Similarly, companies must adapt their products, services, and branding to address changing customer tastes, language, culture and diverse preferences.D&I branding comes into play in a major way, in both the marketplace and the workplace. David Oglivy, often referred to as “the Father of Advertising,” defined a brand as “the intangible sum of product’s attributes.” Oh, how times have changed!Today, rather than potential employees obtaining messaging about companies from recruiters, they log on to sites like GlassDoor.com or Indeed.com to obtain the insider’s view of how an employer operates, inlcuding the culture, degree of flexibility, career advancement, and other factors.Customers engage actively with social media as part of the buying decision; we have moved from “the age of the seller,” in which information was packaged, delivered,  and controlled by the supplier, to what Jim Blasingame describes in his new book, The Age of the Customer, to an era, in which customers “co-own” brands as “user-generated content” reshapes brand identities.To be effective, brands have to be consistent and authentic, with an important connection between the workplace and the marketplace. How are employee and customer brand perceptions connected? Social media transparency has effectively eliminated a clear boundary with what organizations are doing internally and their external image. Further, not only are employees a great source as “brand ambassadors,” they can serve as a referral resource to capture desired talent.When disenfranchised, employees make their views known and tarnish the brand. When companies are found to be conducting themselves in racist or other exclusionary behaviors, it destroys employees’ pride and trust in such organizations, as the fallout from the racist rants of Donald Sterling, owner of the LA Clippers, dramatically illustrates. Likewise, the anti-gay stance of Mozilla’s newly-appointed CEO resulted in his forced resignation.Simply stated, when the D&I brand celebrates diversity internally and externally, it means that 1) customers will want to buy from you and 2) employees will want to work for you. Customer and employee branding may be visualized as a “Yin and Yang” connection, interacting in a dynamic balance and interplay.D&I branding: the good, the bad, and the uglyLet’s look at a few examples of companies’ D&I brands at different ends of the spectrum.The goodA recent commercial for Kindle, featuring an attractive man and woman on the beach, offers a light-hearted vignette about sexual orientation.Consider this charming example from Cheerios, in which a bi-racial family enjoys their cereal, albeit in different ways.Avanade has created a great example with its YouTube video demonstrating how multiple kinds of diversity are welcomed in this IT services corporation.The badWhen New York City Police Commissioner Bratton decided to engage with the public with Twitter as part of a social media with the hashtag: #myNYPD, the department was completely blindsided by a negative response, flooded with photos of what appeared to be police brutality.The uglyThere are too many examples, unfortunately, of blatant sexism, racism and other attitudes being revealed and tarnishing previously beloved brands and personalities; a few can be found in this Forbes.com article.Steps to take to create a strong D&I brandBuilding a strong D&I brand requires executive sponsorship, cross-functional partnerships between HR, marketing, sales, and other functions, as well as input from customers and employees. Here are a few key considerations:What is our D&I vision and what is its importance to our key internal and external stakeholders?How do our employees and customers feel about our D&I brand?What are the best channels we should use for messaging?Do we obtain ongoing feedback to ensure that our D&I branding is clear, compelling and authentic?Do different key “touch points” in both the employee lifecycle (such as recruiting, onboarding, development) and in the marketplace (relevant products, delivered effectively across the customer value chain), reinforce and strengthen our brand as a great place to work and do business with?What does your D&I brand look like? How can it be enhanced to reinforce both employee and customer experiences?What does your D&I brand look like? How can it be enhanced to reinforce both employee and customer experiences?To read more D&I blog posts, go to http://www.astd.org/Communities-of-Practice/Human-Capital/Best-Practices-in-Diversity-and-Inclusion.

Branding: What Does D&I Have to Do With It?

A dozen books to own and read – at least once.When Jim Rohn said, “All the information you need to succeed already exists, the problem is you haven’t exposed yourself to it,” it was one of the most challenging and eye-opening statements I had ever heard. I immediately made a lifelong goal to read a thousand books.I have not reached that goal yet, but I’m eating away at it. I love the hardbound vintage book, but I’m finding that reading on my iPad’s Kindle app provides the perfect strategy to increase my desire to read in spare moments.Here’s my list of must read books:1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is at the top of everyone’s list. Written 70 years ago, it’s still the benchmark book for attitude, goal setting, and achievement. Get an original copy (pre 1960), not one of the altered, newly minted, “after the copyright expired” versions. NOTE: Not on this list, but equally important, is the best sales book of all time: How to Sell Your Way Through Life. Written just two years later, this book is an unknown gem. It’s hard to find and a little pricey, but look for it on abebooks.com, bookfinder.com, or ebay.2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The all-time, gem of gems for engaging with self-confidence and connecting with sincerity that contains timeless rules of success. Your Carnegie library is only one third complete until you own and read How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and Effective Public Speaking, two books with timeless information on stress relief, positive attitude, speaking skills, and success strategies.3. He Can Who Thinks He Can by Orison Swett Marden. One of the original “self-thought” and self-help books containing thought gems such as, “Every child should be taught to expect success” and “The world makes way for the man with an idea.” If you want a list of great Marden quotes from this book, underlined by John Patterson, the founder of NCR and the father of American salesmanship, go to www.gitomer.com and enter MARDEN in the GitBit box.4. Swim with the Sharks by Harvey Mackay. A benchmark and game-changing book for me and millions of other people in business. It’s full of applicable ideas to make you think and strategies to implement immediately.5. Small is the New BIG by Seth Godin. One of many Godin books that should be in your library. Not just for the information – he’s much more than that. I don’t just marvel at what Seth writes, I marvel at how he thinks.6. Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko. Short lessons, tools, and exercises you can easily understand and apply immediately. It recharged my brain, and opened my eyes to a new way to see creativity – by example.7. What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. A compelling work that centers around Google as it relates to other businesses. Jarvis compares what Google would do to diverse industries such as hotels, restaurants, schools, and the media. Amazingly insightful and thought provoking – especially if you relate it to your business (as I did). 8. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers tells stories of how, why, and when people became successful entrepreneurs, and how standards were set in the 19th century that are still in place today. But it’s his concept of “10,000 hours” that makes this book an absolute insightful treasure.9. Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. Jobs had vision, foresight, character, uncompromising ideals, and shrewdness. He was inspirational to all who came within his domain. This is a great story and important to read in order to understand where we are today. I have written about Steve Jobs’ impact on my life. If you’d like to read it, go to www.gitomer.com and enter JOBS in the GitBit box.10. The Pursuit of Prime by Ichak Adizes, Ph.D. This book addresses the stages every growing business goes through, and what to expect and do in each stage. Compelling because it’s both a game plan for what to do, and a pie in the face for what you haven’t done.11. Social Boom by Jeffrey Gitomer (hey, that’s me!) and several other social media experts. Business Social Media is not an option, and this book is the ultimate “how to” and “why.” Yes, I have ten other books I hope you buy, read, and implement the lessons from, but Social Boom is my best book for this moment.12. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. A book that has been canonized by every cross section of the political and business landscape EXCEPT the politician trying to grow government and give handouts. It’s an amazing, compelling read, and has a happy ending for entrepreneurs. May be my favorite of all time. When you’re finished reading this epic novel, I dare you not to starts on Rand’s The Fountainhead.12.5 There are other imperative non-books. CDs, essays, quote books, and kids books that I also highly recommend. They are, in no particular order, The Art of Exceptional Living, (CDs) by Jim Rohn, Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell, A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard, Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, and The Strangest Secret (CD) by Earl Nightingale. You can find all of these gems at www.executivebooks.com.NOTE WELL: This is not THE definitive book list – it’s MY definitive book list. These are books I have read, been inspired by, implemented, and banked. I have a longer list on my website – click on “Recommended Reading” under “Sales Help.”Invest your time reading. It will pay lifelong dividends.

Jim Bindl

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