http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/07/go-first.html
Just sharing another of my blogger hero’s awesome posts…
Go first
Before you’re asked.
Before she asks for the memo, before the customer asks for a refund, before your co-worker asks for help.
Volunteer.
Offer.
Imagine what the other person needs, an exercise in empathy that might become a habit.
Posted by Seth Godin on July 20, 2014
Over the past couple of years I have successfully consulted and partnered with a number of small call centers based in the Philippines. Most of my assistance has come in the form of analytics training and consulting, with a focus on making more data-driven decisions and optimizing reporting processes.
I’ve drawn a lot on my experience working with outsourcing projects while with Wells Fargo as well as the glorious failure or my own outsourcing company BPO Elite. And now to add to those, the amazing success we have having with DMAI in managing the rapid growth of a 50+ person outsourcing team of consisting of both home and office based staff.
Armed with these experiences and guided by a gifted management team, DMAI is now on the active look for more small business clients. We specialize in providing talent with above average analytical skills, who have been trained to make data-driven decision and are passionate about their work. The caliber of DMAI team members is not what you typically find in a call center employee.
We want to partner with just 2-3 more small or medium sized business who are looking to add staff overseas to complement their domestic operations. If you know someone looking to get started or is unhappy with their current outsourcing arrangement, maybe we are the partner they need.
The Philippines presents a very unique opportunity for American business to hire staff who speak and American style of English, are well versed in American culture and offer just about the best level of customer service in the world.
Please Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dmaiph to see what our team members and customers say about DMAI.
You can also follow my blog at http://www.dmaph.wordpress.com to learn more about our mission and purpose… to empower better decision-making through analytics.
For a free consultation, please connect with us via the above channels or send an email to analytics@dmaiph.com
Last week when I was in Boston meeting with a client, Metro Manila was hit by a Typhoon. I was really concerned both about how the timing might impact the business conversations and too about my teams safety.
Given the nature of our work, most of it being home based I was hoping our productivity wouldn’t be too impacted. As we got news of power outages and property damage impacting some of the team, I was so impressed with our clients level of genuine concern for the team.
As for my management team I was even more impressed with how they jumped into action and continued to work even with significant internet and power outages. Their devotion to the team and our business was remarkable. Our escalation procedures worked well and we kept communication flowing the whole time.
Most of the team itself stepped up even more as the storm left and the power came back. Their eagerness to make up hours to make sure our client was taken care of was utterly amazing.
In a time of adversity I can say I’ve never been prouder of a team for stepping up and taking care of each other.
It was true 3 years ago, and sadly its true today… just took this photo today (March 1, 2017). All the evidence and all the rhetoric, but in the end the planning failed.
…As Metro Manila and the island of Luzon are preparing for its second typhoon in a matter of days, I thought it prudent to talk about business continuity planning (BCP).
One of the most overlooked areas of business operations is business continuity planning. When it comes to the outsourcing of functions and responsibilities to a team in the Philippines, there is a high need for a solid BCP.
However, my experience is that very few companies and their outsourcing partners have put in place a well thought out plan to handle a variety of business outages and disasters.
During my time with Wells Fargo I was involved in overseeing business continuity planning for a number of business lines and became pretty well versed in the subject matter.
Some of the key points are having a clear chain of command during a crisis. Escalation procedures and call trees are ways to make sure everyone knows what is expected of them. Putting together a written BCP plan that can be shared with the team is also very important since most disasters impacting the Philippines come with potential power and technology interruptions.
Another key piece of disaster planning is to have pre, during and post incident plans to follow. If you know a typhoon is coming there is a lot that can be done before hand to help limit business impact. And having a clear post incident plan is key to getting business back up and running asap.
Updating the client and keeping them in the know, is also something that can be much more challenging then planed and should be given appropriate thought. Practicing the plan and doing mock disaster drills is another way to achieve optimal communication and response results.
Business Strategy with Analytics – Aligning a business strategy to drive an organization forward requires a robust analytics solution. Businesses who have good analytics tend to be much more profitable and efficient then ones that do not.
DMAIPH has helped dozens of companies in both the U.S. and the Philippines with adding more data analysis in their business strategy. We have joined up with our key business partner PMCM Events Management to showcase our solutions at #TechToniPH in July 2017. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out what we can do to help you align your business strategy with analytics.
I came across this blog post on LinkedIn that shares some insights on how an entrepreneur can get their product/service to stand out in the crowded landscape of bright ideas, innovative solutions and be the next big thing.
Here’s what the blogger think needs to happen to make business ideas prominent on the web:
1. People need to understand that their ideas aren’t going to get stolen. People who notice your ideas are either going to a). Simply tell you what they think, b). Want to go into business with you, or c). Become an early adopter of your product. Win/win. The truth is very few people would take the risk necessary to implement your ideas. The few who do become investors, business partners, and employees.
I am a big proponent of this. In fact is other people want to get out there and set up analytics focused companies in the Philippines that do any combination of training, consulting and outsourcing, that’s a good thing. The pie is far bigger then I can eat alone. And competition makes us all better.
2. People need an online platform to publish and collaborate on business ideas. Kind of like open source sites, but for business ideas and plans. This platform would help entrepreneurs reach people with similar business goals and ideas, and connect and collaborate with them.
I use WordPress for this or a number of reasons. It’s easy to use and its free. It allows me to blog about a range of topics like outsourcing, analytics, the Philippines, decision-making and setting up a small business all in one place. WordPress can also be set up to deliver your content to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (among others) automatically. So My 2000 blog followers, 5000 LinkedIn connections and 1500 Facebook friends all get my content beamed right to them.
3. Lastly, people need to be able to reach professionals through this platform.
I make a point of cutting and pasting my blog post links into groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. I add just about anyone on LinkedIn who views my profile (aside from the less 1% who are obvious scammers). I send a reply to everyone I connect with (sometimes I do have to have interns send the initial message) and I follow-up personally on every business lead, student question or well-wisher.
If you are looking to launch a new business, thinking about outsourcing some analytics functions or wondering how to set up a business in the Philippines, DMAI can help!
Keeping it simple, and visual..
On a daily basis, I get approached by people asking if I can either give them a job or help them find a job.
My response is usually do you have a resume? How many jobs have you submitted your resume to today?
When I get back negative remarks to those questions, I do my best to create an educational moment.
Going back a few posts I talked about teaching a man to fish and my last post was hard work and persistence allow you to create your own luck.
In my almost 30 years of working, I applied for more jobs then I can even imagine. But in that 30 years, I think the longest I have ever gone without working is about three months.
I am a firm believer, that even in extreme situations, the best way to find a job is to treat your job search like a job. To be focused and have a plan to help you create opportunities so you don’t just sit around waiting to get lucky and have a job fall in your lap.
With that in mind, I did a quick Google search on some tips to bring focus and discipline to a job search. Here are some of the high points:
1. Set Goals. Provide yourself with targets and track your progress towards meeting them.
2. Network. Make a list of people who have jobs like the one you want. Interact with them.
3. Be Polished. Spend the extra time to make your resume flawless. Dress up. Be Early.
4. Practice. Volunteer your time. Look for free training. Do practice interviews.
5. Be Selective. Resist the temptation to apply for everything. Focus on what you are good at.
6. Positive Surroundings. Look for people who can inspire, empower and motivate you to keep on the hunt.
7. Use Technology. If you are reading this, then you most likely on LinkedIn or Facebook. You have a natural network right there and the most powerful communication tool around. Don’t waste them.
Finding a job is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs around. If you treat it as such, you are much more likely to find a good job quickly then someone who doesn’t.
I’ve seen a couple of blog posts and online articles lately from entrepreneurs talking about how they don’t like it when people say that they are so lucky to be successful. Given the hard work and sacrifices that go into being successful, their stories are never ones of just being lucky.
Being at the right place at the right time is another one that downplays the preparation and open-mindedness needed to capitalize on opportunities. You can only be lucky, if you have set yourself up to identify, evaluate and execute a strategy when the timing is right.
Over the past two years as I have built my company from the ground up, I am told at least a few times a week by people that I am so lucky to have the life I do. And my immediate response is always, it has little to do with luck and is due to my hard work and my persistence in chasing my dreams.
Being an American, being white, and being male… they do not guarantee success. I’ll admit they can be advantages at times, but only when I’m able to able to use those advantages. I’m from a middle-class, blue collar family. Forsaking the traditional Meyer man route of serving in the military, I was the first one in my family to go to college. I received scholarships based on merit and worked all through college and grad school. Not much luck involved there.
My time with Wells Fargo honed my analytics skills and prepared me for being a executive, but I was rarely lucky when I got promoted, earned a bonus or was given special projects. Again it was a solid work ethic, good role models and mentors and a can do attitude that made me successful.
Now that I have built a modest success of a company and able to really enjoy my lifestyle of being an international business man and analytics expert, I too find it frustrating when someone says , “You are so lucky”. I use these moments to educate and hopefully empower that person by telling my story and praying it gives them the spark they need to stop waiting to get lucky and start making their own luck!
I came across this awesome TED talk about a big data analysis project to determine what country does the most good in the world.
I imagine this is the process that Simon went through to go from a general curiosity to giving an enchanting TED talk.
I have a question. What country does the most good in the world?
I identify the data I need and then I look for that data.
Some of it already is being gathered and is easy to find. Some data I even have to create through surveys and research projects.
I pull together all the data and start to inventory it. To put it into smaller chunk for both analysis and story telling.
As I analyze the data I see many things I expected to see, but I make also lots of discoveries I didn’t expect.
I share the data with other experts to fine tune the story I want the data to tell.
I then am ready to share the data with the intended audience, in this case the world!
Some day soon, that is my dream. To share some amazing data and use it to tell a story worthy of a global audience!
By the way, his web site is http://goodcountry.org/
Very, very cool stuff!
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/07/is-better-possible.html
Wanted to share another of my blogger hero Seth Godin’s recent blog posts as it relates to a couple of things I talk about a lot in my training and with my staff. Don’t settle for good, demand great!
“Is better possible? The answer to this is so obvious to me that it took me a while to realize that many people are far more comfortable with ‘no’.
The easiest and safest thing to do is accept what you’ve been ‘given’, to assume that you are unchangeable, and the cards you’ve been dealt are all that are available. When you assume this, all the responsibility for outcomes disappears, and you can relax.”
You see this all the time, people just don’t want to cause a scene. When faced with a policy that makes no sense they just abide instead of question. When asked if anyone has any questions, and they do, but they chose not to ask it out of fear of being embarrassed they keep in to themselves.
“Mostly, though, I’m surprised because there’s just so much evidence to the contrary. Fear, once again fear, is the driving force here. If you accept the results you’ve gotten before, if you hold on to them tightly, then you never have to face the fear of the void, of losing what you’ve got, of trading in your success for your failure.
And if you want to do this to yourself, well, I guess this is your choice.
But don’t do it to others. Don’t do it to your kids, or your students, or your co-workers. Don’t do it to the people in underprivileged neighborhoods or entire countries. Better might be difficult, better might involve overcoming unfair barriers, but better is definitely possible. And the belief that it’s possible is a gift.”
And this is at the core of why my training is so impact full and so many of my employees feel high levels of job satisfaction… because empowering people to believe better is possible goes hand in hand with empowering them to use data to make decisions. To be a great analyst you need to always ask yourself is there better data available, can I find a better way to analyze it and can I find a better way to communicate the findings.
Decision-Making, Analytics & Intelligence > Philippines 