A few weeks ago we talked about quick reactions and timely responses. When a company really gets it right, it needs to be recognized, celebrated, and we all need to learn and apply what we can with their winning formula.
Unfortunate situations, like accidents, happen daily that require us to count on the service providers that we hire. It becomes the moment of truth between how you hope they will respond, to how they actually respond. We recently changed our car insurance company to Geico. The financial savings was impressive, and we certainly hoped if we had to use the company, their services would be just as impressive.
"Knowing and doing what's important rather than simply responding to what's urgent is foundational to putting first things first." Stephen R. Covey
Our daughter called us the other night and said that she had been in a car accident ~ two very scary words for me. From the first call to Geico our wonder about how would they react and respond became very clear. Their care and compassion to our daughter was first and foremost. Within minutes of calling them, we knew all the important details we needed to know. Their calls to my daughter, as well as my husband, always began with a statement asking how she was feeling before getting into the business details. I was also impressed by how they organized all the many details during the calls. Since this accident was not her fault and her foot was injured, they made sure that she understood what she needed to do, what paperwork would be needed, and what to expect in regards to next steps. A bad situation handled right. Well done!
In 2003 Stephen Covey wrote a great book called First Things First . What made me think about this book in reference to React and Respond, is that I feel businesses that want to find a winning service formula that works for them, like Geico has, need to understand what their defaults are to how they react and respond to daily situations, urgent or not. Clearly, Geico has put some excellent training in place for their employees, and they understand the differences between urgent, not urgent, important and not important, as they react and respond to their customers. There are people that I know, and I am sure you do as well, that live to solve urgent and important crises; it's a natural high for them. Busy to be busy, but do they use their time efficiently?
Occasionally I pull up Covey's Time Management Matrix below as a test or reminder of where I may be spending my time. It's surprisingly easy to slip into a quadrant that does not serve you well. It's also a great way to engage your team to improve their own time management.
The challenge is to use each quadrant to your advantage, knowing that the sweet spot, overall most productive, is Quadrant 2. Living and operating from Quadrant 2 takes discipline and focus. Covey has found that there are 7 key activities that are shown with those who successfully operate from Quadrant 2, they are:
- Improving communication with people
- Better preparation
- Better planning and organizing
- Taking better care of self
- Seizing new opportunities
- Personal development
- Empowerment
These are great keys to consider as you look at where and how you and your team or business spend your time. Good luck!
