Holiday Customer Service - Champs and Chumps

Holiday shopping is over, except for the after sales, returns and exchanges. I had a few interesting customer service experiences this year that left me with a list of Champs and Chumps to share. Fortunately for my gift recipients, they balanced themselves out.

CHUMP: WILLIAMS-SONOMA
I wanted to buy my husband a CO2 cartridge-charged whipping device to make gourmet foams. I thought I found what I needed at Williams-Sonoma. A manager at the store told me she was sure the product manufactured by iSi Group was the right choice. They were proven wrong, and I went back to W-S the next day to return the Mini-Whip.

CHAMP: iSi NORTH AMERICA
An email to iSi North America (http://www.isi-group.com/) was responded to within hours, and confirmed that I needed either their Gourmet Whip or their Thermo Whip to make culinary foams. They offered to send me a free recipe book if I decided to buy one of their whips. I used Google Shopping to search for a supplier, and placed my order with http://www.creamright.com/. iSi graciously sent me the recipe book for free – a product for sale online for $6.95. Nice!

CHUMP: THE CONTAINER STORE
Each year, The Container Store markets a batch of fun stocking stuffers. When I got the flyer in the mail, I headed to our local store to buy the Ninja Flash Drive. They were already sold out, advised that they wouldn’t be getting any more, and that they were also unavailable online. Sounds like the buyers should have purchased more, don’t you think? They failed to capitalize on a winner.

CHAMPS: AMAZON.COM and FIND-ME-A-GIFT-UK
A quick search of amazon.com yielded a supplier out of the UK (http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/) that shipped the Ninja Flash Drive to me at a good price in time for Christmas.

CHUMP: GOLFSMITH.COM
Golfsmith has recently been having serious issues with inventory management and customer service. My husband ordered himself a used club back in October. After months of waiting and one phone call that yielded little information (“We don’t know when it will be available”), we got an email they the club was no longer available from the manufacturer. They sent a $25 voucher that could be used on http://www.golfsmith.com/ for almost anything but the brand of club my husband wants.

CHAMP: GOLFSMITH.COM
I sent feedback on Golfsmith’s failure to deliver, our lost confidence in ordering from them online, and our opinions on their inappropriate/ insufficient response. They came through by apologizing candidly for the challenges they are experiencing, and provided an additional $25 gift card that can be used for anything they sell. I have to give them credit for making it right.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the kids jingle belling

And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest season of all

With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings

When friends come to call

It's the hap- happiest season of all

Lyrics by George Wyle c. 1963

Unfortunately, at work, this is probably also The Most High Stress-ful Time of the Year. There’s a seemingly endless list of things to do to wrap up the calendar year, and in many cases, the fiscal year. At the same time you have important demands put on you by your family and friends, you are racing the clock to finish a list of time-sensitive goals at work.

Time has run out. You have to account for your goals for the year, and document accomplishments for the boss’s review. It’s important to complete performance reviews for all of your team members, which requires time and thought, and a lot of paperwork. HR is asking for your evaluations for dispersal of bonuses. You probably have to be in a position to report your actual spending compared to your departmental budget. It’s time to bestow thoughtful gifts to your management team, and send corporate greeting cards to vendors. There’s the holiday gathering sponsored by the company, and the lunch, happy hour, and dinner invitations from colleagues and business partners – numerous opportunities to eat and drink to excess.

To add a little additional pressure, your vacation begins in a few days, you still have shopping to do for your loved ones, you need to pick-up your in-laws from the airport, and you might be coming down with the flu. Sigh.

So what do you do? At this point, you power through it, like you do every year. Then you promise yourself to do things differently in the New Year. You make this pledge:

NEXT YEAR I WILL...
Update my goals and accomplishments monthly,
Keep quarterly notes about employee performance,
Prepare regular budget reports comparing my budget to my actual monthly spending,
Shop early for gifts for my management team,
Delegate holiday cards to an assistant,
Show restraint in my holiday diet and beverage consumption,
Get lots of sleep and pace myself for the December grind,
&
Be thankful I am so busy and gainfully employed!

Happy Holidays, and good luck closing out 2011.

Get Past the Hate

My May 2011 posting “Things Your Boss Secretly Hates About You” has logged quite a bit of readership. It’s my 4th most popular post of the 138 I have published. Some of that may be attributed to the slightly inflammatory title designed to grab attention. But there’s more to it than that, and I get a glimpse into the interest when I review what people have entered into search engines that have led them to my blog:

“annoying boss”

“hate boss”

“how to avoid a boss that hates you”

“how to tell if you boss hates you”

“when your boss hates you”

I wrote “Things Your Boss Secretly Hates About You” in the hope that some people would think about how they could change their behavior and create a better relationship with their boss. You can’t prosper in your job without finding a way to have a constructive relationship with your supervisor. Here are some ideas about how to improve the situation:

In an adult and professional way, encourage your boss to communicate what they want from you. You want to be successful. Any competent manager should be willing and able to provide ideas about how to improve in your role.

Figure out what you can do to make your boss more successful. If they are focused on their own career goals more than yours, you may be most successful with your boss by making him/her look good. You may not get direct credit immediately – but they will recognize your contribution and come to rely on it. Others will take notice too.

You don’t have to like your boss. But you will be more accepting and less frustrated if you can find some things to respect about them. Perhaps he is a budget/funding whiz. Maybe she is good at deflecting office politics so you don’t have to deal with them. He coaches Little League. She loves animals. If you can appreciate your boss on some level, and show interest in that aspect of their skills or character, you may soften their attitude.

Make it easy for your boss to see and understand how you are contributing to strategic goals. Submit a regular status report that lists your accomplishments. This not only keeps your boss informed – it highlights your productivity. Have the initiative to do this even if it has not been specifically requested.

Ask your boss for advice that will help you learn and grow. Don’t just drop a problem in their lap, but don’t be afraid to ask for clarification, perspective, or feedback on your ideas. You want to be sure that your work product meets their needs. At the same time, you can show your appreciation of their knowledge and experience.

Be honest in your desire to improve your relations. Your boss may be behaving badly. If you are straightforward with them, you may jolt them into improving their behavior. In a private meeting, you may need to say something like, “I sense tension between us, and it makes me uncomfortable. How can we strengthen our relationship?” Remember – be adult and professional.

Lastly, and most importantly, you must be honest with yourself. You may have earned a bad attitude from your boss. Are you habitually late? Are you a naysayer? Have you failed to deliver on critical goals? Do you exhibit a lack of enthusiasm for your responsibilities? If you know you are at fault – you must be willing to change.

Parable of a Persistent Man

John had suffered a difficult year. His 15-year marriage ended and, as a result, he had to sell his nice home and most of his belongings. With a trailer in tow, he drove through a blizzard to begin a new life halfway across the country. Still, after a year, things were not working out as hoped. Although he found a job, the commute was onerous, the pay was mediocre, and John saw little opportunity to advance his career. He began to search for better opportunities.

Having reestablished some contacts in his original home state, John successfully found employment in his field. Once again, he sold a few remaining belongings in order to fund his 500-mile move. Optimism fueled his relocation. He found a nice apartment and reported for work with his new employer.

The economy was challenging, with a high rate of unemployment. Some companies used despicable tactics to improve their profits at the expense of workers grateful to have a job. It was so, in this case. Upon John’s arrival, the dishonorable hiring manager changed his offer – reducing John’s base pay by 10%. John was understandably furious. But what could he do, having already incurred moving expenses and signing a one year lease on an apartment? He controlled his anger, started work, struggled to juggle expenses that exceeded his income, and began an urgent search for a new job – again – while working 60 hours a week.

Sending blind resumes out for online job postings was not John’s way. He believed in “pounding the pavement” the old fashioned way, resume in hand, wearing a suit and tie. One lead on a job led to several interviews, but no follow-through on the part of the hiring manager. Discouraged but stubbornly undeterred, John approached the same company via another avenue. Here he was met with interest and action.

The screening process for the new opportunity was intense. A series of interviews with operations managers was followed by a meeting with human resources. A personality test was administered. The final interview was with a Vice President. John made his reasonable salary requirements known. An offer was extended in writing (for 10% more than he requested), subject only to the final step of a background check and a drug test – both of which John easily passed. Offer letter in hand, John gave notice at his current job, just a few days after several other management personnel had resigned. The disreputable employer got their just desserts for mistreatment of their people. John got his new job. The new employer had hired a strong contributor.

Optimism and persistence landed John in a career situation ripe with promise for his future. His new employer provided generous benefits, a two-month paid management training program, and great potential for growth. Employee retention and promoting from within is part of their corporate culture.

Good jobs exist for people with skills and the persistence to pursue them. Take heart from John’s story.

A Plea to Retailers for More Humanity

Black Friday weekend was, by standard measures, a huge success this year.  According to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BigResearch, the number of shoppers and the spending per customer both increased over last year, each by more than nine percent.  The stock market’s reaction this morning is a euphoric, due in part to the positive outlook for retailer’s holiday season.  More positive statistics are expected on this Cyber Monday start to Cyber Week. 

Despite the good economic news, I am left feeling discomfited.  Shoppers were encouraged to come out as early as Thanksgiving night, abandoning the home fires before the dinner dishes were even washed.  Many retailers opened at midnight early on Friday, offering deals with limited availability that caused customers to camp outside the doors to be first in line.  We saw video of overexcited shoppers stampeding into stores.  The news highlighted the shocking tale of a woman spraying her shopping competition with pepper spray.  She reportedly had two children with her.  In other headlines, a man was shot while resisting a parking lot robbery.  He was protecting his purchases.  In Arizona, a 54-year old man put a video game under his shirt in a store, to protect it from being wrestled away by other shoppers.  He was reported as a shoplifter, thrown to the ground by police, bloodied in the process, handcuffed and arrested – all in view of his young grandson.  He has since been released from custody, and the legal finger-pointing has just begun.

We, the people, have allowed retailers’ marketing hype to draw us from our warm beds on a holiday night into the darkness and hysteria.  We willingly put our lives and safety in jeopardy, to beat others to the deals.  We are eager to elbow our neighbors and snatch goods from their hands, to rack up charges on credit to provide gifts that commemorate high religious holidays.  Ironically, surveys show that about 44% of the people out shopping on Black Friday this year were buying goods for themselves – not gifts for others.  My personal disgust with all this keeps me at home on Black Friday.  I do not argue others’ prerogative to enter the fray.

My plea for responsible humanity is to the retailers.  Find another way to market deeply discounted items available on a limited basis.  Retract grossly extended hours of operation that lure people into the night.  Eliminate the blatant and negligent disregard for the safety and security of your customers and employees.  Use your creativity to come up with a new approach.  Perhaps instead of encouraging shoppers to trample each other to be the first to the big screen HDTV’s, you could conduct a lottery drawing, and provide free home delivery for the winners.  Orchestrate interactive events within the store that would draw customers throughout the day - not just for the frantic crush at the ungodly opening hour.  One bright spot in trends is that online purchases continue to grow in percentage of total sales.

The term “Black Friday” used to refer to the time of year when retailer’s financials went from red ink losses into the black (profit).  With each year, the term is earning a more sinister connotation.  Black Friday norms need to be re-imagined.  Which retailers will lead the way to a kinder, gentler holiday shopping season?

Don't Be a Lazy Stranger

Why do people send generic requests to make social/professional connections with people they don’t know?  The charitable way to look at this is to assume that they actually have a good reason they would like to develop a relationship.  My more cynical side knows that there are people who have less legitimate motives, such as (A) Oddballs that “collect” connections, trying to reach some silly, arbitrary number, or (B) Leeches that want to grab onto your coattails to gain benefit secondhand from your connections.

You CAN reach out to people you don’t actually know, if you have a legitimate reason to do so.  Here’s how:

1.       ALWAYS ADD A COURTEOUS NOTE explaining why you want to connect.  I can’t count the number of LinkedIn connection requests I have received from strangers who do not provide that courtesy.  I purposely ignore them.
2.       MAKE IT PERSONAL.  Your request to connect should always be personalized.  For example, you could point out that you are fellow alumni, explain that you follow their blog and have learned a lot from it, say that you are looking for a contact within their organization because you are applying for a position, or that you appreciate them for providing a thoughtful answer to a question you posted to LinkedIn.  Pointing out commonalities and/or employing a little sincere flattery can go a long way.
3.       GIVE A LITTLE of yourself.  Remember that your target will be thinking, “Why should I connect with this person?”  What do you have to offer that may enhance their network?
4.       PROVIDE A REFERENCE.  Do you have a friend/colleague in common?  If so, refer to the nature of your relationship with that person.
5.       ASK FOR AN INTRODUCTION through a common connection.  It is not always appropriate or effective for you to approach a stranger directly, especially when the person is a high-profile professional.

I enjoy meeting and corresponding with professionals with like interests, but I will continue to ignore requests to connect that come from lazy strangers.

Beware of Icons

The word icon is from the Greek εἰκών, meaning “image”.  One of the dictionary definitions is, “an object of uncritical devotion”.  We throw this designation around quite a bit, although it is often used with a qualifier.  Ronald Reagan has been called a “Republican Icon”, Hitler was an “Icon of Evil”, and Marilyn Monroe has been tagged a “Cultural Icon”.  Tiger Woods is referred to as an “Icon of Golf”, Kenneth Lay became the “Enron Icon”, and now, of course, Steve Jobs goes into the afterlife as an “iCon”. 

Icon is a hefty moniker for any living person to bear.  It carries a connotation of historical significance.  How can anyone be referred to as an icon and not succumb to the risk of developing a dangerous ego and delusions of grandeur?

Now we come to Joe Paterno, “Icon of College Football”, and arguably the most powerful and popular person at Penn State University.  Paterno fell far and hard from his pedestal last week, when he was implicated in the Sandusky child sexual molestation scandal in Happy Valley.  Paterno failed to follow through and act decisively to assure the safety of children brought into the Penn State athletic facilities, or to do what he could to block the actions of a predator that he counted as a friend.  Why he failed so miserably to do his duty may never be understood.  If you are inclined to defend JoPa, read the 23-page Grand Jury Report and get back to me.

There are lessons to be learned from this tragedy, and I pray they will be learned.  By definition, icons reach a point where they escape reasonable criticism.  In an organizational environment this means that the icon’s followers and beneficiaries have imbibed the Kool-Aid and are feeling the euphoric effects.  They don’t question decisions.  Followers do what they are told, to protect the icon and the surrounding institution.  They seek approval.  No one wants Nirvana to be disrupted.  Everyone is in La-La Land.

At the end of the day, and your career, you need to be able to know that you spoke up and fought for your principles and values.  Someday you might have to take on an icon to make things right.  I bet McQueary wishes he had.

No Place for Bias in Management

The 2010 U.S. Census unveiled a trend I find startling. More young people are continuing to live with their parents into adulthood. Specifically, 19% of men and 10% of women between the ages of 25-34 have not ventured out and established their own households (an increase from 15% and 8% in 2005). I’m sure there are many reasons for this, including the state of the economy, but I have some trouble relating to it. When I graduated from college, I was anxious to be out on my own. I shared crummy apartments with friends and worked multiple low-paying jobs at a time until I got my career jump-started and could afford my own place.

This got me thinking about the domino effect resulting from young adults living with their parents. It means that they aren’t renting apartments or buying homes. Most likely, they are postponing marriage. They may be preventing their parents from moving on with their plans, since Mom and Dad assumed that they would be empty-nesters by now. Is Mom still making their meals and doing their laundry? What kind of employees are they in the workplace? Oops. This is where my husband threw a wrench into the conversation by reminding me…

We cannot let our biases affect how we relate to our co-workers and employees. What matters is how well people work within their teams and how they perform in their jobs. It’s easy (and dangerous) to project our own life experiences and values on other people. Everyone’s life unfolds differently, and their challenge is to find a way to meet their personal and professional goals.

As managers, your responsibility is to understand as much as your employees choose to share about their personal situation and avoid judging them. Mentor them in ways that will help them be successful. Create learning opportunities, coach and direct, be a good role model, provide thoughtful feedback, reward successes, and be accessible for help and support.

Regardless of where a person comes from or where they are in their life today, you can provide wisdom and experience that will develop young professionals in a way that may positively impact their lives for much longer than the time they work for you. Wouldn’t that be remarkable?

Tough Love

Courage in leadership is a trait I admire. It's very powerful when leaders make difficult decisions with love.

There's a new Sheriff in town in Chicago, my adopted city.  Well, not really a Sheriff - a Mayor.  Rahm Emanuel took the Mayoral Oath of Office on May 16th, 2011.  His Honor clearly loves this city and wants it to be a fantastic place to live and work.  At the same time, he recognizes the issues that have been festering and has the courage to tackle those that threaten our future.  Within his first 6 months as Mayor, he has tussled with the city worker's union and the teacher's union.  He has taken 500 police out from behind desks and put them back on the streets To Serve And Protect.  Rahm's recent budget proposal includes necessary "haircuts" and fee increases required to improve an infrastructure over a hundred years old. He takes public transportation to City Hall and insists that city workers use it too instead of claiming mileage on their expense reports.  He cancelled corporate credit cards en masse when rampant misuse was uncovered.  I admire the practical and passionate approach Rahm is bringing to Chicago politics.  Not everyone is a fan of the decisions he is making, but it's hard to argue with his logic and goals.  We are a metropolis that needs his tough love.

Imagine what could be accomplished if more corporate leaders brought tough love to their work.  Many have the "tough" part of the equation down pat.  It's the balance with "love" that is often lacking.  Love for the future of an institution...love for the people that make it successful...love for what is to be accomplished.  When difficult decisions are made and communication to constituents is cloaked in legalese, PR-speak, and marketing yip-yip, you have to question motives and desired outcomes. What is there to hide? 

Too many corporate executives are motivated by short term goals and long term personal incentives.  It takes courage and toughness and love to be profitable and ethical in business - not just in public service.

Accentuate the Positive

You've got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

And latch on to the affirmative

Don't mess with Mister In-Between

-Lyrics by Johnny Mercer (1944)

It’s easy to criticize and be a naysayer. We all do it to some degree. But some years ago I heard a speaker at a conference talk about trying to eliminate negative-speak from our everyday language, and the challenge stuck with me.

Try filtering what you say and replacing negative statements with positive re-wording. Start by raising your own red flag when you begin sentences with words like, “I can’t”, “We shouldn’t”, “Let’s not”, “I don’t think”, “Don’t”, “We won’t”, “You didn’t”, “I don’t like”… Your hackles probably are immediately activated when you hear those words.

Instead of: “I can’t do that.”

Try: “It might be better if I did this.”

Instead of: “We shouldn’t accept that behavior.”
Try: “Let’s see if we can get them to do this.”

Instead of: “I don’t think that's a bad idea.”
Try: “That might be a good idea.”

Instead of: “You didn’t do what I told you to do.”

Try: “Let’s review my expectations again.”

Negative speaking is a hard habit to break.  Using the right words is powerful, and the results are rewarding. Speak (and write) in the affirmative and build more trusting relationships, improve morale, and be seen as a constructive influence in the workplace. Accentuate the positive!

Occupation Underway-Now What?

The Occupy Wall Street movement is well underway, and gaining momentum worldwide. My interest is piqued, and I’m wondering about the longer-term implications of what’s happening right now.

This group of demonstrators has yet to clearly define their stance, goals, or wants. I have reviewed their web site at occupywallst.org, and their main Facebook Page in some detail. These are statements copied from those sites:

• “Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.”

• “…a protest against bank bailouts, corporate greed, and the unchecked power of Wall Street in Washington.”

• “Inspired by the uprisings across the Arab world, and fueled by the feelings of anger and helplessness of everyday Americans…”

Although I am sympathetic to some of the complaints of Occupy Wall Street, I am left with this question: IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? That unaddressed question leaves a massive vacuum that weakens any debate.

Dick Durbin, Democratic Senator from Illinois, successfully spearheaded an effort to limit the fees that banks can charge when consumers use a debit card for purchases. Durbin’s actions, well-meaning as they were, had a woefully predictable result. Once those bank fees were capped, financial institutions looked for other ways to replace the lost revenue. Bank of America was the first mega-bank to announce increased fees to debit-card users, and the fury from consumers was immediate and vocal.

I’ll be avoiding the gatherings of protestors, although I have sympathy for the frustration and anger about the apparent greed of big business and the feelings of disenfranchisement that have led people to demonstrate. I believe strongly in anyone's right to gather and be heard, because that is one of the principles under which our country was formed. At the same time, I am disturbed by the reverse elitism and naiveté of some of those involved as well as the shrillness of some aspects of the rhetoric. I predict that being “leaderless” will result in a lack of focus that will result in their serious concerns being dismissed. I resent the attempt to label me as being either among the 99% or the 1% (“You’re either with me or against me” BAH!). I recommend that they get assistance with developing and communicating a cohesive message, including their viable wants or "demands". I expect the gatherings to adhere to local laws, in respect of civil obedience and the safety of fellow citizens.

Furthermore, I suggest that demonstrators keep their fancy iPhones in their pockets when the media is around… that is, if they hope to be viewed as one of the 99%.

I Don't Like You Anymore

It’s one thing to create a Facebook Page for your business and attract subscribers. It’s another thing entirely, and much harder, to retain your subscribers and make social media productive for you.

I’ve been active on Facebook for about two and a half years. The main value to me is the ease with which I can keep up with my far-flung friends. But I have “Liked” numerous businesses, and I have done that for several reasons: (1) To receive news about the business, (2) To obtain special discounts, (3) Because their postings amuse me, and (4) To feel a part of the brand, by commenting and contributing postings. On several occasions, my Facebook interests have resulted in me actually making purchases based on personalized marketing displayed on my Facebook home page. That’s the Win-Win inherent in social media marketing.

What I DON’T LIKE is uninteresting, boring postings by businesses that are taking up space among posts by my friends. I have recently started to “Unlike” some of the businesses with which I connected months ago.

If you don’t want me (and others like me) to Unlike your business, here’s what you need to do:

• Communicate with us in a personal way that allows us to feel like insiders. We want to be “in the know” about your business.
• Allow us, your customers, to tell stories that enrich your brand.
• Ask for our input to influence your products.
• Engage us, by soliciting postings, comments, photos, etc.
• Be very responsive to our questions and needs. We need to know that there are real people behind the Facebook curtain!
• Don’t require me to compromise my security or share my friends info (which is not mine to share), in order to be eligible for contests or giveaways.
• Make our connection personal. For example, “Meet the people behind _________” (a product, a service).
• Post content I will be inclined to share with others, because it’s so interesting or funny or helpful.
• Educate and enlighten me. Don’t just try to spoon me corporate spin.
• Never, never, never put your postings on autopilot via a contracted service!

Revitalize your business’s Facebook activity, or I won’t Like you anymore.

Losing a Customer is This Easy

Last week, my husband and I revisited a restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine that we have enjoyed for about 10 years. The food is good, the prices are reasonable, and the casual, friendly atmosphere is right up our alley. I always look forward to their “Lazyman’s Lobster”, which they remove from the shell for you and serve in a bowl, doused in butter. Ah, what a sinful pleasure!

As I perused the menu, I realized that there was no Lazyman’s Lobster being offered. I decided to ask about it. The answer I got, “Well, we can do it if you insist… But we prefer to serve it whole, in the shell.” This was delivered with a sigh, a squirm, and a notable lack of eye contact.

I was not only disappointed, but annoyed with the response. Here was the unspoken conversation that did the real damage to our “relationship”:

HIM: “I’m really going to hate it if you insist.”
ME: “Of course you prefer to serve lobster whole, because it’s easier for YOU. But isn’t this supposed to be about ME?”
HIM: “I told the cooks they wouldn’t have to prepare Lazyman’s Lobster anymore.”
ME: “Don’t you have to take lobster out of the shell to prepare all this other stuff on the menu, like Lobster Rolls, Lobster Stew, and Stuffed Lobster? Why should this be a big deal?”
HIM: “I hate it when these tourists are too lazy to take apart a lobster themselves.”
ME: “Why didn’t I go down the street to ABC Restaurant, where they still have what I want on the menu and don’t make me grovel for it?”

It’s that easy to lose a customer. A bad decision, rolled eyes, the arrogance to ignore what your competition has to offer, and the inability to consistently make your business about delivering what your customers really want. This restaurant in Kennebunkport will probably never notice when I don’t return or recommend their establishment again, but I have to think that they are slowly and silently losing market share with this attitude. It’s a slippery slope.

Chickens Come Home to Roost

About a year ago, I wrote a blog that predicted what would happen as a result of a specific (unnamed) corporation’s outsourcing strategy. http://habaconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/10/no-crystal-ball-required.html

It’s time to say, “I told you so.” I do not relish being right in this circumstance, as many hard-working, loyal professionals lost their jobs to overseas workers. But the chickens are coming home to roost, and I must say that I don’t have any sympathy for the big guys that have been calling the shots, who are now scrambling for a solution.

Here’s the update on the situation:

MY PREDICTION: “Customer satisfaction will erode with the quality of support provided by the call center(s).”
WHAT HAS HAPPENED: According to insiders, call response times have increased from seconds to many minutes. Once someone answers the phone, the interaction is frustrating and solutions are elusive. Customers are angry.

MY PREDICTION: “Dissatisfaction with support services will foment into serious complaints to senior business management outside the IT/support arena.”
WHAT HAS HAPPENED: Business owners and managers have been complaining vociferously to the people in power in the business, demanding that something be done to improve the quality of support.

MY PREDICTION: “The relationship between IT and the rest of the company will deteriorate.”
WHAT HAS HAPPENED: Although it was the executives on the business side who made the decision to outsource, the CIO entrusted with implementing the strategy has become the whipping boy for the failure. If the CIO is in bad graces, his organization suffers as well.

MY PREDICTION: “At least some support functions will be brought back in-house.”
WHAT HAS HAPPENED: This is where it gets really interesting. The outsourcing contract is being revised. The vendor has sent letters out to support employees who were laid off early this year to solicit their application to be hired (by the vendor, not the corporation) to establish a support escalation organization.

Where this all goes long term remains to be seen. Once in place, will the escalation group staffed by former employees of the corporation end up handling all the calls, making the outsourced first contact group redundant? How many people, burned once by the corporation’s layoffs, will accept a job with the vendor? Will the change in direction and additional services placate the business customers? Will the CIO’s career with the corporation survive?

This would make a really interesting outsourcing case study. I’m staying tuned in.

A LinkedIn Primer for New Graduates

You have graduated (or are about to graduate) from college, and are hunting for a job. You already know that you need to create a professional profile in LinkedIn. Unfortunately, you don’t have much of a meaningful professional life to describe, yet. Nevertheless, you need to proceed with the task. Think of your LinkedIn profile as a work in progress – continuously. It’s crucial to keep your information fresh and up to date. But you need to start somewhere. Here are some tips:

1. YOUR NAME: Everyone searching for you or connecting with you will use this information. If you have always been known by a shortened version of your first name (e.g. Tim vs. Timothy), you should continue use that name. On a Search, LinkedIn knows enough to return Timothy for Tim, William for Bill, Richard for Rick. (Note that it doesn’t seem quite as smart in regard to shortened versions of women’s names, e.g. it did not list Kaitlyn for Kate.) If you have a very common name, you will need to provide other information in your profile to facilitate an Advanced Search, such as your Alma Mater and your Location.

2. YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Not only will you use your email address to logon to LinkedIn, but your email address will be visible to all of your LinkedIn connections. It will also be used to notify you of important LinkedIn updates (including requests to connect and incoming messages). Many students have been using a university-provided email account. If you are about to graduate, you may need to create a new email address for yourself. Using gmail is a good, free option. Make your email address moniker a version of your name, so that people can easily recognize it as yours.

3. PHOTO OR NO PHOTO: Having a photo on your LinkedIn account is optional, but I believe that it is beneficial. However, a bad photo is worse than no photo. Change out of your T-shirt, put on a shirt with a collar and/or a jacket, and have a friend take a decent head shot of you for your profile.

4. YOUR AVAILABILITY: Your profile should include your graduation date and a statement regarding your availability – both in terms of timing and location. For example: “Available for employment immediately after June 2012 graduation. Currently living in Chicago, IL, but open to relocation anywhere in the continental U.S.”

5. CRAFTING THE SUMMARY: Tell us what you have studied, what your degree is in, and how you hope to apply your education (what kind of job you hope to find). This isn’t a resume. You can be a little creative here and give us a glimpse of your personality.

6. YOU DO HAVE EXPERIENCE!: A big part of your LinkedIn profile is the enumeration of your experience. You may require some help thinking about this from the perspective of a potential employer. It’s certainly easier to detail the experience you gained from an internship related to your field of study than it is to find the relevance in other types of summer jobs, but you can always focus on the responsibilities with which you were entrusted and the skills you gained. If you closed up a pizza joint after the manager went home, you were entrusted with the security of the premises and the cash register – AKA “Management Experience”. If you were a camp counselor, you were entrusted with the development and safety of children – AKA “Mentoring”.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS: You need several professional recommendations on your profile. Tap your connections while they are current! If you have had an internship, as for a recommendation from your Supervisor(s). Consider approaching other past employers and professors as well. For more tips, read my April 2010 blog on Collecting Recommendations.

8. HELP US RELATE: LinkedIn Profiles can be very dry and technical. Your profile will most likely be viewed by related professionals who understand your field, and by Human Resources professionals and other acquaintances who do not. The wording and terminology you use needs to generate universal interest. If you are in a technical field, use of specific terms may be necessary – but you also need to offer a translation for people who don’t know the lingo, so they can relate to your skills and experience in some way.

9. WELL-ROUNDED: Something prospective employers consider is whether you will “fit in” to their team and work environment. Give them a glimpse into who you are by adding a little information about your interests and extracurricular activities. LinkedIn also allows you to add a “Reading List by Amazon”. Use this if you are reading books that highlight your interest in continued learning and professional growth.

10. START CONNECTING: Send out invitations to connect to past employers, fellow students, friends, relatives, etc. The real value in LinkedIn is your network. You’ll be surprised how quickly it expands once you get started.

Once you have a draft of your LinkedIn profile – ask trusted, experienced professionals that you know to review it and give you feedback. Make changes. Look at other people’s profiles and adopt good ideas for your own use. A healthy majority of employers now search social websites to research job candidates. You can make a good impression by having a well-developed LinkedIn profile.

Other recommended reading:
Advice for Newly Hired Graduates
10 Ways to Screw-Up Your LinkedIn Presence
10 More Ways to Screw-Up Your LinkedIn Presence
Are you Purposefully Positioning Your Online Identity?

Since 9-11-01

My blog is tardy today, because I struggled with the feelings generated by yesterday’s many commemorations of the 10 year anniversary of 9-11-01. Since the terrorist attacks and tragic loss of life and reactive heroism of that day, what have we learned and how have we changed as people?

We continue to mourn the victims of that day and say that we will never forget. Let’s remember, most of all, the people who died that day…the workers, the travelers, the first responders, and the terminally unlucky. All those lives and loves and dreams cut short by evil. The pain left with those who were witnesses and survived. Yet today we continue to willfully cause each other pain.

• Children bully each other in school, aiming to boost their egos through the pain of others.
• Urban gang members create their own cultures and brutal turf wars to fill the void created by weakness and dysfunction in their uncaring or powerless family circles.
• “Entertainment” features violence, perversion, and stereotypes that desensitize our youth.
• We gather friends online instead of getting out and finding meaningful ways to relate to people.
• Our politicians are allowed to throw muck at each other in the most shameful, irrelevant ways. Not only do we allow the media to follow suit, but we gleefully get caught up in the name-calling.
• Corporate executives continue to bow to greed – sending jobs and careers overseas while our friends and families collect unemployment, lose their homes, and struggle to reinvent themselves.

We remember, but what did we truly learn? To continue to lash out, hate, and be fearful?

Perhaps we can’t all be great philanthropists, but we can take steps to live our lives and do our jobs with more love, tolerance, and grace.  That's what I aspire to do.

Be a Fan of Laborers - Today and Every Day

Many people think of a “good job” as a salaried, Monday through Friday, white collar professional position behind a desk. In today’s economic environment, those positions may be hard to find and not as secure as they once were. We forget that there are many, many important jobs in our country filled by people who work very hard and provide us with highly valuable services that we sometimes take for granted.

Labor Day is a good day to remember to be grateful to those people who do “real work”. I know that corporate jobs can be require long hours and be very stressful. But if you spend your day mostly sitting behind a desk or at a conference table, typing on your computer in a climate-controlled environment, thank your lucky stars for these types of professional, skilled, hard-working contributors to our society:

• The medical aide who takes care of your sick relatives and friends in hospitals and clinics.
• The guy at the automotive repair shop who gets his hands dirty to keep your car road-ready.
• The line cook who prepares your fancy expense account meal.
• The farmer who nurtures the crops that make their way to your kitchen.
• The construction worker that resurfaces the roads you drive on.
• The servers who are on their feet all evening, responding to your signals for a refill.
• The guy who comes out in the middle of the night when your sewer backs up.
• The electrician who finds the wiring problem that keeps your house from burning down.
• The landscaper that cuts your grass and rakes your leaves.
• The room attendant who cleans your hotel room and changes your bedding.

Treat your fellow laborers with the respect they have earned. Happy Labor Day!

This blog was inspired by a CBS Sunday Morning interview with Mike Rowe.  For more:
Sept 4 Interview - Mike Rowe

Job Titles - More Than a Meaningless Label

Think about your organization’s structure. Do job titles have clear meanings and consistency? Are they understood in the context of a hierarchy, to ease career planning for your employees? Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for titles to become inconsistent in a large organization over a long period of time, especially if your Human Resources department doesn’t provide and enforce clear guidelines for hiring and promotions.

Signs that your company’s job titles may be out of whack:

• There are Managers and Directors that aren't truly managing or directing anyone or anything.
• People with the same titles are reporting to each other, for example, a Director reporting to a Director.
• Employees want a Manager title, simply because they don’t see any other options to advance in the organization.
• There is general dissatisfaction and confusion among the troops, who don’t understand how jobs relate to each other and how to get from Point A to Point B in their careers.

Management struggling with these issues need to plot a corrective course.

If the organization has good guidelines for hiring and promotions, they should be adhered to without exception. As soon as you make one inexplicable exception, you have set a troublesome precedent. Necessary changes can be planned, documented, and implemented over time.

All jobs must have a fully descriptive, current position description. Every position description should be reviewed and approved by HR, and employees should have a copy of their own.

Everyone needs to understand the paths available to advance their careers. Management should take the time to understand employee interests, aspirations, skills, and experience. Provide input into what they need to do to get from where they are to where they want to be, and help them devise action plans to manage their careers.

Senior management; show the courage to make necessary adjustments when business conditions change. If your organizational structure is not functioning to help you achieve your strategic goals, you may have to adjust roles, responsibilities, and titles. Failure to do so can have long-lasting ill effect.

Like it or not, titles are still important in Corporate America. In addition to compensation levels, other benefits and perks may be attached to levels in the job hierarchy. Once given, they are very hard to take away. Egos are fragile and missteps in this area can be very de-motivating to productive contributors. Take the time to partner with HR, get it right, and reap long-term benefits.

Win/Win = Progress + Profit

When I follow the news about the bi-polarity of American politics today, I wonder how corporations would survive if they indulged in a similar lack of constructive cooperation. They couldn’t. Obstructive behavior, in-fighting, and posturing would put a stop to the progress and growth so necessary for profitable business.

Negotiation is a common element of effective work environments. The push and pull of opposing ideas is healthy and necessary to finding the best solutions to challenges. People who can articulate the value in their own perspective as well keep an open mind to alternatives have excellent potential to contribute to the achievement of corporate goals and achieve professional success.

Personal insults and intimidation may be common on Capitol Hill, but they are never acceptable in a corporate environment, and rarely encourage positive results. Passion can be high without engaging tempers and spewing vitriol. There is a lot of value in tolerance. Most corporate environments have strict official policies that protect employees from harassment. Harassment is behavior that results in a team member feeling uncomfortable, threatened, or unwelcome where they work.

Senior executives can dictate strategy, but even they almost always have someone to whom they must answer for their actions. Publicly-traded companies have a Board of Directors and Investors. Financial Analysts study how well they are managed and the value in their growth and revenue potential. Bad publicity can affect the bottom line.

Corporate politics certainly exist in every workplace. However, when goals are clear, financials transparent, and management is held accountable, petty politics are less likely to be allowed to interfere with what has to be accomplished. If a stalemate is evident in a counterproductive tug of war, leaders are unceremoniously shuffled, strategies overhauled, and/or teams re-organized.

Why do those who direct corporations seem more accountable for the results of politics than our politicians? Perhaps it’s because they don’t have to wait for an election year to suffer the results of their actions.

Don't Expect a Gold Watch

Some of us remember a time (before the 1980’s) when landing a corporate job provided a long-term sense of security. Seniority sometimes even trumped performance when promotions were handed out. Employees who had “paid their dues” worked 9 to 5, perhaps enjoying a 2-martini lunch mid-day. Many people aspired to stay with a company from college graduation to retirement, and looked forward to being presented with gold watch from a company grateful for their loyalty and 30-40 years of service.

No more. In the modern world of employment, it’s “every man for himself”. Corporations put the bottom line before any sincere sense of obligation for the livelihood of their employees. Workers are always looking for a better opportunity, and have made job-hopping de rigueur. Right or wrong – the norms have changed. Corporations respond to pressure from investors and financial analysts, squeezing operations for profit, and outsourcing jobs. Workers have experienced the extremes of booms like the explosive growth of dot.com enterprises in the 90’s – and the bust of economic disaster, followed by corporate transformations and layoffs that started in 2008.

How can you navigate the new norm successfully and ethically?

KEEP GROWING: A good education and continued learning and growth are paramount to your survival in the corporate world. If you stand still, misfortune may be gaining on you.

BE PREPARED: Keep your resume current, and pay attention to opportunities in your area of expertise and interest. Don’t be hesitant to occasionally test the waters by going on a job interview and/or talking to a recruiter.

NETWORK RELENTLESSLY: When you are looking for a new job, it will most likely be found through your personal or professional network. Meet people. Develop relationships. GIVE before you find yourself in a situation where you may need to TAKE help.

EMBRACE CHANGE: Change is inevitable and ever-present. Be flexible and open to opportunity. Jump at chances to show what you can contribute. If it’s time to move on, take comfort in the very real possibility that the grass might actually be greener on the other side.

The era of feeling entitled to spend decades with the same company is gone forever. There is no reward of a gold watch for our loyalty. That’s really not a bad thing, but it sure does keep us all on our toes!

Economic Uncertainty, Corporate America, and You

I’m studiously trying not to watch CNBC this morning and the continuing tumultuous negative slide of the financial markets. Markets are reacting badly to the unsatisfying political “resolution” to the U.S. bumping up against the debt ceiling. Although Congress acted in time to avoid a default, neither their constituency nor economists were impressed with how that unfolded and what it bodes for the future. That was reflected in S & P’s downgrade of the U.S. debt from AAA to AA+, and is part of what sent the markets back into a downward spiral this morning.

As a corporate employee, here’s why you should care, even if you aren’t an “investor”:

• You ARE an investor if you have a 401K. You may have lost a chunk of your value in the last several weeks. Reviewing your next statement will be unpleasant.

• Many corporations currently have strong balance sheets. Business has been fairly good over the last two years, and they have been stockpiling capital. That looks good on paper, but is a sign that they don’t trust the financial climate. Capital is a hedge against economic uncertainty. In better times, profits would be invested into growth – including the creation of new jobs. No new jobs – no new opportunities for you.

• A lack of job growth results in limited turnover. Workers are averse to making risky changes while the economy is weak. Corporations know this and some take advantage of the situation by asking people to work more and harder in order to retain their positions. Hard to complain when you know that there are eager job candidates waiting in the wings.

• As a corporate employee, you will experience continued budget constraints. Management wants to keep their financials safe. Expect mid-term budget cuts, especially in regard to salary/bonus increases, travel, training, and consulting. Expect a hiring freeze.

• While companies are still looking for places to cut expenses, your job may still not be safe. Hold off on making any major investments and any risky financial moves. Hold on to your savings; you may need them.

We’ll get through this economic uncertainty, but it’s pretty clear that global financial markets (not just the U.S.) are in a readjustment period where some of the norms have changed. Be aware and take precautionary steps to protect yourself and your livelihood.

The Creative Collective

Managers tend to favor employees for whom they have a natural affinity. In other words, we often have a positive bias toward people that we perceive to be “like us”. When we can overcome that bias, we build stronger teams by incorporating diversity into their makeup. Your strengths may make up for my weaknesses. Sharing my experience with you will make you a more complete professional. When I am out of ideas, I will be grateful for your burst of creativity. We should all strive for the push and pull, the give and take of a diverse team.

Diversity comes in many forms. It may be as a result of education – for example, a degree in Engineering versus Music. Each generation has a markedly different perspective. Where people were raised – North, South, East, West, or outside the U.S. - introduces a broad range of cultural customs, which can be made more complex by ethnicity. Every personality is different. Diversity is the spice of life, and necessary to move our endeavors forward.

If we all thought and behaved the same way…well, it’s hard to even imagine. We might continue on with the status quo in ad finitum. Blah.

Embrace the differences inherent in your team. Make sure that you are capitalizing on them. Understand where everyone is coming from.  Listen to “crazy” ideas. Try something new. Color outside the lines. Surprise and challenge each other, and do the kinds of things that can only be accomplished via a creative collective. Not only will you be more successful; you will have more fun.

Deadlines: Paralyzing or Energizing?

The U.S. Congress is facing a looming deadline that has serious economic consequences. We are up against the debt ceiling, and if they can’t agree on and ratify a viable plan by August 2nd, we will default on our debt. It remains to be seen how this challenge will be addressed, and whether the political issues can be put aside for the good of our country and its people.

We all face deadlines in our lives. They may be as simple as paying our utility bills or filing our taxes by April 15th. Many are more complex, such as finishing a big project at work that has hundreds of moving parts. Some people react to deadlines in a positive way, and others fight against them all the way.

You may be motivated by deadlines, finding energy and focus in the challenge. This is a healthy reaction to the stress imposed by a due date. Good for you!

But for some, facing a deadline can have an unfortunate paralyzing effect that is counterproductive. That reaction comes from being in a state of panic. Symptoms are avoidance of the work, a tendency to toil aimlessly on manageable tasks that don’t really contribute to the main goal, wasting time trying to move the deadline, or some form of howling at the moon, “Why me? What am I going to do?!” In this case, it’s critical to stop wasting time and energy.

• First, validate your deadline. Is it self-imposed and somewhat arbitrary? If imposed by someone else, find out whether it’s absolute, or can be changed without meaningful consequences.
• If you are in a serious time crunch, boil down your goal to a realistic absolute minimum. What can you do that meets the specific requirements without adding a bunch of bells and whistles?
• Ask for help, if without assistance you will miss the deadline. Be sure you can articulate exactly what type of help you need.
• Work with people, not against them. You can’t afford to allow office politics to get in your way.
• Keep your boss apprised of your progress, so they know if they need to step in.

Meeting a hard deadline may require the investment of extra hours or days of work. You can push through the challenge if you believe it’s important and the finish line is in sight. (Sure hope our politicians can do the same.)

Email Crimes

Email is dying a slow death in the private world; a fatality of texting, Facebook messaging, Twitter and such. However, it is still very alive in the corporate environment. As written interaction becomes increasingly casual and fragmented, the skills associated with more complex communication are breaking down. Are you a perpetrator or a victim of email crime?

COMPOSITION: Some subjects are complicated, and require careful documentation. Start with an outline of important points to be made, and make them clearly and succinctly. Your audience should not have to sift through paragraphs of circuitous text to figure out what you are trying to say/ask/tell. Neither should they have to backtrack through shotgunned individual messages to piece together the whole story.

SPELLING & GRAMMAR: You may LOL and WTF your way through your text messages, but email communication should be more formal and professional. Use full words and sentences, and double-check your writing with spelling and grammar checks. How you communicate in writing will influence your reputation. Make a positive impact.

PRIVACY: There are some subjects that should not be transmitted over a network via email. Anything you want to ensure is kept private should be handled in a secure manner. Some email files should be password protected. Face-to-face or telephone conversations are still very valuable – especially when subjects are sensitive, or when relationship-building is one of your goals.

RESPECT: Your co-workers and clients deserve respect, which can best be exhibited through personal communication. The very act of sending an email instead of visiting someone’s cubical for a few minutes is not only inefficient, but offensive. If you work in the same office, get off your butt and walk down the hall to talk with them.

Lazy electronic communication can easily become an email crime.  Stay away from the slippery slope.

Where is Smart Personalized Marketing?

When I lived in Las Vegas, I received an invitation in the mail for a day trip to San Diego to shop at Nordstrom. The very reasonably-priced package included round trip air fare on Southwest, ground transportation to/from Nordstrom, time to shop, lunch, and shipping of any purchases to my home. I presume that this was generated via some sort of partnership between Southwest, Nordstrom, and (possibly) American Express. They knew that I frequently flew Southwest, shopped at Nordstrom when in a Nordstrom city (which Las Vegas was not at that time), and liberally used my American Express card. I was delighted by this personalized offer – the smartest one-on-one marketing for which I have ever been a target.

Fast forward more than ten years – the era when we worry about how much Google and Facebook know about us and what they might do with that information. Where are my delightful personalized incentives to spend my dollars? I submit that one-on-one marketing is practically non-existent, in spite of the fact that we (willingly or unwittingly) share so darn much information about what we like, where we go, things we eat, who our friends are, and how we spend our time. Why is it that no one seems to know what to do with that information to really gain my loyalty and grab their share of my wallet?

A few choice words to marketers:

Don’t waste your money parroting back advertising for things for which I just shopped on the internet. Yes, I purchased a light fixture from Lamps Plus; but that doesn’t mean that you should then show me a banner for Lamps Plus. Honestly, that just feels a little creepy. What about a banner for Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, or Kohler to help me complete my bathroom remodel? Maybe I need a local electrician to help me install the light fixture. Think like me.

I’m pretty savvy about internet shopping and finding what I need on my own. You, however, can forge partnerships and offer me experiences I wouldn’t think of creating for myself (like the Southwest/Nordstrom package). Not only would I find that incredibly appealing, but I would tell all my friends about it for years and years.

Do a better job of recognizing and reaching out to your good customers. I know you know who we are! Now show us that you appreciate our business. It’s not enough to passively wait for me to Like your Facebook page and then post clever but unmemorable status updates. Be there for us, and really manage the interaction with your self-proclaimed fans.

An Honorable Mention:

Amazon.com’s recommendations and notifications about new books from my favorite authors. Keep enhancing your personalization, and I’ll keep shopping with you!

Our Sacred Honor

This morning I re-read the Declaration of Independence for the first time in many years.  It's available here: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html 

Within this historic document is a grim reminder of how the people of the thirteen colonies were failed by Great Britain's monarchy, and the courage our forefathers had to take the steps required to establish our independent, united states.  It is a brave indictment against King George III.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

It's difficult for Americans today to even imagine the conditions described within the Declaration of Independence, since there has been peace on our soil since the Civil War.  Today is a good day to remind ourselves that our safety and happiness was hard won.

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago our independence was sealed with a promise to "mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor".  We should do no less today.  Happy Independence Day!