Customer Service: A Great Way To Win New Business
A very common mistake made by start-up companies, and indeed smaller businesses in general, is to not take customer service seriously. Too often, managers think all it entails is answering the phone promptly and being polite to customers – and how often do companies fail to

Acing The Interview
It's no secret that there is a lot of competition for writing jobs.What makes or breaks you in an interview is more of a mystery that some writers may try to unravel for years. After you've developed an impressive resume (see my previous feature "Finding Your Niche"The Best Workplaces report (Financial Times, April 28, 2005) notes many factors in common with Managing Creativity and Innovation.

Material reward is not the sole factor in determining satisfaction. Microsoft UK offers acupuncture and deep tissue massages. OC&C Strategy consultants offer skiing trips and Computer Future Solutions have BMWs and Porsches as company cars. Yet people rarely mentioned these perks when they rated their company.

This is because satisfaction is also related to i) the gap between the real and ideal self, ii) projects that can be classified as fun or amusing, iii) tasks are competency expanding or challenging, iv) goals are perceived as feasible, v) there is a degree of self-determination and vi) there is recognition.

These are the exact same conditions that enhance motivation and creative output.

What people noted was the degree to which people felt valued, productive and listened to. Further, they felt their superiors had a high degree of trust for them, allowed them to engage in projects in a self-determined way, there was a general lack of suspicion and an almost non-existent blame culture.

This is in accordance with the philosophy that people require psychological safety and freedom – the feeling that they are accepted as unconditioned worth, that it is recognised that they are capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; that there is empathetic understanding of them.

Again, these are the exact same conditions that remove blocks and are the foundations of an optimum organisational culture. These conditions enhance

re Solutions have BMWs and Porsches as company cars. Yet people rarely mentioned these perks when they rated their company.

This is because satisfaction is also related to i) the gap between the real and ideal self, ii) projects that can be classified as fun or amusing, iii) tasks are competency expanding or challenging, iv) goals are perceived as feasible, v) there is a degree of self-determination and vi) there is recognition.

These are the exact same conditions that enhance motivation and creative output.

What people noted was the degree to which people felt valued, productive and listened to. Further, they felt their superiors had a high degree of trust for them, allowed them to engage in projects in a self-determined way, there was a general lack of suspicion and an almost non-existent blame culture.

This is in accordance with the philosophy that people require psychological safety and freedom – the feeling that they are accepted as unconditioned worth, that it is recognised that they are capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; that there is empathetic understanding of them.

Again, these are the exact same conditions that remove blocks and are the foundations of an optimum organisational culture. These conditions enhanc

g, iv) goals are perceived as feasible, v) there is a degree of self-determination and vi) there is recognition.

These are the exact same conditions that enhance motivation and creative output.

What people noted was the degree to which people felt valued, productive and listened to. Further, they felt their superiors had a high degree of trust for them, allowed them to engage in projects in a self-determined way, there was a general lack of suspicion and an almost non-existent blame culture.

This is in accordance with the philosophy that people require psychological safety and freedom – the feeling that they are accepted as unconditioned worth, that it is recognised that they are capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; that there is empathetic understanding of them.

Again, these are the exact same conditions that remove blocks and are the foundations of an optimum organisational culture. These conditions enhanc

iors had a high degree of trust for them, allowed them to engage in projects in a self-determined way, there was a general lack of suspicion and an almost non-existent blame culture.

This is in accordance with the philosophy that people require psychological safety and freedom – the feeling that they are accepted as unconditioned worth, that it is recognised that they are capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; that there is empathetic understanding of them.

Again, these are the exact same conditions that remove blocks and are the foundations of an optimum organisational culture. These conditions enhanc

conditioned worth, that it is recognised that they are capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; that there is empathetic understanding of them.

Again, these are the exact same conditions that remove blocks and are the foundations of an optimum organisational culture. These conditions enhance creative output.

These topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com. You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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