The New Small Business Revolution
Big or small, great things happen when business and individuals put the actions of The Company Cube® into practice. The latest experiences from around the world highlight the positive change taking place in work environments, colleagues and attitudes.
*These experiences are displayed in their native language. Google translation is available on each page.
Posted on in Share Expertise, Time, Yourself
(Chicago, USA) I had a meeting scheduled last evening and I made a request to our IT department to set up a Skype call for us. When I went to our room, our IT Assistant was having troubles setting up the camera. I sat down with her and tried together. I realized that I had more experience with Skype than she did, but I still let her do most of it so she wouldn’t feel bad. At the end I suggested to get the webcam from my computer since the one we were using didn’t seem to be working. So finally it all worked out, but this whole experience gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better.
Posted on in Build Relationships Every Day
(from Texas, USA) I just got my Company Cube a few days ago and find that it is reshaping the things that I do each day. The first day I rolled the cube, my task was to “Build Relationships Every Day.” It was particularly fitting, as we are in the midst of discussions about restructuring and they are somewhat charged with emotion and some degree of contention. I found myself trying to build relationships by listening carefully to others and choosing my words with care so that they conveyed the intended meaning but also conveyed a gratitude for the others’ contributions.
I felt that I had succeeded when a participant came to my office afterward to continue the discussion in a way that evidenced he felt “safe” in doing so. I also had a lunch appointment that had been rescheduled twice before and that we were finally able to keep, and I tried during that lunch to converse in such a way as to really get to know the other person—their interests and concerns. I find that I now look forward to rolling the Company Cube each morning to see what my renewed focus will be for the day.
Posted on in First to Help Others
(J.M. – USA) Rolled The Cube today: FIRST To Help Others! Arrived at a training session for a client today with a PowerPoint on our flash drive. The client couldn’t get their computer to allow a log in. What to do? Run 3 city blocks to the car to get our computer and 3 city blocks back to salvage the training session for the 25 attendees and other presenters. Thanks to my Employee Matt D for showing ‘The Boss’ how to live The Company Cube!
Posted on in First to Help Others
(from Texas, USA) After taking a couple of days off last week, I arrived at work Monday with a couple hundred emails and many tasks and issues that needed to be addressed. An urgent item that needed my attention was coordinating a conference call with our Region Staff to discuss service gaps at one of our facilities that had damaged our relationship with a good customer.
Before setting up the call, I emailed the manager of the facility requesting a copy of the formalized corrective action plan. The manager responded that she did not have a plan to present. This manager does not report directly to me and I was frustrated by her response and also with her Director for not “holding her accountable”. My first thought was to respond to the manager and her director chastising them for not only damaging the relationship with the customer but for not taking the necessary steps to address the operational gaps. Fortunately I had The Company Cube on my mind and chose instead build a bridge by being “The First to Help”.
When the manager answered the phone, I simply asked her how I could help her. She thanked me for calling and explained that she had never been on one of these conference calls and was not sure what was expected from her and that she was very nervous and intimidated. I offered to work with her on the root cause analysis and corrective action plan and told her I would postpone the call for a couple of days to give her more time to prepare. I closed by telling her that even though she did not report to me, I was always there to help and support her and that I would “have her back” on the conference call. She was immediately relieved and very appreciative of the support.
Then I called her director and asked if he had an objection to my involvement with his manager in this capacity. He was very happy with the offer and explained to me that his manager was fairly new and was still a little bit overwhelmed. He had not been able to spend as much time training her as he would have liked. He also assured me that she would be a very good manager, given time and the understanding, compassion and support that I had shown her.
