Lessons Learned from Watching the First Episode of Undercover Boss on CBS

The first episode of Undercover Boss aired tonight on CBS immediately after the Super Bowl.
One of the filters to use in looking for lessons learned is the "triple bottom line" (People, Planet, Profit).  In the 21st Century, all three are important.

Larry Odonnell, President and Chief Operating Officer of Waste Management, had a plan when he went undercover, posing as Randy, a construction worker exploring entry-level jobs at Waste Management and working with a camera crew for a documentary.  He had some corporate goals and wanted to see how they were being carried out on the ground--and if they were even reasonable throughout the organization.  In his approach it appears he is looking for impact only on profit.  In reality his company and his approach reflect the triple bottom line.

He decided to explore entry-level positions in several areas of his company, beginning with the recycling center. then at a land fill in Pompano Beach,  Florida, then at High Acres Landfill in upstate New York. His fourth "job" is cleaning "port-a-potties" at a Fair in Texas.  His fifth job is at a Trash Hauling Company in Rochester, New York.  Trash hauling is, according to Larry, "the face of the company."

Lesson One:

Larry is a compassionate man.  His personal family has been touched by tragedy and, as he moves through one day at each location, he sees how tragedy and the economy impacts his employees.  In one instance he takes immediate action to try to help an employee.  His follow-through on his experiences changed the lives of each of the employees he worked with while undercover.  He listened and applied what he was learning to his role as President and COO, changing policies and procedures in light of what he learned about and from the employees of his company.

Lesson Two:

The triple bottom line is important.  In team building, there is a distinction made between task and maintenance (people) focus.  A balance between the two is needed.  Too much focus on task (profit) and not enough on maintenance (people) leads to dysfunction.  Larry focused on making changes in the maintenance (people) function of Waste Management and has greatly increased trust and productivity.

Marketing Consulting Services and Tools--the eBay Connection

In today's economy, many organizations are looking for ways to reduce their expenses and to do more with less.  Embracing that idea, I'm creating a series of self-help tools for organizations to use to diagnose challenges and opportunities and to begin to plan how to overcome the challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities.

This isn't a "quick fix" situation--I need to work with the tools and to make sure that people can understand them.  As a working prototype is developed, I am marketing it on eBay.  I'm sure the marketplace will give me feedback on how to improve the tools--and the services that complement the tools for those who want more than self-help.

Selling the tools on an eBay auction seems to be a first step.  I shared the DrM-Business Improvement Survey yesterday and today have released the DrM-Business Snapshot tool.  The DrM-Workforce Training Needs Survey is now available.

I've had feedback from some professional friends that I need to change the vocabulary in my questions.  At the same time, I have been developing the tools based on 40 years of experience in working with organizations in the area of development and change.  Sometimes the tools are "just right" for certain circumstances.

CBS is starting a new "reality TV" series called Undercover Boss (on Sunday nights).  I would be interested to see how these bosses could use the tools I am creating to help their organizations after their "undercover" experiences.

Business Improvement Survey--a New Product

I just created a Business Improvement Survey using Adobe Acrobat.  It was a challenge to create, though it seems to have good functionality.  Working from a variety of client experiences dealing with organizational development and change, I developed a six-part survey to focus on core questions that need to be resolved for change to be successful and supported.

I decided to market this survey via an eBay auction to get people to try the survey.  The cost will be small and it can be used as a self-help survey by most organizations needing to deal with change.

Of course DrM-Resources will provide support for those people trying out the survey if they should wish extra support.  The survey will get clients preferred pricing on any of the other services offered by DrM-Resources.

This blog entry is more than a promotion for the survey (though that would be a good use of the entry, anyway).  This marks one of the first times DrM-Resources has partnered with eBay to help consumers get access to affordable tools they can use to help their businesses improve.  Not only can they get the tools on eBay, they will soon get preferred pricing on the other DrM-Resources services soon to be made available on eBay. 

DrM-Resources and Joelmonty.net already use PayPal for invoicing and payments, and Skype for webinars and other interactive events.  It is only natural to add eBay to the mix.

Is 3D to Home TVs What Color was to Black and White?

3D TV was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 7-10, 2010.  Panasonic and Samsung both had TV's available.  Some 3D TV's are being produced which do not require special glasses to see the effects.

I saw a good movie today with lots of special effects.  The last few movies I have seen were in 3D and I really noticed the difference today.  I am waiting to see Avatar in 2D--I've seen it three times in 3D.

We will have to see how the technology develops and evolves.  Is the 3D TV good for all programming--even 2D programming?  Will we need multiple TV's and special glasses for some movies or events?

Job Search Filtering and Requirements--A Fish Story

Competing recruiters try to fill job requirements from Fortune 500 firms.  These firms send job requirements electronically to the recruiting firms.  Electronic databases then convert the requirements into postings which are fed to other databases such as Monster.com.   Search parameters set by job hunters then find these postings and e-mail them to the job hunters who respond to the "blind" ("company confidential" or recruiting firm) ads.

Because the recruiters are often not clear on the full detail of the job requirements and because the actual firms looking for contractors or employees make their requirements extremely detailed, excellent candidates are frequently missed due to "glitches" in the overall process.

To make matters worse, if one of the Fortune 500 firms receives two resumes for the same candidate, many automatically eliminate that candidate from consideration.  This is a "lose-lose" situation.

What are the remedies?  Let me get to the fish story first.  Different kinds of tropical fish get their food in different ways.  Some look for the food on the bottom of their tank .  Their food is usually distributed in the form of pellets which the fish find in the sand.  Others need food floating in the water.  Their food is usually distributed in the form of flakes which float around the fish.  These fish will starve if they are provided fish food in a form they are not looking for.

The Fortune 500 companies, the recruiting firms, and the job seekers are often starving as well, because the packaging is not effective in matching the best candidates with available jobs.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day--Phil, the "nation's groundhog" saw his shadow today--six more weeks of winter.  The groundhog at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago didn't see his shadow--too much snow today.  That may mean an early Spring for Chicago.

I celebrate the day by watching the Groundhog Day movie.

Marketing on eBay--Products, Services, Combination

Exploring how to market my consulting services on eBay has led me to believe that it will be easier to divide the marketing into three components--products, services, and a combination of the two. 

Much of eBay is devoted to buying and selling products.  For this I need a quality product like an eBook or a questionnaire--something I would market and deliver electronically.  While consulting services are marketed on eBay, that is so far a very specialized market.  What may work best is a combination of an information product and an introductory service associated with the product.

I already have a PayPal account and am registered as a seller on eBay.  There is very little I need to change to get ready.  I am exploring a seven step process--answering questions for each of the seven steps--to get organizations ready to work with trusted advisors.  Now I have to determine how to convert the process into an information product which I can market on eBay and allow people to find out more about the consulting services I offer.