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Loyalty, Customer Service, and Sales

Saturday, October 27, 2012 by:David Zahn

I recently completed delivering a training session at a client site that took me nearly fully across the country. Using the opportunity to visit friends I don’t get to see too often on the West Coast, I extended the trip to permit me to double up on prospecting with clients in the Pacific time zone and spend some time with my friends. As my friends picked me up at the airport, we immediately fell into the pattern of catching each other up on our businesses, personal pursuits, families, etc. It was during a conversation about the power of the relationships that exists between sales people and their prospects and customers that we both came to a common insight – loyalty is as fragile as the next interaction’s success.

Training’s Failure

The relationship between customer and sales is critical.

My friends shared that in their business, it is not unusual for sales people to just “drop in” and try to catch a meeting when and where they can in between other commitments and appointments. In those hurried and harried impromptu discussions, the following invariably happens:

1. The sales person follows some “script” that is designed to get “Yes” answers from their prospect (simplistic and obvious questions like, “is profit important to you and your business?” – that are guaranteed to get a “Yes” in response).
2. The sales person makes reference to the friend’s child or family, personal interests, or some other pursuit based on an overheard conversation, photo in the office, or eavesdropping in an attempt to “build rapport” – but without any real (or invited) prior discussion between them.
3. The sales person assumes that the friend is prepared to share their needs, wants, desires for the business in a first meeting with a virtual stranger.

The reality is that many sales people never advance past the first meeting or are only given cursory attention when they “visit” – and don’t realize that it is because they are following the sales process they have previously been told to use. Because they are so focused on the steps of their training – they are losing sales opportunities. What is happening is that my friend (and nearly every business owner) is feeling the disconnect that occurs when they are treated as a bit player in someone else’s play. The prospect is expected to read their lines as if a Director and Scriptwriter had staged the interaction with the expectation that there be no variation or deviation. Except, the prospect views it more like an improvisation and is not beholden to the confines of a script. My friend bristles at being expected to comply with an expectation she did not help create nor agree to; and often ends the meeting as soon as she sees the above occurring.

What Does Work

However, in the course of the discussion with my friends; one example did shine through in discussing a particular sales person’s efforts to differentiate from competition. The company this sales woman represented was holding a promotion for end-user customers that offered a rebate if the customer were to purchase a year’s worth of product at one time. A customer of my friends’ business complied and made a purchase only to not receive the expected rebate check within the stated timeframes. In pursuing why the rebate was not offered, it seemed the company claimed all sorts of excuses and used various stall and delay tactics that infuriated the customer.

When the rebate was finally released, the customer was dissatisfied and wanted additional compensation for their trouble in securing the original rebate. The requested compensation far exceeded the value of the original rebate and was in no way reasonable; though the customer was clearly frustrated and angry by the series of events that had transpired and was not without reason for expecting some additional customer service efforts.

It was at this point, that the sales person from that company and my friends had a discussion that illuminated the reality of the situation. Here is what the two of them came to recognize as a result of this unfortunate exchange between the end-user and the company:

My friend’s perception:

• The product being sold is interchangeable or nearly the same as many other commercially available products and does not have a unique status or compelling competitive advantage.
• The company supporting the product has no marketplace differentiation that creates a reason to do business with it (and may actually be at a disadvantage if this episode is indicative of how they treat the customers of my friends’ business!).
• There is no price, service, logistical, or other business variable that gives the nod in the company’s favor over other competitors.
• The sales person is the ONLY reason that my friends’ business continues to do business with the company.

The sales person’s perception:

• The value of the relationship between my friends’ business and her company was worth saving and working on (or even improving).
• If the relationship was damaged in any way by the way the company had handled the end-user customer’s situation, then the sales person was prepared to “make good” on it in any way that the two of them could agree.
• If, in the estimation of my friends, the request by the end-user customer was appropriate (or even if it was inappropriate, but would salvage the relationship between my friends’ business and the company), the sales person was going to authorize/find a way to approve the request in an effort to maintain harmony between their businesses.

While my friend and the sales person negotiated what they felt was “fair compensation” as an offer to the end-user customer among themselves – what they really were negotiating was their relationship and the strength of loyalty to each other. The end-user customer represented a microscopic amount of business to the sales person’s business, but the relationship with my friends’ business was deemed important enough to absorb any additional expense in an effort to make the end-user happy.

My friends further shared that should this sales person leave her current position and be replaced by another sales person, the goodwill generated by this sales person would not transfer to the replacement. Loyalty has to be re-earned with each new relationship or interaction and is constantly set back to zero when an event occurs that calls that loyalty into question.

Aiming the Arrow at the Target

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 by:David Zahn

Business results are down, sales are in decline, errors are creeping into production, profits are in decline, margins are in a freefall, and things just aren’t being done as effectively and efficiently as before. For many business leaders, that is the time when they reach for their trusted “go-to” reaction and decide to heap training upon their organization. All it will take is some good old-fashioned remedial instruction to realign people’s efforts and get things back to expected levels of performance.

Unfortunately, that is not always appropriate and may not provide the organization (or the boss) with what is the expected outcome. Before engaging in the “knee-jerk” reaction of foisting training upon direct reports, it is necessary to better understand whether employees really NEED to be trained at all. In certain instances, the issues preventing success may be beyond the reach of trainers and training to impact.

Start with the KSAs

Training and trainers are capable of impacting the following:

Knowledge – do employees KNOW what to do, why to do it, and understand their role/importance of what they do to the entire organization’s functioning and success.
Skills – do job incumbents have the capability to DO the job (they kow what comes first, what to do next, how to recognize what needs to be done, have the manual dexterity, mental acuity, etc. required to successfully complete the job’s tasks).
Abilities – do employees have the capacity to integrate the work tasks into their performance completely, correctly, appropriately, timely, etc.

If the job not being performed correctly cannot be addressed through improving the above three things, it is not a training issue. It may be addressed through changing compensation, incentives, or evaluation systems. Potentially it may be improved through better resource availability (employees can be trained to use software, but if they do not have computers on their desks, it won’t change performance) or through different reporting relationships (supporting different functions or departments, etc.).

Training is best applied to situations where there is potential to close a gap between current KSA levels and those needed to meet existing or future business needs. To do that, the company must first understand the current KSA level before determining whether training is appropriate, and if so; what that training is to contain.

Before training employees, be sure you know what needs to be trained.

How to Uncover a KSA Need

There are a few ways that one can truly determine the current status of KSAs within the organization. The following are among the most commonly used ways.

Observations – simply watching or observing how someone does the task and identifying if it is being done correctly, according to standards, what difficulties emerge in the completion of the job, etc. The positives of this approach is that it is an ”objective” view of performance. It is not dependent on one’s memory or perceptions. It is the actual performance. On the other hand, if the employee is aware that it s/he is being observed – it may lead to a change in behavior (the so-called Hawthorne Effect).

Interviews – asking people to reflect and share on what they believe, perceive, observe, etc. The positives are that it is not especially expensive, can be done reasonably quickly (as compared to observation). However, there are decisions to be made (who to interview? The job-holder, the boss, the subordinate, the peers/co-workers, the customers, etc.?). It is also dependent on people accurately reflecting reality and not just feeding the interviewer what they want to hear.

Survey – having people complete either an online or paper-based surveys and having them respond to prompted questions about their performance can be quickly administered and very inexpensively scored and measured. The same concerns that exist for interviews apply here as well – with the additional hindrance of inabilities to read body language, ask follow-up questions, confirm understanding.

Test/Role Play/Simulations/Gaming/Case Study – employees can be assessed by putting them into situations and then analyzing their performance. Similar to observations, these approaches allow for behavior to be seen “as it would occur” (assuming it is a well designed activity). This approach does allow for controlling variables so that the behavior to be measured can be isolated and extraneous factors are limited or eliminated. However, these approaches can be expensive to create in a way that is realistic in some situations or may be subject to influences beyond those that are intended.

Training may be the right answer to performance issues within companies. However, for it to be effective, it should be targeted to the specific behaviors it is meant to impact or influence.

Do You Measure Customer Equity?

Monday, October 8, 2012 by:David Zahn

As a business person, executive, or entrepreneur there are many specific measures employed to gauge business success. Some of them are quite familiar to business people; profit, sales dollars, market share, number of customers, and costs among others. However, while those are certainly indicative of success and appropriate to be tracked; they do not give as accurate a picture of FUTURE success if they are not balanced by a measure known as “customer equity.”

Customer Equity is a key measure for determining future business potential

What Most of Us Know

Most business people and financial executives are comfortable talking about standard profit and loss or balance sheet kinds of measures. Assets and liabilities are understood and easily identified. Concepts of equity as it pertains to capital or equipment ownership and value attained or retained are commonly discussed.

We also appreciate the notion of tracking costs incurred to acquire new business and/or retain existing business. Though we do not always follow through on it, we at least understand the concepts and believe we SHOULD be tracking them.

What we Don’t Know

Do we know the following:

How much value is there in “loyalty” (assuming we can even qualify what that means and looks like to begin to put a quantification to it)?
What is the lifetime value of a consumer/customer worth to the organization (LTV)?
What is the Customer Value Proposition (CVP)?
Where does PROFITABLE Volume Growth (PVG) come from?

What We Have

We have large reams of data on our customers (through frequent shopper programs, credit card tracking, email and other online engagement strategies, including social media) that remain often untouched or analyzed. Other than providing opportunity for discount programs, most businesses struggle with what to do with the information.

Where We Are

We are in a strange quandary. We collect more information about our customers and shoppers than ever before thanks to “Big Data” and the ability to have computing power at such reasonable costs available to “slog through data.” However, we often feel like we know less than ever about:

Customer motivations
Customer decision-making
Customer commitments

By recognizing what our customers seek and providing an opportunity to meet those needs or desires by guiding the shopper/customer through their purchase decision barriers to a level of comfort that allows them to make a purchase decision confidently; businesses could improve everything from:

Their “close rates” or conversion of shoppers to buyers
Profitability (upgrading or migrating certain purchases from less profitable options to more profitable ones)
Volume or dollar sales (add-on sales, incremental purchases, etc.)
Margin (typically less expensive to service existing customers than to acquire new ones)
Share (developing loyalty through repeat purchases, more frequent shopping occasions, larger purchases per occasion, etc.).

The focus on the “hard numbers” without recognition and understanding of the relationship aspects that fuel the results reported in the hard numbers will rarely tell the whoe story. It is only by going back to the dynamics of the relationship and measuring the “customer equity” components that true forecasting will ever be accomplished. Otherwise, one can only rely on past results and hope that nothing changes today or into the future. Starting with that false premise can only lead to poor assumptions, missed targets, and becoming bewildered at why projections are so far off expectation levels.

Should we Give Cold Calls the Cold Shoulder?

Monday, October 1, 2012 by:David Zahn

As a trainer and consultant, I often am asked to help sales forces hone their skills in prospecting, sales methods, sales call techniques, etc. Among the clients or prospects that inquire about those services, some of them use a “cold-calling” model for interest generation among their potential markets to generate sales. I often have to balance training on those skills with other considerations:

How I personally feel about telephone solicitors or those that attempt to “sell me” on something I am not actively seeking at the moment of contact.
Whether cold calls are even an effective method for selling at all.

As a Recipient

I, like nearly everyone, abhor being disrupted from a task I am engaged in (even if that task is wasting time) to have someone call me and try to sell a product or service that I am not in the market for, have not expressed an interest in, and don’t currently plan on purchasing. I have NEVER agreed to have someone; vacuum my carpets, install siding, replace windows, provide an alarm system; nor have I purchased rare metals, or do any of the other tasks that are offered to me by a telephone solicitor. I may not represent every prospect or customer; however, EVEN if I were in the market for those services, the chances of me using the company of the caller is far more remote than simple chance would have predicted.

I view it as a negative in such strong terms that I would actively seek to penalize a firm that approached me that way. Given that I have such strong feelings about the experience, I clearly am not the best advocate for training others in how to do it effectively. However, there are plenty of businesses and consultants that rely on this process of selling and believe there are approaches to be taught and applied.

One such advocate of this approach is, Wendy Weiss, the “Queen of Cold Calling.” (www.wendyweiss.com). She subscribes to an approach that advocates creating a “selling script” of what to say, how to craft the message, who to direct it toward, etc. Her lead generation strategies include reaching out to those that are unfamiliar with you/your company and introducing yourself to them via cold calling.

Never Cold Call Again

A contrary point of view is offered by Frank Rumbauskas, a sales consultant (www.nevercoldcall.com) who shares the opinion that cold calling is more often a poor use of the sales person’s time, energy, and effort. In fact, he feels that it is more effective to work in a more targeted way with those that are already qualified leads and have expressed an interest THAN the general public. His opinion is that far too many wasteful resources are used for little or no gain. He maintains that keeping track of number of calls made, business cards collected, or doors knocked on is measuring the wrong thing. It is the SALES volume that matters.

Is Cold Calling a productive approach to selling?

In his estimation; anyone who would consent to taking a cold call from a salesperson is likely a poor target contact. They may be seeking to be educated for free, are not likely able to make a decision to buy (they are not too busy to take the call, and probably are not able to make things happen within their company), or cannot make a decsion because they are indecisive.

Cold Calling Should Stay or Go?

Admittedly, there are businesses (copiers, telephones, office supplies, etc.) that still feel that cold calling is the most effective way to develop leads and are very dedicated to maintaining that approach. In many (most) other industries though, cold calling is a poor resource intensive approach that is far less productive than an integrated marketing and sales approach that generates interest and qualifies leads without relying on a random contact management approach like cold calling.

How to Employ Different Decision-Making Styles

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 by:David Zahn

The average entrepreneur or businessperson has expertise insome mixture of the following:

a function (Accounting, Information Technology, Engineering, Human Resources, Customer Service, etc.),
a skill (craft, programming, speaking, writing, cooking, interviewing, etc.) or,
a particular trait (detail-oriented, perseverance, good humor, etc.)

What is not as likely to be resident in the businessperson or entrepreneur is the approach used to make decisions within the company. There are few entrepreneurs/businesspeople that have ever analyzed or assessed how they make decisions and when put in a position to work in roles that are not simply “individual contributors,” they do not always recognize how their decision-making approach impacts others within the organization.

How an entrepreneur approaches decision-making impacts the entire organization.

The Decision-Making Approaches

There are four primary organizational decision-making approaches employed in most businesses (this applies equally to both Fortune 100 and smaller organizations in towns and villages serving the local market):

1. Autocratic

2. Democratic

3. Participatory

4. Consensus

The Autocratic approach is the one where there is one person in charge and that person makes the majority (all?) of the decisions without soliciting input from others. This approach is often seen in smaller businesses where there may not be other resources that are capable of “seeing the big picture” or the owner has perhaps grown the business to a point where those resources exist; but the owner is not ready psychologically to “give up” control.

The benefit to this is that the owner is aware of all decisions and can be certain that decisions are made consistent with the goals and strategies that s/he has laid out. The downside is that it is time-consuming, may distract from other roles that the owner could be taking, and may result in slower decision-making and lost opportunities.

Democratic decision-making style employs a majority rules. People have a vote and the votes are tallied and the decision that secured the greatest support is the decision made. The benefit is that all feel like they have a role in the future of the business’s direction and can contribute to the accomplishment of that goal. The downside is that it is time-consuming, can lead to strife between peers, and allows for “lobbying” and trading of favors between “voters” to support one’s initiative and “win.” Those wins may not be in the best interests of the company and may value individual achievements over the company.

Participatory decision-making is where people are consulted, allowed to share their views, but ultimately the decision is made by a single person. The benefit of this approach is that it is a blend or a hybrid of the other approaches so that one person still has the ability to align decisions with strategic goals while also gaining the benefit of the contributions of others. The downside to this approach is that those consulted may feel marginalized or ignored if their recommended approach is not followed and they may lose the interest of contributing to the organization’s goals.

Consensus is where everyone is required to be in agreement and there is unanimous support for the decision. This is an approach used that can ensure that all are committed to a decision, but obviously is also likely to be much more time-consuming and may never actually happen as real differences of opinion exist and so decisions become bogged down and do not move forward.

For a good synopsis of the different decision-making approaches, see the following link: http://www.leadershipmanagement.com/html-files/decision.htm. However, be aware that it is the dominant or most common approach employed that is being discussed. This is not to infer that EVERY decision is reached in one particular way.

Mokita as a Strategy

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 by:David Zahn

Everyone one of us has had the experience of thinking we have been dropped into a parallel business universe where right is wrong, and wrong is right. What makes sense is ignored and what is proferred instead is a tacit agreement to overlook the obvious and maintain the status quo.

There is a word in the Kilivila language, spoken on the New Guinea island of Kiriwina that captures this concept perfectly – “Mokita.” Simply defined, it means, “the truth that everyone knows, but no one admits.”

While in some circles it may just be polite to not confront or challenge someone who is operating under a misperception, the issue becomes exponentially larger when that misperception is then adopted by others and becomes a taboo subject to question and analyze. It is the equivalent of not mentioning “the elephant in the room.” Instead of stating what is common knowledge and working to improve that situation; the situation is allowed to remain and processes are developed to work-around the issue.

The concept of Mokita is akin to "the elephant in the room."

Examples of Mokita

When employees gather outside 0f the eyes and ears of those that can provide consequences for daring to question the actions of the company, it would not be uncommon for one or more of the following to be discussed with giggles, eye rolls, and contempt.

Marketing does not work (though we are not sure which efforts exactly, so we do not know what to continue and what to stop)
Most departments have some “dead weight” that no longer contribute, but are allowed to continue
Training’s impact evaporates within a week (and often even sooner than that)
People who are inept are rewarded with less work and lower expectations. People who are competent are expected to pick up the slack of their lower contributing team members.
Management offers lip service about wanting to hear from subordinates – then close their doors and have an administrative assistant control their calendar and act as a “gatekeeper.”

What Needs to be Done

This issue of Mokita can only be addressed if we learn how to correctly engage in business conversations that encourage us to challenge the accepted beliefs and what is “known” to be reality. Reality is not always based on objective analysis, but rather on the lore and legacy of what we have been told. The best examples of that may be the belief that the Earth is the center of the universe or that the Earth is flat. For centuries those beliefs were accepted as truths. Until they were disproven because someone took a more critical look at the data or evidence and realized that the facts did not support the accepted reality.

What we believe to be “truth” is not always supported by research or assessment. However, until truth is examined and held up to scrutiny; we will continue to operate under the mistaken assumptions that allow an environment where Mokita opportunities can flourish. Rather than accept that there can be more than one “TRUTH” (some objective right or wrong), it may be helpful to think of things as being comprised of multiple “truths” (each person has a perspective based on their reality, context, and involvement). By allowing the discussions to solicit the “truths” that are supportable and verifiable (versus falsehoods), a better understanding can be reached and Mokitas can be addressed.

Back to School and You

Thursday, August 23, 2012 by:David Zahn

As many of you are experiencing; this week and perhaps next are the weeks when students head back to school. While parents sending their kids off to college for the first time are experiencing the empty nest or having to “let go” of their progeny, the other sides of this life event is what the student undergoes and how schools approach it. However, there are lessons to be learned from how students and schools approach this time that can be applied to our business efforts.

Orientation and on-boarding are essential whenever there is a transition.

Student

Students (or new hires) are often eager to begin their new roles, but are uncertain about even the most basic facts:

Environmental – where is the copy machine, how do I get from one department to another, what controls do I have over the environment?
Expectations – what will I have to do, how will I be judged, how do I do what is expected to me (resources/tools/timing/etc.)?
Culture – how do I engage or interact with others, level of formality/informality, communication protocols, etc.

All of that is multiplied exponentially with the fear/excitement/enthusiasm that accompanies a new transition. Of course, it is with some trepidation and eagerness that the new school year is approached. The student looks to the new boss/organization to lead the way.

School

If we look at how Teachers (or colleges) approach each new year of school, we can see some key insights. Although, students are relatively familiar with the core requirements expected of them, each Teacher has a slightly different approach to how they prefer to conduct their class and spends at least the first couple of class sessions reviewing how s/he will manage the class.

Similarly, colleges conduct orientations for their students to review everything from key contacts on campus to meet and greet your fellow dorm-mates. All of it is designed to be a friendly welcoming to the new surroundings – but also to prevent future problems that may lead to transfers, drop-outs, difficulties in acclimating or adjusting to the new expectations.

Some of those initial experiences are social (come down to the Frat House and share a barbecue), and some of it is more academic (meet your professors and talk to an academic advisor), and still others are more administrative (meet your Resident Advisor and learn how to check-in to your room, find the mailbox, and navigate the security system in entering and leaving the dorms).

Business

With those things in mind; how well do our businesses do in orienting our new employees or newly promoted employees to assume new responsibilities? How well are we helping them adjust to ensure success?

All to often we leave the new employee to “figure it out by themself.” Or, we may have an experienced employee provide some quick overview of the job’s requirements (but who is to say that the experienced employee is a good “trainer?” How do we know that the experience of the employee translates to the ideal practice the business owner wants the new employee to implement? What incentive is there for the “trainer” to do a good job? How will the new employee be sure that they have learned correctly and are implementing appropriately?).

So, in the interest of the “back to school” season – maybe it is time for all of us to give some thought as to how we are doing on on-boarding, orienting, and establishing early successes for our new employees or recently promoted employees. Time is wasting, it is time for us to get back in class!

What can we Learn From Chad?

Friday, August 17, 2012 by:David Zahn

Over the past week, we have all seen the “train wreck” that is Chad Johnson (formerly known as OchoCinco for the number he wore on the back of his football uniform) do the following:

Swear uncontrollably during an interview that was broadcast on HBO
Promise (jokingly?) to get arrested over the weekend
In fact, get arrested for domestic violence when he is alleged to have head-butted his wife of approximately a month
Publically get fired by his boss (football coach, Joe Philbin)
Have his television series spotlighting his marriage canceled before the first showing
Get served with divorce papers from his wife.

So, it may seem that there is very little any of us would want to learn from someone with that series of events. However, there are lessons to be learned – and one does not need to look too hard for them.

You Represent Yourself and Your Organization

During an interview that was broadcast on the show, Hard Knocks, that allows HBO cameras into the locker room areas, offices, and other traditionally off-limits areas from public view, Chad Johnson repeatedly swore, used vulgarities, cursed and generally exhibited a very poor presence. Now, few people would be surprised to know that many adults do occasionally use words not suitable for publication in this newspaper. Further, it would be a bigger surprise if the words were not heard among men that are in the August heat, running full-speed into each other, and being subjected to criticism from their coaches. However, an interview done away from the field need not contain those words.

Further, Chad Johnson (for better or worse, fairly or unfairly) has a reputation for being a selfish player who is more interested in his own highlights than he is in the team’s performance. He had trouble even playing for his previous team where it was rumored he was not dedicated to learning the plays and so therefore was a liability on the field. The current team (Miami Dolphins) took a chance by bringing him in to their camp (albeit a small one, as he was not guaranteed a salary if he did not make the team) and had discussions about his behavior previously with him. Despite his promises to behave, he still managed to represent himself poorly within the first few sessions, and by reflection, the team. The lesson here is certanly to recall that your actions have a direct impact on how others view you and are indicative of the organziation you represent.

What You Say Counts

In the episode shown on tv, Chad Johnson also comments amid laughter that he plans on getting arrested over the weekend after practice is over on Friday. Now, aside from what passes as humor or not (and getting arrested just does not seem funny to most); to think that making that statement when he has been instructed to be on his best behavior is appropriate defies logic. Under no theory known is suggesting that being arrested would comply with his commitment to his organization that he is serious about remaining a good teammate and someone the organization will not fear bringing on-board. No matter what – people will hear what you say and will interpret it in ways you may not have intended if you think you are being flippant or funny (and if he wasn’t trying to be funny, then he needs to understand when it is best not to say anything).

Domestic Violence

No matter what the actual events that transpired, and regardless of who started the argument; being accused of striking your spouse is never a good outcome. By all reports; his wife of one month did need stitches across her forehead and her injuries do seem consistent with being head-butted as she claims. While some may want to claim that it is a matter that exists outside of his football playing performance and should not impact his worthiness on the team – there just cannot be blind acceptance that it is in any way allowable. It is a further distraction from his ability to do his job, from the team to create the culture they seek, and while there may or may not ultimately be a trial to prove his guilt or innocence – it has already been tried in the court of public opinion and the Miami Dolphins would have a real hard time explaining to their fans (male and female) how they did not take action when this occurred.

Here, it does not require any discussion of lessons to learn. It is evident.
Being Fired

His coach, Joe Philbin, was filmed sharing the news with Mr. Johnson that he was no longer going to be a part of the team. Given how volatile the situation was (it is never easy to conduct a firing), the Coach explained his point of view, Chad Johnson tried to apologize and beg for his job, and the Coach let him down easily – but firmly that the decision had been reached.

While it made for riveting television, it was also a very accurate look at both the impact on the boss and the employee during these moments. One could both feel righteous anger and sorrow for Chad Johnson as he received the news that he was being let go by the team. There quite a few lessons in this exchange:

The Coach handles himself professionally and compassionately without ever getting drawn into the drama
An employee can only take so many liberties before there is a consequence.
The good of the organization supersedes the individual’s abilities.

A moment dreaded by both boss and soon to be ex-employee.

Actions Have Repercussion

As if being fired from his job was not enough, he then suffers the further indignity of having his projected television show that was scheduled to air this Fall spotlighting his marriage canceled shortly after the news broke of the arrest. Like many athletes and famous people, Chad Johnson’s image (moreso than his performance as an athlete) accounts for endorsements, business opportunities, requests to speak or appear at functions, etc. By soiling the image by his actions, he has lost not only the income from playing professional football, but also the monies he stood to earn from ancillary opportunities. The lesson is that actions have reactions. There is very little that is not connected or inter-connected in our lives. Ruin one aspect and it often bleeds into others.

To the Surprise of No One

The final straw was when he was served with papers for divorce.

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