This week I’ve been digging into my archives to bring this peek into my past. As many of you know I worked for more than two decades the in consulting and high-tech. Over that period I learned some important lessons which I thought I would share with you…
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Let me take you back to a moment in 2016…
I’m currently on contract with the technology group at a large retail multi-national (Saks Fifth Avenue as part of Hudson’s Bay Company) and leading one of their high visibility technology programs. I must admit it’s been an interesting experience and particularly more so recently now that we’ve been deploying a new solution to the 425 stores.
In a nutshell we’re replacing the POS (Point of Sale) coupled with new certified pin pads to enable customers to use their credit cards utilizing “chip and pin” technology. Strangely it is all transparent to the sales associate and customer, but imperative to ensure both a good customer purchasing experience as well as keeping credit card data safe.
Leading a multifaceted program like this can be daunting proposition, but also a rush. So where to begin…
As I mentioned there is an enormous focus on keeping customer credit card data safe, and so the rules and regulations governing these types of transactions is incredibly stringent. In addition, layer on the encryption required by the Banks plus the business’ internal information security and network requirements then, just for fun an incredibly tight timeline and voila!
I must admit I love the complexity of a big program like these, especially figuring out ways with the team to overcome the next hurdle that’s placed in front of us. Trust me there are many, and mostly on a daily basis!
The real fun and games begin when we start deploying the finished product out to store and the sometime effortless and other times problematic challenges there are.
Let me share with you a few things I’ve learned over the course of my career.
Indelible tip #1: Staying calm
This never gets old especially in the heat of the moment and the pressure is on to execute and deliver.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no shrinking violet but rather an incredibly “passionate” individual, who incidentally is a tad competitive. Now, for those that don’t know me very well, this can sometimes be misconstrued as being overly aggressive but trust me I’d rather be seen as a passionate leader vs. someone who goes through the motions and really doesn’t engage with those around them or the task at hand. I like to think I get shit done!
I think the thing that has helped me most is what I learned as a high-performance athlete in terms of staying focused on the end game, particularly when stuff goes off the rails unexpectedly. Stuff happens, sometimes mistakes are made, my advice is to acknowledge them and figure out what you need to do quickly resolve the issue and move on. Additionally, plan out what you need to differently next time. It’s so important not to dwell on the mistakes but rather focus on the big picture, you have to shake it off and keep moving forward.
At moments like these I also use what I’ve learned in my meditation and yoga classes to get through some particularly challenging days… If that doesn’t work for you look for what centres you and settles you down when you’re most vulnerable to stress, but more importantly not to let it get to you.
Staying cool, calm and collected when chaos ensues all around you is key!
Indelible Tip #2: Fact Based
Not surprisingly I’m always trying to juggle ten different competing priorities all at once, all this bundled with non-stop meetings and calls… all just part and parcel of leading a tech delivery team.
Let me map out a normal day for you when we deploy our new solution to stores (usually many at once – our record is 53 stores at once).
Firstly, the team is assembled in the “war room” at the office and on a phone bridge starting at 6:00 am, which means a 4:45 am wake up call for me and into the office to open the bridge. This is then followed by 12+ solid hours of calls from stores who have questions or who are experiencing issues or problems. High call volumes revolve around the time zones as the stores prepare to open across the successive time zones, many stores begin calling about an hour in advance (for those well prepared stores at least) and as it gets closer to store opening the call volume increases significantly, and so by the way does the level of stress as everyone is clamouring for help…often last minute.
Sometimes they’re technical issues of which there can be a wide variety of reason, so the ability to troubleshoot quickly over the phone is really a great skill to have. First important thing to remember is to ask simple, clear and probing questions because the quicker you can diagnose the problem the faster you can triage to an expert who can help resolve it. This can be difficult especially when you have a freaked-out customer associate on the phone, who may in turn have an upset customer staring at them across the checkout counter…yeah, fun times!
A big part of my role is to act as traffic cop, diagnose and triage quickly. The exciting thing is that for every call you’re flying blind to some degree. Perhaps it’s the uncertainty of the situation that drives your adrenaline. Not only are you trying to keep calm but also, you’re trying to keep everyone around you calm and get to the facts as quickly as possible so you can help them out.
Leading from the front with a calm and focused demeanour is crucial.
Indelible Tip #3: Letting go
Even though companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on training programs what I’ve found is that a vast majority of people don’t invest in the time to go through the training, nor read the training guides or manuals. Nope, they’d rather wing it, with the common refrain of “I’ve been doing this for year, how hard can it be I’ll learn as I go”.
Now for some types of training this might work well, but for a new POS with a bunch of new and/or different functionality and business processes this is a recipe for disaster! Nothing says bad user experience as much as not being able to run a simple transaction for a customer…
One classic example, and seriously I’ve taken this call at least 50 – 60 times in the last couple of weeks… ”This pin pad doesn’t work!” says a frustrated associate on the phone. “Okay, tell me what you’re trying to do?” I ask simply. “Well, I’m trying to sell merchandise” they retort in a irritated tone. “Great, so let’s do a transaction together, and as you do, walk me through each step that you’re doing so we can figure out the problem” I say in a cool, calm and chipper voice… This is often followed by an exasperated sigh, “fine, but it doesn’t work!” At this point I say nothing…and wait for them to gather themselves.
“Are you at the register now?” I ask. Let’s scan an item… Yes, hit total, ah-huh now bankcard… “See it doesn’t work!”, they say in an exasperated voice. Hit enter I say calmly…silence…”no one told me I had to hit enter!” Now what do you see on the pin pad? “Oh, it’s working now” is the reply. Great – do you have any other issues you’d like me to look at while I’m on the phone? No, I’m good they often reply sheepishly, and can’t wait to get off the phone.
My advice…read the user guide – it has pictures!
Today, life as a professional photographer and writer is different, but no less hectic when you have a wedding party in front of you expecting timeless photos that capture the essence of the moment. I suppose I love high pressure working environments.
Until next week!
Ciao