I have to apologize for my long absence, but I’ve been in year end mode for the entire month. To make up for it, I have a killer list of free tools to geek out on. This list should have something for everyone. I have technology tools, business tools and even an online image editor.
- Google SketchUp – Our Google Overlords continue to keep the masses in check with their constant stream of cool, free apps. This one allows you to create any kind of 3D model you can think of. From a skyscraper to a toilet brush, you can create and manipulate just like professional CAD software. Check out Detroit’s Renaissance Center:
- Recuva – Have you ever deleted a file, emptied the recycle bin and then realized you just got rid of a spreadsheet that you spent 20 hours on? This is the app for you. It scans your hard drive and will recover as many files as it can see. The step by step wizard walks you through the process and make it dead simple to use.
- Fotoflexer – This online image editing application is a lifesaver when you’re at your in-laws house and need to crop, resize, get rid of red-eye or whatever. It has preset effects that you can apply to photos, along with text and even layers. Very slick.
- inSSIder – Troubleshooting Wifi can be a real headache. Channels, spectrums, encryption levels make it a real mess when there’s a high concentration of traffic. This tool breaks it all down and gives a nice graphical view of everything it can see.
- SolarWinds Advanced Subnet Calculator – If you’re a network person, this is a tool you shouldn’t leave home without. You just punch in an IP and it will tell you all of the subnets, ranges, broadcasts and networks that relate to it.
- PrimoPDF Creator – No one wants to pay 500 bucks for Acrobat just to create PDFs from your documents. This free app installs in about 30 seconds and sets up a “printer” that you can select from any application and will create PDFs every bit as well as the big guns do.
So usually I recommend my favorite free software packages on Fridays. Today I want to talk about another borderline obsession of mine that makes me all giddy inside when I think about it. Books. I read a LOT. The summer before I went to live in Brazil for two years, I read over 200 books to “tank up” before the long drought. I LOVE books. Dickens and Heinlein and Nietzsche and Shakespeare and Aurelius and Twain and Dumas… Ok, calm down. Anyway, I’ve had a number of conversations lately about books that have been important to me over the course of my career.
I won’t bore you with the dark corners of my literary addiction. Rather I’d like to recommend some titles that I think everyone should read. Whether you’re in IT or sales, whether you work at a big company or you started your own, I think everyone can benefit from these works.
In No Particular Order:
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – This is one of the very first books about "soft skills” that I ever read. This book was written in 1936 and I think has been in print ever since. The language has been updated and some of the sections were removed since I first read it (who needs to know about writing a business letter these days), but it stands as the book that started it all for me. There is a lot of common sense advice that everyone can benefit from.
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey – This isn’t one I go back and re-read a whole bunch, but there are some principles that Covey explains in such a way that really resonates with me. I was first exposed to the concept of “Begin with the End in Mind” in this book and I use it daily. In software development, troubleshooting, customer service, and life in general, it is absolutely critical to know where you’re going before you start. The other idea that I took away from this was “Sharpen the Saw”. Continually exposing yourself to new ideas and new ways of doing things will keep you excited and relevant. (I’m talking to you IT folks.)
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber – This one was recommended to me a year or so after I started my first business. I think the lessons that can be taken away from this one are not limited to entrepreneurs though. The idea that good businesses are made up of systems and should have well defined responsibilities is a valuable lens to look at and evaluate any company. One of the questions I ask the most as I consult is “What is your process for handling that?” If I get a well articulated (or heaven forbid a documented) answer to that question, it will speed up the process by an astounding amount.
So that’s my starter list, for those of you who have asked me. Let me know what you think, and I’ll post the next list in a couple of months.
PS
Today is my anniversary and I wanted to take a minute to tell my amazing, smart and beautiful wife how much I love and appreciate her. You have made the last 11 years a non-stop roller coaster of fun, self-discovery and excitement for me. I am very fortunate to have you by my side as we try to figure out this whole “life” thing together.
On December 13th, 2009, I was getting ready to go to a performance of Handel’s Messiah, in which my lovely and talented wife was to sing in the choir. My most excellent older brother and his wife were going to keep the kids for me. My very good friend and his wife were going to come with me so I wouldn’t have to sit alone. All was right with the world.
Then, as quick as a rattlesnake, I was doubled over in pain, white as a sheet and filled with both dread of what was to come and guilt for ruining so many people’s plans. I knew exactly what the problem was, as I had experienced it several times before. Kidney stones. (If you didn’t actually shudder and cringe when you read that you’ve never had them.)
So way back on that Sunday afternoon, I figured this was going to be an inconvenience and no more. I had painkillers and anti-nausea meds and even some nifty stuff called Flomax which helped the last stone I had pass in just six hours. I figured it would be more or less a repeat of that. How wrong can one chubby computer guy be? That was the question I was ironically pondering a week later as they were wheeling me into my first ever surgery.
What does all of this have to do with service? I talk a bunch about customer service, service in your organization, a service mindset, always from the perspective of the one serving. Over the course of this couple of weeks, I got a very large dose of the perspective of being served.
Learn From My Pain
- It’s vaguely uncomfortable to be served by someone else. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy. Maybe it’s because I’m a support person at heart. I’m not sure what it is, but I always feel like I should be doing things for myself. Being in a position where I physically CAN’T do things for myself made me realize that despite the slight discomfort from being served, I am SO grateful to those who helped me out. I would do almost anything for those people in return. Keep that in mind as you try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.
- The strongest relationships are forged (or broken) in service. When someone really needs your help, that’s the absolute BEST time to win them over. If you help them when they need it, they will remember. I have an esteemed colleague that gets an absolutely electric charge out of going into a situation where the customer is upset and then turning the situation around and winning them over for life. I’ve seen it happen, these people would do anything for him when he’s done.
- Customer service is about one person serving another. It has nothing to do with corporate policies or call centers or even the product itself. It boils down to a single person doing their best to make the other person feel valued and cared for. There has been volume after volume written on this subject, but that’s the heart of it. If you can pull this off, everything else is candy.
I hope this give some insight from the other side of the table that will help in pursuit of excellent service. I have experienced such a tremendous amount of great service over the past several weeks, and I can tell you first-hand how amazing it is when it happens. From the nurses and doctors that took care of me in the hospital, to my true friends who brought food when we needed it (I didn’t cook a meal for days), to my family members and coworkers who prayed for me, checked in on me and thought about me, I am grateful to them all.
The one I have to single out in this, though, is my beautiful, intelligent, patient and caring wife. She did everything that needed to be done for both of us for several weeks. She missed out on doing things she loves doing and rearranged her whole life without a whisper of complaint and at a moment’s notice. She is the greatest.
After this outpouring of support that I experienced, I have felt very loved and appreciated. I feel like I can surmount any obstacle with all of these great people on my side. I didn’t mean to get sappy at all with this, so let me leave you with this question. What would happen in your business/job/life, if you could make the people around you feel like that every time you were around them? I can’t tell exactly, but I bet it would be amazing.
