For anyone who’s looked in alarm at the indignities and mediocrities of contemporary business life, industry expert Julie B. Kampf offers companionship and cause for hope. An executive talent leader who spends her days helping businesses build high-performance teams, Kampf knows all too well that many organizations today fail to deliver a quality customer experience. With From My Bad to My Best, she shares her thoughts on why this happens with a clear-eyed tour of how declining standards are reshaping not only business but also every aspect of the culture—from the rise of rudeness, to the antics of celebrities and politicians, to the seemingly insurmountable challenge of completing an overnight trip without insult or embarrassment. She also suggests dozens of things that people who care can do to stand up for principles such as quality, integrity, and service. Kampf does not envision an unachievable Utopia. Instead, she argues against giving up on excellence and makes the case for starting a conversation about how to do better by returning to the fundamentals in business and at home. Sometimes that can be as simple as acknowledging a mistake by saying “I’m sorry” rather than shrugging it off with “my bad.” In a world that moves faster and faster, Kampf shows the value of a principle that for more than a decade has guided her firm and her clients to profits: for all the technology that makes businesses more competitive, in the end, success is all about people.
The mindset of “my bad” has taken over and the first casualty is accountability. Just the stress caused by mundane slights and disrespect costs an estimated $300 billion a year in lost productivity, and costs rise from there as mediocrity kills service, quality and trust.
As “my bad” replaces “I’m sorry,” incivility has reached crisis levels. The result: employees, businesses, customers and careers all suffer. This chapter examines the problem -- from the costs of replacing the more than one in four Americans who have quit a job because it was an uncivil workplace to the impact on customers when more than 15 percent of incivility targets purposely decrease customer service -- and offers 10 ways to fight by restoring simple dignities to the workplace.
When you think “dignity,” you think “celebrity,” right? In the era of Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber, celebrity culture affects nearly every aspect of how we live and work and takes the “my bad” mindset to new levels. This chapter explores how the fields of sports and entertainment reward corner cutting and penalize decorum, takes issue with Charles Barkley’s famous assertion that “I’m not paid to be a role model,” and suggests 10 ways to show that a higher standard is possible by putting values into action.
Scandal and hijinks know no ideology as public servants find creative new ways to act out “my bad.” This chapter examines the tactics politicians use to avoid making an honest apology, the way their determination to keep their careers at all costs has led to a country in which people have a lower opinion of Congress than they do of head lice, and how business executives can take simple steps to set a higher standard.
Hell is now a trip in coach, or a Caribbean cruise or a stay in a two-star hotel. With a look at misguided service cuts and the indignities they create, including personal experience on a cruise that sickened more than 600 passengers, this chapter considers how the sorry state of customer service in hospitality-related businesses shows the pitfalls of acting like a commodity business in a service economy. The chapter also recommends ways to stand up for service, including following the resolution of controversial Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary to “stop unnecessarily p**sing people off.”
Research paints a grim picture of life at home today: most working parents with children under age 18 have trouble balancing work and family, parents on smartphones ignore their kids, Facebook makes us feel sad and lonely, and the U.S. leads the world in the percentage of fat people in its population. It’s time to get back to the fundamentals of parenting, relationships and health, and this chapter considers how individuals can get back on track without trying to do it all and how companies can see business benefits by helping employees lead healthier and more integrated lives.
Inspired by the “my-bad mindset,” the corporate world has jumped into The Mediocre Revolution with results ranging from ridiculous to deadly. This chapter explores high-profile shortcomings ranging from Lululemon’s non-apology for suggesting that fat women were the reason its product’s fabric was pilling to the criminal activities of Enron, WorldCom and Bernie Madoff to GM’s decade-plus recall delay and subsequent loss of public trust. Lessons learned include recommendations on how to combat a culture of arrogance.
It doesn’t have to be this bad. Some companies have taken steps to do better in an era that encourages them to do worse. Amid widespread corporate complacency about increasing cyberespionage, Target Corp.’s board ousted its CEO for moving too slowly to protect the chain following warnings of vulnerability to cyber criminals – an error that led to a breach compromising 40 million credit-card numbers. As banks too big to fail set new standards for arrogance, the CEO of one of the world’s biggest banks made a straightforward apology for a multi-billion-dollar trading loss, even as he drew criticism for not doing more. As customer service endures an era of decline, Mercedes-Benz took action to improve its customer experience, JetBlue apologized for unacceptable delays on the tarmac and created a Customer Bill of Rights, and FedEx apologized within 48 hours for a documented service mistake.
The day of the handshake deal may be over, but following through on promises is as important as ever. We can beat The Mediocre Revolution by focusing on key principles, like service and integrity, and by fighting the little battles that the forces of mediocrity want us to ignore. This chapter features insights on revitalizing the customer experience and re-establishing a standard of excellence.
The summation and invitation to connect highlights favorite advice: “You should always shoot for the moon and hope to get the roof, because if you shoot for the roof, you may only get the cellar.” Let’s get to ground level and aim as high as we can imagine.
After three decades of closely watching the best and worst of how people interact in business, I felt I had to capture the impact that poor behavior and incivility have in both our lives and the workplace. How many times a day do you hear the words “my bad”….someone’s just forgotten a phone call, blown a deadline, missed a meeting….the list continues. The words “I’m sorry” have been replaced with “My Bad” – a way of admitting a mistake and apologizing without really apologizing.
Welcome to the “Mediocre Revolution” where the words “My Bad” are the current currency and the vortex of a syndrome of stress caused by mundane slights and disrespect which costs companies an estimated $300 BILLION a year in lost productivity. And, the costs rise from there as the mind-set of “my bad” kills service, quality and trust.
As someone who helps companies attract the greatest executive talent, I see it every day. Executives who act like they are above common courtesy, businesses treating employees like throwaways, and customers getting sub-par service. No wonder so many companies struggle.
I wrote this book to start a dialogue that many believe is necessary, and to help businesses get their arms around a better way in a world where mediocrity has become more the norm than the exception. Everyone knows it exists; the question becomes, “What can we do about it?” While some have adopted the attitude of “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” others, like me, are still trying to spread the word that we must shift behaviors and reevaluate what is acceptable.
This book takes a look at the “my bad” mind-set and how to get past it, from the basic indifferences we suffer in the course of daily life, to the behavior of celebrities, athletes, and political leaders, to the changing standards of service, to the way the Mediocre Revolution plays out in business, at home and with our kids. We’ll also consider causes for hope.
Let’s start by doing the simple things differently. Say “I’m sorry.” Answer e-mails, and on a timely basis. Keep your head off the desk when you’re on Skype. It may seem like common sense; it just doesn’t seem to be commonplace…and so I thought I would share these ideas and opinions in the hopes of making a difference.
Julie Kampf helps Fortune 500 companies and other organizations build high-performance teams that increase business success. As founder and CEO of the award-winning executive talent solutions firm JBK Associates International, she has worked with industry-leading companies and thousands of senior executives to provide a full range of services related to acquiring, retaining, and developing top talent.
As a speaker and author, she challenges businesses to create more effective and inclusive leadership through her appearances in forums such as the Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity, the Linkage Summit on Leading Diversity, the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Annual Conference, and Profiles in Diversity Journal and Diversity Executive to name a few.
Kampf launched JBK in 2003 as a firm that defies industry norms by treating clients, candidates, and employees with deep respect. She has established the company as one that competes with the biggest in its field. JBK Associates International has been ranked among the nation’s top 10 innovators in diversity by Profiles in Diversity Journal, as one of Working Mother magazine’s top 25 Best Women-Owned Companies, and as one of the Inc. 500|5000 fastest-growing private companies in America for three consecutive years.
Kampf also channels her passion for helping others succeed into her work as a career coach and industry mentor, as well as through her deep commitment to community service and philanthropy, which is one of the firm’s founding principles. Twice named one of the 100 most inspiring people in the life sciences industry by PharmaVOICE magazine, Kampf strives daily to walk her talk as a strong mentor, a compassionate leader and a citizen who gives back.
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In a more innocent, less-connected time – which was not that long ago – we behaved better, and there were fewer eyes and ears peeled to catch us if we did not. Our societal admonitions not to talk behind another’s back and not to say certain things “in mixed company” were commonly honored. We were more polite, more courteous, and even before the decidedly mixed blessing of political correctness arrived to keep us on our toes, more respectful to the diverse sensitivities of those around us.
This was true at home with our families, in public with both friends and strangers, and at work in the company of those colleagues and customers who occupy a substantial portion of our lives. It is this latter environment, the workplace, that Julie Kampf takes on in The Mediocre Revolution for its rampant and damaging incivility, which costs our society hundreds of billions of dollars and exacts from our fellow human beings an uncountable personal toll.
As The Mediocre Revolution notes, 95 percent of Americans believe we have a civility problem, and 70 percent say it has become a crisis. Ninety-six-percent experience incivility in the workplace, and they react in various negative ways, which include behaving with incivility themselves, resentfully under-performing at their jobs, or using their time to find a better place to work. Yet, studies show that when workers are treated in a civil manner, they work harder; and when customers are given the proper courtesy and respect, they come back.
I recently had the opportunity to reflect on the need for workplace civility when I was asked to give a speech on civility in journalism. For the past four decades my workplace has been the newsroom, and in front of cameras and microphones, doing my job in the company of the fellow journalists and teammates who make possible the business of broadcast news, and before millions of viewers who depend upon the accuracy, truth and fairness that are the very foundations of my profession.
In my business, when we hit the air and go into millions of homes, it has to be with respect for those who watch and listen. We must be careful not to offend in any way, and always aware of the trust placed in us. In the early days of broadcasting, we were civil to a fault. Edward R. Murrow would refer to members of his reporting staff at CBS as “Mr. Collingwood” or “Mr. Severeid.” Civility, with a touch of dignity, that showed the kind of respectful, standards-observant society that we were.
Even today, most newspeople understand that their vital institution should reflect the best in American civility. They acknowledge each other’s work, thank colleagues for their good reporting, and strive to deliver full, fair and complete stories that help people live their lives.
Beyond the traditional newsroom, the public forum has been greatly expanded by new media and social media, and in some ways that’s a wonderful thing for our society and democracy. It gives everyone a voice and the opportunity to express an opinion on the problems and issues of the day. But it has also allowed people to hide behind made-up screen names, and peck hatefully and anonymously at the keyboards on their laptops and smartphones. Today, many people hurl insults at each other, and question each others’ motives and integrity in blogs and comments on newspaper stories, and in 140-character, invective-filled “tweets,” without identifying themselves and taking responsibility for their words. As a result, our public discourse has become less respectful and far less civil.
There are many factors that no doubt have led to our increased lack of civility – political disagreement, economic disruptions and unemployment, the trend away from family life and religious practice, and “entertainment” such as reality shows and video games that encourage bad behavior, unhealthy habits and the abandonment of values we once held dear. And though it would be difficult to pinpoint a specific time when our country and its manners changed so drastically, I think many of us will agree that the spread of the Internet as a playground for rumor mongers, hateful bloggers and cyber-bullies has given this awful trend its critical mass. Worst of all, many people just don’t seem to care.
As Julie Kampf notes, “Something in our culture has made rudeness okay” – though we know, deep down, that it is not. In The Mediocre Revolution, she tells us exactly how and why it is not okay, and how we can better ourselves and our workplaces, reinventing a future where there is more “please” and “thank you,” more “I’m sorry,” and more “how can I help you?”
This very important book defines for the workplace a restored culture of civility, one that must succeed if we as a society are to succeed. We have a long distance to go –because we have come so far from where we belong – and it will not be easy, but The Mediocre Revolution shows us the way.
—Ernie Anastos