-
10 Questions with ... Robert Reiss
March 24, 2009
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
NAME:Robert ReissTITLE:HostSHOW:The CEO ShowMARKET:National (started in Greenwich, CT)COMPANY:Business TalkRadio NetworkBORN:May 11RAISED:New York City
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Was a management consultant for two decades, working with CEOs on business strategy. Recognized the best strategies were built around the customer. I had coined the term 'Customer Experience Organization' to help CEOs understand that the business needed to be built around the customer. Harvard Business Review did features on my work with CEOs and cited me as an 'expert in executive communications.' Significantly, I became frustrated that many CEOs missed the boat and developed business strategies that didn't include the customer (they just focused on competition, margins, cutting costs).So I believed that someone needed to carry the torch for customers. Focusing on the customer was the one strategy where everyone would win:
Individual companies would succeed
The overall economy (If businesses had focused on creating value for customers instead of on complex financial instruments which I defy anyone to understand, the US economy would not be in this mess!!!)
Employees focusing on customer would be happier and, of course, so would customers, treated with dignityCo-authored "Golf & the Art of Customer Service" as a business fable so 'the common man'... anyone (even kids) could understand the 27 principles of great service in a simple few hours.
1. Devoting a show to interviewing business leaders is an unusual concept -- how did the show come about? What drew you to radio?
I started the show (April 13, 2007) as a way for me to learn from the smartest CEOs, who had reinvented industries with the best customer service models. It would be my Ph.D. in customer experience. I would be able to ask any questions and listen over and over again. That would enable me to be a better consultant.I found a radio station in Greenwich, CT who agreed to air the show (a lot of CEOs live in Greenwich). I even originally named the show, "The Customer Experience Organization Show." But no surprise, it was a mouthful, and people just started to call it The CEO Show. As luck had it, WGCH from Greenwich was owned by BTRN, who saw the immediate success of the show and approached me with the idea of expanding.
Now, ironically, while I still do a select few consulting assignments, my life is really all radio.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
You guessed... the Customer.
3. CEOs are, and have been, taking a beating in public opinion for a while. How would you advise CEOs to project their best image to a public that seems predisposed to see them in a negative light? Is it necessary for a CEO to have a positive public image, or show the public a human side?
Some CEO deserve to take a beating; some, i.e. David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue and my first guest on The CEO Show, do not deserve the beating they've been given.I think the mistake many CEOs make is trying to protect their image. They should instead focus all of their efforts to protect the brands they are stewards of.
4. You've concentrated on the need for business to create a positive customer experience. From what you know and observe about the radio business, what's at least one thing radio stations can and should do to increase listener/customer loyalty?
Involve the listener directly.have on air sweepstakes where listeners can become co-hosts for a short segment.
Utilize the vehicles customers use in their life.i.e. use integrated media like websites, blogs, listener Q & A, use RSS feeds to share with listeners upcoming stories of interest, pod-cast special shows and e-mail them to listeners, do more host live events.
Have vehicles (online - phone) for listeners to recommend stories they want to hear
Develop a strategy session (I mean, real strategy sessions, not just business tactics) where a few avid listeners are part of the strategic planning process team. I've done this many times for companies, and it works incredible. That said, I've never done it for a radio station. But someone should!The biggest thing is to codify:
Who is their listener today?
Who do they want their listener to be tomorrow?*** Learn everything about that type of person, follow them around (officially; no stalking, please) and be the one to deliver the 'lifestyle' message about what that listener wants to hear and learn about in the future
5. The radio industry is going through difficult times, as is pretty much every other business, but there's the added element of many staffers being creative people rather than businesspeople; that is, they don't see themselves as being the same as an office worker in a non-creative field. How can a manager get non-traditional staff -- say, talk show hosts -- to feel like, and act like, part of the team to increase the station's and company's success? Do creative types require different management styles?
The key is to understand and respect each person's core identity. Highly creative and intellectually brilliant people work best when their manager completely understands their unique value-creating capacities. That way the staffers will be put in a position to succeed at the highest level. There was a profound book, "The Identity Code" by Larry Ackerman, which outlines this exact concept. As an example of how this works, how many times have you witnessed a radio host fail in one format, but then in a new correct format -- that allows their true identity to emerge -- succeeds wildly?
6. What qualities do the best CEOs share?
I can go on for hours... but in short, they:-Are open to new ideas and realize that business is always a moving target. They understand that volatility is the norm and the winners constantly produce new ideas (i.e., look at Steve Jobs)
-Understand who they want as their customer tomorrow - it's called 'that vision thing' -- and they do everything to exceed their customers' expectations today
-Communicate all the time. They don't hold the info close to their vest. They have weekly updates to staff on what's really going on. That way staff is part of the solution - instead of spending time covering their bases so they keep their job. It's called being 'inclusive'One thing practically every great CEO does is they realize step one is actually not the customer. Step one is the staff and building a great culture.the secret is for the CEOs to constantly get staff to talk though new ways to satisfy customer needs.
Great CEOs spend time with the end user customer.so many CEOs of large companies see their business as a portfolio and are more interested in foreign exchange rates and talking with investment analysts than in sitting down with an actual customer.and visiting their stores and asking staff what they should be doing.
One more, great CEOs have a dashboard that includes: customers, employees, and a brand metric. They simplify the business. Poor CEOs complicate the issues and never have their eye on the right metrics
Great CEOs create a customer vision.
Enough for now....
7. You use golf as a metaphor for business in talking about the customer experience. In a shorthand way, can you relate what golf has in common with business, and give an example of what business leaders can learn from golf?
In golf, as in business, you are ultimately not competing against competitors; you are ultimately competing against yourself.
8. You're obviously more attentive than most people to the kind of customer service you encounter in your own life. Can you give a recent example of great customer service and poor customer service that you've received in your everyday life?
I went into my local hardware store, Ridgefield Hardware yesterday. I asked for a certain door fixture. When I walked to the back, someone approached me and said, "I know you're looking for this door fixture." That to me was great service, because they 'Acted as one' (from my book) and the right people in the store knew what was happening and walked me through the process.
9. Who are your heroes?
Paul McCartney. He utilized his talents to the fullest ability. Understood the customer (listener) and had perfect balance between beautiful original melodies and what the fan wanted to hear and would buy. Also, I believe - while so many women sought him - he was loyal to Linda all those years.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
Best advice was from my grandfather, whose nickname was 'Trombone Sam' because he played an 'air trombone.' Now he's passed on several years, but when I was 5 years old he had me look up in a dictionary what he called the most important word in the English language. That word, 'reliability' is how I try to live.He also once told me, "Robbie, my boy, if you are on a mountain top and want to get to a higher peak, you have to go through the valley first."
-
-