The Soft Pitch

I recently started subscribing to a blog about how to write a better blog (for those interested it’s Copyblogger and I find it interesting and instructive). The last post I read admonished bloggers to focus more on providing quality content and not be so self-promotional. A blog post should be like a gift, providing you something of value. Got me to thinking – are my post too promotional? Maybe, I always try to provide some insight into Avnet readers might not get otherwise, but since this is a corporate blog, it’s always about Avnet in some way.

I had planned on writing about Avnet’s new customer loyalty champion, Michelle Gardner, who recently took over the Customers Matter blog  and the Customers Matter Twitter account. I met with her the other day as we started talking about plans for communicating more with employees on customer service. I knew Michelle Gardner from before when she was focused on operational excellence. She’s intelligent, thoughtful and committed to enhancing the total “Avnet customer experience.” Now, I don’t know how much of a gift this is for you, but if you haven’t checked out her blog yet, you may find it interesting. She offers insight into great customer service, and she wants to hear directly from our customers and potential customers about what’s on their minds so she can build that into her plans. I can’t help but thinking her energy and enthusiasm is going to make a real difference.

I believe we’re going to see customer engagement really pick up momentum in the coming year. At all levels of the company, I hear Avnet employees and management talking about how to take the data from our customer surveys and turn it into specific actions to improve how we serve and engage individual customers.  Of course, it’s also one of those things that if you don’t play, you can’t win.  In other words, as with any survey, not everyone participates. But for those customers who do, it can make a real difference because our teams are listening carefully to what you say on those surveys to see if there are opportunities for us to do a better job for you – and of course we hope to win more of your business in the process. It’s a win-win proposition. So that’s my gift to you – check out her blog as Michelle has some good customer service info, and if you’re a customer, please take the survey when you get it so we can do a better job for you.

It’s the last day of our fiscal year, and I know all our teams are working hard to make it happen for their customers, suppliers and our shareholders.  The energy is high and quite frankly I’ve spent the last two weeks just trying to stay out of their way. So I haven’t asked for details on any new programs, gone looking for pictures of a community service project by one of our branches or even dug for a news scoop to share via this blog or Twitter. What am I doing?  Listening.

Listening to the rumblings across a global organization that shares a common goal – serve the customer the best we can.  Here’s what I’m hearing: there’s a new team in Thailand affectionately nick-named “The Magnificent Seven.”  It’s a small team focused on IT solutions – they made a sale the first day they opened their doors. Sounds like we’re ready to meet an unmet demand in that market.  There’s an effort in Europe to streamline how we go to market to make it easier for customers to buy. In Mexico, they’re getting ready to announce a new relationship (I can’t tell you who, because then I’d break the cardinal rule of letting them announce their own news).  But I can tell you they’re bringing on a new partner that will help them provide high availability and disaster recovery solutions to resellers. How do we make a decision to open a new office, sign a new supplier or change-up how we go to market? We listen to our customers – and not just once a year in a survey (even though we do that too), but all the time.

So while I’m listening to employees across Avnet, they are listening to their customers and their markets to make decisions on how to serve them better. One of the best pieces of parenting advice for those with teens I ever read basically said, if your teen wants to talk, no matter what you’re doing, stop and listen. It doesn’t matter if you’re too busy or are right in the middle of something. Stop and listen. Fifteen minutes later is too late, the moment will have passed and your teenager will be on to something else. I do it, it works with my teenage daughter. Sometimes I forget, but I always try.  Just the fact that I try on a consistent basis sends a huge message that I care. It’s the same with our customers. We listen when they’re ready, when they have something to say. There’s nothing more important because we certainly don’t have all the answers, so listening helps us make decisions.

We’re not perfect, but our research tells us that all other things being equal, more customers prefer to do business with Avnet.  I think it’s because we listen better.

My wishes came true, went to Wrigley Field and saw the Cubs play on Saturday and Sunday with my best friends and wife and son. The Cubs played bad and and watched our right fielder, a guy (Milton Bradley) who gets paid $10 million dollars lose track of how how many outs there were and threw the ball into the stands with only two outs while the Twins ran around the bases…embarrasing.  Dont get me started.

Ate at my favorite resturants in Chicago, Harry Carey’s and Domo 77….and stayed at the Drake, very kool. 

But my the best was saved for last when approx 50 friends and family showed up to play 16″ softball at Forest Park. Some of these old guys can still play. I hit ok, when I got on twice I had a younger 59 year old girl run for me on the bases. The laughs and stories were memorable. Good to get back our roots…talking to people that do not care about what I do and where I travel…only me as a person. My cake was in shape of Wrigley. My wife wore one of my old uniforms from my first team the Baggers…my son wore Molex uniform, a team that was recognized in the Hall….so no one would complain I wore an Avnet Dry Heat jersey. 

But what was really cool was the hope on three issues…there were 4 new babies there, young kids…what a future in this world for them. While there everyone could see the progress on the 16″ Softball Hall of Fame being built…wow…I’m very proud of our folks…opens 7/19…and last everyone was hopeful biz and life would improve….even though a few have had a rocky year.

We came home and I got a surprise Monday when my staff and others had real Chicago dogs and hostess cup cakes for me…at lunch. They know me well.

Alot of folks over 700 read my last blog post…thanks for listening…again the first 50 years were great, Avnet made the last 10 being great and in overdrive. Stay tuned I’m just getting started.

Multi-tasking is a myth – or so-said a brain researcher interviewed on radio a few weeks ago.  Her point was you may think you’re being ultra-efficient and doing two things at once, but what’s really happening as far as your brain is concerned is more like a fast game of ping-pong, your attention is bouncing between two things and you are never really giving either one the attention it deserves. That’s why people get in accidents while talking on the cell phone and driving at the same time. 

But in today’s world, we’re all so busy, how can we not try to get two things done at once? That got me thinking about other activities that have two purposes.  Is it the same?  For example, my daughter is supposed to go to the Grand Canyon in a few weeks with the YMCA.   It’s a combo fun, outdoors trip for teens AND they are going to put in some community service doing trail maintenance, reseeding burned out areas, etc.  The teens win, the park service wins, (and parents win by sending the kids out of town for a week!). That seems to work – they’ll split their time between fun and service and accomplish more in the long run.

I’m impressed when our Avnet employees do the same thing: they plan and host events that benefit our local communities and build relationships with our customers and suppliers at the same time.  For example, employees at Avnet’s Peabody, Mass., office have started a tradition of combining an annual customer appreciation day with a Toys for Tots drive.  In the Netherlands, employees joined with reseller partners to run a marathon that raised money for Kinderhulp, a Dutch organization assisting children in troubled home situations (I’d call that a three-fer – relationship building, raising money for kids and exercise!). 

That brain scientist might understand how the brain functions, but people clearly function a bit differently.  That’s the working smarter, not harder part. Here’s another example and full disclosure on my part.  In the spirit of trying to accomplish two things at once: that trip to the Grand Canyon?  Turns out the Y needs a few more kids to go on the trip and really help out the park service.  Got a bored teen at home who likes the outdoors and can use some CR on the college resume?  Check it out here  … they leave June 21 and mom could really use the break.

Getting quick answers to technical questions can be a bit frustrating as most of us know.  My daughter’s laptop froze up recently, so I did a quick online search, found the answer in a technical forum in just a few minutes (unfortunately looks like it’s something I can’t fix like replacing a battery, everything is indicating static electricity zapped her mother board). For design engineers, the problems are considerably more complex and best answered by other engineers and technical experts like those at Avnet. 

So last month, quietly and without much fanfare, Avnet Electronics Marketing launched online technical forums . Some of the questions are way beyond me, like on the discussion forum for the Spartan 3A Evaluation Kit someone asks:   “Can I do a microblaze design with the Webpack?” Apparently the answer is yes, and anyone asking the same thing will get an instant answer by checking the forums. Just another cool way Avnet is helping its customers get done what they need to get done better and faster.

You can check out the forums at: http://community.em.avnet.com/avnet/ .