Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
Appointment to PLA Board
Public Libraries Australia Ltd (PLA) proudly advocates on behalf of all Australian public libraries. Together, public libraries form Australia’s largest library sector.
Richard has welcomed appointment to the Board as an opportunity to contribute his wide experience of library service innovation and professional development and training.
For more information about PLA, visit http://www.pla.org.au/
Social Networking and Strategy
For customer service organisations, social networking without strategy is like a film without a plot. Sure, there may be lots of diverting colour and movement short term, but when the film ends, you leave the cinema feeling frustrated – still trying to make sense of it all.
A recent Smartblog article at http://tinyurl.com/2df57no supports the view that technology without strategy is only half the customer service story.
“Great corporate social-media efforts aren’t about technology … new gadgets aren’t what make companies great at engaging their customers — that has to come from sound strategic planning.”
An expert panel convened for BlogWorld Expo 2010 identified three emerging trends in social media strategy:
- Listening to your customers is great but reaching out to them is better. Great customer service is the best crisis-communications strategy. Organisations should make staff available to answer questions and talk with customers before they become disgruntled.
- No one department within an organisation (eg, Marketing) can control social media. Ultimately, all parts of the organisation will need to make effective use of social media within their areas of expertise.
- Listening doesn’t mean forgetting who’s in charge – of services and the organisation’s brand. Social-media fans are only one subset of customers, and not necessarily a representative sample. Organisations must ensure that complaints received via social media truly represent how the bulk of their customers feel – not just a vocal minority. Feedback is not a substitute for good planning and judgment!
With extensive experience of social media and strategic planning, let us help your organisation ‘stay on message’ online – contact us today.
Library Thought Leaders
Recently I interviewed Joann Ransom, Head of Libraries for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand.
Joann is one of the thought leaders responsible for the Koha and Kete open source library systems. Earlier this year, Joann was named one of the American Library Association’s Movers and Shakers for 2010, the first New Zealander to be honoured in this way.
Joann’s thoughts on innovation are simple, practical and incredibly profound. Her advice to other librarians includes:
- Go to conferences in other sectors, not just library conferences
- Don’t over think things – ask yourself, “how hard can it be?”
- Use critical friends from outside libraries to test ideas and prototypes
- Communicate your vision (the big picture) from day one
- Don’t get stuck trying to be perfect, and above all
- Don’t be scared…try things!
It’s all good advice, from someone quietly changing the library landscape, one innovation at a time.
Follow Kete.net.nz
Understanding Teams with Belbin and TMS
Principal Consultant Richard Sayers offers a range of consultancy and training services using the respected Belbin Team Roles (UK) and Team Management Systems (Australia and US) programs for improving individual self-knowledge and improving team performance.
For more information and to discuss using Belbin or TMS in your team or organisation, email [email protected] or telephone +61 (0)410 746 540.
Management Institute Awards Associate Fellowship
In recognition of his record of proven management achievement at a senior level, Richard Sayers has been made an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Richard first joined the AIM (Qld & NT ) in 1991 and was a nominee for 2009 Not for Profit Manager of the Year in Queensland.
