Derek Jeter, N.Y. Baseball legend, has a strict rule: When you visit his home you must deposit your phone in a basket by the door. He does this to protect his privacy, but it also creates a deeper connection between him and his guests.
I personally get the same feedback at home. This results in both my wife and I doing less multi-tasking, so that our private time is just that, private.
You need a similar rule at your work: Phones must be kept off during internal meetings, client and sales calls, and when your team is working in the field. To lead this culture you should practice the same at home during family time.
Enjoy this 1:58 minute video on why your smart phone may make you look dumb. Pass it around.
My challenge to you: Have your company divisional leaders measure themselves and their divisional performance on proper smart phone etiquette, on a scale of 0-10 for the four areas below (10 is perfect, 0 is terrible.)
How well do you and you team keep phones off during:
- Company meetings (entire team)
- Clients visits (sales people, account managers),
- Working in the field (entire team),
- Home/family time (you).
The huge benefit to all this is you will do a superbly better job at communicating, building relationships and delivery great service.
