Having just returned from the ATA Washington Summit, I took away one major lesson: Compliance is all about listening. 
The American Teleservices Association put on a great show. Their hard work at developing relationships with governmental organizations and legislators produced meetings with the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC and six Congressmen. Pretty impressive access for an organization that was getting beat up in the national media about five years ago, right?
Do you know how they did it? Put simply, they listened.
After the Do Not Call laws were enacted, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the ATA listened to consumers and legislators. Then, they acted. They are continuing to listen with the ongoing development of a Self Regulatory Organization that will help to ensure the compliance of its members.
They are still listening, not only to the legislators, but also to the consumers.
They understand that what led to the adoption of a Do Not Call bill was forgetting about the fact that consumers ultimately have the power with their voices. And if businesses are not listening to them, their legislators will.
I give a ton of credit to Tim Searcy and the rest of the team at the ATA for their continued growth and dedication to staying ahead of compliance. The biggest question, however, is this: Are WE learning anything from them within our own organizations? Are we truly listening to the consumers? Are we listening to what people want and don’t want, in terms of the conversations we are having with them?
I sure hope so, because the Do Not Call legislation is a great example of what happens when we don’t.
Sometimes you just need to do both at once
When I come into work, I am the Online Conversation Results Manager and a Conversational Quality Coach. I may even get to be the Program Results Supervisor that day or get in direct contact with our donors, as one of our Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs).
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I am a student of the Five Ancient Fists Kung Fu, a student in Professor Waite’s Professional Business and Communication class, and one of Professor Garchar’s most engaging students in Comparative Religious Thought philosophy class.
When I come home, I’m dada. I’m also the single income, hereditary sickle cell afflicted, wholehearted Christian struggling “to keep his hands on the plow”.
So how do I keep these three different lives completely separate and stay present in all of them? Well, one thing is for certain. It’s a challenge that requires continuous adjustment and daily maintenance. Oftentimes, it’s not me who struggles carrying over one aspect of life to the other, but inevitably there are times of imbalance.
But there’s no reason for this to be sugar-coated or even studded with inspirational quotes because, to be honest, it’s tough. Not tough in my ability to separate the areas of my life, but instead in the demands the other areas require at times. There is no way to stop my teacher from assigning homework, which means more work at home and less time to play. Rather, it’s more time to debate “who’s not doing their part” and still, in the end, get the homework done. Staying present is definitely a challenge, but it is not impossible.
I learned from Incept, and specifically Dave Walter, that constantly being present rests mainly in your state of mind. Not allowing the stresses to carry over from one thing into the other is key. As Dave said, “..it’s not your best friend’s, boy or girlfriend’s, shoot, it’s not even your dogs fault if you have a bad day at work.” You have to be sure to leave the issues where they are created and not carry them with you.
Working at Incept is a different kind of experience. I really get the feeling that the company is invested in my future, both as an employee and as a person. Here are just a few reasons why:
My Accountability Group - Lisa, Chris, Allison and Sarah
A few months ago, Incept decided to try something different. Something that would help our employees on a deeper level – a goal-setting and accountability program. It started with management and worked its way down to our CMEs. I was one of the first to jump on board.
When we talked to our President and Chief Results Officer, Sam Falletta, he said to us, “I want to help each of you reach your goals, even if they have nothing to do with your work.” He wanted to help each of us be “present” at home and work to allow us to feel more balanced and free up our minds to be more productive.
It certainly worked. I feel like my team holds me accountable for the goals I set, and pushes me to balance my life. The results have been amazing: people all over the company are reaching their goals and doing more because they now have the support system in place to help them feel more present.
Going along with the idea of trying something new and reaching for bigger and more challenging goals is the value, “never satisfied.” This one is pretty straightforward. There’s never a reason to stop improving.
This is one of my favorite values at Incept, as once you’ve reached your goal, the next level is always just within your grasp. Everything can be improved and we can always accomplish more with the strong support we have from everyone around us.
Everyone working at Incept contributes to this value. The impact each of us make and the way we push one another to new heights is what makes Incept great! We are never satisfied with being average or with only reaching our goals. There’s always something more you can do! Try finding that at your typical nine-to-five office. Just another reason why Incept is special!
For years, I’ve talked about “finding your motivation.” I’ve told my story to the internal team here at Incept, but now is my chance to let the rest of the world know why I do what I do.
My niece in the hospital with her mother!
At the young age of only 18 months, my niece was diagnosed with a cavernous malformation of the portal vein and, consequently, esophageal verices. While I’ll spare you any more medical terminology than necessary, at her age, this life-threatening condition was difficult to treat and heavily relied on red cell and platelet transfusions to sustain her life. The years that followed were emotional and petrifying for our family. Several times each year, my niece’s condition would cause massive internal bleeding, resulting in single-digit hemoglobin levels and countless blood transfusions.
There were many instances where blood donors, none of whom I have ever met, saved my niece’s life.
Let’s fast-forward 12 years, to when our local community blood center approached Incept for assistance with blood donor recruitment. I immediately felt a connection to the cause, but underestimated what it meant to me personally, and also to my career. I told the story of my niece to many; and each day felt an attachment to the blood center industry, the donors that give, and the patients that receive.
Fast-forwarding again, just before her 16th birthday, my niece was approached by several surgeons who felt that they could perform an experimental surgical proceudre and virtually eliminate both conditions. While preparing for her surgery, I inquired about the number of transfusions she had received over the years. The doctor perused her file and estimated that she had received over 200 units of platelets (to assist with clotting), and the red cells used were simply too numerous to count.
The passion for the mission, internally, is contagious and I feel a connection to the lives I help to save each and every day. It is part of who I am, not just what I do. Thanks to countless strangers who have donated blood, unaware of who would eventually receive it, my niece is still alive today. I now have the opportunity to give that gift to patients in need around the country.
My niece, now 21, is happy and healthy because of blood donors, and my mission is to pay it forward. Won’t you join me in my mission? Please consider saving a life today. You never know who may love that patient. It could be me!
There’s something special about Incept. It’s hard for me to put my thumb on it, but when you spend time around the people here you just get “that feeling.” You feel like you’re part of something bigger, because you’re a part of changing things for the better. A few of our values outline how that’s possible.
When you go looking for jobs in today’s market, something very few people ever think about is, “How important is my opinion going to be to this company?” Here at Incept that isn’t the case. Every employee’s opinion is important. Every voice has equal weight and can cause an equal impact.
“Everyone’s A Customer” is where this whole idea came from. Each day, every employee has a chance to make an impact by letting their voice be heard. From our CMEs to our Program Results Supervisors – all the way to upper management – everyone in the contact center is passionate about serving and helping each other. We are all customers to each other! So everyone has a chance to impact the company, because everyone’s opinion is important.
“Tenacious” can be defined as holding fast, characterized by keeping a firm hold. For us, being tenacious means living by the values we say we stand for and never compromising them to make things easier. When I said that everyone’s opinion counts, I mean it – even if that opinion might not be what we want to hear.
Dave Walter, our Vice President of Contact Center Results, loves to quote Norman Vincent Peale, like when he said, “The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
We stand by our values, even if that means we have to face the bad with the good. It’s a belief that if you surround yourself with the correct type of people, do the right kind of work, and stick to what you believe in, you’ll be rewarded in the end. This really reflects on how strongly our employees feel about working at Incept: proud and passionate. There’s something remarkably special about that.
In a world of modern conveniences, we are adjusting the way we do things every day. With the invention of caller ID, if a number comes up that we don’t 
recognize (or it is the number you just know is that call center again), we are very unlikely to answer the call. Why would we want to talk to someone we don’t know or deal with a telemarketer?
I understand not wanting to deal with them, but what if that caller had something very important to tell you?
We lead busy lives these days, but are we too busy to help someone in need? Or three people in need? Maybe that is why the unknown phone number or call center is calling you. That call could be someone asking you to spare an hour of your time to save three peoples’ lives, by donating blood. That call could be one of Incept’s CMEs!
It could be one of our CMEs whose own life, or that of a family member, has been saved by generous blood donors. These CMEs are giving back, to help others in the same way others have helped them and their families. Donating blood every 56 days is so important as there is no substitute for it!
So the next time that phone rings, you check the caller ID and don’t want to answer the call, just remember the old proverb, “Opportunity only knocks once.” Or, in this case, only rings once!
Integrity is a core value at Incept – something that we hold very near and dear to our hearts. Personally, I feel this is the number one value a company and individual can have and appreciate the fact that it has been included in one of Incepts six values.
At Incept, we define integrity as “doing the right thing.” Our definition also includes the following:
- We will always behave in a way that our mother would be proud of
- We tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
- We will only associate with people who are completely honest and ethical
Do the right thing. Pretty easy to understand, don’t you think? Don’t do bad things, be honest, honor commitments, and so on.
How do you define integrity?
- Does it mean that you will never be late to work or have to miss a deadline that you committed to?
- Does it mean that you will never tell even the littlest white lie?
- Does it mean you will never cheat?
- Does it mean you will never break even the most insignificant rule or law?
So, if you do one of the above, do you feel you should no longer be considered an ethical person? Or do you feel there are boundaries to what can and cannot be done?
Erin Smith - New CME and Blood Recipient
Below is a letter of appreciation from one of our new CMEs! As a previous blood recipient, she is thankful to be able to help other potential recipients get the live-saving blood they need.
April 13, 2010
Making calls for blood donations on behalf of blood centers means a lot to me on a personal level. Having had a heart transplant and needing units of donated blood products myself, and knowing that blood products are constantly needing to be replenished, gives me insight on exactly how meaningful these calls are. I would not be here today if it wasn’t for the selfless acts of those individuals giving a part of themselves to help save another life. My daughter would be without her mother and my mother would be without her daughter. It brings me to tears to even think about that. I also have family members that would have passed before their time had they not received this life-saving gift.
Being able to work for Incept and schedule donors to make blood donations is a privilege for me. In a way, asking for blood donations, knowing that I am helping to replenish the blood supply, is a small token of my thanks to those that have helped save my life. I am going to strive to be the best employee that I can be to ensure that I can schedule as many people as possible to donate and save a life. I like to consider myself somewhat of a humanitarian, and this position definitely works toward that goal. It is a pleasure to work on behalf of blood centers across America.
We would like to thank Erin for this amazing letter! At Incept, we give our CMEs the opportunity to save more lives in a single shift than any other job out there. If you are looking for your chance to make a difference, apply to be a CME at Incept today!
Have you ever spent time – be it a year or even an entire decad
e – working for a company without seeing the Owner or President step foot onto the floor?
Sure, he or she’s busy doing “President stuff,” but a king with no people has no empire. You’d think they would take some time, even once a quarter, to step out and show a little gratitude and appreciation to the employees who keep the business fully functioning each and every day.
I believe I was working at Incept for around a month before the President introduced himself, along with the Vice President and CEO, during an Employee of the Month meeting. They gave me a brief overview of the company culture, vision and origin.
One of their shinning moments was admitting that the little guys sometimes had the hardest, yet always the most important, job within the company. They wanted us to know just how much they relied on us. We, of course, all knew this, but it was refreshing to hear the big cheese admit it.
It was probably three months later that the President came in on a Saturday, sat in one of the cubicles and started making calls with the rest of us. Rumors spread like wildfire, until his name appeared on the livestats with the rest of us, entering into the unofficial competition to be named top blood donor recruiter for a particular program. It was also refreshing to see that Sam, our President, was able to back up his title with his performance. I believe he finished in the top three spots of appointments per hour.
For anyone that has spent more than two weeks at Incept, you will come to realize that Sam is a frequent visitor of the Contact Center. At any given moment, he might be speaking with Managers or waving to the Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs), but he also prides himself on keeping a consistent, transparent response towards any issue directed his way. He’s the type of person that leaves you saying, “what a really cool guy.”
As I have gotten closer to Sam, and worked with him on more projects, his passion for what we do continuously surpasses all of my previous expectations. He is a perfect example of someone who is never satisfied, always looking to innovate and constantly improve results.
I just learned a valuable lesson and wanted to share it.
I just received my notice that I did not make the list of finalists for Seth Godin’s 5 day nano-MBA program. For a split second, I had the “how dare they? I would have been perfect” reaction that comes from trying to place blame somewhere else.
Luckily, that feeling was short-lived. I immediately realized that just because I was not selected, does not mean there is not a ton of value in the process. I spent about two hours writing an incredibly passionate application about how we are making a difference at Incept. I talked about how our CMEs save thousands of lives each year by recruiting blood donors and how we are building a culture that makes everyone feel important. I talked about the way we approach conversational marketing and why we think that is special. I shared the idea of Incept’s Goals Groups and the impact it has had on individual’s lives.
I had hoped to attend Seth’s class to extend our reach and impact more people, but not getting in does not mean I can’t do it. I had planned on being out of the office for 5 days in May anyway, why did they have to be in New York? I can still advance our project, and help people understand they make a difference and continue growing a company that helps save lives everyday.
I learned a valuable lesson in the fact that “NO”, doesn’t mean “NO” as much as it means, “Not in the way you originally planned.” I still have plenty of opportunities to make just as big of an impact as I would have if I spent 5 days with Seth, I just have to find an alternate way to do it. So…instead of spending 5 days in NY in May, I am going to take Monday, May 17th and dedicate it entirely to making Incept a better place to work, and a model for similar companies to improve their culture. I’ll spend the rest of that week making our ideas happen as quickly as possible. I’d love to have help from anyone interested. Any takers?
