ACR industry ambassadors wanted!

Would you like to become an ambassador for our ACR Industry? There are now more ways than ever before for you to represent your industry.
In the discussion-thread to my last blog, the topic of ACR Industry Ambassadors appeared with several eminent industry names being offered as excellent examples of people whom are considered as fulfilling this role. There were less than a handful of names proposed but in reality there are many more. A lot more in fact with the vast majority and perhaps the best examples quietly going about their business almost unnoticed.

An ACR Ambassador is a person who acts as a representative or promoter of this industry. Thirty years ago that person would probably have been a senior business person or leading academic nearing the end of their career and 'now finding the time to put something back' into the industry. Fifteen years ago, in a more image-conscious era, that role tended to be filled by younger and more dynamic types pushed by their organisation's wider responsibility to the industry. Today, while both of these may still be true, the scope has widened considerably and we need to look outside the boardrooms and universities to find many more real ambassadors.

The ACR industry's greatest asset has always been the people that work within it. In today's social-media landscape every one of these has a voice and many are using it to great effect. Visit any of the web's many online industry related forums and groups and you will find people sharing information and best practice, answering questions, and offering guidance. It has always been ingrained in ACR industry people to want to solve problems and help others. Social media now gives them the ability - and sometimes the credibility - to be industry ambassadors on a much wider stage. We can find ACR industry evangelists generating a buzz all over the web. Take a closer look you and will find in abundance, the passion, energy, knowledge and experience that are traditionally attributed to an ambassador. There is no longer one face and voice representing and promoting the industry, nor even a handful, there are hundreds, maybe thousands.

This doesn't mean that the only ones representing and promoting our industry are tweeters, bloggers, Facebookers, or LinkedIners, etc. By its very nature, the ACR industry has its foundation in engineering and whilst many aspects of the industry have changed, mechanical products and systems are still at the heart of everything we do. As technology has changed over the years and mechanical reliability improved, it is also true that customer expectations have risen. Demand for product knowledge and excellence in customer care is greater than ever before.

To users of ACR systems the people who really represent our industry and promote its activities are our front-line staff. The engineers and technicians who get their hands dirty and actually make or fix plants. There is no getting away from the fact that the standing of this industry often lies firmly in their hands. One careless act by those at the sharp-end can tarnish the industry's reputation. To our customers, these are our true representatives; these are the human face of the industry and although these are not as high-profile as the names mentioned in the previous blog-thread, they are the 'stars' because actions speak louder than words. Best practise and industry standards mean nothing if they fail to be followed and implemented. These targets are there to be bettered not merely achieved with today's 'stars' championing the reduction of our industry's environmental impact.

Longevity of service and age are no longer considered a pre-requisite to being considered an ambassador but nor do they exclude them. An ambassador can be the person speaking to the United Nations, they can be the person speaking at their local school, they can be the person that proudly displays their institute or association letters after their name, they can be the person answering questions in a LinkedIn group, they can be the person that comes to fix or service your plant, they are lecturers and trainers; they potentially all of these and more, they are you and me.

All of us are ambassadors for the ACR industry. Please take this responsibility seriously.

Become an ambassador for the ACR industry today; one the industry can be proud of.  

(First appeared on the ACR News blog http://www.acr-news.com/blog/view_entry.asp?id=228 

The ACR Industry needs a 'Fred' Award

It is around twenty years ago that Mark Sanborn, a professional speaker, trainer and author on leadership and customer services met Fred his postman. Mark had just moved into his new home in Denver when Fred knocked on his door, introduced himself and welcomed him to the neighbourhood. He also asked Mark about himself and how he wanted his mail handled while he was away.

Mark was astonished. This was not the service he had come to expect from a postman. He was truly pleasantly surprised and delighted by Fred's approach and manner.

Mark became interested and asked Fred more about his job and how he approached it. Fred's answers inspired him to develop motivational seminars and a bestselling book (The Fred Factor) promoting Fred's attitude and approach to life. In a nutshell, the Fred philosophy is to realise and practise that everyone can make a difference; success is built on good relationships; you must continually create value for others and it doesn't have to cost anything; you can reinvent yourself whenever you want.

In the past few months I have had the pleasure to meet two 'Fred's from the ACR industry. The first was a service engineer who I bumped into by chance when I walked into a client's refrigeration plant room on a site in Birmingham. The young engineer was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, helpful and a pleasure to speak to. The second was a food factory engineer who managed the refrigeration plant along with all the other services required in a modern food production environment. Although not a specialist refrigeration engineer, he went out of his way to provide the information I required and to answer all my questions and more.

Both of these engineers embodied excellent customer service qualities described in the 'Fred Factor'.

We should never forget that although highly technical by nature, the ACR industry is a still a service industry with customer service excellence being a key to business success. If you think that is a cliché, imagine how long a company can survive that ignores this in the competitive market place we find ourselves in today. Customers do have a choice and they will go to where they perceive they most consistently get what pleases and impresses them.

The 'Fred' philosophy is built on timeless values like personal responsibility, authentic relationships, and respect for others. It is in essence, a mind-set that looks for and seizes opportunities to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. The ACR industry has individuals who go beyond the ordinary and create extraordinary experiences for their clients. These are not only service engineers; they are from all business fields, from sales through to administrators. Their attitude to customer service should be recognised by this industry in the same way as technical excellence is. Normal is overrated and has never been a term that should be applied to our industry. We should have a 'Fred' Award, although I am sure that we can give it a more appropriate name from one of the many fine examples from our own industry.

(First published on the ACR News website: http://www.acr-news.com/blog/view_entry.asp?id=224