Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.
In The Middle of Struggles, Turmoil, and Difficulties, Pause to Celebrate the Positive By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The United States and a few other countries will celebrate Thanksgiving in November. Canada and some other nations do so in October. Regardless of when you celebrate Thanksgiving—or even if it’s not a holiday where you live—take […]
Some authors write too much and need to delete; others don’t write enough and must add Do you write long or short? Some writers produce long first drafts and then shorten them—sometimes a great deal—as they edit. Others write shorter first drafts and then add to them—sometimes a lot—as they work on revisions. Which camp […]
I’ve listened to the Writing Excuses podcast for years. In the first nine seasons they would sometimes give writing prompts. In season ten they started giving homework at the end of each episode. I’ve gone back to year ten and am going through the homework. Though the assignments are most annoying, they’re even more beneficial. […]
Phone Interactions Can Save or Ruin Your Business By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A lot of customer service occurs over the telephone. This growing trend leaves me concerned about some things and excited about others. A Shortsighted Attitude On the negative side, consider a large telecommunications company that provides cell phone, internet, and long distance. […]
In the book From No Plot? No Problem!, Chris Baty (founder of NaNoWriMo), talks about constructing our Manga Carta 1 and Manga Carta 2. What does he mean by that? Manga Carta 1 is a list of what we like in the novels we read. Manga Carta 2 is a list of what we dislike […]
Develop a Mindset of Ongoing Change to Produce Meaningful Results By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Most call center owners and managers want to see innovation in their call center. They yearn for leading-edge solutions that will promote quality and drive client loyalty. These are lofty goals. And they are also equally hard to realize. In […]
Remove What’s Unnecessary and Retain What Is By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Although I’m not trained as an industrial engineer, I think I’d make a good one. I have a knack of looking at processes and streamlining them. It gives me great satisfaction to take something overly complex and reduce it to its essential elements. […]
Check out these quotes for writers (in no particular order) “It’s splendid to be a great writer, to put men into the frying pan of your imagination and make them pop like chestnuts.” -Gustave Flaubert “Story, finally, is humanity’s autobiography.” -Lloyd Alexander “Your voice dries up if you don’t use it.” -Patti Page “The problem […]
Authors use pen names for assorted reasons. Here are some that come to mind. To Hide Their Identity Sometimes an author needs to not identify themselves to protect them and their loved ones. This might be because they write about a highly volatile topic or a significantly personal one. A pen name protects them and […]
Tell Your Customers What to Expect and Deliver it Every Time By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Moving required finding a new place to service my car. A well-maintained auto repair business sat just down the street from our home, less than half a mile away. A neighbor, though he had never gone there, said they […]