What I learned from Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran.

November 18, 2015 Lynn Larson

Recently, I eagerly anticipated hearing Barbara Corcoran speak at a conference. I was not disappointed. I learned things from both her prepared message and responses to audience questions. What I did not expect, though, was the power of a woman who spoke from the stage for just a few minutes prior to Barbara emerging. Both women inspired me, even though, on the surface, they were complete opposites.

The “Other Speaker”

The woman who appeared before Barbara was originally from Sudan. She lives in the United States now and had been a recipient of a Habitat for Humanity home. The conference organizer wanted her to share a bit about her experience. She didn’t speak for a moment, as she appeared to take in the massive surroundings and gather her strength. Then she shared that, in Sudan, a woman was not allowed to stand and speak in front of a crowd. She was clearly moved, as were all of us in the audience. She also described how, to be eligible for a Habitat home, she had to increase her income first. She continues to improve herself and her situation, including taking English classes. Determination, resilience, achievement. She represented all of these traits.

Barbara Corcoran

Barbara was born and raised in New Jersey. Her credentials, also noted on her website, include “straight Ds in high school and college, and 20 jobs by the time she turned 23.” She overcame challenges to become the success she is today, but challenges do not end just because someone is successful. She observed the power of the insult as a motivator and encouraged the audience to be great at failure. Great salespeople do not stay down long was part of her message. Indeed, we are all salespeople in some respect. Her advice also included asking good questions (I wonder if she agrees with the value of asking why). I thought she was refreshingly candid and down to earth. Determination, resilience, achievement. She represented all of these traits.

Conclusions

These women are not so opposite after all. Setting goals, facing obstacles, finding a way to succeed. It does not matter that their goals are/were different. I was reminded of the importance of speaking up, which is quite different than simply being loud, and learning from missteps along the way. Their respective stories represent two extremes and most of us are somewhere in between, but they made me consider what is possible. Everyone has an opportunity to be better, regardless of their past. I felt renewed, professionally and personally.

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Finding cardholders when needed.

November 11, 2015 Lynn Larson

Cardholder contact information is a simple, but often forgotten, topic. Sure, you capture the information each time an employee obtains a card, but have you reviewed it since then? Does your issuer have everything they need? It plays a role in your fraud defense, as explained below. If the information is incomplete, inconsistent, and/or outdated, you may run into issues.

Make It Complete

Increasingly, issuers are seeking cardholders’ mobile numbers, so they can more quickly validate suspicious transactions. Text messages are a good option and far more effective than trying to reach someone on their desk phone. As a program manager, it can be tempting to direct the issuer to contact you first in these cases, but this only slows the process down. If mobile numbers are desirable, ask your cardholders to provide and follow up to confirm completion.

In addition, ensure your cardholders know how the issuer will contact them and what the communication looks or sounds like, so they can discern legitimate communications from fraudulent ones. (This tip is part of my risk analysis template, available for purchase.)

Make It Consistent

The longer your organization has had a card program, the more likely it is that cardholder contact information is not uniform; for example, variations in cardholder addresses. Consistency supports memory retention, which can matter in cases of transaction verification, as well as during some payment processes.

Cardholders who do not respond to issuer communications about suspicious transactions are not upholding their full responsibilities related to fraud detection.

Confirm It is Current

Do you require cardholders to review their contact information that is on file with the issuer? Add this to my list of 12 housekeeping tasks—now 13—to complete annually. While you are at it, confirm that the issuer’s records are accurate. You might find discrepancies ranging from minor (e.g., the wrong desk/office phone number for someone) to significant (e.g., issuer shows an open card account that you thought was closed).

While cardholder contact information is a small part of Commercial Card program management, keeping it complete, consistent and current can pay off in significant ways. Your issuer will thank you!

About the Author

Subscribe to the Blog

The value of asking why.

November 4, 2015 Lynn Larson

Asking why (or why not) has benefits in the workplace. For example, it can open doors to great possibilities, lead to information that can help our organizations, and prevent us from pursuing things that do not make sense. Following are three scenarios to demonstrate the power of this simple question plus examples of “why” questions you should use on the job:

Why is it a good idea for Visa Inc. to acquire Visa Europe?
Why is wire payments fraud increasing?
Why should card program managers push back occasionally?

Visa

Here is an example, albeit an extreme one, of doors opening to great possibilities. This week’s Visa Europe press release is full of reasons why the acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals, makes sense. It begins by declaring, “European clients will have greater access to Visa Inc.’s scale and resources and global clients will have a more seamless experience. Additionally, European clients will benefit from direct access to Visa Inc.’s investments in innovative technology and differentiated products and services.” To read the entire press release and gain more insights, visit http://www.visaeurope.com/newsroom/news/vi-to-acquire-ve. Obviously, a deal like this requires careful analysis and abundant exploration of “why” before it reaches this point.

Wire Payments Fraud

As reported in the 2015 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, wires fraud incidents nearly doubled between 2013 and 2014. Taking it further, they explored why, leading to information that can help organizations. Their conclusions point to business email compromises (BEC) for which the FBI has issued public service announcements. As the FBI notes, fraudsters compromise legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. The scam has been reported in all 50 United States and in 79 countries. In short, organizations need to be aware of this growing problem, train their employees and update their procedures to protect themselves. See what the FBI recommends...

What can asking why do for you or your organization?

Card Program Managers

As a Commercial Card program manager (PM) you need to pick your battles, but there are times when pushing back yields benefits for your organization. I recently met a PM who shared how a colleague asked him to create a special report each month, consuming precious time. When the PM asked this person why they needed the report, the only answer was, “Because I want it.” The PM responded that, without a legitimate business reason, he needed to decline the request.

Now, if the requester is among senior management, pushback should probably be softer; for example, “Help me understand what you need...” The point is, by asking why in some fashion, you can determine how to best contribute and support an organization goal (or whether your best response is declining something altogether).

Examples of “Why” Questions to Use on the Job

Why is ________ needed? As described above, learning more before agreeing to do something can save time.
Why do we _______? It is possible that your organization is doing something today that is no longer relevant.
Why don’t we use cards for ________? You might be able to combat this and expand the program.
Why is this trend occurring? Reviewing program metrics, audit results, etc. and then taking the necessary action can result in improved compliance or other positive outcome.
Last but not least, Why am I doing ________? Perhaps this should be the first question before starting anything.