Blog
The Secrets of Leadership Revealed!
There is an old adage that goes, “authority is the last resort of the inept and frustrated.” Parents who have found themselves relying on “…Because I said so” to direct a reluctant child know the absolute truth of this adage. When rank becomes the only means of...
Rethinking the Value Zone: Why Focusing on its Employees First was the Right Move for HCLT
Guest Post by David Burkus In February 2006, Vineet Nayar, the president and CEO of HCL Technologies, one of the largest IT service providers in India, made a shocking announcement to a global meeting of their biggest customers. In short, he told them that they were...
Service with a Magic Touch
The Platters were a favorite singing group of mine. They had forty songs that made the Top 100; four that were #1 hits. One of their top songs opens with the lyrics: “You've got the magic touch; it makes me glow so much. It casts a spell, it rings a bell, the magic...
The EASY Way to Customer Loyalty
The easier it is for your customers to shop, buy, receive service, and execute returns, the more likely they are to stay loyal and spend more with you.
Create a Stained Glass Experience
My son and his fiancé elected to get married in a large antique church in mid-town Atlanta. Their choice of church was driven in part by the magnificent stained glass windows in the sanctuary. Just at the “I do” part of their late afternoon ceremony, the setting sun...
Leading a Culture of Innovation
For innovation to happen consistently across an organization, leadership has to step in.
Holiday Serving Under-The-Gun
Host! The word carries a variety of meanings, each painted in the color “help.” It conjures a maître de escorting a guest to the best table; a hotel concierge taking the stress out of a tourist’s holiday; or the greeter at a large party ensuring no detail is...
The Night Before Conference
‘Twas the night before conference and all through the hall, not a vendor was stirring, no emails no calls.
People Don’t Resist Change
No matter the form of resistance, people are NOT resisting change. Rather, people resist what they predict or perceive will result in “pain” over which they have no control. Rather than eliminating pests, wise leaders manage change in a way the pests never show up.
Dont Get Sucker Punched by Competitors
“Sucker punch” is an interesting moniker for an unexpected blow for a competitor. Historically a label from the world of boxing, its use has been expanded to the business world. The implication is a hit that should have been predicted. The fact that the inevitable was...
Who’s ‘Killing’ Your Customers?
Jerry Lee Lewis (aka, The Killer) has been a wild country music singer performing for over sixty years! His performances are electrifying with acrobatic boogie-woogie piano playing and wall-to-wall non-stop passion. Having attended his concerts more than once, I have...
Customer Experience – On Purpose
“Every business must serve a social purpose”. These are not the words of a social campaigner or a politician; they are the words of a banker, Ashok Vaswani, the CEO of Retail and Business Banking at Barclays, one of the world’s largest banks. Barclays has been...
Service for the “Sole”
National Customer Service Week has been this week--October 5-9. After bringing you ten days of ideas, today we end our ten-day celebration countdown. We will have one more thought provoking blog on Monday, October 12th. Don’t miss it! I took my beloved Lucchese boots...
The Circus Principle
Today is October 8th. National Customer Service Week started on Monday and has run through the week. However, we started the ‘celebration tips countdown’ a full week before. With a hat-tip to former Tonight Show host, Dave Letterman, we have been offering you a way...
Outcome after the Outcome
The outcome in grocery shopping is to get groceries desired as conveniently as possible, but that’s not the final memory the customer has of the experience. Ever gotten home and discovered two eggs were cracked? Or have a bloody cut of meat soil the birthday card you...