Blog
The Gift of Feedback
Franklin Jones wisely said, “Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.” How do you give feedback intended to fuel growth? Start by recognizing that while giving advice can surface resistance, giving...
The Gift of Advice
Someone once asked famed college football coach turned ESPN commentator Lou Holtz what he considered to be the toughest part of his job as a coach. With his typical “aw shucks” charm, he finessed the question but ultimately communicated that one of the hardest parts...
Become a Learning Organization
Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka (1908-1997) as a small electronics shop in a bomb-damaged department store building in Tokyo. The company had $530 in capital and a total of eight employees. The radios they manufactured at the time were, like most around the...
How to Spot a Great Mentor
So, you are looking for a mentor! They come in many shapes, sizes and varieties. But, the best mentors have a few common characteristics. Doing your homework with the following mentor shopping list in mind can be the difference between getting stuck with an...
The Magic of Service Pollination
The flowering of spring can be a wakeup call from the dreariness of winter. As we watch blossoms emerge from plants and grass turn from brown to green, we are reminded of the miracle of life. Innovative service is the unexpected wakeup call from the dullness of...
Innovative Service as a Dance Organ
Sounds weird, doesn’t it? But, if you have ever heard a giant dance organ with its happy calliope sounds and its art deco designs while thinking about customer service, you will quickly get the metaphor. Dance organs were popular in the early 1900’s and provided...
Is Your Service Like a Light or a Candle?
It was the first thing that came to mind when I was asked by a radio host to characterize the difference between great service and innovative service. Lights are important since they provide us with the capacity to see (or see better). They help us traverse instead...
The Cow Hide Chair Experiment
The chair was very unique in the pleasant but largely functional reception area. It was an intricately carved oak straight back chair. But, what set it apart from all the other chairs and sofa was the fact that the chair’s seat was upholstered in cowhide of a Texas...
Do Your Employees Love Your Brand?
Shwetha loves HP! No, that’s not a carving on a school ground tree nor is it a Krylon spray painting on a water tower or overpass. Shwetha is a support tech operator for Hewlett Packard. And, her style, behavior and words clearly parade her devotion to the HP brand...
Thanking Those Who Quietly Serve
It happened in the Atlanta airport—one of the busiest on the planet. I was sitting in the Delta gate area waiting to board my flight. A slightly stooped Asian woman with a droid-like expression and robotic movement was making her way through the waiting areas...
Innovative Service Scenography
The food at this well-known seafood restaurant franchise was very good and reasonably priced. There were a few nautical photos on the walls. Except for those two features—pictures and menu--it could have just as easily been a steakhouse, Mexican or Italian food...
Innovative Service is Tongue and Grooved
There was an old tobacco barn in the middle of a field on the farm where I grew up. My dad needed another barn in which to store hay after a bumper crop year. But the long abandoned barn had one problem--the roof leaked between the boards. Getting fresh cut bales...
Generosity: The Mother Lode of Innovative Service
Gem mining is a fun route to a granddaughter’s heart. We had our three granddaughters for the weekend and took them gem mining in the North Georgia Mountains. Granted the buckets of sand are previously salted with semi-precious stones collectively worth less than the...
The Grackle and the Quail
Nature offers so many metaphors for innovative service. I was doing a keynote in Scottsdale and elected to go a couple of days early and stay at The Boulders in Carefree. Armed with my cell phone and laptop, I sat on the patio next to a gorgeous lawn and duck pond. ...
The Cream in My Coffee
“You're the cream in my coffee” is the opening line and title of a song written in 1928 by Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. It was a song recorded by many famous musicians like Nat King Cole, Les Brown and the Ray Conniff Singers. It provides a powerful metaphor for the...