Blog
The Innovative Customer Mentor
“Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity,” wrote Paul in his letter to the church at Colossae, a city near what is now Eskihisar, Turkey. “Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to...
The Music Plays Me
It was an amazing concert…at a huge, elegant bar in Panama. A banking client had invited my business partner and me to hear the great Salinas perform. The Argentine performer is renowned in the jazz guitar world. It was noisy when he walked onto the stage. But as his...
Innovation as the Pursuit of Wholeness
Tom Edison’s well-known clever line about how he discovered the incandescent light, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" tells us a lot about the nature of innovation, especially innovative service. Being correct can be the enemy of being...
Innovative Service: What Great Leaders Actually Do
Take a look at a short list of renowned service innovators: Despite a Yale professor’s admonition that there was little practical about his theory, Fred Smith put his “C–” paper into operation and founded Federal Express (now FedEx). Michael Dell transformed a...
The Customer as Valentine: Deliver Old-Fashioned Service
Every small town in America has a Buster. Let me tell you about a real Buster I knew. He sold Grit newspapers on Main Street and knew the birthday of everyone in town. He worked part-time as a stocker at the local feed store, the watering hole for the agricultural...
The Valentine as Customer: Authentic Caring
Rick McIntire called me last week! He was the really great sales person who sold me a GMC Jimmy SUV in Dallas about twenty years ago…that was at least four Lexus’s and a fire engine red Mazda Miata ago. Rick knows I changed brand affinity because the GMC dealership...
The Customer as Valentine: Include Everyone
Sixth grade is an awkward school year for most boys and girls. Girls look at boys as so immature and lame; boys look at girls as so confusing and weird. It was a time of stupid pranks, smutty jokes, and snickers about anything personal or private. And, one of the most awkward times of the school year was Valentine’s Day.
The Customer as Valentine: All You Need is Love
The origin of Valentine’s Day is very instructive. It was initially associated with a religious celebration honoring St. Valentinus, a priest from Rome who was martyred about AD 496. Two stories (call them myths if you want to be completely accurate) frame the...
The Customer as Valentine: Treat Customers Like Snowflakes
One of the first things you learn about snowflakes in elementary school is they are all beautiful and all unique—no two alike. And, even though they appear white in color they are made of clear ice. It is a powerful metaphor for how we should treat customers....
The Customer as Valentine: A Generous Heart
Allowances were not something my dad believed taught kids a strong work ethic. So, I had to work for all my spending money. Living in a rural area, there were not a lot of paying chores for kids…except for baby-sitting and lawn mowing. My sister baby-sat; I mowed...
The Customer as Valentine: Indirect Gifts
“Amy’s Plant” has a special meaning to a good friend of mine. And, it always makes him smile whenever you ask him about it. But, I am getting way ahead of myself! My good friend tore down an old shed in his side yard. The ugly shed was in stark contrast to the rest...
Show Your Customers Some Love
Since 496 AD, love has been the centerpiece of Valentine's Day. How can businesses show customers love in today’s economy? The answer is innovative service. It changes a customer's feelings about the organization from pleased to thrilled. Today, I am kicking off a...
The Leadership Echo
I arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta late in the afternoon at the end of a week on the road. My dress pants needed pressing for an early morning keynote. Dialing the hotel housekeeping department, I was told that someone would be right up to get my...
Can I Help?: The Power of Inclusion
In the early 1950’s Betty Crocker was on a roll. The company’s twenty-year successful run of Bisquick (“90 seconds from package to oven”) clearly positioned the company as the partner to homemakers eager to make meal preparation quick and easy. The company (owned by...
Jim Blasingame: The King of Diamonds
“Great things come in small packages” is a line often used as a caveat for speaking of diamonds—typically an engagement ring. But, I think it also applies to businesses. The heart, soul and diamond of the U.S. economy come in a small package—the small business. The...