Employee Engagement

How great are you?

Ernie Andrus made his coast-to-coast run across the United States when he was only 90 and he is well on his way to doing it again at age 92! In 2013 Ernie, a World War II Navy veteran, set out to break a record for the oldest man to run across America.   The prior record…

View Post about How great are you?

“It’s not what you know but…”

According to the old adage that sentence stem ends with “who you know.” On stage and in writing lately I have concluded that the old adage doesn’t tell the whole story.  As such I have modified it to say: “It’s not what you know OR who you know.  It’s what you know ABOUT who you know.”…

View Post about “It’s not what you know but…”

Leader of your own Career {Guest Post by Amy Klimek}

The average person will spend over 99,000 hours at work in the course of their lifetime. Knowing that a sizeable portion of your waking life will be spent on the job, it’s important to find something that you enjoy. It’s time to take control of your job and get the results that you want to…

View Post about Leader of your own Career {Guest Post by Amy Klimek}

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Coffee – Sue!

Nothing is stranger than the truth!  In case you missed it, a police officer in North Carolina is suing Starbucks for a spilled cup of FREE coffee. Let me not make light of the fact that the officer purportedly burned himself when the lid popped off his free cup of Starbucks.  The officer claims that…

View Post about Don’t Cry Over Spilled Coffee – Sue!

BE PERFECT or BE EXCELLENT: The Art of Getting Real

Sometimes we teach because we have something to share and other times we teach because we have something to learn.  This is one of those cases where I am exploring an issue for myself as much as I am addressing it for you. How do we balance all the demands necessary to serve the needs…

View Post about BE PERFECT or BE EXCELLENT: The Art of Getting Real

Human and Automated: Customer Experience Management at Its Best

According to customer support technology reviews firm Software Advice and research they conducted, manually trying to manage customer relationships and consumer complaints through email and spreadsheets is going the route of rotary-dial phones! What was once an expectation in large business is becoming stand fare for small business owners as well. Integrated software solutions are…

View Post about Human and Automated: Customer Experience Management at Its Best

Holiday Relationships – Focusing on More than the Sale

We are in the throes of the frenzied shopping season, so it seems timely that we remind ourselves of several truths about why we should focus more on customer relationships and less on sales: People want to be viewed as important and unique. (Jumping into a sales process without taking the time to understand the…

View Post about Holiday Relationships – Focusing on More than the Sale

Experience Delivery = Quality Products + Service Excellence + Empathy

I am blessed to be attending the gala Singapore Experience Awards as a guest of the Singapore Tourism Board.  I was asked earlier in the year to serve as a judge to help determine the best experience providers in Singapore.  As you likely know, I am a fan of this uniquely special city/state and truly…

View Post about Experience Delivery = Quality Products + Service Excellence + Empathy

More Freedom Considered for Virgins: Empower Through Trust

Okay, the title may be somewhat misleading, but Richard Branson has announced a policy for a small number of employees at the Virgin Group. Essentially he is copying something that is occurring quite frequently among tech companies in the Silicon Valley and just so happens to be practiced in my company as well. Okay, get…

View Post about More Freedom Considered for Virgins: Empower Through Trust

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo? – Starbucks, Ink, & Customer Experience

“Cover your tattoos!” That’s the current policy at Starbucks (and for that matter many other businesses). Partners (the Starbucks term for employees – more on that in my recent book Leading the Starbucks Way) are hired without prejudice for tattoos; they just can’t be visible to customers. Now the company is reconsidering its policy and…

View Post about To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo? – Starbucks, Ink, & Customer Experience

FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article