My dear wife is a working mom: her full-time job is taking care of our two boys. She recently had an adventure at our local grocery store, HEB: I had to run to the grocery store on an exceptionally busy day. I was trying to keep stress levels down by recognizing that the store would probably be … [Read more...]
Book Review: Mind Set!
John Naisbitt's Mind Set! is divided into two main parts tied together by his common theme of seeing the future. The first half of the book outlines eleven “mindsets that the author has identified to help him better forecast the future and identify opportunities. Mindset #1 While many things … [Read more...]
Don’t Hide From Customers
On a recent business trip, my father ran into some trouble with his hotel room. On the first morning there during his shower, the water went from warm to freezing cold and never returned to normal. After finishing in cold water and getting ready for the day, he notified the front desk of the … [Read more...]
Weekend Reading – January 20th
20 Common Mistakes of Eager Leaders -- Brand Autopsy shares a Business Week list of mistakes you better not be making as a leader. I particularly see too many managers and even entire departments break "#10 Failing to Give Proper Recognition." If you want to break your employee's morale, then … [Read more...]
Clarity and Consistency in Product Naming
My most recent computer purchase was from Dell. I went through their online computer configurator and purchased a model number E520 with the E6400 Intel Dual Core processor. I made the conscious decision to buy this processor over some older versions that Dell was also selling. When my order … [Read more...]
Don’t Guess Wrong
Do you think your automated phone system or website is smart enough to accurately identify your customers? You may be able to identify the person (name, customer id, etc.) but you'll have a much harder time guessing what they need. Take, for example, my recent call with Dell. I called up tech … [Read more...]
Weekend Reading – January 13th
Why 'Free' Will Blow Up In Your Face -- Be careful what you give away for free because you may never get those customers to pay you later. The Art of Customer Service -- Guy Kawasaki’s great two part series offers advice on bettering customer service at your company. The axiom that … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Greatness Guide
Robin Sharma's latest book The Greatness Guide offers 101 tips on making yourself great. Sharma pulls together his own experiences and combines them with succinct quotes from others to illustrate numerous ways that you can better yourself or your company. You may have heard a lot of his advice … [Read more...]
How to Run Your Business Like an Eagle Scout
I attended an Eagle Court of Honor this weekend. This event honors a young man when he achieves the rank of Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting's highest rank. I, too, am an Eagle Scout and greatly value the lessons learned in Scouting. Boy Scouts learn and recite the Scout Law, whose principles have … [Read more...]
Weekend Reading – January 6th
Unhappy Customers = No Bonus for Best Buy's CEO -- The bonus for Best Buy's CEO "is determined by the customer-loyalty scores, employee turnover, and customer-centricity store revenue." This kind of feedback loop from the customer to upper management is brilliant. Elegant Solutions: … [Read more...]
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