I read a blog post by Ozan Varol (it was originally published in December of 2022) and it resonated with me. If you don’t know him, Varol is an astrophysicist turned inspirer (that’s the best term I could come up with to describe what he does). Anyway, the post is a great expansion on the … Continue reading There are dangers in focusing so much on science that you miss the art.

At the restaurant chain Chipotle, they boast about cutting up the vegetables and making things “by hand.”  Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup, handwrote in excess of 30,000 notes to employees over the years. Despite all the talk and hype about ChatGPT and all manner of other AI, we humans like and need the … Continue reading How about less GPT and more TLC?

Aspiration. I define it as what you want to be or what you feel called to become. Mark Miller defines it as the hopes and dreams for your culture. While these two definitions may have slight differences, both look to the future and a desire to be the best you can be, and it is … Continue reading Mark Miller says Culture Rules and I could not agree more. BOOK REVIEW: Culture Rules by Mark Miller

If you were to ask me the biggest thing that has crippled workplaces today, it would be Milton Friedman’s 1970 assertion that “the purpose of business is to generate profits.” In modern parlance, this idea has been labeled shareholder value theory. Why, you may ask, is this idea so damaging? What exactly has this thinking … Continue reading The thing that has most crippled business and why we need to move on.

Danny Meyer, the great restaurateur of Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Café, and Shake Shack fame, defines the difference between service and hospitality like this, “service is the technical delivery of a product, hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes its recipient feel.” This clearly identifies two dimensions. One, service, is more technical, it … Continue reading The difference between service and hospitality and how to leverage that for business success.

Each of us has an opportunity to make our workplaces—not to mention our homes and communities—better by being a more helpful contributor ourselves and inspiring it in others. In other words, we can create a better world and life for ourselves and those around us if we become more giving and service focused. But mention … Continue reading If you want your business to deliver better service, it starts with you. Here’s how to be more service oriented and help those around you to be as well.

What is one thing every business wants from customers? More sales, more revenue, and undying loyalty. This is how a business gets consistent income and a foundation on which to grow. This is the ideal situation. However, when customers don’t come back again and again, it is the opposite of ideal. Your growth strategy could … Continue reading No-repeat customers are a sign …a bad one. Here’s why.

Love. It’s in the air, but in business, it’s like Voldemort— “he-who-must-not-be-named” of Harry Potter fame— and treated like something never to be mentioned. Why is that? Why, given that business is essentially a human-to-human endeavor, is love something we quickly run from and dismiss in any business conversation. I remember once in a big … Continue reading Love is in the air …but is it customer love? It can be.

Rant alert: I saw a post the other day that talked about the intersection of sales and service and it set me off. When I saw it, I shuddered at the thought of sales and service being separate entities. I’ve said it innumerable times, “Service is not a damn department!” Service is helping people, and … Continue reading Intersection of sales and service? NOOOOO!!!!

If you are a professional who understands that the age of experience is upon us, you most likely know that your company needs to focus on service excellence or find itself behind the times. However, you may have also found that building this new cultural mindset is difficult. But don’t let that stop you. Don’t … Continue reading What are the first steps I can take to make service-focus the priority in my company?