Business is broken. It may work for a few, but certainly not for many. It’s due to many factors, perhaps none more important than the story that defines it, so let’s consider an update.  The old story goes something like this. What do we do? Make money. Who do we do it for? Shareholders. What … Continue reading The Business Story… Updated

When a business reacts to customers, it is late to the party. It is behind and trying to catch up. It is stuck in the fast brain—the fear center. It’s what happens when everything is a race to win.  But responding is different. When a business responds, it is more measured. It is more mindful. … Continue reading Reacting is not responding.

How do you see customers, as a revenue stream or as critical partners in your success? How do customers see you, as a vendor or a critical partner in their success? How about your suppliers or investors? Every business is part of an ecosystem of mutually beneficial, service-based relationships with customers, employees, investors, suppliers, and … Continue reading Win-Win Business: Stakeholders as Partners

Service is helping people; that’s it—nothing fancy or academic, just helping people accomplish things. For me, it’s exciting when I trip over a company that gets it when it comes to service. They are ones that are clear that they are in the business of helping people. They are clear that they are about making … Continue reading This Is Service

In the world of design (e.g., service design, product design), one key step that is constantly preached as critical is research. This is where the designer learns about needs. What’s right? What’s wrong? What works and what doesn’t? Where are the bottlenecks? What will make life better? To do it, they watch people use the … Continue reading The customer safari. An underrated superpower.

I have said it often: asking questions is the best way to get an interaction off on the right foot. It is the quickest way to build relationships. Why? Because nothing says “you matter” better than asking questions.   When you ask someone about their history or for their thoughts, opinions, or know-how, you send a … Continue reading Asking questions. The relationship builder.

Best. What is best? Often it’s the thing at the top of a list built around the opinions of experts or based on a survey of hundreds of people. Best can often be what gets airplay, even though that doesn’t make it best in any truly meaningful way. These kinds of best are dubious and … Continue reading The Best Versus the Favorite

We’re going about things so wrong.  We’ve built all this technology, and most people are using it to replace human labor. But human labor with all of its mistakes, sweat, and inefficiency is what makes the labor worth the end. That’s what makes the finished product inspiring.  Why aren’t we using technology to make life … Continue reading In Defense of Human Error

What would it take for business leaders to make employee layoffs a last resort? There’s no debate about the fact that humans are the reason for business …and… it takes humans to create the relationships to transact the business. That includes, at minimum, marketing, sales, delivery, and support. Sure, you may have AI doing some … Continue reading If you’re balancing your books with people’s lives: Hear this: YOU SUCK!

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." -Peter Drucker Not long ago, a friend’s child got seriously ill, causing much worry and hardship for their family. Fortunately, my friend worked for a company that rallied around her. They gave her comfort and space. They encouraged her and understood the difficulty. Culture. It’s the way groups of people … Continue reading Culture. It’s about more than breakfast.