Delivering great customer service is such a mystery to so many. And to improve it, the experts swoop in with myriad concepts and “the 64.25 steps to greater service performance.” They dive into daylong workshops to map the customer journey, determine pain points, and create corrective action plans. But even with all of these efforts, … Continue reading Service 101

Have you ever thought this, “Why are my employees so unhappy? What do they want?” In contrast to all of the current “15 steps to higher employee engagement” BS, it’s really not that complicated. Employees want to be involved and contribute whatever they can with both their heads as well as their hands. They want … Continue reading What do employees want? Stop over-complicating it.

It seems today there is a constant mantra being propagated about getting super productive, setting measurable stretch goals, and busting a gut to get them accomplished. I can just hear the likes of entrepreneurship gurus like Gary V now, “F**k yes, make it happen!” But, in contrast to the overused and overstated “what gets measured … Continue reading When you set all of those goals, can you at least make them meaningful?

If you want to improve the level of service your organization delivers, one thing is certain, you need to examine the journey of your customers and ensure that pain and difficulty are minimized. However, there is also a lot of sense behind making each customer interaction, no matter its position in the journey, a five-star … Continue reading WHaT? A Model for Great Service Interactions

We all have limitations. Like it or not, you, me, all of us are not good at everything. In addition, none of us knows everything either. So it is that our effectiveness relies on our ability to know our weaknesses and when to throw up our hands and ask for help. This ability however is … Continue reading Five steps to becoming more of a listening leader people want to follow.

Imagine a bus with a sign on it proclaiming, "Going wherever you want to go." Now imagine that bus being filled with people all gleefully expecting to go places they want to go. Now imagine being one of those passengers and finding out that the bus is going places you don't want to go. Sound … Continue reading Honesty as a service.

If leading is really about influencing others, then we all lead, whether incidentally or intentionally, all of the time. Everything we do influences someone. And given what we are learning from neuroscience about things like mirror neurons, it is clear that our influence on others is everywhere. It's actually a bit scary when you consider … Continue reading How looking in the mirror can make you a better leader.

The worst kind of problems in your workplace are not the big ones that scream in your face, they're the little silent ones that creep up on you. They're the ones that your front-line employees see daily and have to try and deal with without some disaster befalling them. Here's a tip for all of … Continue reading How to avert disasters.

Employee engagement is a continuing problem in today’s workplace. Everywhere you look, you see reports with statistics that claim anywhere from 50% to 85% of employees are disengaged at work. And, as this disengagement impacts employee attitudes and morale, it impacts fellow employees, customers, and family members as well – and rarely in any positive … Continue reading Book Review: Win the Heart