“The death of one person is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.” -Kurt Tucholsky (quoted by Joseph Stalin) Dehumanization. It’s the denial of the humanity of others to justify behavior. It’s a big deal and a big problem.  For decades, we have been chipping away at removing humans and their concerns from … Continue reading I’m for the humans.

I chuckle when I hear executives boast that 98% of their customers say they are satisfied. While that sounds really good, is it really? Imagine you sell some high-priced techno-gadget. Now, imagine you sold 100,000 of them last year. If you had 98% satisfied customers, you also had 2% unsatisfied. That’s 2000 people. 2000!  Are … Continue reading Numbers can be misleading.

Ordinary is defined as having no special or distinctive features, i.e., humdrum.  Sounds to me like ‘good enough,’ and if you are like me and want a more than humdrum world, ‘good enough’ is not ‘good enough.' I want things and experiences that make me take notice, things and experiences that are remarkable. But why … Continue reading In a world with AI, ordinary = replacement.

If you are a business leader and you have to ask what customer experience is or why it matters, I don’t “get” what you don’t “get,” but never mind, I’ll make it easy. When you’re a customer, do you like being treated with indifference? Do you like hassles? Do you like working with businesses that … Continue reading What don’t you “get” about customer experience?

I recently read A Passion for Excellence, co-authored by Tom Peters and Nancy Austin. It’s an oldie; mine says it was published in 1985, but it was worth the read. The writing oscillates between Austin’s measured, conservative style and Peters’ "don’t just sit there, do something" approach, and while one might think this would cause … Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: A Passion for Excellence by Tom Peters and Nancy Austin

Service is making coffee for the house in the morning. It is taking the kids to school. It is helping a colleague with a report. It is sharing a great idea for process improvement. It is picking up eggs and milk on the way home. Service is everywhere at almost any time in our lives. … Continue reading Service.  It’s more than customer service.

Profit. It’s necessary. Without it, businesses would fold. They need profit to survive and keep doing what they do. The problem comes when profit becomes the priority …all the time. I concede that it must be a priority when funds are short or other special needs beckon, but respectfully disagree that it should be the … Continue reading Is a profit and loss world really what we want?

“To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.”  Inspiring words. Ones you might expect from the Dalai Lama or some other spiritual luminary.  But these words, words championing compassion and human well-being, were penned by none other than Adam … Continue reading A formula for a more perfect world(?)

If you’ve read much of my work at all, you know the idea of “me first” is typically anathema to me. However, there is a place for it. When I am working on a talk or workshop, my thoughts are on satisfying my customer for sure. But there is someone else I must satisfy first, … Continue reading “Me first” as service.

“Your price is too high.” A cry heard a lot. Maybe the product broke soon after purchase. Maybe it didn’t do what was promised. Maybe the learning curve for using it was just too steep.  Or… maybe it wasn’t the product at all. Maybe it’s your business and your people. Maybe working with you is … Continue reading If your price is too high, something is too low.