When I was in the cable business as an SVP of Operations, I oversaw over 1,100 employees- not a “small” company by too many definitions (unless you are in the Fortune 500). And yet, our company was always able to “act small”, and provide great personal service to our customers, which gave us a big strategic …
When doing business, is there value in a positive human interaction, no matter the purpose of that interaction? And does it make a measurable difference in a customer’s loyalty to a good or service? For the first 18 years of my career in the cable TV business, I believed the answer to both of those …
It’s there. Unless you destroy it. By how you lead. In virtually every workplace, among those who serve the customers, or make the widgets, or support those who do either of these things, is a strong desire to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. I call it the “Pride Principle”. Humans have a propensity to take …
Building a great team around you is one of those leadership skills that can make or break you. It’s one thing to get all the “right people on the bus” (to steal a Jim Collins phrase), but it’s quite another to get the team to create an unstoppable collective force that can achieve greatness. Unfortunately, sometimes …
I had my leadership epiphany reading a dictionary. Yep, a good old Webster’s Dictionary. I used to have a bound version at my side at all times – back before the Internet and Google. I loved to look up words I didn’t know. Back when I was struggling to find my ultimate path and purpose, I tried …
This past weekend I co-hosted our annual gathering of 150 business practitioners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Chicago, SOBCon (“SOB” stands for Successful Online Business). The theme of this year’s conference was “The New Leadership and Loyalty Business”, and in my presentation and work session, I spoke about a leadership “model” that can be used by leaders …
I’m in Chicago today to prepare for my labor of love with my biz partner Liz Strauss, SOBCon Chicago 2011, which starts tomorrow (check out our website for more information, and here is the livestream of the event) Yesterday I was in Milwaukee visiting family, and while I was there I stopped at a Starbucks on …
It’s almost May now, and you’re starting to feel a little restless. A little stale, maybe. You’ve had your head down and your team focused for 120 days straight, and with the days now getting longer and the temptation to start “coasting” getting even stronger, you’ve hit a critical time of the year. It’s time …
Today (4/23) is William Shakespeare’s 447th birthday, and it’s amazing to observe how much of an impact his plays, written so long ago, still have in today’s world. I was introduced to the Bard in High School back in the late 70′s – in an English class dedicated to the study of several of his works. One …
I’ve seen a lot of books out there lately that have taken a lot of pages to explain how to get and keep customers, but it’s really pretty simple: Thank your customers for their business, preferably with a smile Follow the Golden Rule in all your communications with customers, no matter the form If you mess up with …
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