Not sure if the opening day of the baseball season is as much of a frenzy in where you live as it is with our Atlanta Braves, but it made me think about what businesses can learn from baseball.  Here are just three ideas: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m getting bombarded by requests for my opinion, experience, feedback, input, ideas – to what end?  Why should I invest time – often my most scarce resource – and sometimes intellectual horsepower to help you?  How am I better off by giving you this input, which by the way, I’ve done in the past with a) little to no appreciation, b) black hole of who knows where any of it goes, and c) little to no impact on my experience the next time!

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Have you ever dined at a restaurant or stayed at a hotel because of their “star” rating?  What assumptions did you make about the experience you would receive for the premium I assume you agreed to pay?  Were your expectations met to the “star” rating? Read the rest of this entry »

Are you thinking about, planning, or investing in a key initiative?  Will it require bandwidth and capital resources (financial, human, time)?  Will the outcome matter – really matter?  If you answered yes to any of these, you’ll need relationship tailwind to help you get there. Read the rest of this entry »

When I receive Success Magazine in the mail each month, I usually pick it up with a balance of pride and humility. The magazine, blatantly named after an aspiration known since the beginning of time, represents a call to action before you ever open its pages. It takes more than a subscription to achieve success after all, so I take a keen interest in the articles focused on leadership – a true indicator of success.

This month’s issue of Success (April 2012) features John C. Maxwell’s article, “The Fifth Level of Leadership.” The article highlights the importance of leaders preparing others for future leadership roles. Maxwell states that leaders who reach this Pinnacle level of leadership go through three distinct phases: learn, earn, and return. As demonstrated in this Bloomberg Businessweek article, I would submit most organizations fall short of reaching this level of leadership, losing their way as a result of the rarity of big staff changes, a predilection for looking to the past, and managing in an era of CYA.

This “fifth level of leadership” brings to mind a poem by Marc Smith, “Pull the Next One Up.”

When you get to the top of the mountain

Pull the next one up.

Then there’ll be two of you

Roped together at the waist

Tired and proud, knowing the mountain,

Knowing the human force it took

To bring both of you there.

[…]        -Marc Kelly Smith

Organization leaders can embrace succession planning by keeping the following three things in mind. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning I received an email telling me that as an Amazon Prime member, I would now be able to access even more movies and TV shows using my account. The email reminded me of other benefits (e.g., free Kindle book rentals, etc.) in the next line and was followed by a simple button I could click to “start watching” now. Their message was short, elegant, and gave me more than I expected.

Can we have more of that, please?

Delighting your customers - Amazon Prime gets it right.

It seems like organizations lose sight of the ultimate goal, focusing on the short-term transaction rather than building a long-term customer relationship. By delivering more value and reminding their members of the benefits of Prime service, Amazon drives home the message that Prime is valuable and part of an exceptional experience. Here are three things you can do today to provide exceptional experiences to your customers. Read the rest of this entry »