If you are just starting to become aware of some cool new productivity gizmo, some slick marketing tool, or perhaps a cutting edge virtual collaboration application to adhere your team projects, then you can bet your partners and competitors are already using it. So then you think you just need to figure a better way […]
What in the world does it mean to “crowd-source” business functions? Apple creates collaborative online environments where users can contribute ideas and refine the iPhone, as well as Apple’s support processes. Procter and Gamble applied the same concept to their line of detergents and assembled an interactive forum in which their customers could help shape […]
Talent retention equals customer retention. It’s that simple. To ensure that your customers continue to support the products and services your organization offers, the first thing you need to do as a leader in your organization is to create an atmosphere where talented people can thrive and want to stay. Because when your talent stays, […]
In 2001, the board of Xerox picked Anne Mulcahy to lead the Stamford company out of a ditch. At the time the sales force was in disarray, the SEC was investigating their business and reporting practices, and they were $14 billion (or $17 billion depending on what source you read) in debt. Her staff and […]
If you walked into Starbucks’ original store fifteen years ago you would enjoy the custom mix CD of the store manager who liked to listen to interesting music while he worked. Quickly customers wanted to know what they were listening to and how could they get a copy. In 1999 Starbucks purchased a little company […]
Erik Weihenmayer is the only blind person to have climbed the “Seven Summits,” the tallest peak on every continent. He has scaled the 3000 foot rock face of El Capitan, skied down the tallest peak in Europe, and guided Tibetan blind teenagers to 21,500 feet on the north side of Mt. Everest. Erik is also […]
Sometimes a provocative question can be a more powerful change agent than a definitive answer. When Andrea Jung took the helm of Avon, their products were languishing in the market and more often regarded as out-dated cosmetics only your grandmother would wear. Andrea knew instinctively that a key component to a successful turnaround would involve […]
Are you a Loyalty Leader? When people ask your customers about your business, what will they say? Izzy Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons, Colleen Barrett, CEO of Southwest Airlines, and other true Loyalty Leaders live by the “golden rule.” Relationships worthy of mind share and investment are based on the simple notion that we […]
In 2004 Jeffrey Immelt went before his top executives at GE and said the company was going to drive a big environmental initiative – in renewable energy sources, in global emmissions reduction, in environmentally sound business practices and much more. The majority of his executives looked at him like he was nuts. According to Wikipedia: […]
Mid to senior-level executives have an astonishing amount of STUFF thrown at them every day and it can take as much as 90 minutes every day just to identify and categorize the work to be done. Let alone actually get it done. In the knowledge economy, new skills are needed to accurately process the constant […]