What’s in a moment? That was the subject when I spoke recently at the “Compete Through Service Symposium” presented by the Center for Services Leadership in cooperation with the ASU W.P. Carey School of Business.  During our session, attendees learned that moments are everything and that they hold the key to excellent service. Here’s how… Read the rest of this entry »

I am a fan of sports and always have been, I haven’t always been a fan of basketball, but ever since I moved to Arizona I have been fascinated with the Phoenix Suns.  More specifically, I am fascinated with Steve Nash. To me he exemplifies all of the reasons why people should involve themselves in team environments, whether we’re talking sports, work, school or just life in general.  To me, he’s an excellent athlete, role model, in essence, he is a winning brand unto himself. Here’s what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »

I was never really a big fan of “America’s Got Talent,” and with a 4 and 6 year old, I don’t have much time to watch television. However, I am a fan of Howard Stern, so I was finally compelled to watch.

As I watched a recent episode of “America’s Got Talent,” there was a split second after one of the performances in which Howie Mandel leaned over to Sharon Osbourne and said, in all sincerity, “Now that was a moment.” Howie’s comment got me thinking about “moments.”  What is a moment? Read the rest of this entry »

I grew up hearing the verse, “Where your ‘treasure’ is, there your heart will be also,” and I think about this often.  Treasure can mean different things to different people; however, I think many people would replace this word treasure with time and/or money.  I value both of these assets and go to great lengths to protect them for myself, and others.  So much so that when I hear the word FREE my ears perk up like a dog and I search for more details.  This word FREE motivates and excites me as much as saving money with a coupon.  For me, it is a natural high when I can save money on something I like. What surprises me is when great offers, great sales promotions fall flat. Why is that especially during an economic downturn?

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Conflicts are inevitable.  There’s no getting around the fact that in business, leaders are going to encounter conflicts.  In fact, it’s been said that in business when two people always agree, one of them isn’t needed.  Actually, there’s great value in having healthy conflict within an organization because healthy conflict brings to light the best ideas and the most viable solutions to problems.

Look at history, conflict has and will always be, the catalyst for change.  Change in most cases which is long overdue.  It’s been my experience that conflicts most often arise over differences in goals, methods and beliefs.  And the pain we feel during a conflict is actually within ourselves.  We want to get our way, but at the same time… we want to preserve the relationship with the other person.  Our fear, another important aspect of conflict is that we can’t have both.  We’ll have to choose between our “way” and the relationship and in that is our pain. Read the rest of this entry »

A while back I asked the folks on Twitter to submit their biggest marketing problems. One tweeter wrote, “How do you convince the C-suite that word of mouth works, i.e. spending $ on customer gifts & special attention.” Well, getting support from the top is a problem most marketers can relate to, particularly if you work in old guard companies that haven’t seized new methods and ideas.  What do you do?  Read the rest of this entry »

Who says you can’t deliver a product or service from the heart no matter who you are, where you work or who you work for? Building a brand with heart starts one person, one day at a time. Meet this TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) worker. I met him passing through security on my way to give a speech on branding in London, England last month. There I was, standing in a long line, the lone American in a sea of foreign exchange students from Korea, parents and children from the countries of Europe, Asia and Africa and business people from South America, Australia and everywhere else in the world. My ears were filled with a collage of languages, few of them English. Read the rest of this entry »