As we say good-bye to 2022 and look to the coming year with hope and anticipation, I can’t help but to think it’s going to be a much better year. It HAS to be, right? The question, then, becomes: How do I (that’s you, me, anybody) make it a better year? For me, the answer has always been clear: Gratitude and Optimism. We will deal with gratitude in a future… Read More »Optimism, the Pencil, and 2023
Milton Berle once said, “You can lead a man to Congress, but you can’t make him think.” Thirty years ago, I used to teach American Government to 9th graders. I can’t imagine having to do it in the last two decade given the complete disregard politicians from BOTH sides of the aisle have for us, the people, and for the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Centuries ago the phrase “public… Read More »Politicians, Sales People, and Loving the Process
Today is July 5. a hair more than half of the year is gone. If it were a halftime show, the band would just be coming off the field. So tell me (or someone else or just yourself), how’s it going? Are you on schedule to have the kind of year you planned? Business working? Family? Recreational activities? Other things? I don’t believe in New Years resolutions. To me,… Read More »The Band is Finished…. Now What?
Sometimes a great customer service story is focused on a grand gesture, an act that amazes the customer. A Nordstrom accepting the return of four tires from a dissatisfied man even though they don’t sell tires. A maid at the Ritz Carlton guaranteeing that the hotel would replace a guest’s missing laptop computer if it wasn’t found by days end. Most of the time, customer service can be found in… Read More »Eight Simple Rules to Awesome Customer Service
In his landmark customer service book, Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith offers a three step approach to marketing your product or service(s). Step One is where you are trying to get what Beckwith calls, “a basic, acceptably reliable product” (or service). This occurs most often in budding businesses where the product or service is unique or new and customers will accept minimum standards. In fact, Beckwith calls this stage, the… Read More »Nothing and Everything is Possimpible
Christmas has come and gone, and pretty much 2020 has as well. For many, the arrival of 2021 is a welcome event as most have found 2020 to be a highly objectionable year. The reasons for that have been highlighted, and will be highlighted in many a new year in review. So, I will pass and choose to focus on the upside of the closing year. After all, the hope… Read More »The Best of 2020, Pandemic Year: Books, Shows, and Gratitude
The thought hit me as I heard a podcast guest say to the host, “I was the kid who wore a hole through the knees of my jeans from working and playing so hard.” Exactly. That’s the way it used to be, you rolled, fell, worked, ripped, and even played your way through a pair of jeans. The rips, tatters, shreds, and holes were all earned, almost like merit badges.… Read More »Blue Jeans
I had a sixteen day stretch rolling into this month where I was either teaching or traveling to teach 15 of those days. That’s nothing new for October, in fact, it is one of the busiest months in a normal year. This year, however, that stretch was tougher. AND, I let it get to me. I love to teach. I have since that first day at the Middle School on… Read More »It Gets To You, If You Let It…
So, here we are. This Corona Virus thing is still around. This country, and the people in it, are pretty goofy (nicest, softest word I could come up with). No one knows when this will pass. What have you been doing? While states have opened up businesses to varying degrees, things are still less than normal. Masks are commonplace here in Colorful Colorado (no idea when that will change), agents… Read More »Still Learning Through the Pandemic?
Realizing that I live in Colorado AND am a child of the 60’s, let’s begin by making one thing clear here, grass in this headline means the green stuff on many sections of ground/lawn, not marijuana. That said …. well, never mind. In his book, Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, there are a few paragraphs where author Kenny Moore describes sitting on the stadium or track infield (grass) with Frank… Read More »Got Grass? Maybe You Should…