When I received my first management position with Marriott in 1992, I worked for a general manager named Mark Conklin. Although Mark (as he preferred to be called) oversaw more than two hundred employees, each employee received a hand-written card from him in the mail to honor the anniversary of their birth.

And he didn’t merely scrawl his signature beneath a pre-printed generic “Happy Birthday!” message. He took the time to write a full paragraph that highlighted a recent contribution the employee had made to the hotel, thanked them for their commitment to excellence, and wished them a Happy Birthday!

It would have been easier for Mark to distribute the cards through interoffice mail so that employees received their cards at work but he chose to mail the cards to employees’ homes. He reasoned that the cards would be opened in front of family members and that employees could take pride in sharing the positive comments about their valuable contributions at work.

Although this was 20 years ago, I still have the handwritten notes I received from Mark on my birthday. I keep them with the memorabilia I collected during my 20 years with the company. That’s how much they meant to me.

On December 13, 2011, J.W. Marriott, Jr. announced that he was stepping down as chief executive officer of Marriott International. Arne Sorenson, chief operating officer, has long been viewed as Mr. Marriott’s successor and will assume the CEO role in March. He will be only the third CEO in the company’s 85-year history and the first from outside the Marriott family.

The stability of having Mr. Marriott in the CEO role for nearly 40 years has provided Wall Street analysts with a level of confidence—even during some tumultuous economic cycles. His presence has also assured the company’s quarter million employees that they would be treated fairly and with respect. Customers even took comfort in knowing that there was a real “Mr. Marriott” standing behind the Marriott brand.

All this will change in March when Mr. Sorenson assumes the CEO role. There will likely be a bit more scrutiny by Wall Street. Employees may become more skeptical of corporate initiatives, and customers may begin to question the company’s longstanding commitment to maintaining the high standards of product and service quality championed by the founder’s son.

Last month, when the announcement was made, I was in the process of sending holiday cards and decided to send Mr. Sorenson a card with a brief note congratulating him on his promotion. Let me be clear: I don’t know Arne Sorenson personally. In fact, I’ve never even met him. My only connection to him is that I used to work for Marriott. And I certainly never expected to hear back from him.

To my surprise, the soon-to-be CEO of a $25 billion company took the time to send me the handwritten note below thanking me for my card:

After reading Mr. Sorenson’s note, I was reminded of the birthday cards I received from Mark Conklin 20 years ago—and was reassured that Marriott is in very good hands.

What are some other actions performed by leaders that have made a lasting positive impression on you?

The statistician W. Edwards Deming once said, “In God we trust; all others must bring data.”

When I begin a project, the first thing I do is gather data to assess the current state of service quality. I do so by interviewing stakeholders such as managers, hourly employees, and, when possible, actual customers.

I also pour through customer feedback on review websites like TripAdvisor, Priceline, and Yelp. And, when available, review proprietary data such as customer satisfaction survey results, customer verbatims, and mystery shop reports.

The purpose of this analysis is to gather data that will objectively point to advantages that are contributing to customer satisfaction as well as obstacles that are hindering satisfaction.

For the next 10 weeks on my blog, I’m going highlight 10 different obstacles that have emerged from the data. Maybe you will have encountered one or more of these obstacles in your own business?

In addition to identifying obstacles, each post will contain one or more ways to mitigate these obstacles—with the goal of improving the experience of your customers.

Like many who read this blog, I am a student of customer service. I’m interested in books on the subject, discussing the topic with others, speaking and writing about it and, of course, critiquing the service I receive as a customer.

One of the questions that’s often discussed and debated in the field is what differentiates an exceptional customer service experience from a mediocre one? And if the experience involves a live service provider, what separates an outstanding provider from a typical one?

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, then you already know my thoughts about job function and job essence. This concept seems to make its way into any of my posts that bemoan the prevailing tendency to receive average customer service.

In this post, I’ll begin with the difference between job function and job essence (exceptional customer service should always start with this discussion) followed by four other distinctions that separate exceptional customer service from the bland and ordinary service that you and I, as customers, typically receive:

1.   Function vs. essence. Most employees do not recognize the difference between their job functions (the duties associated with their job roles) and the essence of their jobs, their highest priority (which, for employees at most companies, is to create a delighted customer). There are several reasons for this. Read about them here.

2.   Mandatory vs. optional. Job functions tend to be transactional. They are also required—employees must perform job functions. This explains why many customer service experiences are described as process-focused and transactional. Delivering exceptional customer is optional. It requires a deliberate choice by the service provider. This explains why you and I, as customers, seldom receive exceptional customer service.

3.   Obligation vs. opportunity. Employees are obligated to perform job functions that are mandatory. They don’t have a choice. It’s what they were hired to do. Just read their job descriptions—it’s all right there. These same employees, however, have an opportunity to display optional job essence: express genuine interest in customers, convey authentic enthusiasm for serving others, provide pleasant surprises, etc. But these opportunities are most often squandered in the name of operational efficiency or some other management priority.

4.   Results vs. relationships. Mandatory job functions that employees are obligated to perform yield results that are measured and scrutinized by management. If employees do receive feedback on their job performance, it generally involves these results. Optional job essence that employees have an opportunity to display, develop relationships with customers that inspire loyalty, repeat purchases, and enthusiastic referrals.

5.   Cost vs. (little or) no cost. Mandatory job functions that employees are obligated to perform in order to achieve certain results require compensation—this is what they’re paid to do. Optional job essence that employees elect to display in order to develop relationships with customers cost (little or) nothing. There’s no added cost for a service provider to smile, offer a sincere and specific compliment, or share unique knowledge.

A typical manager’s routine involves job functions, mandates, obligations, results, and costs. It’s no wonder customer service tends to be transactional and uninspired.

What’s needed is a different approach—one that reinforces job essence, options, opportunities, relationships, and recognizes that it costs no more to smile and greet customers than it does to ignore them.

I welcome all questions, comments, bouquets, and brickbats.

Last week, I worked in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama for a client in the insurance industry. Over lunch she questioned whether or not the essence of an employee’s job could be captured in his job function.

My reply was that job essence and job function were separate and that there is a very real danger to combining them.

To clarify, the essence of an employee’s job is his overarching purpose—his highest priority. Job essence for employees at most companies is to create promoters—enthusiastic customers who will recommend their products and services, are less price-sensitive, and have higher repurchase rates.

Job function refers to the duties associated with one’s job role. For example, a job function of a receptionist is to greet customers who enter the reception area. Some companies script this greeting to ensure employees’ professionalism and maintain consistency.

Scripting and legislating customer greetings may appear to be an effective way to capture job essence (expressing genuine interest in the customer) in a job function (customer greeting) but that may not always be the case.

When I think of ineffective greetings, two companies come to mind: Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza and Best Buy. Both organizations have taken a behavior that is intended to make customers feel welcome in their stores and, by scripting and mandating the greeting, have marginalized its effect on customers.

Oftentimes when I enter Papa Murphy’s to pick up my pizza, employees hear the door chime and say, “Welcome to Papa Murphy’s” but don’t even bother to look up from behind the counter.

Best Buy “greeters” are, interestingly, positioned with their backs to customers as they enter the store. If they’re not busy inspecting customers’ bags, they may look over their shoulder and say, “Welcome to Best Buy.” It makes me wonder what their real function is—greeting customers or preventing theft?

As with the Papa Murphy’s example, this greeting has become institutionalized in the stores. It’s mandatory. It’s expected. It’s monotonous. It’s robotic. And it’s ineffective at making customers feel genuinely welcomed.

A sincere greeting is one that expresses genuine interest in the customer and conveys authentic enthusiasm for serving her. Unless it’s over the phone, it certainly includes eye contact, a visible smile, and, in every case, energy in the greeter’s voice.

While it’s efficient to provide greeters with scripts, it may be more effective to ensure that they recognize the essence of their jobs is to create delighted customers—promoters—and then rely on them to convey this in their own words and actions.

What do you think?

Last Wednesday, I learned that a friend of mine was traveling from California to Marriott’s Marco Island Florida Resort & Spa to attend a coaching conference.

Christopher and I both invested the early part of our careers working for Marriott and, knowing that he would not call ahead to request any sort of favors—unbeknownst to him—I called the hotel while he was en route.

When my call was answered, I asked to speak with a front desk manager. The person I reached informed me that all of the managers were busy serving guests and suggested that, as a supervisor, perhaps she could assist me with my request.

I then introduced myself, gave her a little background about my friend Christopher’s Marriott experience, told her of his impending arrival at the hotel, and then asked if she had any flexibility to upgrade him to a room on a higher floor or with a better view.

As our conversation continued, I sensed that I was more interested in the opportunity to recognize Christopher at check-in and provide him with a pleasant surprise than was the supervisor.

She said, “I’ll see what I can do.” I thanked her for her time.

The following day, I emailed Christopher to check on the quality of his arrival experience.

Here’s his response:

“Interesting that you asked. The clerk was young/newer yet was truly committed to ensure that she gave me her all. She was earnest and genuine in wanting me to have a great check-in experience.

She had trouble finding a room for me and wanted to meet my in-the-moment realization that a high floor and view was more important than a King-size bed (which I had requested in my reservation).

Where it fell apart was when she asked for help from her manager because he came over to help in his very “I have role power” kind of way and didn’t look at me/speak to me and it derailed the spirit of service that she created.

She acknowledged the purpose of my stay and asked if she could show me where I needed to start my day with the conference in the morning. She used my name, thanked me and offered assistance should I require it. She did fantastic! Her name was Danielle.”

From this response, I’m not sure my phone call to the supervisor had any effect on the quality of his arrival experience.

The irony here is that hotel companies are always looking for ways to capture “insider” knowledge about guests—their dislikes, preferences, tendencies—and leverage this unique knowledge to pleasantly surprise and delight them throughout their hotel stays.

Seriously, how many phone calls do you think the hotel received last Wednesday that provided the kind of “insider” information about a hotel guest that I shared during my call?

My hunch: One.

Although I could be wrong. Perhaps there were two such calls? Or possibly three? My point is that these types of calls are uncommon. They are exceptions. And exceptions create a unique opportunity to provide exceptional customer service.

Consider the possibilities that were available to this supervisor:

• Pleasantly surprise Christopher with an upgrade to a room on a high floor with an ocean view
• Recognize his Marriott experience at check-in
• Inform a senior manager of his arrival (As large a company as Marriott is, I’ve yet to meet a senior manager with whom I don’t share at least one mutual connection.)
• Deliver a welcome amenity (e.g., crackers, cheese, and/or fruit) to his room accompanied by a hand-signed note

Any of these actions would have achieved the hotel’s objective to delight its guest while providing a memorable arrival experience. And, with the exception of the welcome amenity, there would have been no extra charge to perform these actions. They’re free.

So, if these actions help to achieve the hotel’s customer satisfaction goals and cost little or nothing to provide, why didn’t they occur?

My hunch: Because they’re optional.

And since they’re optional, the supervisor chose not to perform them (and Christopher was denied what could have been a superior arrival experience).

Perhaps she was busy answering phones, checking-in guests, securing valid methods of payment, and issuing room keys. After all, in her defense, these job functions are mandatory.

So that brings us to the conclusion of our story. It’s not a sad story really. I’m sure that Christopher was satisfied with his arrival experience and guest room at the resort. I’m just not convinced that he was in any way delighted by his experience.

And that, Marco Island Florida Resort & Spa, was a missed opportunity to capitalize on some sweet “insider” information.

Yesterday morning, I brought two of my children, ages seven and five, to school. As I approached the drop-off point at the very top of a steep hill, I noticed the car in front of me slide just a bit on the black ice covering the road.

When I tested the brakes, I felt my own vehicle slide and thought better of descending the hill. At that point, I made a left-hand turn into the driveway of a home that faced the school in order to turn around.

It was then that a man emerged from the home, charged to the passenger side of my vehicle, and began shouting at me through the window.

My memory of exactly what he said is a bit sketchy. The moment was quite surreal and his first few remarks were muffled by the closed window and cheerful holiday music playing inside the car.

The gist of his rant was that I was being a jerk for pulling into his driveway in order to turn around.

I do recall him saying that I “should be ashamed” of my behavior—which I thought was a bit ironic given the conniption he was having in front of me and my young children.

About this time, I pulled my wreath-adorned vehicle to a stop at the curb in front of his house and lowered the passenger window.

As his tirade continued, I noticed he was wearing a uniform shirt with a Burt logo. Burt is an automotive group located in the Denver area.

Although I bought my Ford SUVs elsewhere, I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the years at a Burt Ford dealership not far from my home.

When he paused his verbal attack for a moment to catch his breath, I asked him if he worked for Burt.

He shouted defiantly, “Yes I do!”

I then said, “It is you who should be ashamed of the way you are representing your employer right now.”

Here’s the deal: From the moment you or I associate ourselves with an employer (e.g., uniform, name badge, desktop image on a laptop, logoed bag, company vehicle, etc.), we are a reflection of that employer—for better or for worse.

If you get cut off in traffic by a truck associated with a local supermarket chain, you may hold the supermarket responsible for the employee’s reckless driving.

That’s one reason so many company vehicles have a notice on the back end providing a toll-free number, a vehicle number, and requesting feedback on the driver’s performance. It’s an accountability measure.

Apparently, the angry homeowner felt no sense of accountability for his actions. Certainly he would not talk to a Burt Automotive Network customer that way at a dealership, would he? Perhaps he mistakenly thought he was not yet on duty?

That’s a shame because the reality is that from the moment we don a uniform or, in some other way, associate ourselves with an employer, we are on duty in the eyes of the customer and our personal conduct is a reflection of that employer.

From now on, whenever I think about Burt Automotive Network, I’m going to think of this angry man shouting at me for turning around in his driveway in order to avoid descending an icy slope with my young children.

And that doesn’t bode well for future purchases or positive word of mouth/referrals from me.

In the Charles Dickens story, Ebenezer Scrooge came around in the end and recognized the error of his ways before driving his friends and family away forever.

Let’s hope the first of three spirits visits this angry Burt Automotive Network employee sometime soon before he does the same with any more customers.

I recently received a jury summons in the mail and my first reaction was, “Really? I am way too busy to deal with this now.”

Then, in a moment of sobriety, I recognized that the protection of our rights and liberties as Americans is preserved by the American system of justice—which is predicated on the right to a public trail and the right to be judged by a jury of one’s peers.

This caused me to reflect on other opportunities to serve that I had passed on for a variety of reasons (e.g., time consuming, inconvenient, unfamiliar, uncomfortable, etc.) ranging from volunteering at children’s church once a month (“Certainly, others will step up…”) to assisting a stranded motorist (“Surely, he has OnStar or AAA…”).

So I’m thinking about all this when Joe Girardi, the coach of the New York Yankees, comes to mind.

Let me explain…

A friend of mine was in Dallas on business during the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees.

His hotel was a block away from the Crescent Hotel, where the Yankees were staying. One morning, he walked over to the Starbucks located inside the Crescent Hotel, purchased a cup of coffee, and found a seat outside on the patio.

It was then that he noticed the Yankees coach enjoying a cup of coffee at a nearby table. A moment later, a woman with an itty-bitty dog approached the muscular coach and asked him if he would mind watching her dog while she went inside to buy a cup of coffee.

He accepted. The woman handed him the leash and, for the next several minutes, he alternated between sipping his coffee and petting the itty-bitty dog. When the woman returned, she thanked him, accepted the leash, and resumed her dog walk—oblivious to the man’s identity.

When I shared this story with another friend, she reminded me that after the Yankees won the World Series last year, Girardi stopped at the scene of a single car accident at 2:25am, sprinted across three lanes of traffic, and aided the motorist whose vehicle was precariously jutting into oncoming traffic.

It would have been easy enough for Girardi to have declined the request to watch the dog: “Ma’m, ordinarily I’d be happy to but I need to prepare for tonight’s American League Championship Series game against the Texas Rangers.”

And it would have been entirely reasonable for him to have dialed 911 to report the accident from the comfort and safety of his automobile.

But he didn’t.

The next time I think I’m too busy to volunteer my time or to assist another person, I’m going to remember Joe Girardi’s example and his tendency to put others first—whether or not it’s comfortable or convenient.

And I’ll recall the Arthur Ashe quote: “From what we get, we can make a living; from what we give, however, makes a life.”

Thanks for reading. Now give of your time and make a life.

Over the years, I’ve had conversations with hundreds of frontline employees in the service industry. All of these employees were passionate about something but, more often than not, their passion had little to do with their job roles.

Many described their jobs as boring, routine, and monotonous.

These conversations have inspired me to explore the question, “Why is it that frontline employees in the service industry oftentimes appear apathetic about customer service and indifferent toward their customers?”

While there are many variables including: company hiring, training, and retention practices; the existing customer service culture; the effectiveness of the employee’s immediate supervisor, etc., one key contributor that most companies miss is to clearly distinguish between an employee’s job functions and job essence.

Job functions are the duties associated with one’s job role. Performance of these functions is mandatory. It’s what the employee was hired to do. It’s what the employee is paid to do. It’s the criteria upon which his performance is judged.

Job essence is the employee’s highest priority—which, for most employees, is to create a delighted customer: one who will repurchase, is less price-sensitive, and will recommend the company/brand to others.

In contrast to job functions, job essence is frequently ignored by both employers and employees. Here’s why: Employers tend to focus on that which can be documented and measured—things like job descriptions, policies, procedures, and checklists. All of these pertain to job function. And employees tend to focus on whatever their managers focus on.

For instance, suppose a restaurant manager tells a newly-hired hostess that customer service is his top priority. (Most do.) But when the hostess’s side work (e.g., folding napkins, filling salt and pepper shakers, etc.) suffers due to her consistent presence out front greeting guests as they arrive, he questions her priorities by asking, “Why aren’t there more napkins folded?”

She will quickly learn the manager’s true priority is folded napkins (job function), not delighted customers (job essence).

You see, whereas performing job functions is mandatory, demonstrating job essence is optional—employees don’t have to do it. And most don’t. And unlike job functions for which employees are paid, there’s no additional cost to the employer for employees to demonstrate job essence. Companies don’t pay their employees extra to care, take initiative, or accept responsibility.

Both job function (competency) and job essence (passion to serve) are required to create delighted customers. Customers won’t appreciate passionate, service-oriented employees who are incompetent. Nor will they respond to capable employees whose customer service they would describe as apathetic or indifferent. In other words, restaurant guests appreciate being greeted warmly and having a clean, folded napkin.

The opportunity to create delighted customers lies at the intersection of job function and job essence.

I have identified seven customer service behaviors that are available to frontline customer service providers at this intersection. These behaviors will enable them to elevate their personal customer service from typical, routine, and expected, to unique, refreshing, and unexpected.

In so doing, they will create delighted customers—loyal customers who will brag about the company/brand to others.

Here are three of the behaviors:

1. Express genuine interest: To express genuine interest in a customer is to go beyond that which a customer typically expects during a customer service interaction. For example, most customers might expect a supermarket cashier to smile, make eye contact, and add a bit of enthusiasm to her voice. These qualities may not always occur but they are the basics of a face-to-face customer service interaction.

To go beyond the basics might mean posing a question or two to the customer.

For example, I once observed the transaction ahead of me while in line at an Albertsons supermarket. As the cashier scanned a bag of dog food, she simply asked, “What kind of dog do you have?”

With that, the cashier and the customer had an enthusiastic exchange about their mutual love of Labrador Retrievers. It wasn’t long—maybe all of 20 seconds while the customer swiped his bank card and signed for his purchases. But an impression was made. A connection was established.

2. Share unique knowledge: To share unique knowledge with a customer means to go beyond the job knowledge that is ordinarily expected of one’s job role. For example, most restaurant guests expect for servers to possess basic job knowledge such as the evening’s specials, the soupe du jour, information about food preparation, ingredients/allergens, availability, pricing, etc.

Unique knowledge goes beyond job knowledge. It is interesting, memorable, and unexpected. It has character and substance.

It’s the difference between: “Tonight, our featured appetizer is the Pâté de Foie Gras” and  “Our chef trained at the prestigious Restaurant School in Philadelphia and apprenticed at Le Bec Fin. She also traveled to France to refine her knowledge of French delicacies such as truffles, escargot, and foie gras. In fact, our Pâté de Foie Gras is our featured appetizer. May I tempt you with an order?”

Seriously, which of these two approaches would make an impression on you? Which might motivate you to order the appetizer?

3. Deliver service heroics: To deliver service heroics means to go beyond the customer’s expectations in providing him with an exceptional customer service experience. Sometimes, this will require an employee to go above and beyond the call of duty. He may be challenged to perform beyond the scope of his job description.

I won’t provide my own example here. Instead, I’ll ask you to reflect back on your own experience as a customer. Everyone reading this post has a vivid example of a time when a frontline hourly employee went above and beyond the call of duty to provide exceptional customer service.

Perhaps you wrote a letter to the employee’s boss or maybe you gave him or her a substantial gratuity? If not, I’m confident that you have at least shared the story with many others. An impression was made—one that you won’t soon forget.

Each of these behaviors shares the same set of characteristics: they demonstrate the essence of an employee’s job—his or her highest priority—to create a delighted customer; they’re optional—which is why, as customers, we don’t often experience them; and they’re free—companies don’t pay their employees extra to express genuine interest, share unique knowledge, or deliver service heroics.

By recognizing and communicating the difference between job function and job essence, then guiding employee performance by sharing and rewarding customer service behaviors that go beyond that which customers typically expect, companies will differentiate themselves on the basis of customer service quality.

While most of their competitors will be providing the customer service status quo, these companies will be providing Service Elevated!

I met a colleague at ink! Coffee in Denver last week. I appreciate great coffee as I’ve blogged about before and was really looking forward to trying ink!’s.

My first impression was positive as the barista welcomed me and briefly shared ink! Coffee’s philosophy regarding product quality and freshness.

After determining that I was meeting someone for coffee, she dispensed the coffee into a sturdy ceramic mug—which was refreshing. I took my first sip and was truly impressed with the quality. As advertised, it was rich, smooth and not at all bitter.

About twenty minutes into my appointment, the barista came by our table and mentioned to me that they offer free refills.

“Free refills?” I said. “That’s great! I’d love one. Thank you.”

Then she said something that shocked me.

“Oh…but I don’t get it for you. You have to go to the counter to get it.”

She then justified her response by explaining that we were a team and, as such, we all played different roles. Apparently, her role was to prepare and sell me a cup of coffee and my role was to pause my meeting, get up, go to the counter, and wait in line to request a refill.

ink! Coffee’s slogan is: Coffee. Above all else.

Clearly, this includes customer service.

In the men’s restroom, there is a sign boldly displayed which reads:

THE INK ON ink! COFFEE

In 1994, ink! started in Aspen, Colorado with one cart and a lot of passion. We continue to hand-roast our coffee at high elevation in the mountains which allows us to roast longer at a lower temperature making the coffee rich, smooth and never bitter.

Beans are delivered fresh to ink! stores, brewed into coffee, and served to adoring customers. And because we take pride in freshness, we only keep a pot of coffee around about as long as it took to brew it. Same goes for beans. We never stockpile them.

Our baristas have a passion for great coffee (without the attitude). And most importantly, they know how to make the perfect cup.

At least they’re consistent. This sign really does accurately capture the ink! Coffee culture that I experienced: A focus on coffee—not the customer. Notice the only reference to customers is in the second paragraph where we’re described as “adoring.”

I found this definition of “adoring” at Merriam-Webster.com: To worship or honor as a deity or as divine. In the context above, it would seem that customers are expected to “worship” ink! Coffee. That’s flawed. It’s reminiscent of American automakers’ attitude towards their customers until they began defecting to imported brands at an alarming rate. Only then did Detroit begin to refocus on customers.

In the third paragraph, it’s noted that “baristas have a passion for great coffee…And most importantly, they know how to make the perfect cup.” Both of these references have to do with ink!’s product, not service. In fact, there’s no mention of customer service anywhere—so I really shouldn’t have been at all surprised that the barista had no intention of refilling my cup of coffee for me.

I am a huge supporter of smaller, independent brands that compete against the behemoths and I want to see them succeed. That said, it’s unlikely for a coffee shop (or any other business) to succeed based on product quality alone. Service quality must be part of the equation.

If I were advising ink! Coffee, I would emphasize that its highest priority should be to create promoters of the ink! Coffee brand.

Global consulting firm Bain and Company defines promoters as those customers who are the least price-sensitive, have the highest repurchase rates, and are responsible for between 80 and 90 percent of positive referrals to a company or brand.

Promoters respond to the question, “How likely is it that you would recommend ink! Coffee to a friend or colleague?” by selecting 9 or 10 on a zero-to-10 scale with 10 indicating they are extremely likely to recommend.

Promoters recognize product quality and they expect a commensurate level of service quality. If customers get one without the other, they’re less likely to recommend the company or brand to others. And, by definition, they’re not promoters. They’re either passives (indifferent about your brand) or detractors (responsible for 80 to 90 percent of the negative word of mouth).

ink! Coffee has a great location in Cherry Creek and an amazing product. But the reality is that there is a Peet’s Coffee & Tea and a Starbucks located on the same street. And ink! simply will not succeed in creating promoters and growing market share by focusing exclusively on product quality while remaining indifferent about the customer experience.

Last night I was watching the men’s 1000 meter Olympic speed skating event at the Winter Games. The defending Olympic champion, Shani Davis, dominated the field of skaters, winning the gold medal.

What was interesting to me was a remark by one of the television commentators. He said that Davis, an American citizen, lives and trains in Vancouver—just outside the Olympic Village—and that one of his good friends, Denny Morrison, is a member of the Canadian speed skating team. For two years before the Torino Games they trained together in Calgary, pushing each another to excel.

The commentator went on to say that, for competitive reasons, the coach of the Canadian team would not allow competing skaters to practice against the Canadian skaters before this year’s games. He suggested that this decision might have been short-sighted, as members of the Canadian team may have benefited from competition beyond what was comfortable and familiar to them.

That got me thinking about the nature of competition in business.

Intuitively, business operates with a scarcity mentality that suggests that there is a finite “pie” and that, if you get a larger slice of the pie, then I somehow get less. That’s why companies file patents and trademarks—to protect their intellectual property, conceal it from competitors, and use it to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The most successful businesses do not operate from a position of fear and scarcity. They lead from a position of confidence and abundance. These companies recognize that the “pie” is not finite. The size of your slice of the pie has little to do with the potential size of my slice because the pie has the capacity to grow exponentially.

This brings to mind an old Xerox print ad. In one frame, a little boy’s lemonade stand was suffering at the hands of a little girl’s competing lemonade stand, where a line had formed.

In the next frame, the boy had added a vase with a single rose to his lemonade stand and, to the girl’s dismay, the line had moved to her competitor’s stand.

The caption beneath the second frame read: “When companies compete, products get better.”

Whether in athletics, business, or another endeavor, competition is not something to fear and avoid. It should be welcomed and embraced. From a business perspective, all of us have something to learn from our competitors that will enable us to improve the product and service quality we deliver to customers.

What will your lesson be?