The other day I went through the line at my local supermarket with, among other items, an open bag of potato chips. (Potato chips weren’t even on my shopping list but they looked so good and salty on the end-cap display, I just couldn’t resist.) After scanning the bag of
John Wooden, the legendary former UCLA basketball coach, said, “Don’t confuse activity with achievement.” This insightful quote reminds me of the common misunderstanding plaguing service industry employees (management and non-management) everywhere: they confuse activity (executing job function) with excellence (demonstrating job essence). So many managers race to their superiors with
While directing the 1956 epic film The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille challenged a large group of extras portraying the Israelites to energize their performance, shouting, “Alright now. Give me everything you’ve got people! Don’t be extras. Be a nation!” DeMille’s exhortation of the extras reminds me of the ongoing
During a recent trip to Lakeshore Learning Store in Lone Tree, Colorado, I debated which set of Giant Soft & Safe Dinosaurs to buy my preschooler for Christmas. I chose the set containing a pterodactyl. As I laid the package on the counter, the cashier, Pete, affirmed my choice, exclaiming,
On Monday of this week I attempted to return a Price Pfister kitchen faucet purchased last year to Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The cashier, Karen, understandably denied my request citing Lowe’s 90-day return policy and the manufacturer’s 12-month warranty. (Although I no longer had the receipt, I estimated that 19
My local Nordstrom recently sponsored a Kids Shoe Tying Class where children worked one-on-one with a shoe department associate to learn the “secret trick” to tying a shoe. Afterward, children received a “Real Knotty Behavior” certificate and a balloon to recognize their newly acquired skill. This event illustrates seven simple
A blog reader recently shared this story: My family recently moved, but our kitchen was not completely finished. Making meals was difficult so we ordered take-out from a local New York Butcher Shoppe that offered a Wednesday meal special: basically $22 to feed a family of four to six, making
Whereas job knowledge provides a common broad perspective about a company’s products and services, unique knowledge offers an exclusive “insider’s” perspective. By offering privileged, insider information to customers, you are sharing unique knowledge. Examples include: ways to avoid long lines at Disney World, routes to circumvent construction delays on I-25,
In relationships that you have with important people in your life, if you routinely ignore complaints and devalue feedback, most therapists would label your behavior as dysfunctional—abnormal or impaired functioning. And they would prescribe interventions intended to influence behavior positively and reinforce healthy relationships. If this type of neglectful behavior
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