Organizations that foster brand loyaltyâthat place an unusually high level of focus on their customersâon average, demonstrate a more enlightened approach to management. Why is this so? Cult Brands and other customer-centric businesses tend to be more humanistic. That is, they tend to place a greater...
It was an enlivening trip to the National Retail Federationâs Big Show this year. With over 30,000 attendees pacing over 800,000 square feet of exhibitors serving the retail market, it was difficult not to marvel at what human consciousness can do in its effort to...
Letâs make a series of obvious statements: 1) Your customers are human beings. 2) Human beings share certain values. 3) Human beings, as customers, are attracted to businesses that share their values. Simply enough, isnât it? Well, sort of. The challenge is not all humans value the same thing....
What would you say if you learned that everything you learned in business school is wrong? Not just wrong, in fact, but fundamentally and fatally flawed, rotten to the proverbial core? How would that knowledge change how you function as a business leader? These fascinating questions...
Abraham Maslow postulated that humans have an ascending order of needs and used a hierarchal pyramid to prioritize them. At the bottom levels of the pyramid are our physiological needsâlike food, shelter, and clothingâthat we need to survive. As these needs are met, progressively higher needs...
Dr. Michael DeBakey was a god-like figure in the world of surgery, he performed in the neighborhood of 60,000 surgeries, invented over 50 medical instruments, had a pioneering role in developing the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units, the artificial heart, as well as a...
You take a week off work to deal with a family emergency. When you return, youâre told to contact the Human Resources Department. The voice on the phone is devoid of human feelings. Youâre instructed to fax proof to substantiate your absence. What would be...
As children, we are taught the laws of forgiveness and encouraged to verbalize three simple words that are often the hardest to say, âI am sorry.âNo one likes to admit when theyâre wrong. It makes us feel vulnerable, exposed, and defenseless. We have a hard...
It has often been said that trust is the critical element of social bondingâthe glue that binds relationships. Taking a sociological perspective, Barbara Misztal explains in her book Trust in Modern Societies that trust has three social implications: 1) it makes social life more predictable, 2)...
Greek historian Thycydides aptly noted, âThe secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.â Choice is the act of making a decision. But itâs more than that. Choice, by enhancing oneâs perception of control and freedom, can increase oneâs sense of happiness. The...