01 Dec

Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness, and vision/meaning. —Tony Hsieh

This reminds me of a (possibly apocryphal) story I heard about a shoe company back in the 1800s that sent a couple of their employees to a distant land for a month to scout the region and determine the market opportunity there. One of the employees came back and said, “Nobody there wears shoes! There’s no opportunity there!” The other employee came back a week later and said, “Nobody there wears shoes! There’s so much opportunity there!”Tony Hsieh[1. The Employees of Zappos and Mark Dagostino, The Power of WOW: How to Electrify Your Work and Life by Putting Service FIrst, 2019.]

Like many people in the business world, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Tony Hsieh last week. Not only did I have a lot of respect for Tony, but I was fortunate to call him a friend.

If you ever met Tony, you’d know he was definitely like the second employee in the story he recounted. Tony saw potential everywhere, not just in businesses, but also in people. Whether it was empowering Zappos employees to pursue their passion projects or listening to an artist friend around a campfire in the yard near his airstream, Tony saw possibility where others would just see half-baked ideas. 

20:30 / Core Values / Inspiration / Leadership
23 Nov

Relentlessly serve your best customers better than anyone else.
To build brand loyalty, serve your best customers better than your competitors do.

Here are eight steps you can take to begin building brand loyalty.

Step 1: Focus on your best customers

Build your business around your best customers—what we call Brand Lovers—instead of trying to aimlessly drive sales. Over time, your return on marketing and innovation efforts will rise.

06:00 / Marketing
16 Nov

supportive cultures facilitate personal freedom and foster positive growth.

If someone told you your company is a cult, how would you take it?

Instead of getting offended, you may want to feel a sense of pride. It all depends on how you look at cults and the role they play in creating your corporate culture.

14:00 / Leadership
09 Nov

The better you understand yourself, the better you can understand your customers and employees.

Your customers are human beings. Your employees are human beings. And yes, you are human too.

But what does it mean to be human?

As humans, we are conscious of certain names, dates, memories, beliefs, concepts, and aspects of our identity.

This collection of details are all above the surface. They are available to our conscious minds, retrievable by our thinking brains.

Below the surface, however, a vast reservoir of energy and instincts exists of which humans are not aware. Psychology calls this subterranean the subconscious mind and the unconscious mind.

06:00 / Leadership
26 Oct

Harnessing the power of story can transform both your corporate culture and your brand.

“Good morning city!”

Emmet Brickowski was a construction worker, your everyday guy. He followed printed instructions on how to fit in, have everyone like him, and always be happy.

But Emmet had a greater destiny: to become a Master Builder. Master Builders don’t have to follow instructions. Inspired by others, they create from what’s inside of them.

If you don’t know Emmet, you may have heard of The Lego Movie. The Lego Movie premiered in February 2014, grossing $468 million worldwide at the box office.

06:00 / Culture / Leadership / Marketing
19 Oct

Your job isn’t to create needs for your customers. Your job is to make your customers aware of their existing needs.

Your job isn’t to create needs for your customers. Customers—humans—do a fine job of that on their own.

Your job is to make your customers aware of their existing needs. When you do this successfully, you trigger motivation in your customers. This motivation leads your customers to take action.

06:00 / Marketing
12 Oct

Experiences are more meaningful than things.

A customer named Lisa walks into your store.

As she roams the aisles, her eyes gaze at an endless sea of colors and forms. She isn’t overwhelmed; she’s accustomed to endless choice.

Her mind is elsewhere. Something her daughter asked her this morning amuses her. She feels joy. Now she wonders if her husband kissed her before he left for work. A feeling of disconnection comes and goes.

06:00 / Marketing
05 Oct

Determine what your business stands for. Then, relentlessly deliver on that promise.

Tim works down the street. He rushes into your store. Late for a meeting, he stepped into a puddle after lunch and his damp socks are bothering him.

He grabs the first pair of black mens dress socks he finds, pays for them, and hustles back to work.

Sandra takes a trip to your store after work. It’s her friend’s birthday and she needs the right gift. She always finds what she needs at your store.

Tim and Sandra are both your customers. They both contribute to your bottom line. But only one of them will lead to long-term profitability in up and down markets.

06:00 / Marketing