For each of the past twenty years, my wife and I have watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while putting up our Christmas Tree. Why we still laugh uncontrollably at the same bits we’ve seen so many times is something our kids may never fully understand, but I digress. This classic movie’s plot centers around the plans Clark Griswold (Chevy…
If you are a person who enjoys peace and serenity, you don’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater nor do you whisper ‘bomb’ when going through airport security. And unless you want to incite a riot, you’d better not let the word ‘entitled’ slip out around a business owner, manager, or employer. Regardless of how…
There are an estimated 50 million people in the world who claim they play the guitar. Meet the one person who works it. Mike Rayburn is a guitar virtuoso. In fact, his concerts have sold out Carnegie Hall eight times. But this isn’t about the talents of a renowned musician; it’s about the relentless work ethic that underlies a brilliant career. And…
Last week I had the privilege of taking a behind the scenes tour of Zappos and speaking with several of their top leaders. Mine was not the popular tour advertised on their website, but rather a real peek behind the curtain to see the wizardry of this renowned workplace culture phenomena and iconic brand. I’ve read…
I returned home from a conference and got off the tram at Denver International Airport and took the escalator up to the top level, where the first person I saw was an elderly gentleman in a cowboy hat who greets arriving passengers with a hearty “Welcome to Denver!” This is followed by an earnest, “How…
My wife and I have three lazy dogs. Given the choice, I know Ozzy, Olivia and Toby would like to be out chasing the deer, elk, and fox that run free in the mountains surrounding our house, but we can’t trust that they’ll come back so we don’t give them that freedom. As a result,…
In a well publicized cross-generational study, researchers asked 355,000 high school seniors about their feelings on wealth, material goods and work. They discovered that, compared to older generations, today’s teens expressed a stronger desire for the finer things in life but less of a desire in working to acquire them. Wanting nicer things is nothing…
Dickens may have penned A Christmas Carol back in 1843, but the ghost of bad management is still haunting workplaces in 2013. Nowhere is this more prevalent and on display than in industries that boom in Q4 (i.e. retailing, food service, hospitality, transportation, entertainment, etc.) The make-or-break pressures of managing a business during the holidays can…
With roots steeped rich in Celtic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant tradition, the annual Trick‑or‑Treat ritual that takes place this week can be traced back centuries. Originally, children would adorn hand‑made ceremonial costumes and go door‑to‑door singing out “a trick for a treat!” Then they’d entertain their neighbors with carefully rehearsed songs, skits, and dances. If…
Guest post by Shep Hyken Building the ideal corporate culture doesn’t happen by chance. If you are a leader of a company or organization and you want to instill a customer service culture, how do you make it happen? To become a customer-centric company requires first building an employee-centric workplace. If you want your customers…