The Space Above

Storage Unit

Having moved five times in the last six years, I’m no stranger to temporary storage units. They’re all pretty similar. You pay a monthly fee and get access to a small space to store your belongings.

When you purchase a storage unit, they are always quoted in width x depth. A 10′ x 10′ space might cost $120 / month or a 5′ x 10′ space might be $80 / month.

Here’s a little secret. The value is in the space above.

The height of the storage unit determines how much you can store. A 5′ x 10′ unit with high ceilings can store as much as a 10′ x 10′ with low ceilings. Now I always pack my items in sturdy, stackable containers.

Think about your own business or relationships. Is there ‘space above’ that you’re not utilizing?

On that long drive, instead of listening to the music, you could listen to a great audio book or catch up with that relative or old colleague you’ve been meaning to call.

On that plane ride, instead of watching the in-flight movie, you could write the business plan for your new idea or draft the first chapter to that book you’ve been meaning to write.

At home, instead of watching House reruns, you could start a blog for yourself or with your child.

Space above is everywhere. Look for it and use it.

[photo credit: merfam]

Impact Wrench

impactwrench

What did you do today?

Did those things have a direct impact on your goals?

(You do have goals, right? And you have them written down?)

Zig Ziglar has a great framework for defining and documenting your goals:

* Physical (appearance, exercise programs, medical/dental checkups, weight, nutrition).
* Family (listening habits, forgiveness, role model, supportiveness, shared time, respect, love).
* Financial (earnings, savings, investments, budget, insurance, debt).
* Social (Humor, listening habits, confidence, manners, caring).
* Spiritual (inner peace, purpose, prayer, Bible study, faith).
* Mental (imagination, attitude, education, reading, curiosity).
* Career (job satisfaction, effectiveness, training, understanding, purpose)

If the things you did today didn’t have any direct impact on your goals, why did you do them? What could you have done instead?

What are you going to do tomorrow?

Personally, I’m going to revisit my list of goals using Zig’s great framework and then focus on actions that directly impact those goals.

An Empire State of Mind

NYC

New York.

There really is no city like it in the world.

Last January, when I moved from the paradise of San Diego to New York for the Seth Godin Alt-MBA program, I thought it would be six months, then right back to palm trees and surfboards.

Now I’m not so sure. The city grows more on me everyday.

If you put the whole world in a blender, dumped it out and charged $3,000 a month rent, you have New York.

Still…I love it.

As a tribute, I’ve compiled a few of my favorite pieces on this amazing city. Someday I hope to write something more profound myself, but until then…

Enjoy.

[NSFW WARNING: The Edward Norton scene from 25th Hour, a very underrated Spike Lee Joint, has language that is not safe for work or little kiddies.]

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys singing Empire State of Mind

I Lego NY by artist Christoph Niemann.

The rest of the set is here.

01paper

Edward Norton as Monty Brogan in 25th Hour

A few cartoons from the brilliant and incomparable Hugh MacLeod.

I Have NY_gapingvoid

Random NY

I Like Difficult - I like NY

What are your favorite tributes to NYC?

[Photo credit: Thomas Hawk]

The Hustler

Gary Vaynerchuk

This one has made the rounds but in case you haven’t seen it yet, there is so much truth here.

Every time I watch Gary, I feel like I didn’t do enough that day, which I think is part of the point.

Get out there and hustle, people.

Everything is changing and will continue to change, but if you put everything you have into doing what you love, nobody can take that away from you.

You’re just like Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

I’ve never been very good at golf. I’ve always played different sports and I could usually pick them up fairly easily and be adequate without a great deal of practice.

Not golf.

I would play a couple times a year. My friends would call when their 4th player canceled or they were desperate. They knew I was a hack and was likely to spend as much time in the woods as on the fairways.

I recently decided I wanted to get better at golf. My uncle John talked very highly of a golf instructor on Long Island named Victor Romano. John insisted that if I was serious about improving, that I drive out to Long Island and take lessons with Victor.

Victor is a wizard. In the matter of only a few lessons, he has helped my swing immensely and has fixed some major flaws. I still have a long way to go but I’m starting to see improvements.

Victor has a metaphor for golf improvement he calls “moving the bell curve”.

The metaphor is one of a 100 golf shots. Every swing a golfer takes, they reach into this metaphorical bucket and take out a ball. Ball #1 is the best shot they could possibly hit that day, given their skill level. Ball #100 is the worst. Plot those 100 shots and you get a representative bell curve of that golfer’s current skill level.

When you’re starting out, the bell curve is very wide. The #1 shot is probably OK and the #100 shot might be a complete whiff.

Bell Curve

As you gets slightly better, the #1 – 5 shots are quite a bit better but the worst #90 – #100 shots are still embarrassing shanks.

As you continue to improve, the #1 – #5 shots get even better, the medium shots get a little better and the worst shots aren’t quite as bad but #99 and #100 are probably still ones you would rather forget.

This is true for me and it’s true for you and it’s true for Tiger Woods. When Tiger Woods shoots a 76 (a terrible day for him), he hit some of the worst shots possible on his bell curve.

After working with Victor, my best shot (my #1) is almost as good as Tiger’s worst shot (his #100). That means the best shot I can hit out of 100 is comparable to the worst shot Tiger Woods hits.

The point of Victor’s metaphor is this.

Golfers always make excuses for the way they played a certain hole or a certain round. If they shot a great score on the front nine but played poorly on the back nine, they blame it on exhaustion or the fact that it was getting dark. If they hit a huge slice into the pond, they blame it on the fact that they pulled their head or that new wedge that they just haven’t figured out yet.

They’re wrong.

Their skill level is at a certain point. On a bad day, they hit more balls from the higher end of their bell curve.

The purpose of practice, in golf and many other endeavors, is to move the bell curve.

Chris Brogan and Seth Godin write new blog posts every day. Some posts are better than others but their last 100 are significantly better than their first 100. Through practice, over time, they have dramatically moved their blog quality bell curve. Following their lead, that’s what I’m trying to do as well.

Pick a skill in your business or personal life, what is your #1 ball? What is your #100?

How can you improve and move your own bell curve?

[Photo credit: Paul Gallegos / PR Photos]

Customer Engagement at the DPHA

Axor Starck

On Saturday, I finished up a two-day presentation / workshop gig at the DPHA conference, the annual conference for the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association.

Decorative plumbing and hardware includes luxury hardware for bathrooms and kitchens: high-end faucets, shower heads, sinks, bathtubs, lighting, mirrors, tile, etc.

The DPHA is made up of three primary groups:

1) The hardware manufacturers (like Hansgrohe, Rohl, Kohler and others)
2) The independent reps, who sell the manufacturers’ product lines to…
3) The dealers & showrooms, who sell to architects, builders and the end consumer, the homeowners

Everyone from the DPHA was extremely nice and generous.

Everyone from the Broadmoor, the beautiful, luxury resort where the conference was held was amazing.

Just one example of the Broadmoor’s outstanding service:
My good friend Al Pittampalli was also speaking. Al is a nutrition expert and he is testing a unique new diet to control the pH of his bloodstream. As a result, he needed lots of avocados and lemon. The Broadmoor concierge brought up 12 perfectly ripe avocados within minutes of Al calling. I can’t usually find 12 perfectly ripe avocados at Fairway Market or Whole Foods.

My presentation outlined how customer engagement is the new marketing and covered the three components that make up customer engagement:

Company Culture
Having spent two days last week inside Zappos, I confidently said that customer engagement is only as good as the company culture behind it. Every employee must be respected, empowered and inspired to make each customer interaction a delight.

Customer Experience
Stores like Stew Leonard’s, IKEA and Apple provide unique and remarkable customer experiences. In preparation for the conference, I had toured a few high end showrooms. While they were very clean and professional, they weren’t extremely remarkable. During my presentation, I proposed some promotions that could increase the ‘story’ factor for the showrooms:

“Halloween Light Night” promotion
Stay open two hours later than usual. Hire a local author to read ghost stories to the kids while you take customers on a tour of the lighting section of your showroom with all of the other store lights off, creating a dark, Halloween atmosphere but showing off your best product in the conditions they would actually be used in.

“Come Shower With Us” promotion
Sounds like something dreamed up by Hugh Hefner, right? That’s exactly why people would talk about it. Setup portable locker rooms and let customers pick out which shower heads they want to test. This would also give showrooms an opportunity to demo new product lines of high-end soaps and bathrobes that many are exploring.

At the very least, it would be a story that spreads and as we know, stories that spread, win.

Carpe Defect
As I explained in an older post, Carpe Defect (Seize the Defect) is a term I came up with for taking a bad customer experience and making a customer for life. This blog and many books focus on providing amazing customer service, but we’re all human and mistakes happen. Customers generally understand that and don’t expect perfection, but it is in HOW companies deal with those errors that determine which story gets told.

A big mistake isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is an opportunity to make a customer for life. Instead of just making the customer whole and fixing the problem, you need to go over and above so that the customer has a positive story to tell.

Social Media
As instructed by the DPHA executive committee, I only briefly touched on social media near the end but attendees seemed very interested. Many had open ears and open minds and wanted to better understand how social media and customer engagement can help their industry in what is currently a difficult market for luxury goods.

I would like to thank the DPHA for having me and thank the Broadmoor for outstanding customer service.

Most of all, I would like to thank those attendees who asked questions about how to improve their corporate culture, their customer experience and Carpe Defect. You can’t control the luxury spending trends but you can control how you make the customer feel.

[NB: As requested, I will be posting my slides from the presentation on SlideShare soon.]

Zappos Insights – Day 2

TonyHsieh-225x300

After a fun dinner at CEO Tony Hsieh’s house last night, today was another amazing day at Zappos headquarters.

My tweet-summary from Day 1 is here.

For more, check out the hashtag #zapposlive.

@ZapposInsights 10:15:01 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: @zappos_alfred talking about difference between information and wisdom (insights) Discussing all sorts of growth. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:20:14 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: How do you grow bother personally and professionally? Can’t grow professionally unless you invest in yourself and grow too. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:22:04 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: The typical planning process for business growth metrics ends up with the same results. Need to involve more ‘How’ and ‘Why’. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:22:59 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: What are going to be the ‘Inputs’ that will help make your company successful? Typical strategies are mostly ‘Outputs’. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:24:01 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: You can’t necessarily control the ‘Outputs’, but you can definitely control the ‘Inputs’ to guide the way. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 10:26:37 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Most companies plan to grow all areas of the company, except they forget to plan to grow their company culture #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:28:39 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Building teams that have all three types of people, can help make any process/goal become a reality. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 10:35:47 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Three type of people on team to build successfully – visionary, artist (creative), scientist (numbers) #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:29:55 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: What is your Vision? Zappos started with selection, then service, and eventually found that culture was a big part of the vision #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:30:35 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Delivering happiness is overall vision. Your vision can evolve/grow, too! #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:31:56 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Focus on the core, the mix of 1) what you can be the best at, 2) you are passionate about, and 3) drives your economic engine. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:33:59 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Get Alignment. Get everyone to row in the same direction. Over-communicate by 10-20%. Make sure everything is explained in full #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:36:06 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Have a higher purpose. Fight for a cause/Find you calling. Make sure everyone in the company understands the purpose. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:38:25 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Large meetings work for communicating certain things, some are better suited to a smaller setting, to make it personal. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:44:26 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Come up with whatever metric makes sense, then be willing to change it over time. Can’t use the same measurements over time #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:58:38 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Daily sales report is sent to all Zappos employees, and 1500 brand partners. Open communication benefits all parties. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 11:03:41 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: When we hire people, we want to raise the bar for the team. We look to find people who can really make the team better! #zapposlive

@Scott_Allison 11:17:10 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: http://twitpic.com/lmlyx – Advice from @zappos_alfred CFO/COO. Really understand your talent & fill any gaps with your team. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 11:26:38 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Dave @dave337 www.atlantarefrigeration.com INC 500/5000 speaking how he got “zapped” #zapposlive implemented culture in his company

@ZapposInsights 11:27:01 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: ‘Virtual Bench’ of non-hired potential employees who keep in touch with company because the culture blew them away. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 11:31:57 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: @dave337 is talking about dropping cash bonuses and putting together a 101 dreams list. Employees help each other meet goals. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 11:35:35 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: @dave337 switched to all google apps to make it easier to connect with everyone #zapposlive www.google.com/apps

@ZapposInsights 11:40:55 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: “It all kind of snowballs once you get a few people on-board with it”. @dave337 on growth of culture at ARS. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 11:40:57 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: @dave337 talks how Faceball one way to create fun in the office http://www.flickr.com/groups/faceball/ #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 11:44:12 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: “Official site” on how to play Faceball http://www.faceball.org/ #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:05:05 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Help Desk is our ‘Concierge service on Red Bull’. Want to make sure all interaction here is as enjoyable as it can be! #zapposlive

@Scott_Allison 12:12:49 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Watch this amazing video which describes how Zappos grow and develop staff and the company for the future http://bit.ly/AnNUr #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:24:48 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Roger: We want everyone to realize what it means to really be a service company. Everyone does 40 hrs on phones. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:27:04 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Maura: Everyone is trained on the phones, everyone helps on phones for holiday/busy season (even Tony!) No seasonal hiring. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:31:08 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Hollie: Performance reviews are always evolving. Half of review is based on core values. Technical performance is other half. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:34:26 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Maura: QA and Metrics. We score calls – a lot is put into PEC (Personal Emotional Connection). Customer-facing time . #zapposlive

@jessicalawrence 12:43:21 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Zappos hires less than 1% of all candidates who apply. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:47:51 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Roger: Make sure the values are evident in everything that you are doing. Make sure they are incorporated in it all. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:51:17 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Dave: Allowing team members the freedom to say ‘Lets try this….’ can really push them to succeed, their input is valued. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 14:26:25 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Lots of WOW! in action. @zappos_drob is explaining how we are going to keep in touch and try our best to help after #zapposlive events!

@ZapposInsights 14:37:25 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Up next: Leadership training with Dr Vik. – Pygmalion effect.. People are only as good as you expect them to be. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 14:41:56 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: http://drvik.com/?page_id=32 Dr. Vik is explaining how to ‘Spin it and Win it’. Take a positive approach to any situation. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 14:43:27 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Benefits of coaching. Employees have a positive attitude, are acknowledged and recognized, resist negativity and are empowered. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 14:50:41 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: People can talk their way around a situation and work out good solutions, just by having a place to discuss it and work it out. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:10:46 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: “How can we get a coach on-site without having the extra $$?” – Just do it. Find someone who is trusted in the company. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:11:27 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Coaching can be spread out between a group of people in the company. It doesn’t have to be a single coach. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:13:24 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Next question – “How can you afford NOT to get a coach?” What line item is more important than the growth of the employees? #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:14:44 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Coaching position will pay for itself from the productivity of the employees who are empowered and growing. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:30:36 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Leadership vs Management: No one likes to be ‘managed’ or bossed around. We prefer to manage business and Lead the people. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:34:54 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Leadership at Zappos sits in the open. Many people can walk up to key leaders and bring ideas/have discussions. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:36:13 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: “The time we are here is not just to get emails cranked out and work on projects, it’s to be open and available.” @zappos_fred #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 15:37:14 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: via Fred Mossler – Zappos keeps flat level biz, Sr Execs sit among all other employees because that’s where best ideas come from #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:38:02 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: 68% of relationships are broken because? One word. Indifference. Customers come back because of the personal relationship and service. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:41:24 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Customers dictate what your brand is. Take them very seriously. Brand and culture are two sides of the same coin. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:42:54 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Even though roughly 95% of new orders are placed online, customers will contact us at least once in their time with us. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 15:43:54 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: You can no longer hide behind marketing campaign in this transparency world customer determines your brand via Fred Mossler #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:44:27 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: “We don’t tell people what to do, we just let them know what needs to be done.” -Dr. Vik #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:45:18 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: There are a lot of things that exist that were never planned. We give the employees the freedom to pursue their passions. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:47:29 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: In 2006 UPS trucks saved 28,541,472 million miles and 3m gallons of fuel by reducing the number of left turns taken. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:17:08 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Have you ever told the person (who’s name you wrote down) and told him/her the impact they made in your life? #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:27:58 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Talking about Tribal Leadership: Explaining different stages of company culture. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:28:12 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Stage 1 – Life sucks. Stage 2 – My life sucks. Stage 3 – I’m great. Stage 4 – We’re Great. Stage 5 – Life is Great. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:28:48 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: What stage do you think you are in? You can only upgrade one stage at a time. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 16:30:16 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Tribal Leadership – Most organizations never make it to Stage 5 – Life is Great! need to help people move up one stage at a time #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:33:34 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: What keeps people from reaching goal? Fear of failure, Not enough time? Lack of a sense of urgency. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:35:19 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Sense of Urgency: It Must be done. It must be done NOW. Gets things done. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 16:39:33 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: If you could talk to yourself about your goals in a month, what would you say? You can! Go ahead and write yourself a letter. #zapposlive

@Zappos_DRob 19:50:46 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Had an amazing time with the Zappos Insights LIVE crew this week! It’s a new batch of culture gurus ready to change their world. #zapposlive

@rachelcosgrove 20:05:40 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Thank you @zapposinsights! Awesome two days of letting us get infected by your culture. Learned lots & met some amazing people. #zapposlive

@jessicalawrence 18:25:11 Friday, Oct 16th 09: One major takeaway from #zapposlive? Remarkable marketing won’t make up for an unremarkable product. Thanks @clayhebert!

@KillerChef 20:26:19 Friday, Oct 16th 09: Thanks to everyone on the #zapposlive team for their hospitality and openness. Looking forward to our 1st class reunion. (hint, hint, hint)

Zappos Insights – Day 1

Zappos_Shoes

Wow. What an amazing day. My head is literally spinning. Anyone who has followed this blog knows I’ve been a big fan of Zappos for a long time but today I got to experience it in person, through the Zappos Insights program.

Zappos Insights is a live event where people can come and learn about how Zappos built their culture and company and values. I learned so much and am really looking forward to Day #2.

Here is a tweetstream of consciousness of the top takeaways from Day #1. For more, search the hashtag #zapposlive.

@jessicalawrence 23:40:38 Tuesday, Oct 13th 09: Who’s at #zapposlive ? The founder of this company: http://bit.ly/wiAkU The author of this book: http://bit.ly/9UrDe And more!

@ZapposInsights 09:58:52 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Great Start! Teams are presenting their super heroes and powers. Team Foresight, can see 1 minute into future. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 10:01:42 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: team Mucho Oreja’s power is to be able to hear what all the customers are saying about them. #zapposlive

@clayhebert 10:24:54 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Learning Zappos culture (and dancing) at @ZapposInsights #zapposlive (@ Zappos HQ in Henderson) http://bit.ly/4jabMF

@ZapposInsights 12:27:55 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: http://bit.ly/QsUqt #zapposlive – Showing off their mullets!!

@ZapposInsights 12:30:42 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: “You can talk about culture all day long, but to really feel the vibe, was really cool” – Paraphrase. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 12:35:42 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos tours Mon-Thurs Jan-Feb did 200 tours,haven’t toured this incredible company, you’re missing a major Vegas attraction ;-) #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 12:38:28 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: People get emotional seeing on the zappos tour an actual company with real culture is a reality here #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 12:44:37 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Tony learned through lesson at Linkexchange that culture is #1 priority so you still enjoy going work when biz grows #zapposlive

@jlajoie 12:45:51 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Tony giving us the story at #ZapposLive http://yfrog.com/2tnkpj

@eldridge2m 12:48:05 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Great book via Tony Tribal Leadership Free download http://www.zappos.com/tribal.zhtml #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 12:50:21 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: What’s the larger vision and greater purpose in your work beyond money and profits? – @zappos speaking at #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 12:53:54 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos Tony against bonus plans, it creates wrong results – HR studies rank money as #4or5 is easy but not best way to reward #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 13:07:24 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: @zappos explains that field of ‘Happiness’ says that people are very bad at predicting what will make them happy. #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 13:16:19 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos goal: employees want to be working there ten years from now, helps them grow both personally & professionally #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 13:16:19 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos will offer a class for employees on the Science of Happiness. @zappos talking about Maslow’s Hierarchy. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 13:18:55 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: 3 types of happiness: Pleasure (Rock Star), Engagement (Flow) and Being part of something Bigger (Meaning/Higher Purpose). #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 13:20:05 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Rockstar is very short-lived happiness. Flow is second longest, Meaning/Purpose is longest lasting type of happiness. #zapposlive

@Zappos_DRob 13:24:11 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: What % of your time do you spend learning about the science of happiness? What will make you happy? Study. Learn. Grow. Be Happy. #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 13:34:56 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: @zappos If you hire people who’s values are aligned with the company’s values, there is no need to change people’s values. #zapposlive

@heif 13:40:08 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: @zappos tony says amzn acquisition will be like having a new board of directors (& a board that understands retail) #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 13:57:09 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos Core Values established 2005 http://bit.ly/D0bzd #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 14:04:26 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Core values become a blueprint for employees to use when making day-to-day decisions. #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:24:30 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: @Zappos_Service Having a blast! I didn’t know I could hula hoop at all. I guess I can (a little). Thanks! #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:27:22 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Just listening to Tony Hsieh ( @zappos ) explain HOW to develop core values. Should be an essential exercise for any company. #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:31:16 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: “Don’t chase the paper. Chase the dream.” P-Diddy to B.I.G. in Notorious (as told by Tony Hsieh @zappos) #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:33:26 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: “Don’t worry about MOTIVATION of employees v~fear or money. Focus more on INSPIRATION, then motivation will take care of itself” #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:36:51 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: A happiness framework from Tony Hsieh @zappos 1) Perceived Control 2) Perceived Progress 3) Connectedness 4) Vision/Meaning #zapposlive

@clayhebert 14:38:07 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: “Are you committed to your core values? Really committed? Are you willing to hire & fire people based on them?” @zappos #zapposlive

@Scott_Allison 14:54:23 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: RT @eldridge2m: Great book via Tony Tribal Leadership Free download http://www.zappos.com/tribal.zhtml #zapposlive

@jessicalawrence 15:01:49 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: #zapposlive Great morning. Love Tony’s interest in happiness research. New book on “to read” list: Happiness Hypothesis

@ZapposInsights 15:12:57 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Make sure your values are action-able. How do you set values that can become verbs? no cookie-cutters here. #zapposlive

@jessicalawrence 15:13:33 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos cares about your pee: http://twitpic.com/lj8ci #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 15:15:24 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Values. What do values look like? Generosity: Sharing, selfless, kind, giving of time.. How do we make that actionable? #zapposlive

@clayhebert 15:53:23 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: No scripts. No call times. Taking the phones with Holly at the @zappos call center! #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 17:03:02 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Great WOW service sitting listening in with Josh on Zappos CLT, he ROCKS! Best customer service in the World!! @zappos_service #zapposlive

@ZapposInsights 17:15:30 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: @zappos_drob really likes matching handbags to shoes, apparently…. ‘it has to fit my wallet, my cell phone and my gun….’ #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 17:36:34 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Dr. Vik’s daily blog http://blogs.zappos.com/blogs/coach – employee’s look forward to the daily coach keeping them grounded #zapposlive

@eldridge2m 17:17:49 Wednesday, Oct 14th 09: Zappos reps rarely ever have to go to manager because it wouldn’t be good customer service, reps are empowered! #zapposlive

@knacion 00:38:07 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: First it begins inside your heart. Something moves. Then opens. Then frees itself. A rhythm breaking its silence. This is good. #zapposlive

@magazines_jay 09:00:44 Thursday, Oct 15th 09: Great dinner last night at the home of Tony Hsieh of Zappos. Not only great with customer care, but also great with hospitality! #zapposlive

More coming tomorrow!

Book Drips – I Love You More Than My Dog by Jeanne Bliss

dog-book-sm

What make companies like Zappos, The Container Store, Harley Davidson, Netflix, Rackspace, Umpqua Bank, LUSH, Threadless, USAA, Trader Joe’s, Apple, CD Baby, Southwest Airlines and many more so beloved by their passionate fans?

Jeanne Bliss’s new book explains exactly how.

In her new book, “I Love You More Than My Dog“, Jeanne reveals the five key decisions that beloved companies make to drive customer loyalty. The book isn’t even out until Thursday (you can download the first chapter and pre-order here) but in a moment, I will tell you how to get a copy FREE.

Jeanne devotes a chapter to each of the five decisions that companies make to become beloved by customers. She ends each chapter with an excellent summary of the necessary decision and challenges companies to analyze themselves on that axis, hitting on the questions below.

    1. Decide to BELIEVE.

    Do you believe:
    - In the good judgment of the people you hire?
    - That trust is reciprocated by customers?
    - In the truth of your customers’ words?
    - That trusted and prepared employees grow the business?
    - In more trust than rules? In more training than policies?
    - How would your customers describe your trust in them?
    - Would your employees say you honor them?

    2. Decide with CLARITY.

    Do you have clarity about:
    - The memories you want to deliver?
    - The type of people who belong in your company?
    - How to steer decision making?
    - The experience you are all working toward?
    - Are your decisions directed toward executing tasks or achieving a purpose?

    3. Decide to BE REAL.

    Do you:
    - Touch a cord with customers?
    - Encourage personality and creativity of employees?
    - Communicate personally, without the corporate veneer?
    - Make decisions by envisioning customers in their lives?
    - How would customers describe who you are as people?
    - How do employees describe your company personality?

    4. Decide to BE THERE.

    Are you there for your customers?
    - Do your customers’ lives inform and inspire the behavior, the actions, and the operation of your business?
    - Is your operating plan based on your priorities or customer priorities?
    - Can customers easily tell the story of the experience you deliver?

    5. Decide to SAY SORRY.

    When you apologize:
    - Are you genuine?
    - Do you restore confidence in being associated with you?
    - Do you honor those impacted and resolve their problem?
    - Do you deliver your apology swiftly and with humility?

I love examples, so I love that Jeanne fills each chapter with very specific, concise examples in one-page vignettes of how each company chose to decide using a consistent format that explains each company’s

    1. Decision Intent
    2. Motivation and
    3. Impact.

If you have customers, you need to read this book.

If you are a customer, Jeanne is your advocate.

Read more about Jeanne and watch videos of her on her website, CustomerBliss.com.

Jeanne was kind enough to give me three copies of her new book to give away. To get a chance at one, you must take the following two actions:

[full disclosure: I borrowed / stole this "comment + tweet" idea from my friend Michael Hyatt. If you don't already read his blog, I highly recommend it.]

1. Leave a comment below. Tell me why you want this book. Be creative.

2. Tweet a link to this post. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can use Facebook.

On Thursday, October 15th, I will select three winners, whom I will email directly. If you don’t hear from me, you can assume you didn’t make the cut.

Question: Why do you want a copy of this book?

Unexcused absence (Daily Sense is back)

Unexcused Absence

I’m sorry.

I’ve failed you, my readers.

I promised a post per day and until July 26th, I was doing well.

I have no good excuse. Sure, I’ve been busy. I founded and am building my social media consultancy, Tribes Win. I’ve moved. I’ve also undergone a lot of personal change recently. But I’m not any busier than Chris Brogan or Mitch Joel, or Gary Vaynerchuk who are traveling around the country on their respective book and speaking tours. Those guys are swamped and still manage to deliver quality content all the time.

You are all very busy as well and I appreciate the attention you give me. I know that attention is scarce and I appreciate yours.

My hiatus is unexcused and I apologize.

Thank you to all of you who asked what happened to the daily drips and inquired if I had moved the blog. You know who you are.

My promise to you is this.

1) I’m back.
2) I’ll be posting daily again.
3) As my way of trying to rectify my recent absence, I’m going to work harder to regain your trust and your confidence. I will try to make some of my upcoming posts exciting and I will have at least two upcoming giveaways.

(If I get time, I’ll try to go back and make up for the daily posts that I missed. I’m not promising this but I’m going to try.)

Thanks for sticking with me.

-Clay