Can your business outlast you? (courtesy of Ignorance is Bliss)
Who are the poster children of business success these days?
More often than not, they are innovators and iconoclasts like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. Companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Starbucks are admired – and even worshipped – for their abilities to buck the trend and swim against conventional wisdom.
Courtesy of Applicant
We all know that the world is changing at a blinding pace. Yesteryear’s market leaders like Barnes & Noble, Kodak, Blockbuster and Tower Records fade away. Meanwhile, new business darlings like Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google take the stage.
Time and again, we’ve been told that if we don’t think “out-of-the-box” and reinvent our businesses, we will suffer the same untimely fate. The challenge, however, is how.
Courtesy of Vincent Huberta
Everybody knows Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.
With an estimated net worth of US$4.6 billion, Branson is financially successful beyond anybody’s wildest dreams.
Courtesy of The Altimeter Group
Imagine if your customers stopped buying your products and services. Instead, they choose to rent, loan or hire, trade products and services with each other, or choose to go to the “crowd” for their needs.
According to Jeremiah Owyang and his colleagues at The Altimeter Group, such a future may not be very far off.
Courtesy of Rewire Me
I was totally floored by a blog post by Jackie Huba of Church of the Customer.
In her post, Huba recounted how Nordstrom – a beacon of premium customer service in the US – upped the ante by replacing her worn-out loyalty card with a new one sent to her home without any prompting. All it took was for Huba to remark that her card was old and presto! A new card was delivered.
Courtesy of DC Marketing Pro
Customers. Love them or hate them, they’re the only reason for our existence.
In the past, our customer relationships were pretty non-existent. A customer walks into a store, browses around, picks up a can of soda, pays, and leaves.
Perhaps a lady could be having her hair done at a salon, and the stylist would banter with her while trimming her tresses. After her hair is styled and cut, she departs happily to her next appointment.
How are peak leaders developed? What differentiates a superstar CEO like Jack Welch from other less extraordinary leaders?
The answer, according to bestselling author John C. Maxwell, lies in The 5 Levels of Leadership.
How much risk are you willing to take? (courtesy of Condominium Insurance Review)
In life and at work, there are two kinds of people. That is, if you believe psychologists Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins in their fascinating article in HBR.
The first, promotion-focused people, see their goals as a way to advance forward. They zoom in on the rewards that can be realised when goals are achieved. Eager to “play to win”, they like to dream big and stretch their imaginations in whatever they do.
Marketing – and branding – is all about the little things (courtesy of Allographics)
Since time immemorial, marketers are obsessed with the “Big Idea”.
Ruled by “out-of-this-world” campaigns that win Golden Lions or Creative Circle awards, we were transfixed by the notion that bigger and bolder is usually better.
What is fabulous service? How do you define a “delightful experience”?
To many, an exceptional encounter is a heroic one, epitomised by a smiling human being who jumps through flaming hoops to provide memorable encounters.