Lessons from the Road

I have been traveling and consulting a great deal lately and each day serves as an amazing learning lab. Here are some random lessons from my journeys, which I hope will relate to your business:

1) A man in a coffee shop started talking to me about a concept he called “otherness.”. This made me think about the value of talking to customer service team members about the importance of otherness and how they can increase the “otherness” mindset of their business.
2) A CEO at a company in Virginia said “without commitment and sacrifice you are a cheerleader.” I wonder how often people think they support a process or change strategy but at best are only cheerleaders. It seemed worthwhile to distinguish when we are acheerleader and when we are truly willing to make a sacrifice.
3) Finally, I was reminded of a quote purportedly made by Walt Disney, “outcomes result from teams while impressions are made by individuals”. That wisdom seemed like a helpful way to approach conversations of differences in the power of a single staff member and the force of an aligned team.

Great customer experiences require a true “commitment” to “otherness” delivered by both individuals and teams!