Sunday, January 23, 2011

Tom Peters Says

I have been listening to a lot of Tom Peters lately to get a different view by listening to TP on retail and healthcare. Here are some tidbits.

"A man without a smiling face must not open a shop."- Chinese Proverb. (I always say you can't train Friendly).

Howard Schultz is CEO of Starbucks. He visits at least 25 stores per week and also hits other retail stores to soak up what they are doing.

Herb Kelleher says, "You have to treat your employees like customers." Herb was CEO of the only profitable airline.

For companies that sell on service, your brand is your Talent. Like a sports team, you brand is wrapped up in your employees.

"Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul. Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul is a product of brilliantly serving, over the long haul, the people who serve the customer." - Wegman's

"We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things." —Herb Kelleher. "Have a Bias for Action" - Tom Peters. Try things. What is the worst that can happen? It fails. So what?

"What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him." - Harley exec, quoted in Results-Based Leadership. Did you know Harley is the # 1 brand? What other brand do people consistently tattoo on themselves?

"We have identified a 'third place.' And I really believe that sets us apart. The third place is that place that’s not work or home. It’s the place our customers come for refuge." —Nancy Orsolini, District Manager, Starbucks. Starbucks like Harley-Davidson sells a customer experience.

Re-think ways to improve the customer experience.

Take an hour to read this: "This is what Tom calls "Recession46: Forty-six 'Secrets' and 'Clever Strategies' For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX." It's part of a collection titled "Tom Peters' Thoughts About Getting Things Done, in Good Times and Bad," and we offer it to you here as a stand-alone. At only two pages long, it is a tidy, handy list of counter-intuitive thoughts on handling the current financial downturn." Download.

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