Service Excellence Is No Fluke

Last month, I wrote about my experience at the Edward Hospital Emergency Room in Naperville, Il. I shared that I had a fantastic experience with everyone I met there, from the orderlies to the doctor. Unfortunately, that was not to be my last visit. I have had 3 more opportunities to experience the hospitality of [...]

Read Full Post »

The Tyranny of the Shiny

I call my cat the Evil One. He earned this name because of his obsession with shiny things. Just like the dog in the movie “Up” who was distracted by squirrels, the Evil One is unable to ignore things that gleam. This morning he pounced on my chest and bit the chain that hangs around [...]

Read Full Post »

Easy Button? Or Empty Promises?

A month ago, I purchased a home phone set-up for myself and an identical one for my parents. My parents had been complaining about their home phone, so I figured the only way I could help them figure out how to use the new set-up would be if I inflicted a new phone upon myself [...]

Read Full Post »

What Owns You?

Years ago I lived in a very snowy climate. For some reason, it seemed to drop a foot of snow every Saturday night. The roads wouldn’t be cleared until mid-Sunday afternoon. A few days after one of these weekend blizzards, I ran into my pastor outside a hardware store. As I was loading my purchase [...]

Read Full Post »

What’s Holding You Back?

I’ve had stones on the brain lately. Actually, the stones were in my kidney. I was happy when they were in there. But then they started to move. And my life became a living hell. It’s just like a little pebble in your shoe. Did you ever wonder, “How can something so small be so [...]

Read Full Post »

Are You Alive?

I had a college professor who would say things like: It is incumbent on us all to sow the seeds of learning so that other generations may reap the results. That stuck with me for a couple of reasons. First, I had to look up the definition of incumbent. Second, I needed to find out [...]

Read Full Post »

Super-Size My Success!

Have a headache? Pop a couple of pills. Hungry? Throw something in the microwave oven. Want to watch a movie? Order it up on the computer. Want to be thin? Schedule liposuction. For nearly every want or need we have, society has found a way to deliver quick results. I did a little checking, and [...]

Read Full Post »

Rock Stars or William Hung?

Managers, are you the sole cause of poor engagement levels in your office? No. Not all problems in the office are because of poor or inattentive managers. And not all of your employees are bringing you their A game. Some employees do expect too much from a job. Others lack seasoning. And a few might [...]

Read Full Post »

Exponential Voice of Discontent

The concept of employee engagement is going to become increasingly important in the very near future. Employees who have options will not stick around if you haven’t earned their trust, respect, and loyalty. Consider the exponential power of the loud voice from a disgruntled employee. Years ago, a company I supported opened in a new [...]

Read Full Post »

Employees Expect a Decent Culture…

Managers, what kind of culture is your behavior helping create? Employees watch everything, and they attach meaning to their observations. When they look at the work environment and culture, do they get excited? Or does what they see tell them that it’s time to start looking for a new job? I asked people to finish [...]

Read Full Post »