The power of words!

Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds

Brainstorming Success - 10 Steps

A great article with 10 steps to make brainstorming effective and fun. A couple of thoughts:
1. whether outsiders or insiders, people with diverse backgrounds will energize creative thinking
2. breaking the brainstorming into multiple sessions can allow team members time to think - be sure to clearly outline the topics and goals for each session to stay on track
3. encourage people to have fun and not hold back on ideas.

From Forbes: The Magic Of An Effective Brainstorm

How Leaders Can Improve Their Thinking Agility

Interesting and valuable suggestions:

- Not all thinking is equal. Different thinking for different issues.

- We have a natural way of thinking - only 2% of people think across all 4 domains.

- 3 Strategies to increase our thinking agility!

How-Leaders-Can-Improve-Their-Thinking-Agility

Mobile is an additional channel to connect with consumers vs. a replacement channel, especially in some industries. Connecting the knowledge gained through digital consumer interactions to human conversation - without missing a beat - will distinguish the leaders and reward them.

"According to a study by Google, 61% of mobile users call a business when they’re in the purchase phase of the buying cycle. The majority of respondents would call instead of reach out online because they’re looking to get a quick answer (59%) or talk to a real person (57%). The study also found that consumers are more likely to call a business when making a high-value purchase in verticals such as auto, finance, or travel."

Your Customers Still Want to Talk to a Human Being

Technology is improving our lives. BMW's Connect Drive can do some amazing things. Can't wait for this level of convenience to make it to other products!

BMW's 2017 Connected Drive

Interesting reading. Whether our brand is a product or a service, the complexity of customer interactions is growing. It’s easy to lose sight of the customer’s POV with the numerous, and often disparate, roles that come in touch with the consumer.  The five questions are a good starting point, “Because we know that customer experience is increasingly a decisive advantage in the business world.”

Five questions brands need to answer to be customer first in the digital age

Team leadership goes beyond building rapport. Good article on how to connect with your team members in a meaningful way. This small investment in time can have a big payout in team tenure and performance. Great questions and insights on how to avoid pitfalls.

Questions to ask during skip-level conversations

Forbes - TIME to be a Successful Presenter

How the Most Successful Presenters Pitch Their Ideas


T = Teach
I = Inspire
M = Motivate
E = Entertain

Garnering great customer relationships requires looking at the entire customer experience journey. This brief article has an excellent example of how disconnects happen along the way. A valuable reminder to examine the journey through your customers' pov from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives.

Aligning-brand-promise-with-the-customer-s-experience

Some good insight for those with a passion for solving problems out there. Ask open ended questions to help others learn and develop their skills.

The Neuroscience of Asking Questions

Six Ways to Make Your Presentation a Hit

Six Ways to Make Your Presentation a Hit

We've heard several times that our attention spans are shorter than frogs, goldfish, etc., and getting shorter. Cutting through to get your message across is only going to get more challenging. Great and concise read...

Thought Bubbles - Who Knew?

Interesting and easy way to get deeper insights from people in a fun and engaging manner.

Feb Issue of Quirks Article

Why Purpose Should Be A Pivotal Part Of Your Business Strategy

Great article! Purpose makes a difference: Korn Ferry study showed that companies with teams focused on purpose out-performed their industry by a factor of 3, survey shows that 90% of people who work in a purpose driven organization are engaged.

The larger the team, the more challenging it can be to get the message out. Keep beating the drum - creatively, and everyone will feel on-board.

Forbes - Purpose and Business Strategy

Rock star performers will tell you, “We open with our second-best song and close with our best.” Inspire action and commitment through presentations

Good article with a few steps to insure a great presentation. Content and delivery!

A smart home is where the bot is

The connected home should make our lives easier. Some implications for marketing and big data. “For providers of home goods and services, this means that bots will increasingly become the customer – or at least an important intermediary between a selling business and a human purchaser.”  Read the McKinsey article here. Read the McKinsey article here.

Making data analytics work for you—instead of the other way around

Interesting (and long) article with some great examples. It’s good to be reminded that “Advanced data analytics is a means to an end.” and that “It take C-Suite perspective…” to make it work. McKinsey article here.

Five-Star Customer Service Depends on Treating Employees Well

Great article. Treat your team as well as your customers for top performance. “Your goal as a leader in customer service is to bring out the optional efforts in your employees…” Taking this to the next level - and guide your team to bring maximum customer value. Being exceptionally responsive is great. But if our customers value business insights over responsiveness, we’re not quite there. As a leader bring out the optional efforts and the vision of what to achieve when applying those efforts. Read it here: Forbes - Five-Star Customer Service