“If you mess up, fess up and step up.” Charles Marshall
Archive | Success
It’s a Wonderful Life Leadership Lesson
If you haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life, stop what you’re doing right now and go watch it. Then call your parents and ask them why they omitted this crucial piece of awesomeness from your upbringing. I watch it every year and, if the other members of my family are to be believed, I always […]
Your worst customer service scenario
A few years ago, I heard the story of Ronnie who owned his own construction business. Ronnie had accepted a down payment from a client to do some remodeling but had dragged his feet in getting the job completed. The customer had complained several times, but Ronnie always had an excuse as to why the […]
Monday Motivation-Vision: The ability to see your purpose
“Vision: The ability to see your purpose, your dreams, your desire, and your tomorrow.” © 2007 Charles Marshall
The Power of Failure (or not making any dough)
I answered the phone just after midnight and heard the panicked voice of my business partner on the other end of the line. “If you want anything from the restaurant, you’d better come get it now,” Frank said. “They’re kicking us out of the building tomorrow morning.” “What?!” I practically yelled into the phone. “We’re […]
What if your customer has a point after all?
Sometime back in the early seventies when I was just a wee laddie, I was getting in our family car in a Kmart parking lot when I looked down and found a badly weathered eight-track tape (ask your mom) on the ground next to the car. The tape was in bad shape, but closer inspection […]
The dangers of sauntering
It is incumbent upon me to report an alarming, and I believe dangerous, trend growing in our society today. I am convinced that sauntering is once again on the rise. Historical note: As you’ll no doubt remember, sauntering enjoyed its heyday back in the mid-1920s, when gambling, moonshine, and gangstering were all in vogue. Coincidence? […]
Real Heroes Don’t Wear Spandex
There have been five major live-action iterations of Batman in my lifetime. 1] 1960’s Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson pretty much just sat around Wayne Manor all day until they got a call on the red Bat-Phone from Commissioner Gordon. Then they slid down the bat pole and […]
Life and death leadership
Is tearing up a bird’s nest an act of cruelty or kindness? Last year my wife and I noticed a couple of birds flying up to the dryer exhaust vent above the kitchen window. My wife correctly guessed that they were building a nest so I went outside to check it out. After I came […]
Creating a Marva-lous Client Service Experience
Maybe it’s time to re-think your goal of customer satisfaction. My family and I spent the entire day driving through a torrential downpour to get to an important event three states away. Both of our kids were cranky and miserable which meant my wife and I were cranky and miserable. We all were ready to […]