Experience makers stand united!

Interesting post by Tom Asacker

Jay the waiter on customer service -"I'm not an order taker. I'm an experience maker!"

I just love this line, and dream that companies actually take this to heart. Forget the mission and/or vision statements - just follow this simple mantra!

The Nardelli Reign Ends

Many have already started to post on the subject of Bob Nardelli's resignation from Home Depot, inlcuding Church of the Customer's post on "General Bob".

I have posted earlier about Bob Nardelli's reading of Pine and Gilmore's "The Experience Economy", and was hopeful that the giant of Home Depot could reach deep into its grass roots to create some remarkable experiences. This however was not to be, and then I start to ask why...

1. Why do seasoned executives time-and-time again become so insulated from their customers? In Nardelli's case he had 24/7 surveillance in the stores to see what is happening real time in every store.

2. How do companies built on customer-centricty loose their souls? Like it or not, Home Depot grew because of a passion of providing local service and products.

So, what went wrong? I think Ben hit the proverbial nail on the head with his comment:

His vision of military precision was largely out of synch with what most on-the-ground soldiers actually experience: a lot of improvising in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

Far too often, managers and executives forget about where the real battle takes place. It's not in the meetings or the board rooms. It occurs every minute on the sales floor (physical or virtual), where customers intersect with the business operation. This meeting space is where experiences are created. Managing them remotely, especially via a "spy-game"wizadry does not lend itself to the world of experiences. It only creates a perception of understanding - absent the other four senses.

So, so long to Mr. Nardelli. And hopefully to the detached omniscient management style he appeared to have brought to the table. Sorry Bob, you were so close and reading the right things, but in the final analysis it boils down to one thing - EXECUTION.

Blog Tag

Ok, ok, ok... As a child I never liked the game of tag (probably because I was really bad at it), but since I have been tagged numerous times AND reminded of my outdated blog - here are 5 things you may not know about me:

1. My favorite rock band is Marillion - who? Yes, an 80's Scottish power-rock band that lived more in the medieval times than today's world. You can't beat a 19 minute song about Grendal...

2. The foreign language I learned in high school was Swedish... Very helpful in my home city of Minneapolis, MN.

3. I can jump off a diving board and keep my head above water. Don't ask!

4. Soccer is my favorite sport, much to the dismay of my Vikings friends. Two favorite teams are Arsenal and Chelsea.

5. I saw U2 in concert - for the War tour! How about that for a trendsetter. Of course, I was dressed with camouflage pants (pinned calf-high with safety-pins), and a bandana around the waist for a belt.

Who's next?

Michael Margolis

Timothy Ogilvie

Leigh Duncan

Tim Sulivan

On with the show - hey, what are you looking at?

I'm back... After taking almost the entire summer off for enjoying, observing, and just flat out experiencing life! It is amazing to me as I look around my daily life and realize how many things are truly experience based - or at least the important things that stick in my memory. This fall, I will document a host of these observations from the summer.

So, when do you restart blogging after taking some time off? Well, a post at the ever engaging and thought provoking site Confessions of a Brand Evangelist started me thinking about the questions I ask all the time about who people are being. The essence of this question leads ultimately to the concept of brand identity. It is nearly impossible to extract oneself from their minds eye view of who they are (their personality projection), to figure this out. Same holds true with companies - they get too hung up on who they want to be, and ignore who they really are - at least from a customers point of view. Aaron Dignan has a direct hit in his opening question.

"When you meet someone new, there is often something about them that sticks with you, something you remember."

The hit? Its what remains in your memory. When you start thinking about crafting experiences personally or within your business you must ask the question "what do I want people to remember?".

Its good to be back - I missed you all terribly!

What you do...

matters more than what you say you do.

Many of you have heard me say this over and over and over again. I keep pounding the drum beat because it is the access of experience.

The other day I was struck by the following quote that appeared in my Franklin Planner:

Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

As always, Emerson puts things so simply and eloquently, and reminds me often of the basics in life...

So, if you are a marketing person did you hear what Emerson said. If not, go to a quite room, turn off your mind, and re-read. Repeat until you have absorbed the words...