Gratitude

With roots steeped rich in Celtic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant tradition, the annual Trick‑or‑Treat ritual that takes place this week can be traced back centuries. Originally, children would adorn hand‑made ceremonial costumes and go door‑to‑door singing out “a trick a treat!" Then they’d entertain their neighbors with carefully rehearsed songs, skits, and dances. If they performed well, the neighbor might reward them with some bread, fruit, or nuts. This encouraged the

Guest post by Shep Hyken Building the ideal corporate culture doesn’t happen by chance. If you are a leader of a company or organization and you want to instill a customer service culture, how do you make it happen? To become a customer-centric company requires first building an employee-centric workplace. If you want your customers to be amazed – and loyal, and refer their family and friends to you, etc. – what you need to do first is . If you want a real-life example tha

My last day of teaching high school and coaching football was June 3, 1986. Due to declining enrollment of the school district where I was employed, my position was being eliminated. I didn't know it at the time, but looking back, I think I escaped just before the Apocalypse. Back then, I never feared parental retribution by giving a student a bad grade or by getting up in a player's facemask and yelling "Dammit Johnson, you're not giving 100%!" In all but a few isolated

Michele Klein, HR Manager for Fidelity Exploration and Production (a large player in the booming oil and gas industry) was doing an exit interview with an engineer who was leaving to take a similar job with a competitor. As her final question, she asked, "If we had known that you were thinking about leaving several months ago, would there have been anything we could have done to keep you?""Absolutely." the engineer replied. "I didn't realize that you had bigger plans for me.

It made for a dreadful commute. The crater-like potholes dotting the main thoroughfare near my office were wreaking havoc on my car's alignment. I wasn't the only unhappy camper. The city was inundated with complaints from angry neighbors and shopkeepers who demanded repairs. Finally, a road-crew was sent to fill the gaping cavities and restore drivability to the busy street, and they did a very nice job. Do you think the city has received any thank you calls from the neigh

Postal workers get a bad rap and are frequent fodder for comedians and late night talk show hosts. But aside from the renowned story of Fred in The Fred Factor, here's another glowing example of a remarkable postal worker. "It's just part of our work ethic," Deborah Ford said when asked how she's retiring from the U.S. Postal Service after 44 years without ever calling in sick. The 'our' part of her response was referring to her 86 yr. old father who also never missed work.

Kyle (age 21) handles the scheduling, appointments, estimates, and all payment transactions for the auto service center near my office. On a weekday morning at 8:16, I call to inquire about getting my vehicle in for shocks and an alignment. Kyle politely tells me that if I can bring it in within the next 30 minutes, he’ll have it out by 11:45, in time for me to make my lunch appointment. I agree and head out immediately. I arrive at 8:37 and notice that there are already

The employment landscape in America for 16- to 24-year-olds is abysmal; the worst it's been in more than 50 years. So if you've got a teen or a young adult on your holiday gift list, don't head to the mall or to your nearest big box retailer. What they need most from you cannot be found in stores. According to Opportunity Nation, 5, 527,000 young adults (or one in 7 young adults ages 16-24) are not in school or working. Unemployment rates for youth ages 16-24 are double the

Checking my personal Facebook account as I was helping my wife prepare for our Thanksgiving feast, I marveled at how many of my “friends” (most whom I’ve never met) had posted a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ message intended for anyone who might happen upon it. Same thing was happening on Twitter, LinkedIn, and dozens of other social media sites. Instead of making me feel warm and tingly inside, I was agitated. I began to wonder… Is this how impersonal, and even, how self-involved

It should come as no great surprise to any business owner or manager that employees tend to stay where they feel appreciated and they are prone to leave when they don't. Following that same logic, smart employers also realize that people will perform better when they feel that their efforts are recognized and appreciated and will become complacent when their efforts go unnoticed. Until now, tying a bottom line dollar figure to the importance of employee appreciation has been

Since my new book launched in January, I've sent out 273 complimentary copies. I know for a fact that at least four of those books were delivered. These books were not sent out unsolicited to a random list of people I was hoping to engage, but rather to clients, prospective clients, major media contacts, and close colleagues who requested them. Each received a personalized, autographed hard cover book accompanied by a hand-written postcard. Reviving Work Ethic retails for

Last Thursday while vacationing with my family in a small Colorado mountain town, I suffered a personal crisis when one of my highly visible dental crowns split in two and fell out. I had Crystal, the receptionist at my dentist for the past 15 years, on the phone in minutes and explained to her the severity of the situation. After six minutes on hold, Crystal returned to tell me that Dr. B wasn’t going to be in on Friday, but that he could fit me in on Monday morning. “How

I'm shopping for a refrigerator to replace a custom built-in model that is in my home. Always looking for a bargain, I went online and found a great deal on one through a major retailer. This particular fridge had been marked down because of a scratch on one side, and the way my kitchen is configured, the sides won't show. This scratch-and-dent refrigerator is at a store in Tennessee and I am in Colorado, but even including the cost of shipping and delivery, I will still com

I am a music lover. My iPod is bursting with tunes from every genre imaginable. Although I always tend to gravitate to oldies, classic rock, funk, 80's, and even my dad's elevator music, I have great respect for a lot of the new stuff coming out today. Bruno Mars is an artist that will be around for many years. If you saw his performance on the recent Grammys, you know how phenomenally talented this 27-year-old is. He's kind of Elvis meets James Brown meets Prince. I am

If you want to see a poster child for work ethic, meet Beth Miller, a modern day Rosie-the-Riveter. I don't know Beth, but the company she works for Mr. Rooter - part of the Dwyer Group - is a client of mine. And this is a feel good story worth reading. I came across a short video of a ceremony where Beth was presented with an award by Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group. Dina is a Past President of the IFA (International Franchise Association) and one of my favorite

My good friend, Mark Sanborn, is a prolific speaker and a NY Times Bestselling Author. As much as I enjoy hanging out with Mark socially, I admire his work even more. He is both an inspiration and a mentor, and I don't throw either of those terms around loosely.In his Leadership Lessons eZine today, Mark posted what he terms his Work Manifesto. Frankly, I'm envious and wish I'd writen in. Then again, it speaks so well to how I feel, it's almost as if I did. I post it toda

I know very little about the Occupy Wall Street protests other than what is printed in the papers. By all accounts, the majority of the participants in the demonstrations are unemployed and they feel as they have been victimized by corporate greed. Demonstrators claim to speak for "99 percent" of Americans rallying against the wealthy 1 percent. I can promise you that I am not in the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, and yet I flatly reject the notion that any of these demo