Tag: Mid

Where Was Obama?

Where was Obama the other night, Tuesday, I think it was?

He was in St Louis, and threw the traditional “first pitch”, to start the Major League All Star game.

Shouldn’t he have been at the White House?  Or meeting with important world figures.  Or working late into the night on a critical National issue?

Instead, he was at a baseball game.  A baseball game?  Seriously?  What the heck was that all about?

Here’s my theory.  What he did was critical to his role as our Nation’s Leader.

How?

It is important that we trust the President, right?

How does the White House team increase our trust in President Obama?

By design, the White House team knows that relationships are the key to trust.

By seeing President Obama as a “real person”, enjoying the same things many other Americans enjoy – Baseball, our National past time.

This makes me wonder how I could apply this to my work as a professional speaker.

Guess what, I’ve already got a few ideas.  Stay tuned.  And, um, oh yeah, carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Pre-Game in Corporate America?

Pre-Game in Corporate America?

To be sure, it’s much like the pre-game at last night’s Major League All-Star Game, which was held in St Louis.

I’m here, in St. Louis too.   In a few short hours, I’ll be delivering Customer Service programs for a client that, in tough economic times, has opted to not visit Central Florida’s convention mecca.

That’s actually a common trend in the world today. People aren’t traveling to you, so you must travel to them.

Before the game last night, we can only imagine that both teams were going over their game plan.  The game plan to achieve the desired results – win!

Same with corporate America.  Which reminds me, I need to get down to the locker room, pronto.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

The Wow Factor Works Like This

The wow factor.  Most have heard of it.  Many, even, have written about it.

Walt Disney perfected it, and made it “business as usual”, while others are still trying to comprehend how to do it consistently.

So how is it instilled in every employee of an organization?  That’s the vision isn’t it?  That all your employees, at every level, embrace the consistent, surprising and delighting, of all your customers.

And by the way, I’ve always said, “Consistency is the hallmark of Quality Service”.

Anyway, back to my original point.  I’m checking my gate number on the monitor and hear, “Over here”!

Michele, the TSA hostess, calls me over to the expert traveler line.  There is no line.  Sweet!  And I find myself smack on the receiving end of the wow factor – small, seemingly insignificant moments when an employee does something nice for a Customer.

I’ve never been invited through the expert traveller line.  She told me I could come back the next time I fly.

Thank you Michele.  See you next week.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Does Your Vision Do This?

Does your vision – personal, professional, or both – send a shiver down your spine when you think or talk about it?

What if it did?

What would it take?

As a professional speaker, a wise person once told me, “Jeff, if you look out at your audience, and they look bored, you’re boring them”.

To me, this means if I’m  bored with my thinking, and not motivated, excited or inspired enough, it’s my responsibility to take action.

There are many ways to figure this out.  It happened to me and I’m applying my best efforts to, as Gandhi said, “You must become the change you wish to see in the world”.

What about you?

Thank goodness it’s Monday.  Bring it on.  Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

What, No Pixie Dust?

A comment on yesterday’s jungle jeff post started me thinking.

His question to me was, “No Pixie Dust”?

It was “missing” from my personal Leadership Top Ten List.

He made a good point and I thought for a moment, “How could I have forgotten Pixie Dust”?

Then, just as quickly, if not faster, the answer hit me.

Pixie Dust IS Passion.  Period.

What’s Magic about the way Disney does things is their PASSION to:

  1. Create the highest quality products and services.
  2. To stay focused on why they are in business – to serve their Guests
  3. To stay disciplined to “keep their eye on the ball” – Quality

Passion IS Pixie Dust.

Always was.  Always will be.   Thank you Walt Disney for your vision.

By the way, Vision and Passion are my respective number one & two top leadership values.

Guess what’s number three?   Communication!

Looks like a coincidence, doesn’t it?  The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff  🙂

PS.  Does your own Vision send shivers down your spine?

PSS.  What if it did?  Can you comprehend that?  I hope so.  🙂