idea draft : words & thoughts you can get behind

Learning from Amazon: Living and Breathing the Customer’s Point-of-View

Posted by Rhonda Sunnarborg on January 6, 2012

Jan 062012

Learning from Amazon: Living and Breathing the Customer’s Point-of-View

This season of gift giving has left me in awe of Amazon. I ordered some books (the old-fashioned, three-dimensional kind) for my niece and was once again wowed by Amazon’s painless ordering, competitive pricing, operational efficiencies, and fast delivery. And that’s without factoring in the wonders of the new Kindle Fire. A recent article in Forbes magazine attributes Amazon’s success to the fact that it “lives and breathes the customer’s point-of-view. It completely engineers its business practices, its systems, and [...read more]

Is Engagement the Secret to Winning?

Posted by Beau Ballin on December 19, 2011

Dec 192011

Guest post by Kate Reschenberg, Business Development Director and Green Bay Packers Apologist I am married to a cradle Green Bay Packer fan. What that means is we are currently in a happy place, celebrating an incredible season with the most successful team in the NFL. But I remember the dark days…when we were watching, cheering, and flinching. There was disappointment for every loss. But something remarkable happened–week after week the fans were back at it, cheering on their Packers. [...read more]

Turkey and 5.5 minutes of gratitude

Posted by Rhonda Sunnarborg on November 21, 2011

Nov 212011

If your week has been like mine, you’ve been racing. Airports, deadlines, meetings, email, changed schedules, undone to-do’s, and a car that needs an oil change and new wiper blades. Next week, the pace will intensify, but the list will change to drop-offs, pick-ups, turkey, croutons, sweet potatoes, and green beans. (Or in my case, the fixin’s for scalloped corn.) Thanksgiving can have a way of catching us off-guard. Not the meal—the main purpose. (And I’m not talking the Lions [...read more]

Healthy Tips for Road Warriors

Posted by Brad Williams on November 10, 2011

Nov 102011

Guest post by Joanie Miskowiec, Manager of Purchasing, Meetings and Events I’ve been fortunate to have seen two presentations recently on staying healthy on the road – the first one by the California Health and Longevity Institute (at the Site International Conference) and the second by Dr. Pam Peeke (at the Ritz-Carlton Key Account Event). The following may not be new concepts for you – but hopefully at least helpful reminders: – Stay hydrated! You know that you need at [...read more]

Execution propels innovation potential

Posted by Beau Ballin on October 21, 2011

Oct 212011

The era of innovation is upon us. Some companies are struggling with what innovation means. And even more companies are confronting the challenges involved with executing innovation. The companies that will win big understand that, while ideas may signal change, execution is what actually changes the game. Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble wrote “The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge.” They put forward a simple formula to quantify the impact of innovation by claiming that an organization’s capacity [...read more]

Evolution

Posted by Brad Williams on September 29, 2011

Sep 292011

Guest post by: Christine Jacobson, her award-winning essay for the David Riddell Scholarship* “Discuss the evolution of the motivational experiences industry and how your professional growth will be shaped by the progression you have witnessed.” I stumbled into the motivational experiences industry fresh out of college in late 2007. I have held my position on our Meetings & Events team for almost four years. In that short time this industry has continuously evolved and changed faster than a program can [...read more]

Your Channel Relationship Philosophy: "The Godfather" or "You've Got Mail"

Posted by Rhonda Sunnarborg on September 21, 2011

Sep 212011

Even if you’ve never seen the film, The Godfather, you’ve probably heard one of its iconic lines: “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.” (Never mind that the character was talking about taking out a policeman at the time.) It’s been quoted in meetings and conversations as a justification for moving forward with a particular plan. Is it really possible to remove the personal from business? In talking with people who live and die by their channel—manufacturers, distributors, dealers or dealer [...read more]

What not to do

Posted by Beau Ballin on September 12, 2011

Sep 122011

While I spend a fair amount of time reading non-fiction in an attempt to learn new things, I mostly watch trashy TV shows—among them Survivor, What Not to Wear, and The Office. I learned that my esteemed colleague and friend Murray Levitt also has a soft spot for The Office which we leveraged a few years ago when we led a series of workshops at an HR conference in Palm Springs (it was grueling work, but someone had to do it). [...read more]

Don’t make me gain another five pounds

Posted by Brad Williams on August 30, 2011

Aug 302011

Have you ever gone to a meeting or event and come home feeling like you’ve gained five pounds? Seems like you’re constantly being served rich food, your exercise routine is off, and you return home pledging not to eat or drink anything for a week. Last week I attended a Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Customer Advisory Board meeting. One of Fairmont’s new initiatives that I learned about is their Lifestyle Cuisine Program. Fairmont put a lot of thought into this [...read more]

All Work and No Play...

Posted by Stephanie Teig on August 11, 2011

Aug 112011

I’m continually intrigued by the culture of Zappos. For those of you who don’t know Zappos, it’s an online shoe retailer who has built their brand on having the best selection and the best service. Their culture is apparent in everything they do—whether it’s the content of their website, how they communicate with their customers, how they train their employees, or who they hire—the list goes on and on. “Create fun and a little weirdness” is one of their core [...read more]

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