Bill Campion's Blog (126)

Communication is the key to success!   If we have heard it once we have heard it a gabillion times.  It’s easy to say and much harder to do.  Why do organizations typically struggle with communication?  I realize opinions are like noses - everyone has one.  Allow me to offer several on this important topic.

The Telephone Game

If you are of a certain age you remember playing the telephone game as a kid.  This is where you sit in a circle with…

Soup and Sandwich.  Bacon and Eggs.  Love and Marriage.  Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Culture and Customer Service. 

Some things just go together !  Like the lyrics from a song my Mom used to sing “you can’t have one without the other”!  If there’s any truth to this premise, why then are there so many organizations that seem unable to admit it?

(Break out house analogy) The house is only as good as the foundation.  In business it’s been proven…

In my opinion, when it comes to leadership, there’s no one better than Chip Conley.  He’s the author of PEAK, How Great Companies Get Their Mojo From Maslow and he’s the Founder and CEO of Joie De Vivre Hospitality.  Chip is truly one of my business heroes.  His writing and speaking have inspired me to write this blog.  

Joie De Vivre (jewah-de-veev) owns and operates boutique hotels located primarily in the Bay Area (SanFrancisco).  In the 90’s business was…

When I go to Kroger I am inspired.  No kidding!  The Kroger I frequent is really no different than any other.  Okay, their produce is significantly better than Meijer and they do a fair job with customer service but it’s really not all that special.  That was until about a month ago when…

I love air travel when it goes according to the plan.  I hate air travel when it doesn’t go according to the plan.  Today was all about the latter.  

I got up around 6 am to handle last minute preparations for my 2-day trip to Austin from my home in Lexington KY.  The normal routine was in effect early - throw on some shorts, head downstairs with the dogs in hot pursuit, let them out, fill their bowls with food, let them in to chow down then let them out…

Attention Boys and Girls

I’ve got every excuse in the book but I’m not even going to attempt to explain why my bucket list has gone done the tubes.  I will however own it and ask for a reprieve from my friends and fellow bucket list participants.  

I know something about me.  I’m either all in or all out and for the past couple of weeks I’ve been the latter.  Here’s a…

I come from an Italian family.  Those of you familiar with Italian tradition, know sharing a meal tops the list.  Growing up, no matter what aunt, uncle or cousin we’d visit there always seemed to be an excuse to eat.  Didn’t matter the time of day, whether you had just finished a meal elsewhere or if you didn’t like what was being served you always had to “mange” which of course is Italian for eat.  I was always relatively skinny as a kid so my aunts…

At the risk of being sappy, I’m taking a moment to share my thoughts about being a Dad on Father’s Day. 

Of course I must begin by recognizing my Dad who has been gone now for 18 years (which is truly hard to believe).  I’m just not sure where I’d be without him.  I could write a book about him however for this blog’s sake I’m going to give you a quick snap shot. 

From a classic Italian background, he was one of six kids.  Of course he grew…

I know that fuel prices are up and margins are thin in the airline business. The airlines are struggling and we all know it.  I heard the following story from a friend of mine the other day that I felt compelled to share with you.

My friend is like a triple medallion, platinum…

I’ve been in the restaurant business my entire career.  I have enjoyed the challenges and successes and I’ve learned a great deal from the failures.  I have a real passion for the people who work in the business, especially those who work in the restaurants. 

Much has changed since I…

They did it again.  I walked away from another PR/BBI event shaking my head.  I guess I shake my head because for about a day afterward I'm speechless.  

People ask me , "How was the conference?" and I have a hard time describing the experience.  It's more than just a conference and people just don't get why it's so different.  It's for this reason I shake my head and mumble something like, "You had to be there..."

Now that I've had a chance…

People Report and Black Box havin some fun, 

at The Summa Camp  Workforce Symposium

Get ready for some schoolin from Joni and Wally Doolin,

Better hosts you won't find and I’m not foolin.

They  are the founders of Black Box Intelligence

Attractin this  crowd  representin excellence.

HR leaders, inspirational speakers, 

There’s no stress, it’s casual dress - and you can wear your sneakers!

You…

I was trying my best to procrastinate then I read Kacy Oden’s bucket list.  I personally want to thank Kacy for taking the lead on the #TR30days Challenge.  It’s amazing when one of your friends takes action how you can’t just sit there on the coach and say, “I’ll do it later”.  It’s like I don’t want Kacy to be out there by herself.  Creating personal change “in community” is the only way to go.  So now it’s time to unveil my 30 day bucket…

ATTENTION SUMMER CAMPERS!

For those of you who were unable to attend, it’s my pleasure to share some of the great information presented by Jessica Miller-Merrill in the Summer Camp breakout session entitled Recruitment 2011.

  Jessica has an impressive background in recruiting & HR for national brands such Home Depot and Target. She is currently working as an independent recruiter and employment brand  consultant and has become an on-line influencer through…

Remember when “shifting paradigms” was the buzz phrase in back in the 90’s?  It became “marketing speak” and just like any great phrase it got used and abused and eventually lost it’s meaning.  I’m bringing it back for this blog because quite honestly I can’t think of a better way to communicate my point.  

Shifting a paradigm is described by Wikipedia as follows:

 …

Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.

Our mission is to support our stores so that they are able to do what is most important in retail — serve our customers' needs.…

I’m wondering when a chain of full service restaurants is going to do it.  I’m certain it’s just a matter of time before one company goes against the advice of their legal counsel, pretends they are Nike and just does it.  The one that goes “all in” will reap huge rewards because the others will be too afraid to pull the trigger.  If I ran a restaurant or a chain, I’d do it tomorrow.  Yea, I know that’s easy for me to say...

I’m talking about…

Pursue your passion. I suppose this is an overused cliche.    If we’ve heard it once we’ve heard it a thousand times.  Come to think of it every cliche is overused.  Isn’t that the very nature of a cliche?  How many times have you heard these cliches - “What goes around comes around” or “Worry about what you can control and let go of what you can’t control” both overused and both cliches.  The reason we’ve heard them a lot is because they are the truth.

So…

What do marriage and customer service have in common?  Let’s start with the obvious.  They are both about relationship.  They both require interaction.  They are about human emotion and feelings.  I’m sure you can add to the list. 

Just for fun, let's begin by examining the 3 phases of marriage. The following account is based on hearsay not anyone's personal experience.

PHASE I 

Most marriages start off blissfully.  If it…