Lesson learned from Alaska Airlines

So part of this wonderful adventure I'm on with KPMG right now involves flying to some more or less middle of nowhere destinations, on planes so small that I would usually be highly uncomfortable on. I love flying and and everything that goes with it, but let's just say that I am a little more used to not seeing the plane blades so up close and personal.

My flight from Vancouver to Seattle, on the smallest plane I have been on in, well, ever (and trust me, I have been on many), was one of the most pleasant experiences I have had flying. The whole crew (consisting of a lady names Lisa and a gentleman named Chris) were the definition of customer service. They greeted us, they said hello, they read the safety instructions.

But...

They also went WAY beyond that. They sat down and chatted with every person on the flight. They asked questions. Real questions from how are you doing today, to how is your dog doing, to how has your day been so far, to where do you want to travel next to, to what is your BHAG is (yes!!! Chris had just finished reading Good to Great. Needless to say, I was impressed).

Guess what happened at the end of the 25 minute flight? (Yes, we arrived 45 mins early).

Customers were happy. Customers were grateful. Customers walked away with increased satisfaction. Customers were impressed. Customers gave unsolicited feedback.

Customers.

Isn't that your goal?

What's holding you back from greatly exceeding the expectations of your customers, friends, family, or yourself?

This short and small flight (12 customers on the flight) at 9pm could have been a write-off for Alaska Airlines. They could have just read the safety instructions and told us when to leave the plane. Instead, they made it an experience.

Take every moment you have with your customer/friend/family/yourself and turn it into a worthwhile experience. If every moment counts, then surely even the small ones can make a huge difference.

Great marketing, even better message.

http://www.girleffect.org

Jeff Jarvis, Google, How to do Business

In light of his new book, check out this great video- can you figure out how to apply it to your business/life? Which one is your favourite one?

How can you change the world?

I can't believe the amazing timing of this article. Seriously look through it and check out the similarities. I know the world is trying to tell us something... Please listen!! Thursday night's event for YWiB was absolutely spectacular, and I will soon be posting more about it. In the mean time, check out this amazing piece from Muhammad Yunus...

An excerpt:

“How can I contribute?” my answer is this: Start by designing a business plan for a social business. Decide which social problem you’d most like to tackle. Figure out what resources you can use to address it. Develop a plan for applying these resources efficiently and effectively. Then try turning that plan into reality. The social business you create based on your plan may be small, but if it works, it could end up being replicated in thousands of locations—and so end up changing the world.

It's your choice

You can wake up in the morning with a smile on your face.

You can choose to call up that friend you have seen in a while and catch up.

You can give up that 30mins of TV and go for that much-overdue run.

You can decided that today will be the day you want to make your dream come true.

You can make someone's day today.

You can say I love you, I forgive you, I miss you, I need you.

You can read that book that has been sitting on your nightstand for so long.

You can go out and just sit and enjoy the world around you.

The point? YOU CAN!!! Don't let the little things in life bog you down too much- every day will always come with a new to-do list, but you are your own catalyst. You can make the little things happen for you, and no matter how small they may seem, they will make a world of a difference. It's too easy to be concerned with what you have to do. Take a little time to be concerned with what you want to do.

It's Sunday today. What better way to start off your week? What can you do to make this week just a little bit better?

A bulletpoint summary of the '08 financial year

Do you see any trends? What does this mean for 09? Can you get through it all without cringing a bit?

Go the bottom of this site and download the free 2008 Year in Review.

How much less can you do with?

We know we live in a consumer-driven world. We know we live in a consumer-driven recession. We know we live in a consumer-directed business world. We are constantly encouraged with sales, discounts, coupons, commercials, directed marketing, etc. And while there are ideas such as permission marketing, it's virtually impossible for many of us to go a day without purchasing something (coffee, newspaper, online article, sushi, clothing, book, wine), and it doesn't help that we constantly feel that we really need more. Do we want more? Sure we do. But can we channel the tangible wants and focus on our own growth and development? Seth Godin's Alternative-MBA is a perfect example of that challenge.

A more radical example I stumbled upon today: Freegan. My first thought was "wow, what a great new-age way of saying hippies". But I read more. Here's what got me:

"Despite our society’s sterotypes about garbage, the goods recovered by freegans are safe, useable, clean, and in perfect or near-perfect condition, a symptom of a throwaway culture that encourages us to constantly replace our older goods with newer ones, and where retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model."

There's so much talk about just having too much. Too many cars produced standing in empty parking lots, too many goods in stores that go over their expiry dates, too many services that are closing because noone walks through the door anymore. Today's cover of Globe and Mail Report on Business:

The New Consumer of 2009 is a tighter-fisted and "emotionally fragile" shopper who will determine the health of Canada's economy and the fate of many companies after the meltdown of 2008.

Take what you can out of it. How can you personally decrease your "credit footprint"? Can you do with less to have more for yourself? Maybe not as extreme as freegan, but there is a lesson to be learned. You CAN live on less. And you will probably be better of for doing so. How can you apply this to your business? How will this affect your business? Will you change your value proposition to still be attractive to consumers?

Check out Margaret Atwood's latest book for an interesting perspective on the current economic situation, part of the CBC Massey Lectures.

Who will make it to the finish line first?

I spent the last 4 months traveling and learning around Europe, and one of our destinations was the beautiful Cinque Terre hike in Italy. At the end of the last village, we sat down and enjoyed a wonderful selection of the best of the regions foods- from delicious salumi to their local cheese and wines to the very famed pesto. As we sat and enjoyed the beautiful views, I came up with an idea.

Our travels around Europe were all greatly influenced by our culinary experiences- not only between various countries, but even between the different regions. It was a little bit like a gastronomical tour. At the end of the day, we realized how greatly this influenced our experiences, and hence an idea: to create/open a restaurant that would feature different regional cuisines that would change regions every few months.

I was excited.

I had this idea in my head for the remaining few months. Upon my return to Vancouver I was looking up recently opened restaurants in town and came upon this one.

Sound familiar?

You may have great ideas, you may think they would really work, you may even write about them and tell people, but unless you DO SOMETHING to make them become a reality, they will remain just that. An idea. There is of course no underestimating the power of a great idea, but... how about digging up that old moleskin or long lost notes stuffed into your bag or thought written down on the back of a business card and turn it into a reality? Or share it with someone who might want to? After all, YOU know your ideas are great, why not get someone else excited about them as well?

Check out NJ's great post on creativity and look through the comments to get a great tool from AM to make your ideas come true!

And to quote Chris Guillebeau: If you don’t take your own dreams seriously, who will?