Table of Contents
1ndispensable
Acknowledgments
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Default Choice
Quick — Give Me a Name
Best Pizza on the Block
Price Plummets in Importance
Master of One
Customer Magnet
Chapter 2: The Five Drivers
Monotonous Success
No Template
What’s Your Version?
The Five Drivers
Chapter 3: Case Study: Deluxe
Deluxe Makes Checks
Getting beyond Commodity
The Deluxe Knowledge Exchange Series
Why Would You Do That? What’s in It for You?
Creating Relevance to the Customer
Full Accountability
The Expos: Repositioning the Company
Know What the Customer Really, Really Wants
Getting Employee Buy-In
Breaking the Inertia
Courageous Decisions
But Is It Working?
Chapter 4: Back to the Six New Basics
Radical Today — Basic Tomorrow
New Basic 1: Say “Why Not?” Continuously
New Basic 2: Get Back Inside the Box
New Basic 3: You Will Partner
New Basic 4: Selling Is Dead
New Basic 5: Whatever Happens Is Normal
New Basic 6: The Internet Didn’t Change Anything
Chapter 5: Case Study: W Hotels
Making My World a Better Place
What Can I Learn?
You’re a Customer — What Do You Want?
You Might Be Wrong — Do It
Everything Working for the Vibe
Equals Cool
Back to the Tour — Back to the Lesson
Consistent Performance
That’s What Everybody Says
What Is Your Uniqueness?
I Can’t Get It Anywhere Else
Chapter 6: Create Community
Los Lobos
The Power of Community
I Like You Because You’re Like Me
Can Any Business Create Community?
Shared Experiences — Good and Bad
We Are What We Buy
Stop Advertising and Start Hanging Out
The Heart of Business
An Inside Job
Chapter 7: Case Study: Gitomer
Gitomer Rocks
Create Value, Then Give It Away
They Don’t Do What I Do
The World-Class Expert
The Web Mistress and the Queen of Events
Chapter 8: Obvious but Often Overlooked
Duh!
Obvious 1: You Had Me at Hello
Why Cliches Become Cliches
Obvious 2: Saying It Doesn’t Make It So
A Job Well Done Exceeds Nobody’s Expectations
This Is Very Cool
It Wasn’t the Way He Wanted It
Obvious 3: Tell the Truth
Do We Really Have to Be Reminded?
Chapter 9: Right Place — Right Time
Eat Here Now
It’s in the Right Place
It Depends
Open All Night
Finding the Balance
Nobody Does That in This Business
Have You Lost Your Mind?
What Rules Are You Going to Break?
Can You See Me?
We’ve Got a Lot of Things to Do
I Can’t Go to the Doctor Today — I Have to Go to Target
Chapter 10: Case Study: The Pancake Pantry
Pancakes
Art — Magic — Voodoo
It’s the Mix
I Don’t Get It
It’s a Mystery
Not Everyone Will Like Your Product
Service with a Smile — Or Not
Pixie Dust
Throwing Paint on a Canvas
Chapter 11: Big Picture Outcome
Andrea and the Walk to the Ballroom
Creating a Big Picture Outcome
Beyond Job Performance
Simple and Extraordinary
Creating a Mini-Friendship
What’s the Point?
Bring Jess to Me
He Got It
This Is about You
Don’t Be the Coke Machine
The View from 50,000 Feet
Chapter 12: Twenty-Eight Indispensable Lessons
Right under Your Nose
Figure It Out!
Lessons to Be Learned
Short Subjects: Lessons One Bite at a Time
Chapter 13: Case Study: Pinnacle Financial Partners
If You Could Make It Up
Beyond a Pound of Nails
There’s Another Way to Play This Game
The Differences
People — People — People
Bottom Line
Chapter 14: Repeatable Process
Is It in the Genes?
Removing the Element of Chance
You Don’t Want Superstars
You Want Process
So What’s the Big Mystery?
What Gets Measured — And Other Things Obvious to All
How Does Anything Happen Consistently?
Hoping for a Different Person
You Figure It Out
Just Do What You Think Will Work
Deciding in Advance
Simple — Not Easy
Chapter 15: Stop Apologizing — Start Doing Your Job
Measure Twice — Cut Once
Suit Yourself
A Pretty Good Shuttle Driver
Don’t Apologize — Do Your Job
Competence Trumps Nice
Tell Me Exactly What Happened
The Lesson Is in Your Priorities
It’s Like Shoes
Chapter 16: Case Study: LawTalk
They Have to Buy It from Somebody
A Transferable Strategy
Chapter 17: The Customer Decides
Stories from the Front Lines
Not Easy
The Beer Guy
Four Fundamental Lessons
Duh: Identify Customer Need
See the Big Picture Outcome
Engage, Enchant, and Enthrall
Give Away Some Baseballs
The Follicle God
Lemons to Lemonade
What’s the Deal with Dry Cleaners?
The Magic Touch
It Takes a Village
I Pay Extra
Comfort Food
Cheap Joe’s
They Answer Their Phone
Twenty-Four Years Later
Index
