AMA Edgewise
In the coming weeks we will be bringing you the insights and voices of recognized thought leaders across a wide range of topics.Our aim is to provide those essential "nuggets" of perspective that will help you and your organization improve performance, adapt to changing business realities, and prosper in a complex and competitive world.
Michael Song on How to Get More Done with Fewer Meetings
How to stop feeling like a hamster and escape the meeting cage.
November 20, 2009 / Podcast # 09-47
Meetings have changed. They’re more frequent, virtual, and informal. Yet, most professionals haven’t upgraded their meeting skills. It’s no wonder that 43% of meeting time is wasted. In The Hamster Revolution for Meetings: Your Guide to Effective Meetings in the Information Age, bestselling author Mike Song discusses how to keep your meetings productive, on track, and engaging.
Read more…
Chip Bell on Creating “Take Their Breath Away” Customer Service
How imaginative service creates devoted customers.
November 13, 2009 / Podcast # 09-46
Customers are bored! Service providers, chastised by the “less-than-exciting” results of their surveys, have put all their eggs in the “improvement” basket.” According to Chip Bell, “Take Their Breath Away” service is about bringing a new spirit to the service world. His new book Take Their Breath Away, co-authored by John R. Patterson, offers a practical blueprint and courage-builder for business pioneers who are unwilling to be lulled into complacency by the same old service practices.
Chip R. Bell is the founder of The Chip Bell Group and works from the Dallas, Texas area. His consulting practice focuses on helping organizations build a culture that supports long-term customer loyalty.
For additional training on this topic, consider these AMA seminars:
* Customer Service Excellence: How to Win and Keep Customers
To learn more, read these AMACOM Books:
* Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service by Chip R. Bell, Ron Zemke
* Strategic Customer Service by John A. Goodman
* 101 Activities for Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service by Ann Thomas, Jill Applegate
John Hoover and Paul Gorrell on Connecting Coaching to the Organization
If an individual employee is improving through coaching, shouldn’t the organization see some results, too?
November 6, 2009 / Podcast # 09-45
Coaching has traditionally focused entirely on the individual…sometimes even at the expense of improving measurable business results for the company. The Coaching Connection (AMACOM) by John Hoover and Paul J. Gorrell shows managers how they can use contextual coaching to simultaneously promote both individual and organizational growth. The book helps readers align what individual contributors do best with what organizations need most, ensuring everyone involved their highest probability for success.
Keith McFarland on Turning Tough Times into Triumph
Why do many people and companies crumble in the face of difficulty, while others use adversity to bounce back even stronger?
October 30, 2009 / Podcast # 09-44
Bounce, by New York Times bestselling author Keith McFarland, is a leadership fable for those wary of fables, a story that rejects pat, heard-it-before advice, and shows how to use challenges to make both yourself and your organization stronger. Read more…
Kurt Andersen on Resetting Our Economy the Right Way
How the meltdown is an opportunity to get ourselves back on track.
October 23, 2009 / Podcast # 09-43
“It’s the end of the world as we’ve known it,” Kurt Andersen writes in his book Reset, “but it isn’t the end of the world.” In his book, Andersen explains why the current economic crisis is actually an historic moment of great opportunity to get ourselves and the nation back on track. Read more…