By now, most the social web and even mainstream media have read the story about Southwest Airlines and filmmaker Kevin Smith, removing him from a flight because he was ‘too fat’ and a safety concern. Let me state this from the get go, I realize that SWA was in the wrong with their actions and don’t agree with what they did.
Note: This post is a bit more personal and off-topic than what you’d expect here, but I hope you stick around nevertheless as it covers an important part of my life and a specific project.
The start of the new year is usually a time of joy; reflecting on the past year, looking forward to what’s to come in the next and setting goals & resolutions for ourselves. For my family, the start of 2009 became a time of prayer and hope. We learned my 17-year-old cousin, who’s always been an active spirit around family and friends, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma – a highly malignant brain cancer that’s most commonly found amongst children. We were devastated. It was a huge shock to us all and we didn’t really know how to cope. (more…)
This is a cross-post from my basketball blog, Rockin’ The Rim. Though it reads about Michael Jordan and the game of basketball, the focus is on his nature as a competitor and the motivation he lived with to succeed every day; something we all can benefit from – basketball or not.
When it comes to the NBA and the word greatness, one person that will always pop up in our minds is Michael Jordan. We all know him for what he’s done on the basketball court and the success of 6 NBA Championships that followed. Countless MVPs, regular and postseason, All-Star Appearances, and a myriad of other accolades. The most noted achievement came last week as MJ was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009.
I’m sitting here at Panera Bread, my usual work-shifting spot, doing some Saturday afternoon work. My experience here is always a pleasant one – relaxing environment and nice employees (free Wi-Fi doesn’t hurt either.) But my time here today was a little different, as I sat next to a new-employee class that Panera was hosting for a handful of newbies.
They’ve been talking about the company’s history, the bread, and the passion that has gone into this business for over 20 years. What stuck out to me, as I overheard/eavesdropped/call-it-what-you-want on their training, was what the class ‘leader’ said:
We build trust through our relationships with our customers and our community.
I found it inspiring to hear a brick & mortar business, let alone a restaurant/bakery, put such precedence on this statement. Why did I find such surprise in it? One – we unfortunately don’t see such a passionate offline business with equally as passionate employees, as we do with Panera. Two – we seemingly correlate trust, relationships and community specifically with the online space.
Is the offline space that much more different than online when building trust and a passionate community? Trusting relationships are around us in our everyday lives with our family and friends, but why does it seem that when it comes to business, it’s more easily conceived online than when face-to-face with your customers?
In my opinion, business cultures have gone off base to a point where connecting with their customers as more than just a $ sign is out of the realm of possibility – and that’s where it has to start, culture. Panera has been in business since 1987 and from what I’ve seen in my dozens of visits and now with this new-employee class, they’ve instilled such a culture and passion within the business itself that it’s what every employee seemingly lives & breathes.
Kudos to Panera, but what can other brick & mortar businesses do to instill this sort of culture and to gain their customers’ trust? Do you have an experience like mine that you’d like to add?
Because following guidelines doesn’t always get you noticed.
Because letting your passion and personality ride you through gets people talking.
Because change is a good thing and it challenges people and their thinking.
Because being yourself will always be far better than trying to be someone else.
And because not conforming gives you great memories like this:
I found this video yesterday (thanks to @KatiRyan) when it was only at a few thousand views and it’s now blown up past 1mm (update: a day later and it’s now close to 5mm – wow). I’ve admittedly added to a few dozen of those views, but there’s something to it (minus the overall awesomeness of what this couple orchestrated at their wedding) that gets me excited and pumped about what is possible.
How can you step outside of the box today and challenge the world of conformity?
As I sit here, watching the opening night of the 2009 NBA season (WOO!), I couldn’t help but get the thinking. Well, it started before tonight’s game with the Cleveland Cavs & Boston Celtics. The NBA held the championship ring ceremony tonight for the Boston Celtics. For those who don’t watch much basketball, the Celtics won the 2008 Championship and the ceremonies are always held during the following year’s opening night. Anywho, I watched the 10 or so minute ceremony with awe and emotion running through me. I’m definitely no Boston fan as I rooted against them and for the L.A. Lakers during the Finals, but I had these feelings in me as I watched the Celtics players receive their championship rings with pure joy on their faces. Specifically though, Paul Pierce, who showed the greatest emotion as he let tears of joy stream down his cheeks as they announced his name, handed him the championship trophy and lastly, received his ring.
I definitely got caught up in the moment and felt his emotions, those that only champions feel when accomplishing the goals they’ve set out for themselves. The Celtics set their goals before the season started and put their heart and soul into reaching it and did so as they became champions.
The goal of becoming a champion is no different in business than it is with sports. Regardless of what industry we’re in and what our job entails, we all (most?) strive to be a champion in one way or another. Whether it’s the small goals we set for ourselves or that one big illustrious accomplishment that we spend our heart and soul into (eg. Celtics). Whatever it may be, becoming a champion takes heart and dedication whether it be finally getting your MBA or nailing that first big client of yours.
I ask you, what makes you want to become a champion? What lights that fire inside of you and gets you going day in and day out? What makes you want to feel the emotion that Paul Pierce felt tonight receiving his ring? I want to hear from you.
The first part of this short series related to one of the takeaways I had from the MarketingProfs Digital Mixer, people and the deep connections I made with many folks at the conference last week. The second takeaway that I’ll be touching on is passion.
Gary Vaynerchuk is as passionate as they come and if anyone is going to give you a kick in the butt about passion, he’s the man to do it. I’ve always watched his videos on GaryVaynerchuk.com & even on WineLibrary.tv (and I barely drink wine) and am able to take his energy from the videos and into my professional and even personal life. Seeing (and gratefully getting to speak & hang out with) him in person definitely multiplied the force of his words as I’m sure majority of the people at the keynote felt. Summing it up, he makes you want to get out and do 1,000 things. Powerful, to say the least.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote on how to pre-tackle conferences and specifically related it to the MarketingProfs Digital Mixer that took place this past week. All I can say is – WOW. The event, people and venue were simply amazing. I expected a great event in Scottsdale as MarketingProfs had a stellar line up of speakers, as well as two big keynotes by Arianna Huffington and Gary Vaynerchuk, who undoubtedly ‘brought it.’ If you’ve ever watched one of his videos, you’ll notice his passion right off the bat for what he does and how much he truly believes in his community, which leads into the biggest takeaways for me from this event; people and passion. I’ll break this up into two parts so I can better explain both.
