As you likely heard over the weekend, Muhammad Ali passed away on Friday night at the age of 74.
A true Pinnacle Performer, Ali was considered to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of all-time.
In honor of the champ, here’s a collection of my favorite Ali inspirational quotes that tie directly into achieving greatness (Pinnacle Performance)
As I often say in my Pinnacle Performance Training, if you want to be better externally (at work/sports/life) then you must first be better internally by focusing on your personal development and the beliefs and behaviors that support success in your chosen endeavor.
All of this takes conscious self-reflection as to where you are, where you want to be, and what it will take to fill the gap between the two and achieve your goals.
With the hustle and bustle of our daily routines, few of us take the time to reflect on our past with consideration of changes to improve our future. Well here’s your chance…
The image questions below are some of my favorites from the thought-provoking site, Thought Questions. They do a great job of giving us meaningful things to think about.. what I call ‘reflection for progression’.
Keep in mind, these questions have no right or wrong answers. As they say, asking the right questions is the answer.
Be Well
Steve 🙂
For many business people, conference calls are a regular part of the job. If you’re one of them than this great little parody from the fine folks Tripp & Tyler will certainly seem familiar to you.
Make a Great Day!
Steve 🙂
While having great products and services is certainly important, the results in any business are ultimately created by the people that represent your business and those products and services.
Those ‘people’ are your corporate culture and they, above all else, are responsible for the level of success your business achieves.
Truly great companies have great workplace cultures. So, if your company has everything but a great culture than you have everything but a great company.
This short video speaks to the importance of corporate culture and establishing clear values to support and guide proper employees behaviors.
For more corporate culture, see my LinkedIn article here > Eight Great Practices for Creating a Winning Team Corporate Culture
Make a Great Day!
Steve 🙂
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Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC. As producer and host of Pinnacle Performance Training, Steve delivers sales, customer Service and winning team culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven organizations throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com
It goes without saying that being a professional athlete in any sport is not something that is easily achieved. Sure, some people are born with genetic gifts that made them tall or especially strong but, as I wrote about in The Truth About “Born Salesman”, they must still apply themselves and continually work on their game to master their craft and truly achieve greatness.
And, as referenced in the video below with regard to hockey, once the average athlete does achieve professional status, their tenure at that level is usually short-lived. All that makes the story of hockey great Jaromir Jagr all that more remarkable.
Have a look and listen to this brief ESPN Spotlight video:
As I often say in my training and speaking engagements, success has a formula. Jaromir’s success is certainly no accident. He does indeed have, and more importantly, adheres to a formula.
Let’s breakdown a few key points Jaromir made in the video that speak directly to achieving and sustaining success:
Constantly Adjust
Good yesterday doesn’t equal good today. You have to adjust. – Jaromir Jagr
One of the biggest threats to progress and ultimate success is complacency. While high-achievers like Jaromir are constantly striving for higher levels of performance, average folks get to a point and settle for good enough. As I referenced in the previous post.. If good enough if good enough for you, then you’ll never achieve greatness. To avoid complacency and keep moving forward you must constantly adjust.
Consistent Practice Equals Consistent Results
The body is like a computer, I believe you can program it. – Jaromir Jagr
One of the biggest problems I see that stifles growth with many businesses, and consequently the employees in them, is that they are inconsistent with their training efforts. As I wrote about in 4 Seldom Considered Reasons Sales/Customer Service Training Fails, training works with consistent exposure to the training.
As Jaromir pointed out, you have to keep practicing to program your body and be best prepared to perform at a high level. That type of programming also applies to sales and customer service training. When folks do not consistently practice they gradually deprogram themselves and are not best prepared to capitalize on sales opportunities or provide the highest quality of customer service.
I wish I didn’t have to do anything and be good but it doesn’t work like that, it would be too easy and everyone could do it. – Jaromir Jagr
You Can Have Your Muffins but…
Like Jaromir, I also like muffins. There’s nothing quite like the savory deliciousness of a warm blueberry muffin with a little pat of butter. No great lesson here.. just an intriguing food fact.
Seriously, if you’re gonna cheat with the sweets then you better offset it with regular workouts. Unless, of course, you’re not really concerned with peak performance. Then diet, and just about everything else, doesn’t really matter.
Be 100% In It
Whatever I love I have to be 100% in it. – Jaromir Jagr
This speaks directly to commitment and passion for your job. As I wrote about in Passion Powers Performance, most folks don’t have it.
You will never achieve the level of success you’re capable of achieving if you’re not 100% invested in your work. Put another way, you’ll never achieve the level of success you would have achieved in something you were 100% invested in.
Like Jagr, in order to be a great you need to be 100% in it .
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Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC. As producer and host of Pinnacle Performance Training, Steve delivers sales, customer Service and winning team culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven organizations throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com
It’s no secret that most people fall well short of achieving all they are capable of. They fall victim to complacency, reach a ‘good enough’ position and settle for the status quo.
As I often say.. If good enough is good enough for you then you’ll never achieve greatness.
Perfectly aligned with this principle, this recently published book by Jesse Itzler provides a unique perspective on breaking through your comfort zone:
Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet
Promoting the book, Business Insider published the video below.
Here’s the self-explanatory summary as published on YouTube:
“Jesse Itzler felt he was in a rut. So he asked Navy SEAL David Goggins to live with him for 31 days, during which Jesse would do anything David told him to do.
Jesse would later write “Living With A Seal” documenting the grueling experience of getting whipped into shape by one of the toughest men on the planet. They ran through snow storms, jumped into a frozen lake, and did lots and lots of push-ups.
Here, Jesse and David talk about actively pushing yourself and the 40% rule, which means when you think your done and have reached your limit, you’re actually only 40% done.”
As Jesse said, “you can’t improve when you’re on autopilot. You have to get out of the complacency of the routine”.
Indeed. Follow Jesse’s advice and the Navy SEAL’S 40% Success Rule, tap into your ‘reserve tank’ and breakthrough your comfort zone to achieve higher levels of success!
Steve 🙂
No doubt you’ve seen and heard many “get rich quick” offers over the years. Around since the early 1900’s, most of these schemes promise that with little time, effort or money participants can obtain wealth. Desperately seeking success, many well meaning folks fall for these pitches and sadly, in most cases, end up no father ahead then before they began.
While overnight successes make for great stories, true success is built on the foundation of continuous improvement. Success rarely (if ever) happens from making big changes all at once. Rather, the path to excellence requires progressive baby steps, small improvements in behaviors and execution that when performed consistently over time lead to big performance gains.
Be a little bit better every day and, over time, you’ll be a lot better!
Make a Great day!
Steve 🙂
Marriott has long been known as a leader in the hospitality industry. Like the Ritz-Carlton, which Marriott International purchased in the mid-1990’s, Marriott understands it is the customer experience that drives customer satisfaction and, ultimately, loyalty to the brand.
Marriott also knows that the quality of the customer experience is only as good as the culture of the business and the employees that interact with guests. So, like the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott trains every employee — from concierge, front desk, housekeeping, to maintenance — to interact with guests with a focus on enhancing the customer experience.
The remarkable success of the Marriott brand and their customer service culture is detailed in the highly recommended book by J. W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., The Spirit to Serve
More recently, and as a tie in to my recent experience chronicled below, Bill Marriott spoke about the role of social media in the customer experience:
Today, social media makes it easy for organizations like ours to ‘listen’ and ask questions of our guests. Our guests and associates have lots of opportunity now to let us know what they’re thinking and how we’re doing as a company. – Bill Marriott
The important part of what Mr. Marriott said is ‘listen’. These days, most reputable companies have some sort of social media presence and the capability to listen to their customers. Of those companies, the impact on the customer experience is in how they turn that ‘listening’ into action.
Case in point:
Two weeks ago I was back on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii for another round of in-house training with a very-valued client of mine. As was the case on my previous two visits, I stayed at the beautiful Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.
While working on my laptop from my room balcony I tweeted this >
About a half-hour later I received this tweet back:
https://twitter.com/WaikoloaBeachMH/status/686675054311129089
Good Stuff! Someone there was certainly ‘listening’ and responding in a positive manner to enhance my customer experience!
The next morning I left for my client early, was out of the hotel all day, and returned to my room early that evening to find a fresh fruit plate, 6 slices of banana bread, 2 bottled waters and silverware on my desk:
As shown, it included a card from the Director of Sales & Marketing, John Dominguez, with a thoughtful message:
Aloha Steven, If you have to work on your lanai, we hope you will enjoy this small treat.
WOW! Now that’s exceeding expectations! Impressed and delighted with John’s consideration, I tweeted again:
Seemingly immediately, Marriott ‘liked’ the tweet and, not long after that, I received an “ENJOY!” retweet response. I sure did!
This is a great example of harnessing the power of social media to engage and, along with taking action, personalize and provide a memorable customer experience.
Well Done Marriott!
Steve 🙂
This story is also on LinkedIn @ Marriott Gets Social To Deliver Great Service
Everyday there is much to be thankful for…
Clients, vacations, laughter, yummy food, morning coffee, the comfort of sweat pants, the New England Patriots, rock and roll and cool cars are just a few on my extended list.
Less personal, the Pinnacle Performance produced image below presents common areas that we all should be thankful for.
All The Best to you and your family for a Very Happy Thanksgiving!
Steve 🙂
Back in May of 2013, I published this article on Amazon’s world-class customer service.
Since then, I’m happy to say I’ve continued putting their team to the test with a steady stream of purchases, and they’ve continued delivering the kind of high-quality care I preach and teach about in my training rooms.
Which brings us to the latest chapter in my Amazon adventures with this curious case of the one-eared giraffe…
Seemingly out of nowhere, my daughter Ava developed an urgent, life-or-death need for animal onesie pajamas. With Christmas around the corner, I tried to steer her toward the “put it under the tree” option. That suggestion was met with agonizing opposition. Evidently, waiting eight weeks for cozy animal sleepwear was a burden no child should be asked to bear.
After reviewing a parade of colorful critters, Ava chose the giraffe as her perfect bedtime companion. So I placed the order.
Here’s the picture from Amazon.com:
Most of our Amazon orders show up in two days thanks to Prime shipping, but this particular purchase was coming from a distributor in China, so Prime was out of the question.
Ava, however, was unfazed by logistics. Every day for two straight weeks she asked if “the package” had arrived with the optimism of a kid waiting for Santa. And then, on day fifteen, her long-awaited bundle finally landed on our doorstep.
In what was likely the quickest turnaround of all-time, Ava disappeared momentarily then reappeared in our kitchen like this:
Notice anything odd? We didn’t at first either. But a closer look revealed our new giraffe was missing a right ear. If you go back to the product photo, the girl is literally holding the giraffe by the ears. Apparently that quality-control step didn’t make it into the manufacturing process for ours.
Trying to prevent a full emotional collapse (which you probably would’ve heard from wherever you’re reading this), I assured Ava I’d reach out to Amazon and was confident they’d make things right quickly.
Below is the email exchange that followed between me and Amazon’s customer service team.
It all started with my return request:
Item: Unisex Costume Animal Cosplay Onesie Adult Pajamas Anime Cartoon Sleepwear Medium, Giraffe > Qty: 1 > Return reason: Defective/Does not work properly > Customer comments: Arrived with only one ear and appears to have been created that way. My daughter is quite upset and doesn't want to wait several weeks again for a new one to be delivered
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Reply received:
Dear customer, we have received your return request. We are so sorry you received damaged item. You don't need to return the item, you can keep it. We will make a full refund for you tomorrow. Could you please kindly send us the photo of the one ear giraffe. We will send it to our QC. Thank you very much. Please feel to contact us if you have any problem, thanks again. Have a nice day.
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That’s great, I don’t even have to return the item, they’re just going to ‘take care of the customer’ and refund my purchase price. Still, Ava really wants a fully functional giraffe, so I sent the picture I posted above along with this reply:
Thank You for your prompt response and offer to keep item and refund amount paid.
I have attached a pic on the 1 ear giraffe. Will the much anticipated 2 ear version
be sent? My daughter prefers her giraffes to not be hearing impaired...
--
Not long after I received this reply:
Dear customer, thank you for your photo. We will send a new one to you tomorrow. We will send you the new tracking number later. Thank you very much. --
As I often say…
This is another great example of customer service recovery done right and why Amazon continues to earn my business and accolades.
Pinnacle Performance Champions 