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I met a guy who runs a nursery. He told me that when customers walk in to buy mulch, his favorite service moment is when he gets to ask them, “You want it now?” Jaws. Drop. Now? Really? You mean I don’t have to wait all afternoon? Nope. Thirty minutes. You can get your mulch before you get your pizza. Chip will even follow you home from the store…

The goal is to create a holy shit moment. An interaction so soaked in wow, that people can’t help but tell the world. Try making an intentional point of over delivery. When customers ask you for an arm and a leg, hand them a hacksaw. Try responding promptly, not just when you can. When customers send you a message, get back to them instantly and watch what happens. Try…

Apple users don’t need instructions. In a pinch, they can always hop online to find product information sheets,troubleshooting pages, installation handbooks, online tutorials, user guides and owners manuals. But why search for instructions when you already have permission? Steve Jobs democratized technology. He created products that don’t require anything but curiosity. You just open the box, press the button and let your imagination carry you away. Meanwhile, his competitors…

Innovation is impossible without imagination. Only when our curiosity overwhelms our certainty, only when we’re more open to the complete possibility of what could be, does everything change. Kodak failed to innovate. Instead of reading the writing on the wall and adapting to the digital world, they clung to their analog past and went bankrupt. And the irony is, they were actually the first film company to develop digital…

Entrepreneurs are notorious for being too close to themselves. Too close to the business, too close to the product and too close to their own perspective. And the problem is, when they’re in too deep, inhaling their own fumes, they start seeing things that aren’t really there. Like a mental magic trick, they create optical illusions that obscure the truth and delay the execution process. I remember writing a…

Hiring ourselves has never been easier. Thanks to accessibility, democratization and instantaneity of the web, artists and entrepreneurs now have the ability circumvent many of the power structures that used to prohibit us from executing, sharing, promoting and selling our work. If we want to write a manual, start a podcast, create a blog, host a television show, curate a collaborative novel, open an online art gallery or launch…

The decision to play a bigger game changes us. First, it modifies what matters. We let go of what kept us small. We surrender what kept us comfortable. We walk away from what we assumed was important. And we blow up what would otherwise box us in. Next, it shifts our posture. We start to operate from a possiblitarian mentality. We engage the muscle of yes. We give ourselves…

Toto didn’t just pull the curtains apart. He pulled our fears apart. He proved that when the voice doesn’t scare us, when the reputation doesn’t intimidate us and when the smoke doesn’t dissuade us, everything changes. All we have to do is question everything. To spot the ideas that are too convenient to be killed, and let the creative, curious part of ourselves take a risk and pay attention…

If the first step in selling is stopping the eye, the first step in service is meeting it. When I walk up to the counter to put in my order, you don’t have to read my mind. You don’t have to perform a miracle. I just need you to care. Instead of being completely preoccupied with yourself, stop using your phone, stop surfing the web, stop talking to your…

When it comes to your prospects, information is invaluable. If you can find out who they are, what they read, where they work, what they do, how they think, what’s important to them and how to reach them, you’re off to an awesome sales start. In light of the digital revolution, however, there’s another piece of information that might be even more valuable than any of those: What they’re…