“The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence” by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy

August 31, 2010

Excerpts: p 56 – Callison Architecture is “the firm that has designed every Nordstrom store.” p 57 – “In virtually every major expansion and redesign project, St. Charles (Medical Center in Bend, OR) takes into consideration how the medical center can be more efficient and customer friendly. p 57 – Starwood Hotels’ “Heavenly Bed” with [...]

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“Delivering Happiness – A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh (Shay) CEO of Zappos

July 29, 2010

Excerpts: p 5 – “First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” ~Ghandi p 20 – (after being suspended from school for something he didn’t do) ” … sometimes the truth alone isn’t enough, and that presentation of the truth is just as important as the truth.” [...]

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“What Should I Do With My Life ?” by Po Bronson

July 10, 2010

Excerpts: p xviii – “never enough money, never enough time” p xviii – “psychological stumbling blocks are often less real than we imagine. By confronting them, we begin to see around our obstacles, even the seemingly insurmountable ones … unearth the psychological demons that haunt us” p 24 – “She found that true freedom came [...]

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“Same Kind of Different As Me” by Ron Hall & Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent

July 10, 2010

Excerpts from “Same Kind of Different As Me”: p 47 – “I couldn’t figure out why God kept takin all the folks I loved the most.” p 47 – “… years kinda run together in my memory. We never kept no calendar. We didn’t even keep a clock. Didn’t need one: When all you doin [...]

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“1,000 Dollars & An Idea” by Sam Wyly

July 5, 2010

Excerpts from “1,000 Dollars & An Idea” by Sam Wyly: p 10 – “Confident is good but overconfident can be fatal” Perks, power and prestige can go straight to managers’ heads. They get seduced by attention and flattery. p 18 – “My parents were driven by a uniquely American frontier spirit, fueled by optimism and [...]

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Book: “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin

June 29, 2010

Relates that the key to happiness is … thankfulness. Excerpts: p 111 – “Suddenly the room seemed to ache with loneliness.” p 114 – “She’s my friend,” the boy said simply. “That’s who she is and that’s good enough for me.”

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Book: “How to Get Rich” by Felix Dennis

June 22, 2010

This book would have been better if it were 30% shorter, but it still offers plenty of insights from the rare perspective of a self-made billionaire. Even without a hundred dollars to his name, I bet Felix Dennnis would be a fun and fascinating person to speak with. The cover reads “Hint: You’ll never grow [...]

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Book: “Rework” by Jason Fried & David Heinmeir Hansson (of 37 Signals)

June 22, 2010

Book relates an insightful, practical & genuinely helpful approach to starting and running a business. It provides ideas for how to find time and efficiency while bolstering employee morale, productivity, the core essence of your products and services and ultimately your customers’ experience. Excerpts: p 31 – “You want your customers to say ‘this makes [...]

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From “The Trumpet of the Swan” by E.B. White

May 17, 2010

Excerpts: p 27 – “I don’t know of anything in the entire world more wonderful to look at than a nest with eggs in it. An egg, because it contains life, is the most perfect thing there is. It is beautiful and mysterious … an egg will someday be a living creature. A swan’s egg [...]

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from “Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)”

April 23, 2010

Excerpts and ideas: p 5 – “coherent arbitrariness” – “consumers don’t really know what anything should cost … it is above all a theory of relativity. Buyers are mainly sensitive to relative differences, not absolute prices.” anchoring matters, even if a random anchor number is truly meaningless and a subject knows it is, it has [...]

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