What Does Management Want From You? | By Steve DiGioia

Safety, security, and peace of mind. Nice calming words they are. They come with little worries and little stress. Every employee wants this. But what does management want from you?
Tags: Travel, Nice, Steve DiGioia

Resilience and Rising to a Challenge | By Steve DiGioia

For decades, stress was viewed as bad and damaging. Then we began to see the power of resilience as an accelerator in our lives.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

What Do You Do With Deadwood Employees? | By Steve DiGioia

Great employees are the heart and soul of any business, especially a successful one. Their efforts cannot be understated enough. But there are always one or two poor performers or "deadwood employees" - those who contribute little to the company's success and at times undermine it. And they hang on year after year. They never seem to get fired and amass a laundry list of disciplinary actions with little substantive repercussions. Why is that? And what do you do with deadwood employees?
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

November 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the November 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Marcia Reynolds of Covisioning Transformational Leadership provided Is Your Empathy Serving or Hurting You? Marcia shares: “ Can you tell when you feel empathic concern or empathic distress? One connects the other hurts. Use non-...
Tags: Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Communication, Development, David, Bill, Engagement, Communications, Steve, Chris, Team Building, Liz, Henry, Joel, PAUL

Management's Ideas Are Always Better | By Steve DiGioia

Many times, we managers think we have all the answers, that we know it all, and our way is the one correct way to do things. After all, we're management, and our ideas are always better. But that's not the case. The employees who do the job each day usually have a better understanding of what works and how to perform the task than the boss who sits in the office thinking up policies and procedures.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Are Your Pet Peeves Putting Your Job in Danger? | By Steve DiGioia

First off, what's a "pet peeve"? Well, according to Merriam-Websters dictionary, it's "something that annoys or bothers a person very much". Are your pet peeves putting your job in danger? I hope not.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia, Merriam Websters

Customer Care Versus Gossip | By Steve DiGioia

The other day I heard some people complaining about poor customer service. Each shared their complaints about a past shopping trip that irked them enough to commit the story to memory (those are the worst kinds).
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Promotions, Do They Work? | By Steve DiGioia

Not the kind that gets you the corner office, a big expense account, or stock options; I'm talking about the kind you use to advertise and spread the word about your business.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

October 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the October 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Diana Peterson-More shared Covid Communication: Spread a Little Kindness . . . With Words. Diana explains: “ It’s time to “redefine success” in our daily transactions. Rather than have the (internal) knee jerk/lizard brain reaction when...
Tags: Google, Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Inspiration, Communication, Development, David, Diana, Bill, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Engagement, Steve, Chris, Team Building, Liz

What’s More Important? | By Steve DiGioia

Are your company's numbers, budgets, and marketing efforts taking the lead over all other aspects of your business? But what about the customer? What's more important?
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Your Customers Are Always Watching | By Steve DiGioia

What do you do when you think no one is watching? Are you chewing gum, twirling your hair, or resting your foot on the wall behind you? Do you tell off-color jokes because you think no one can hear you?
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

There’s an Upset Customer. Now What? | By Steve DiGioia

Regardless of your business, and no matter how hard you try to do the best for them, there will be situations where you have an upset customer who is dissatisfied with your product or service. Day in and day out, we must strive to provide the optimal experience for each customer interaction. But is this realistic?
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Don’t Make Assumptions | By Steve DiGioia

How many times did something "fall through the cracks" because you thought another co-worker was going to handle it? I've always told my team, don't make assumptions.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Customer Service is a 2-Way Street | By Steve DiGioia

Customer service is a 2-way street. It takes both sides of the interaction doing their part to provide a great customer experience. The "give and take of life" doesn't stop at the service counter - it continues, always. But sometimes, as customers, we fail to do our part and fail to understand what steps we must take to make this interaction successful.
Tags: Travel, Customer Service, Steve DiGioia

September 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the September 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Julie Winkle Giulioni shared Stop Blaming Zoom! The Problem with Your Meetings Might Be You. Julie explains: “Video platforms are taking the fall for the phenomenon known as ‘Zoom fatigue.’ But the inconvenient truth is that employees...
Tags: Google, Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Africa, Inspiration, US, Communication, Development, David, Diana, Bill, North America, ANN, Engagement, Harvard Business Review

What Value Do You Bring? | By Steve DiGioia

The "Customer Value Proposition" is providing convincing reasons why a customer should buy a product, and also differentiate your product from competitors. The same works for our "internal customers", our employees. The "value" one brings to their organization is not easily measured but can, and usually does, make itself known very quickly within the process. This is the quality that creates success. So, what value do you bring to the organization?
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away, Now | By Steve DiGioia

Give it away, give it away, give it away, now! No, I'm not talking about the song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers - even though that song is cool. I'm talking about how the butchers and bakers used to run their businesses years ago.
Tags: Travel, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steve DiGioia

July 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the July 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Paula Kiger of Big Green Pen shared How businesses can repair the chasm created by racism. Paula writes: “ It can be difficult to figure out where to start when trying to eliminate racism in the workplace. Starting with recognizing and...
Tags: Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Inspiration, Communication, Development, David, Diana, Bill, ANN, Engagement, Steve, Team Building, Mary, Joel, Ken

You’ll Never Improve if You’re Married to Your Ideas | By Steve DiGioia

Throughout my hospitality career, I've heard countless managers say, "That'll be ok, it will work" or "Let's do it this way, try it. What do you have to lose?". Or my favorite one… "I know what I'm talking about, trust me". But when I question their plan or point out ways the plan may not work out as intended, I'm asked why I'm being so "negative". I respond by saying, "Why are you married to your ideas? Don't you want to hear another viewpoint? Let's look at the plan some more, ok?"
Tags: Travel, Don, Steve DiGioia

June 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the June 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Marcia Reynolds of Covisioning Transformational Leadership provided How to Revive a Brain Attacked by Stress. Marcia shares: “ Brains shut down when attacked by stress. New ideas are resisted and decisions delayed. This post shares how lead...
Tags: Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Trust, Inspiration, Communication, Development, David, Crisis, Diana, John, Annie, Bill, Engagement, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Steve

How Businesses Can Put Their Customers at Ease During Covid-19 | By Steve DiGioia

Great customer service is comprised of many things. Besides policies and procedures which lead to a satisfied customer, your smile, positive words, and open body language are just as important - and many say even more important. Here are a few ways businesses can put their customers at ease.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Every Great Leader Has an Experience Book | By Steve DiGioia

The actions of leaders should focus on common-sense decisions. A good "business-sense", extensive life experience, having a good judge of character, and the ability to see-through-the-fog towards the intended goal will help most people make the "right" call as needed - when needed.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

May 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the May 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of  communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication Laura Schroeder of Working Girl provided Online Fatigue: The Pain is Real. Laura shares: “These days, even extroverts may feel what I call ‘online fatigue’ in the wake of extra online meetings to align and ‘connect’ with the team. Here...
Tags: Productivity, Motivation, Leadership, Communication, Development, David, Crisis, Diana, John, Bill, ANN, Engagement, Steve, Chris, Joe, Liz

Where is the Line Between Forgetfulness and Great Service? | By Steve DiGioia

Great service is comprised of many parts and each must be present to create the experience every customer desires. Let's briefly discuss each one of my top 8 until we get to "memory". I know you'll agree with me that it should be near the top of your list.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

23 Service Improvement Tactics That Work | By Steve DiGioia

Reevaluation. It's a tried and true method to improve your customer service. But how many use this often enough to benefit from its findings? Good question. Sure, each business is different and with specific challenges to be addressed, so the important thing is that you start finding tactics that can make a difference in your business and put them to use right away.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

April 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the April 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of  communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more. Communication John Stoker of DialogueWORKS contributed Managers, here’s your guide to effective feedback. John shares: “Sometimes it is helpful to think about the critical skills for giving feedback to others. Taking a moment to be more deliberate...
Tags: Productivity, Motivation, Florida, Leadership, Communication, Development, David, Crisis, John, Bill, ANN, Engagement, Rich, Steve, Chris, Team Building

8 Mood Altering Tips Your Customers Will Love You For | By Steve DiGioia

Mood affects how you behave and how you behave affects your ability to care for your customer. This prompts the question; "Can you put your mood on hold while caring for your customer?" If so, do you need a Mood Ring to do it? No, not at all…
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Which 5 Traits Would You Choose to Build the Ideal Customer Service Agent? | By Steve DiGioia

We scour resume after resume in search of the best candidate. But, as a service provider, we never truly know the applicant's skill set until they're hired and in contact with your precious customers.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia

Bigfoot Customer Service. What Is It and Why Are You Still Giving It? | By Steve DiGioia

Bigfoot. The elusive missing link between humans and apes. But what does he have to do with customer service? Well, plenty. There are many similarities between the creature and the service many of us dish-out to our customers. That's why I call it, Bigfoot Customer Service. Let's get into it.
Tags: Travel, Steve DiGioia, Bigfoot Customer Service

February 2020 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the February 2020 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of  communication, development, engagement, team building, and more. Communication Jeff Evans of Designed Learning shared Influencing Without Direct Control. Jeff writes: “As I think about all of the relationships of my life, power seems to have a major role. I believe our search for power is the wrong search. What I want is influence with o...
Tags: Productivity, Leadership, Abc, Communication, Development, Diana, John, Bill, ANN, Engagement, Pacific Ocean, Steve, Chris, Liz, Erik, Simon