Lessons from the US and Canada

Lessons from the US:

Expert customer service can have a greater impact on goodwill than you think. At a recent incident with my daughter at Six Flags Over Texas, we lost our mobile phones. While one was found quickly, we were told there was little hope of finding the second. On hearing our story, an older security guard took it upon himself to hunt through the thick undergrowth on his tea break, in 38C heat, knowing I was leaving Texas two days later. His self-sacrifice not only impacted my view on their organisation, it impacted my view on Texas and the United States as a whole. I encourage every business owner to empower your staff to take it upon themselves to create equally massive differences for customers.

Lessons from Canada

Building a tight team can be priceless. On a recent trip to Winnipeg, I noticed Manitobans have a strong resilience to the especially cold temperatures of winter. They seem to have a greater sense of community, given the threats of the outside elements. This seems to translate into the tightness of how their business teams operate together. Unless there is an external threat that your team have in common, be sure to invest significant amounts of time and effort into developing team resilience and interdependency.