From the Road
Some people have always had the EXACT same travel problem every time you see them. At some point, you realize it's them, not the airline / car rental company / cabbie / hotel . . . I rented a car with 8 miles on it. That's the runner up in my rental career next to a 3 miler in Orlando on the way to Daytona for a NASCAR race . . . At a sea food restaurant the other night, every painting in the place was of some boat, ocean, or river scene. And nearly everyone had lights behind the windows in the boat or lighthouse. You don't see that every day . . . I'm not sure why it smells as if someone immediately behind me is eating a pot roast dinner on this plane.
Branding and Experience
I asked on the Delta Airlines Facebook page why they now call the Biscoff Cookies they serve simply "cookies." They used to be called "Biscoff" by flight attendants. Not surprisingly, there hasn't been a response . . . An intriguing, but untrackable customer service metric? The percent of times your employees refer to your brand in the first person versus the third person . . . Every time I see a happy, fun, engaging flight attendant I automatically assume they started at Southwest Airlines.
Talking Business
It's great to talk shop with someone who does what you do. It's even better to "ask shop." Then you can just sit back and listen, and that's where you get some great learning and new ideas . . . A cramped room can bring out the best questions and conversations with a presentation audience. When a room is too big, there's too much space for staying aloof. Just the reverse is true for a strategy session . . . One warm-up exercise we use asks who people say you look like. I had NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's doppelganger in a workshop, but didn't have time to do the exercise and see if he hears that all the time.
Blogging
Being able to keep writing this blog post on my iPad while we land is a new great part of flying . . . Trying to beat my personal best of writing ten blog posts on a business trip from the East Coast to Kansas City. We'll see how that goes . . . I don't generally connect on LinkedIn with people I don't "know" in some way. After accepting an invitation from someone locally who immediately sent a message for me to make time to learn about what she is doing, I remember why . . . I don't "get" game apps like other people don't "get" Twitter. I just don't have the time . . . I'm cranking on blog posts recently because I'm avoiding getting tax stuff organized . . . These columns are the intersection of "Too long for Twitter" and "Too many for Facebook." Thanks for indulging me. - Mike Brown
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