October
2006
Brand recognition alone doesn't keep hotel guests coming back, says Simon Cooper, chief operating officer and president of one of the world's most admired companies. In fact, that recognition is just the first step in a customer's journey toward engagement. In this candid interview, Cooper discusses how The Ritz-Carlton's fame can undermine its brand promise, how to train staff to be spontaneous, and why engagement is the company's key commodity.
This manager in India was faced with a poor-performing team and tremendous pressure to turn it around. To tackle this pressing problem, he took a surprising and totally unconventional approach: He fostered workplace friendships.
Many companies seek to enhance their brand value. But before they do that, they must first ask: Where does that value come from? The answer isn't as simple as you might think.
Fabick CAT invested $500,000 in its people, and the payoff was enormous. Here's how the company made employee engagement a part of its culture, largely by becoming less bureaucratic and a lot more open.
A lot, says the author of Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without. In fact, he says they're so valuable that managers should actually be fostering close relationships in the office.