The Now Revolution
Having just finished reading “The Now Revolution – 7 steps to make your business faster, smarter, and more social” it occurred that we had read several books many years ago that include the same concepts for a world before the social revolution. The authors Jay Baer and Amber Naslund give businesses the guidelines needed to shift the way they think and to take their ‘culture’ into the new world.
 
 
Some key concepts in the book include but are not limited to:
  • Your front-line staff are your brand
  • Every employee completely understands your brand message
  • All of your staff should be informed of all marketing efforts
  • You share all goals and all results with your entire team
  • Your employees have a greater sense of purpose than a pay check
  • You hire for culture and train for skills
Some businesses already operate in the above ways and it will be easier for them to adapt to ‘real time business’ as Baer and Naslund describe it and to make the necessary shifts. For those that do not a shift in operational mind-set is needed. If your business falls into the latter category below are a few other books that can help you shift the way you think and operate differently before you are ready to take your culture into the ‘new world’. We recommend reading at least one of them in conjunction to The Now Revolution to take your business into the social revolution.
 
The Culture of your Business
We have read, enjoyed and referenced these books many times over our years as golf course operators. Even though they were written before any of of the new technologies were even an idea the concepts are still very relevant and necessary for businesses to succeed today.

“The Nordstrom Way” written in 1995 (updated in 2005) by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy is an insider’s look at a company with amazing customer service culture. The relationship building that takes place between Nordstrom customers and employees and how the employees are empowered to build these relationships is completely relevant in today’s ‘social’ world. It is not surprising that Nordstrom has a huge social media presence beginning with 150,000+ followers on a verified Twitter account that is very active (15,000+ tweets) and is all about interaction and very little selling. They also have a very active Facebook page and a not so active blog. They are a company that has taken their relationship building culture and adapted it to the new technology. We have not been to a Nordstrom’s store in several years but can bet that their in-store service has not suffered at all either.
 
“Positively Outrageous Service” was written in 1991 by T. Scott Gross. The subtitle is “The ultimate antidote for today’s tough times: How to surprise and astound your customers and keep them for life”. Sounds like it could have been written last year right? The book talks some about print, television and other traditional advertsing but really focuses on making your customer never forget you by doing something outrageous. Today this might mean for a large brand to personaly engage with an individual customer. With the right tools that are now availble the ideas in this book are much easier to execute than when the book was written.
 
“Fish: Catch the Energy & Release the Potential” was written in 2000 by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen. It is the story of the Seattle’s Pike Place Fish in which the passion and energy that employees bring to the workplace make it a hugely successful business. The photos currently posted on their
Facebook page look like nothing has changed since the book was written.
 
    
 
Give us your feedback if you read or have read any of these books or other you think we might be interested in.

Related Posts