In three years Livingston helped the 17,000- employee strong Crossmark increase its sales revenues by 30 percent and add an additional 2,400 workers Livingston will promote the book on his busy speaking tour, which includes keynote addresses at several large consumer products information conferences Includes numerous on-the-street examples and case studies throughout the book

Offers an organizational design model for service organizations, covering such topics as funding mechanisms, employee management systems, and customer management systems.

A step-by-step guide to designing and implementing an amazing customer service culture In today's competitive business environment, keeping customers happy is the key to long-term success. But some businesses provide much better customer service than others. It's not always clear what works and what doesn't, and implementing new customer service practices midstream can be a difficult, chaotic task. Business leaders who want to transform their business culture into one of customer service excellence need reliable, proven guidance. Unleashing Excellence gives you practical tools and step-by-step guidance tailored to your company's individual customer service needs. It shows you how to navigate your teams through every step of the implementation process to achieve true customer service excellence. The book covers the training and education of your group, how to measure the quality of your service, how to build a culture of personal accountability, and how to recognize excellence and reward it. Fully revised to include updated information on the latest tools and best practices, as well as the stories and lessons learned from those organizations that have used the process described in the book. Offers proven best practices for designing and implementing an excellent customer service culture Simple format divides content into nine "leadership actions" that guide you through a step-by-step process Shows you how to build a common customer service vision for your entire organization Customer service is vital to the survival of your business. If you want to move your organization's customer service practices from good to great, Unleashing Excellence is the key.

Kaufman takes you on a journey into the new world of service. Learn how the world's leading companies have changed the game, and how you can successfully follow this path to an uplifting service transformation.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The true story of an ordinary mail carrier whose approach to work and life has the power to transform the everyday into the extraordinary—now in an updated twentieth-anniversary edition “This beloved business classic has inspired millions of people over the years, and today Mark Sanborn’s transformative insights are more timely and necessary than ever.”—Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and co-author of The Coffee Bean Meet Fred. In this timeless and powerful book, Mark Sanborn, member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, recounts the true story of Fred, an ordinary USPS carrier who introduced himself one day shortly after Sanborn had moved to a new home in Denver. Fred, however, was no average mailman. As Sanborn came to discover, Fred was the kind of worker who exemplifies everything “right” with customer service. Did people want packages left on the porch or prefer a notice to pick them up at the post office? Fred made sure he knew the answer. When another delivery service left a package at the wrong house, Fred shepherded it safely to the intended recipient. Others might have seen delivering mail as routine work, but Fred seized the chance to find meaning in the mundane, competing with himself every day to find opportunities to make his customers smile. We’ve all encountered people like Fred. In this deeply inspiring book, Sanborn illuminates the four basic principles anyone can use to bring fresh energy and creativity to our work and life: how to make a tangible difference every day, build stronger relationships, create real value for others without spending a penny, and constantly reinvent yourself. In this updated edition, Sanborn speaks to the seismic changes that have transformed the world of work in recent years—with employees increasingly hungry for purpose in their jobs—and outlines the book’s fresh applications. By following his principles, you, too, can find more excitement, fulfillment, and success in your career—and in your life.

Horst Schulze knows what it takes to win. In Excellence Wins, the cofounder and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company lays out a blueprint for becoming the very best in a world of compromise. In his characteristic no-nonsense approach, Schulze shares the visionary and disruptive principles that have led to immense global success over the course of his still-prolific fifty-year career in the hospitality industry. For over twenty years, Schulze fearlessly led the company to unprecedented multibillion dollar growth, setting the business vision and people-focused standards that made the Ritz-Carlton brand world renowned. In Excellence Wins, Schulze shares his approach to everything from providing the best customer service to creating a culture of excellence within your organization. With his tried-and-true methods and inspiring, hard-earned wisdom, Schulze teaches you everything you need to know about: Why leading well is an acquired skill Serving your customers Engaging your employees Creating a culture of customer service Why vision statements make a difference What it really means to practice servant leadership Schulze's principles are designed to be versatile and practical no matter where you are in your career. He'll remind you that you don't need a powerful title or dozens of direct reports to benefit from the advice he shares in Excellence Wins--you have everything you need to apply it to your life and career right now. Let Schulze's incredible story help you unleash the disruptive power of your true potential, beat the competition, own your career trajectory, and experience the game-changing power of what happens when Excellence Wins.

Finally, the book that all professionals frustrated with fleeting client loyalty and relentless price pressure have waited for—the first in-depth, guide to developing lasting client relationships. Millions of people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top in a world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Clients for Life sets forth a comprehensive framework for how professionals in all fields can develop breakthrough relationships with their clients and enjoy enduring client loyalty. Supported by more than 100 case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor—an irreplaceable resource—from the expert for hire, a tradable commodity. Readers will learn, for example, to develop selfless independence, which tempers complete emotional, intellectual, and financial independence with a powerful commitment to client needs; to become deep generalists and overcome the narrow perspective caused by specialization; to systematically build lifelong trust; and to cultivate the power of synthesis—big-picture thinking—that is so highly valued by clients. Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment.

Without trust, people and businesses fail. Trusted Leader provides a framework for building trust so that you and your organizations can perform at your best. “A lack of trust is your biggest expense,” says Wall Street Journal bestselling author David Horsager. Without trust, transactions cannot occur. Without trust, influence is destroyed. Without trust, leaders lose their people. Trust can be either your most vulnerable weakness or your greatest asset. Horsager introduces readers to his Eight Pillars of Trust through the journey of a senior leader who thought success was certain. Follow CEO Ethan Parker as he discovers the power of trust and how to apply it amid the complexities of leadership, change, and culture transformation. The Eight Pillars of Trust (Clarity, Compassion, Character, Competency, Commitment, Connection, Contribution, and Consistency) are based on Horsager's original research and extensive experience working with Fortune 500 companies and top government agencies around the globe. In addition to the business parable, this book is rich in practical advice for implementing each of the Eight Pillars. You will learn strategies to increase alignment, overcome attrition, and get absolutely clear on executing your top priorities. Horsager offers a road map for how to become the most trusted expert in your industry.

"Quest for the Best is not just a nostalgic look, however, at the age of handcrafted elegance. Marcus gives good advice on how consumers can educate themselves about the best, demand it, and get it. He describes his own experiences with the best in chapters such as "The Things You Love to Touch" and "Bed and Board." Witty, urbane, but always accessible, Marcus is a joy to read."--BOOK JACKET.

In this completely revised and updated edition of the customer service classic, Carl Sewell enhances his time-tested advice with fresh ideas and new examples and explains how the groundbreaking “Ten Commandments of Customer Service” apply to today’s world. Drawing on his incredible success in transforming his Dallas Cadillac dealership into the second largest in America, Carl Sewell revealed the secret of getting customers to return again and again in the original Customers for Life. A lively, down-to-earth narrative, it set the standard for customer service excellence and became a perennial bestseller. Building on that solid foundation, this expanded edition features five completely new chapters, as well as significant additions to the original material, based on the lessons Sewell has learned over the last ten years. Sewell focuses on the expectations and demands of contemporary consumers and employees, showing that businesses can remain committed to quality service in the fast-paced new millennium by sticking to his time-proven approach: Figure out what customers want and make sure they get it. His “Ten Commandants” provide the essential guidelines, including: • Underpromise, overdeliver: Never disappoint your customers by charging them more than they planned. Always beat your estimate or throw in an extra service free of charge. • No complaints? Something’s wrong: If you never ask your customers what else they want, how are you going to give it to them? • Measure everything: Telling your employees to do their best won’t work if you don’t know how they can improve.