I love Nordstrom. Not too long ago, I was purchasing a tie at a Nordstrom department store when a younger man approached the counter to return a shirt. He expressed to the clerk that it had shrunk and faded in the wash and that he was unhappy with it.

From where I was standing, it was pretty obvious that it was not a new shirt. The clerk looked at the shirt, looked at the gentleman and asked how long he had owned the shirt. "A couple of weeks," was the reply.

It looked more like a couple of years, but the Nordstrom return policy is pretty straight forward. "Unconditional" is the policy.

Nordstrom is Obsessive About the Details

On a number of levels the Nordstrom return policy is a wonderful example of a corporate policy and culture. Nordstrom's obsession to detail and their militant refusal to become like the Department of Motor Vehicles continues to build customer loyalty and market share.

In any business, it's the details that spell success or failure. Often, if overlooked, the smallest details carry the biggest consequences. Let's look at another example.

McDonald's is Not Obsessive About the Details

I remember the first McDonald's I ever visited. At the time McDonald's prided itself on being spotlessly clean. From the kitchen, the dining area to the bathroom. In fact, "McDonald's is clean" was one of their slogans. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case in many McDonald's restaurants.

If the restrooms and dining area aren't clean, is it reasonable to doubt the cleanliness of the kitchen?

By ignoring the little details, McDonald's is not the same restaurant that Ray Kroc started back in the 50's.

McDonald's may be great corporate citizens and contribute to a number of very worthy charities, but if they can't keep their restaurants clean or fill my order correctly and promptly, I don't care. They aren't taking care of the details.

You MUST Be Obsessive About the Details

Author Michael Levine says, "businesses insult customers" every day.

How? By ignoring the details.

Mr. Levine goes on to say, "Big equals stupid. The larger you get, the stupider the culture becomes. The owners of Staples or Office Depot couldn't care less if you wait two minutes or two hours to find toner or a cartridge. That's perfectly fine as long as there's no competition."

What Should A Small Business Owner Do?

Mr. Levine's advice would be, "Have an obsessive compulsion to detail. If you want to know what it's like for a customer, then you should call your restaurant or whatever type of business and have the experience of being put on hold."

He continues, "When a customer does complain, he or she should be rewarded. For instance, if you're a dry cleaner and a customer's pants were supposed to be ready by Tuesday, and they're not, call up and say, "We appreciate you telling us that, we will try better next time, and here is $20 worth of dry cleaning for the trouble you've encountered." The same thing if a customer shows up for a reservation and the table is late -- buy him or her a drink or dessert."

As small businesses it's imperative that we offer something more than the Wallmarts of the world to keep our customers. That something extra might very well be our attention to the details.

Hope everybody had a great Tahnksgiving!
I know it is not easy to go back to work after a holiday like this one, but what can we do?
At least the city is so beautiful with the snow and all the Christmas lights.
This week has some very good events to attend. Take a look at our events page.
Have a wonderful week!

I hope you're ready... because what I'm about to tell you is considered by some to be a secret to never-ending success. It really isn't a secret, but it's so easy that most people don't pay attention to it. The best part is; it will make the difference between having 15 minutes of fame and enjoying never-ending success, all you have to do is take advantage of it.

Ok... what's the secret?

Don't limit yourself to promoting your Business to the ways that every other Business Similar to Yours does it. Now, that's not the whole secret, that's only the first part. 1) Don't limit yourself.

Refocus your mind and start looking around at what other businesses do to market and keep their clients. What do those people in their businesses do to achieve any of the results that you are looking for? Then ask yourself, "How can I adapt and adopt what they're doing in my business?"

Jay Abraham, in his book, Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got, encourages us to become a success-practices investigator. Uncover and identify what powerful marketing and selling approaches other industries have discovered that you don't know about, and then find an easy way to apply those methods to your business. It's easier than you think, just start being extremely observant of everything going on around you.

Now, here are 4 things you can do to adapt and adopt.

Let's look at a couple of really simple things that you can do to make what we've been talking about a reality. Mr. Abraham recommends the following 4 things.

1. Keep a notebook at home, in the office, in the car.
   Whenever you observe a powerful marketing technique, something that captures you, write down the concept, approach, and language, sales presentation, etc., that worked, and incorporate similar or related techniques into your marketing.
2. Read every good ad you see published, then clip it and save it for future reference. Note all the TV and radio commercials that convince you to buy - especially the ones that almost convince you, even though you don't need the product or service.
3. When you get solicitations in the mail, stop throwing them away. Realize the fact that companies wouldn't keep mailing them out unless they produced profitable results. There is more than likely something in them that you can learn and apply by studying them. Maybe there's a good headline or a great opening you could use in a letter you might send out to your own clients.
4. Pay attention to headlines ... they can be used for ads, letters and sales presentations. There is all kinds of marketing information out there. The secret is to be watching for it.

Heraclites said, "A man's character is his fate."

It's not your education, how handsome (or beautiful) you are or even whether or not your family has a lot of money. It's the kind of person you are that determines what you become. "A man's character is his fate."

Today we launched the Buzzboosters Team. We want to have a big team of people that will read new books, view videos, attend seminars and then, will buzz about it and tell us what they liked or didn't like it. We believe this venue will help people improve their products or services and spread word-of-mouth. If you think you are a trendsetter, a maven or just like to know about things first, consider joining us: http://www.buzzbooster.com/start_buzzboosters.htm

With a Little Help From My Friends - Pure Genius. In the 1967 Album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Ringo Star, singer and drummer for the band demonstrates his marketing skill with the lyric, "I get by with a little help from my friends..." Little did he know, that simple lyric held the key to one of the most powerful marketing methods available to you and me.

It Was Really John & Paul

Ringo sang the song. But John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this Marketing Masterpiece. Why do I call it a marketing masterpiece? Simple... Ringo sang about networking.

In the world of marketing, networking is more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.. it's your Man-of-Steel. From finding a job to building your client list, networking... works.

The Real Truth About Networking

It isn't new, and it's not what you think. In the past, networking was informal and random. Today, networking has become systematic and structured. You don't have to be a skilled negotiator or speaker to network, and I'd like to share with you some successful techniques that will help you improve your network and networking abilities.

We are All Surrounded by a Potentially Powerful Network

The next time you're in a room with 12 of your closest friends, make a list of all the different people you all collectively know. You might be surprised at what names turn up. Peter Vogt, a MonsterTRAK Career Coach says, "You'll be amazed at who the people in your everyday life know - and by the additional people those people know. But you'll never discover any of them until you abandon the 'I don't know anyone good' mentality and replace it with the 'I'll start with the people around me and go from there' philosophy..."

I've watched my oldest son "network" for years. He started his network as a boy. It provided him with employment, a college scholarship and opportunities to see and do things that I haven't done.

With an average speaking ability, in his own charming way he builds his "network" every time he meets somebody new. Of course, you know you're being networked, but it's okay. If you become a part of his network, you can expect that he will be a part of yours. This mutually beneficial network of his works both ways. In fact, I've even found myself a part of it from time to time.

How Do I Start an effective network?

Use a formal and systematic approach to working your network. Organization and a plan for keeping track of your network and information is critical. Don't forget, networking is about relationships. A good networking relationship will be mutually beneficial.

"The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with the First Step"
-Lao Tsu

It all starts with a little action. The first step. Allen Bostrom, President of Universal Accounting and Networking Guru to hundreds of graduates says, "Your own network is the final outcome of all your networking activities and... forms a vital part of your total marketing effort. With this in mind, it is something that should always be [foremost in our thoughts]."

We went to the screening of "Wall Mart, The High Cost of Low Price".
I left the theater with my mouth wide open! If what the documentary shows is true, the American society faces one of its biggest diseases. I can’t imagine.

If you have a chance go see it... don’t miss out on some quality stuff. I’m not going to go into details... don’t want to spoil your experience, and also because we only had one side of the coin and cannot simply assume that it's really what happens and period.

Overall It's very interesting. Although as a film production the film needs some more editing work, but we were told that they had to rush to finish the film so it could be shown at the same time in 7.000 different cities. Wow.

I decided to stop by and tell you that we have a winner for the BuzzBooster - Public's Choice Award for Best Event in October:

The Cuisine Unlimited Anniversary
(I have to mention that it really was a great event... and I ate a lot ;0)

Thanks to all of you who took your time to vote! - Didn't vote last month? That's Ok, you can now vote for the best event in November! Do so by stopping by at our home page: http://www.buzzbooster.com - Located on the right-hand side towards the middle.

Yesterday i went to the movies. I go to the movies pretty often, not as often as i go to networking meetings but close enough! It is something i do with much enjoyment... the networking meetings that is. Ha! No just kidding i meant to say the movies, although i do enjoy the networking too (oh no why did i say it? Now i have to explain myself and convice you that i do enjoy going) but i do, really.

I went to the advance screening of a movie called "Yesterday". It caught my attention for several reasons one of which was the fact that it was the first Oscar nomination South Africa received. The other reason was because of it's poster... what can i do, yes i am one of those who judges books by their covers and films by their posters, fine i'll just say it!

I had read nothing about it other than a few lines while putting it on the website, so really i wasn't even sure if it was in english although i had a feeling it wasn't. We go to the Tower Theater on 9th & 9th stand out in the cold for a little while... the standing in line doesn't really bother me, i think it just adds to the entire experience! I love to eavesdrop and analyze the people around me, i'm just a very curious person.

In front of me stood a red-haired girl. She wasn't talking to anyone or reading anything, she was standing there... like me probably analyzing the person in front of her and not realizing that someone behind her was doing the same to her. Oooh you know what i just thought? Imagine if the person behind me is writting in their blogs about me?!! Ha! But no i'm safe i was listening to their conversation and they were too busy talking about the guy at work who asked another girl at work out on a date... moving on... the girl with the red hair carried a backpack, but unlike all other backpack this one was transparent. One would think that she'd keep it nice and tidy, but oh no! It was so full of stuff.

She was a smoker, carried a pack of Malboro light and had two lighters one red and one yellow, strategically placed one in each side pocket. Finding your lighter when you need to smoke must be like trying to find a pen when you need to write! She also carried a little white container with a red lid with no labels on it, but i would assume it's lotion... then, like all other purses hers was filled with candy wrappers and sales receipts... she carried with her several other little bags like mesh bags, but these weren't transparent which in my mind defeats the purpose of caring a transparent bag in the first place!

Anyhow, there's only so much standing in line in the cold i can take in order to add to the 'experience', after a while i'm thinking bad thoughts.

The movie was good. I'll give it three out of five stars. It had a powerful message, it was somewhat shocking to me, and filled with emotions. - Sometimes the portrayal was so real, and the director managed to capture village life so excellently. I thought that at times it was a bit too slow, but then again that added to the intensity of her hardships and just gave it more life.

"Today (the day I wrote this) I woke up early because I have a cross-country flight. I fired up my computer and used the airline’s web site to change my seat assignment and print out my boarding pass.

Well, technically, I spent an hour trying to do that, but the web site kept melting down at different points until I finally gave up and called their 800 number and handled my transaction in an efficient manner using their speech recognition system.

Well, technically, I spent 15 minutes crawling through the automated menus until my cat climbed on the desk and meowed into my speakerphone. That put the system into a mode where my only two choices were “before the flight” and “during the flight.” That’s not the sort of question you want to answer without knowing the context, so I bailed out and called again. This time I efficiently handled my transaction using their sophisticated phone system.

Well, technically, I spent what seemed like a lifetime crawling through the automated voice menus until I got an option of talking to a live person. The live person courteously and efficiently handled my transaction.

Well, technically, the system said it was transferring me to the next available agent but it disconnected me instead. On my second try, I got a nice woman in India who helped me change my seat. Then I had a wonderful flight.

Well, technically, the airline’s automated message called me an hour later and said my flight was cancelled for no particular reason. But I was automatically rebooked to a new and better flight with excellent seats and vegetarian meals. There was a good chance I could get backrubs from attractive flight attendants too.

Well, technically, they booked me on an overnight flight that would guarantee that when I gave my keynote speech to a crowd of 1,000 industry leaders soon upon landing I would look like a heroin-addicted badger that had stowed away in a jar of mayonnaise
But no problem. I changed airlines and booked a more reasonable flight. Then I breezed though the security screening and had a wonderful travel experience.

Well, technically, when you make a one-way flight at the last minute, it raises some red flags on someone’s computer. A potato-shaped woman with unfashionable glasses herded me into the “severe search” line. Someone told me to stand in a high tech phone booth sort-o-thing that blew air on me, analyzed it, and informed the technician whether I had been in contact with explosives lately. I passed the test, but I spent the whole time wondering how I could get some. Now I’m sitting in the airport, waiting for the flight that will probably be hijacked, while writing this blog entry on my laptop.

I’m still optimistic about the backrubs."

Just came back from the Luminary Series - Leading to Greatness. What a great event.
Before I got there I was thinking about how a satellite event would work, if there would be problems with image or sound, but no, everything was perfect! I was also really impressed with the Grand America hotel. Beautiful and huge place.

I wanted to listen to Malcolm Gladwell because I just read "Blink" and loved it. He is a very interesting figure. I really enjoyed Rudolph Giuliani and Marcus Buckingham. Marcus is a very good speaker and funny and I got some very good ideas from his talk. The workbook that was handed out has very good quality and content. The place was full, around 300 people.
Here are some pictures:

Lunch time, very good food by the way


Stephen Covey talked about the 8th habit and its relation to leadership.
The movie clips he showed were really good too.


Here is Jack Welch. He has interesting points of view.
This was the first time I heard him speak.

Awesome event really!

Just want to give a reminder for those who like to network that this Friday you can attend First Fridays at the Miller Inovation center at 8:00 am. Great palce to network, last month there were more tham 60 people there.

The news at Buzz: Every month- starting now- we'll be giving a Buzzaward for the best event of the month. We think this will be a way to recognize those who have put a lot of time and effort in order to put an event together, and that it will motivate people to always improve the events. But it is going to be a public choice award, so please, take action and vote on our first page: http://www.buzzbooster.com for the best event in October. Can be a seminar, a screening with a party, a celebration, a trade show. Let us know your opinion. We just ask for your name and the name of the event.

Now here's a tip: If you're looking for a beautiful,peaceful place to eat and with lots of healthy choices, try http://www.singingcricketcafe.com/. You'll love the experience!!!