Comments

RE: "Sparkle begets sparkle. Sparklers sign up to work with sparklers."

Angus' 1st Law of Organizations: All human systems tend to be self-amplifying.

Which is why the Allies were able to win WWII, why Enron & Arthur Andersen kept slipping further and farther from reality, and why, I think, good players want to work for the Atlanta Braves or Starbucks.

Posted by jeff angus at February 13, 2006 10:07 AM

Jeff: "Atlanta Braves"--yup. (Book galleys look great.)

Posted by tom peters at February 13, 2006 11:05 AM

Birthdate of "sparklers" may be key: Martin Seligman [paraphrase] of Happiness fame says that those born late spring and early summer are BORN optimists for the most part - Sean, 6/2/62.

I'm frequently amazed when I visit with Nordstom / Starbucks' types - and tend to ask them about how it is they are so happy - fishing for tips to improve lifestyle.

Posted by Sean at February 13, 2006 11:46 AM

For real.....the smiles at Starbuck's ARE for real. I've taken to spending some amount of time loitering at Starbuck's (one of the downsides of my efforts to watch what I'm consuming has been a concerted effort to avoid too many Vanilla Lattes!)attempting to recruit their personnel. Not many looking to leave their current employment I might add. Took a look at some of the folks to whom they said "no," and found out I didn't want them working for me either. And, yes, someone sparkling is doing the selecting.

Posted by Ed Di Gangi at February 13, 2006 12:33 PM

Good support for behavioral interviewing. I remember a long time ago seeing a report that suggested that the B-C graded graduates faired better later in professional life than the straight A-ers, mostly, in part, because of their social skills and subsequent ability to work well in team environments.

There are happy people out there. There just don't appear to be many in suits. Perhaps it's the strangulation effect of the noose/necktie.

What is it with the suit as a corporate requirement anyway? The power tie. The polished hoof-heels. Haven't we gone beyond the need to dress to impress in the corporate world? Talk about lacking creativity. Let's get comforatable and roll our sleeves up! It's hard to smile when you're trapped in a boring grey Brooks Brothers all day long.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 13, 2006 2:54 PM

Tom O'Leary--The whole point to the corporate uniform (suit or otherwise) is the same as a military uniform. The first step to getting people to think alike is to make them dress alike. Creativity? Nobody wants that. They want conformity, playing by the rules, doing the expected, and all that junk. I encounter this every day in companies I work with. The first barrier I have to overcome with people is their fear. Responses to my exciting but dangerous ideas range from shocked silence to dismayed cries of "but THEY won't let us do that!."

To be fair, the US military has gone a long way toward fostering a creative and adaptive mind-set among its leaders and members despite the uniform, which serves a much more practical purpose on the modern battlefield than did the uniforms of the past. Of course, maybe the camouflage is why "suits" continue to wear them on their own corporate battlefields.

Posted by Mike at February 14, 2006 7:10 AM

Starbucks smile has to be a US thing. Here in London they're about as miserable as everyone else!

Forget corporate. Round the corner from my office is a burger joint. Couple of Indian chaps run it, selling burgers, chicken, curry, kebab and anything else you could want to clog up your arteries!

Point is these guys smile. The first time I went in I had a good burger. Cooked in front of me (none of that grill it - wrap it - leave it to stand rubbish here). Second time I went in there was a cheerful hello and "would you like a burger today?"

(Third, fourth, fifth time and we're still in smiles and friendly service, even if I haven't popped in for a few weeks!)

Ross

Posted by Ross Hall at February 14, 2006 9:40 AM

I was all gaga about Starbucks before I came to the US. I am passionate about customer service and enjoy doing that. I was so glad to visit one when I came over here initially. I was so disappointed and felt badly treated at the Starbucks near the place I live in CA. I wanted some beans and stood near the beans counter for sometime to be served -about 10 minutes. There was a queue for the coffee customers and being early morning, the queue was growing. When I walked over to the cash counter to inquire who would serve me at the beans counter, I was told to get into the queue! No smile. I thought that was rude. It was the same person at the billing counter all along. I walked out of Starbucks. Annoyed with the treament meted out, I walked in again and asked for a complaint form. Then another gentleman walked over to me and the Starbucks representative and mentioned that the treatment meted out to me was shabby and he had just returned from a Seminar where a Starbucks member had spoken about customer service. He felt glad I had returned to lodge a complaint. I was asked to 'GO ONLINE' to lodge a complaint. I did not. I don't visit a Starbucks unless I have no choice.

Different smiles for regulars and newbies? Can understand that. The smile, this time, somehow was inverted.

Posted by Kannan at February 16, 2006 4:38 PM

I was at a pharmacy buying things I needed to survive a job. The checkout person was so optimistic that I started going to that store all the time just to get another dose of her optimism.

Then, there was a day when she seemed harried. And, another when she wasn't there anymore. Who knows what happened? I miss her good cheer and well wishes. Where will I stumble upon that again.

Hiring it isn't enough. Building better people has to happen after you hire the best. Building invincible people and social systems goes beyond even that. It starts with affimating.

Posted by David Locke at February 19, 2006 1:37 AM