On May 9 my alma mater, Marquette, along with Seattle U held a networking event in Seattle. There was a panel discussion with executives from Costco, Nordstrom and Blue Nile.
I walked away thinking that there was really one common message from the panelists and that was to put people first, especially the customers. If you take care of the customers, everything else falls into place. Happy customers make for happy employees.
I'm often asked what my work entails most often and the answer is that it usually comes down to the people. People are the key issue in any buy-sell transaction whether it's the buyer and seller relationship, the customers, the employees, the vendors or others.
People are the top factor when it comes to determining if a company is thriving or misfiring. I guess that's why there are so many books on culture, people and how to improve performance.
Business is a built on relationships. Take care of the people you interact with and your success will go up.
"The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary." Sam Walton
