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Knowledge Cafe |
The Little Big Things
163 Ways To Pursue
Excellence
by Tom Peters
Brand New Book
Released 3-9-10
A review from Amazon.com:
"If you truly believe 'excellence' is what Tom Peters is all about, then you will buy this book, read it, learn from it and go away confirmed in your belief. Tom's 163 tips are validated through experience again and again." (Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me )
"The single best management book I've ever read." (Warren Bennis )
"Those who want to improve their business, whether a boss or an employee, will find great ideas in this compelling and very browsable book." (Library Journal )
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#131 The Case of the Two-Cent Candy
Years ago, I wrote about a retail store in the Palo Alto environs-a good one, which had a box of two-cent candies at the checkout. I subsequently remember that "little" parting gesture of the two-cent candy as a symbol of all that is Excellent at that store. Dozens of people who have attended seminars of mine-from retailers to bankers to plumbing-supply-house owners-have come up to remind me, sometimes 15 or 20 years later, of "the two-cent candy story," and to tell me how it had a sizable impact on how they did business, metaphorically and in fact.
Well, the Two-Cent Candy Phenomenon has struck again-with oomph and in the most unlikely of places.
For years Singapore's "brand" has more or less been Southeast Asia's "place that works." Its legendary operational efficiency in all it does has attracted businesses of all sorts to set up shop there. But as "the rest" in the geographic neighborhood closed the efficiency gap, and China continued to rise-race-soar, Singapore decided a couple of years ago to "rebrand" itself as not only a place that works but also as an exciting, "with it" city. (I was a participant in an early rebranding conference that also featured the likes of the late Anita Roddick, Deepak Chopra, and Infosys founder and superman N. R. Narayana Murthy.)
Singapore's fabled operating efficiency starts, as indeed it should, at ports of entry-the airport being a prime example. From immigration to baggage claim to transportation downtown, the services are unmatched anywhere in the world for speed and efficiency.
Saga . . .
Immigration services in Thailand, three days before a trip to Singapore, were a pain. ("Memorable.") And entering Russia some months ago was hardly a walk in the park, either. To be sure, and especially after 9/11, entry to the United States has not been a process you'd mistake for arriving at Disneyland, nor marked by an attitude that shouted "Welcome, honored guest."
Singapore immigration services, on the other hand:
The entry form was a marvel of simplicity.
The lines were short, very short, with more than adequate staffing.
The process was simple and unobtrusive.
And:
The immigration officer could have easily gotten work at Starbucks; she was all smiles and courtesy.
And:
Yes!
Yes!
And . . . yes!
There was a little candy jar at each Immigration portal!
The "candy jar message" in a dozen ways:
"Welcome to Singapore, Tom!! We are absolutely beside ourselves with delight that you have decided to come here!"
Wow!
Wow!
Wow!
Ask yourself . . . now:
What is my (personal, department, project, restaurant, law firm) "Two-Cent Candy"?
Does every part of the process of working with us/me include two-cent candies?
Do we, as a group, "think two-cent candies"?
Operationalizing: Make "two-centing it" part and parcel of "the way we do business around here." Don't go light on the so-called substance-but do remember that . . . perception is reality . . . and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.
Start: Have your staff collect "two-cent candy stories" for the next two weeks in their routine "life" transactions. Share those stories. Translate into "our world." And implement.
Repeat regularly.
Forever.
(Recession or no recession-you can afford two cents.)
(In fact, it is a particularly Brilliant Idea for a recession-you doubtless don't maximize Two-Cent Opportunities. And what opportunities they are.)
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There's no time like the present. Here is a link to get it right away. You can get the hardcover for a song and the softcover is available new. You will be so glad you did:
Book:
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K.C. Archive |
Here is a list of books and audio's that have been recommended in the Knowledge Cafe.
The Little Big Things
by Tom Peters
Customer Satisfaction
Is Worthless
Customer Loyalty
Is Priceless
by Jeffrey Gitomer
Linchpin
by Seth Godin
The Circle of
Innovation
by Tom Peters
Raving Fans
by Ken Blanchard
and Sheldon Bowles
All Marketers Are Liars
by Seth Godin
Failing Forward
by John C Maxwell
Leadership Is An Art and Leadership Jazz by Max DePree
The Spirituality of Success by Vincent M Roazzi
Power In Praise by Merlin Carothers
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & Hohn David Mann
The Gratitude Effect by John DeMartini
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD
The Power To Have It All Audio Package by Bob Proctor
The Secret - Book and Audiobook by Rhonda Byrne
Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell
Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
As A Man Thinketh by James Allen
The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt
How To Talk To Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Larry King
Lead the Field Audio by Earl Nightingale
Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend
and
The Spirit of Opulence by Thomas Troward
You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, MD
You2 by Price Pritchett
The Magic of Believing by Claude M Bristol
Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
Success Magazine
and
How To Lose Friends and Alienate People by Irving Tressler
and
How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy
and
How To Sell Anything To Anybody by Joe Girard
How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling by Frank Bettger
The Success Principle by Jack Canfield
Jeffrey Gitomer Little Books Collectors Edition: 5-pack of books plus CD
Enterprise One To One
and
The One To One Fieldbook by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers
Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
Customers For Life by Carl Sewell |
CTS Blog |
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Welcome! |
Welcome to the Commercial Truck Success Idealetter!
Published every other week, the Idealetter is an informative thought starter and news source for busy commercial sales professionals and managers with numerous links to great products, the Commercial Truck Success website, Daily Blog and many other links to useful information, tools and inspiration!
Please feel free to offer comments and suggestions for future topics that are of interest to you. Also, please forward this to others you wish to share it with. There is a forward email link at the bottom of this page. I wish you success! Keep up the good work! And, never stop learning! - Terry Minion, Editor |
Linkedin Is A Great Resource |
If you are not familiar with Linkedin, I want to introduce it to you briefly. Facebook has become a worldwide phenomena, and Linkedin is, in my opinion, the Facebook for business people. None of the Farmville games and things like that, but business discussions within groups, getting and receiving recommendations for you work, a place to be seen and see others and share information to try and move the needle in your business field.
Check out www.linkedin.com. It's free, fun and really quite useful. To encourage you to make connections quickly, this link will take you to my page and once you're signed up, please add me to your network:
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Len Deluca At Nor Cal Truck Club Event |
The Northern California Ford Truck Club announced its next meeting date is March 18th, 2010 and will include an optional golf tournament, with the main meeting starting at 3:00pm.
This event is a "must attend" because the guest speaker will be Len Deluca, Director of Commercial Truck Sales and Marketing leading a "Mini Grass Roots" meeting along with Craig Cannons, Ford Commercial Business Manager.
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Scelzi Short Bed Service Body For Teichert |
This green is pretty bold and I just love it. That is the company colors for Teichert, who has the handle of the business of building for over a century. The body is a Scelzi short bed service body with the 38" height. This body looks great on the truck and has a lot of storage for tools and equipment as well. This unit was delivered through Larry Geweke Ford in Yuba City, CA. For more great bodies by Scelzi Enterprises, visit their website at www.seinc.com. |
42-Wheeler Is A Strange Sight |
This truck is based in Warren, Michigan and has 42 wheels. Do you think we could stick any more axles under this? It is so strange looking for a California guy, since we are used to 18-wheelers and you would never see anything like this. With this many axles, and those huge dump bodies, they need the axles to spread the weight. Man, this baby will cost you when it comes time to replace those tires! Nice looking truck though. |
Open Top Lid Exposed On Service Body |
Here's a sight you don't get to see but rarely. It is the open top compartment on a service body with the lid temporarily removed. In this case, this is a Harbor Truck Bodies service body that was at the plant for a retrofit of a cargo bed enclosure and the lids being removed makes that easier for them to do the welding necessary. It is always interesting to see what people put in the top section of their service bodies. Looks like it works wonderfully here. To see more offerings from Harbor, go to www.htbi.net. |
Full Side Access! What A Great Idea! |
There is nothing quite so interesting and so useful as the window shade style shutter door on the side of this van body by Supreme. We borrowed the idea from the Safeway.com trucks that Supreme built. This unit is as short as a pickup truck, yet has a 10' box and better turning radius. It is just tall enough to stand up straight it. With the shutter style door and the barn style doors on the rear, there is no loss of headroom, so this box can be fully loaded. Access to load and unload is a piece of cake and the load floor height is approximately that of a half ton pickup truck tailgate. No back issues. The full length grip strut step and grap handles allows one to get inside very easily. Another advantage is that this box can be easily loaded with a forklift. Want to carry some heavy engines in crates here and there, no problem. And this truck will carry approximately 3,000 lbs., so it will handle the job. To see more photos, go to www.fairfieldcommercialtruck.com. |
Tymco Sweeper On Isuzu Chassis |
Here is a Tymco Model 435 Regenerative Air Sweeper mounted on an Isuzu NQR that came in for service some time back. I took some shots because I don't really deal in sweepers and see them rarely. This one looked like it was almost new.
Learn more about this sweeper and all the models from Tymco, of Waco, Texas. You can reach them by phone at 800-258-9626. Website is www.tymco.com. |
Commercial Truck World Views
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Isuzu 12t Crew Cab |
First step Forward as Isuzu 12t crewcab receives
official Cart Marking at London's Guildhall
The first 12 tonne Isuzu 'Forward' crewcab, in the livery of the Automania Group Ltd, featured at this year's Cart Marking Day in the City of London. As part of a 40-strong parade and vehicle drive-past, the Isuzu 'Forward' 12 tonne truck received its official marking in the presence of the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of London, the Sherriff and other City officers.
Featuring a Worldwide Recovery Systems slideback body, the Isuzu 'Forward' 12t truck is one of a pair of new recovery vehicles recently added to the predominantly Isuzu recovery fleet at the West London based company Automania.
"The Cart Marking 2009 ceremony is an annual event within the City of London calendar and it was fitting that one of our newly introduced vehicle specifications, a 12tonne crewcab model, played a significant role in this historic event," said Keith Child, Marketing Director at Isuzu Truck (UK) Limited.
The cart marking ceremony at the Guildhall in London is a time-honoured tradition, maintained by The Worshipful Company of Carmen. Selective vehicles, representing the history of transport, are branded with the red-hot iron on a wooden plate; also carrying a unique vehicle number and the Carmen arms. The ceremony acts as a reminder of centuries of service by transport organisations to the city of London.
Further information about Isuzu Truck UK can be viewed on the company's website at www.isuzutruck.co.uk |
Australian Ford Ranger Cab Chassis |
Ford Versatility Not only is Ranger legendary tough, but it's also highly versatile! With a choice of Single, Super or Crew cab-style, Pick-up or Cab Chassis body-styles and 4X4 or 4X2 capability, the possibilities are almost endless. There is also the choice of two engines; a 2.5L and a 3.0L Turbo diesel with 5-speed manual standard and optional 5-speed automatic with the 3.0L Turbo diesel. I love the offerings here of a small cab chassis available in regular cab, super cab and crew cab and all three available in 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive. With up to 1383kg payload capacity (just over 3,000 lbs) (including the weight of the installed bed), this truck makes a great little commercial addition to the Ford Transit cab chassis. The efficency of the standard and optional diesel engines help make the Ranger an effective commercial unit for a very wide area of use. With some of the extremely light and durable bodies made by Ute Ltd, the Ford Ranger Cab Chassis easily handles one tonne loads with capacity to spare. Bravo Ford Australia! Nice work. To see more on the Australian Ford Ranger and other Ford Australia products, visit their website at www.ford.com.au. |
The Holden (GM) Combo Small Van |
GM has a small van of its own in the Holden Combo in Australia. This little workhorse has a 1.4 litre, Twinport DOHC 16-valve ECOTEC 4 cylinder endine with a 5 speed manual transmission, anti-lock brakes, MacPherson strut front suspension, Electric power steering, and a host of other standard features. This small van has a huge cargo area with rear doors that swing 180 degrees and kerb side sliding side door. Cargo capacity is 735kg (1,662 lbs). This is a great small van that would also do very well in the United States. To see more about the Combo and other Holden products, visit www.holden.com.au. |
Isuzu Australia Offers Several CNG Models |
Isuzu Truck in Australia offers 4 different models from 4,500kg to 14,000kg to handle a wide range of needs. As an example on the low end model, NLR 200 AMT, this system uses advanced technology with a Multipoint injected CNG engine, Idle stop fuel saving system, and meets the ADR80/03 emissions. The engine in this model develops 96kW (129 HP) and 353Nm (260 lb. ft.) of torque. It also has a 5-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) and independent coil spring front suspension. The fuel system has 2 steel CNG tanks with 150L liquid capacity each. Electrical system is 24 volt with 2-80D26L (630 CCA) batteries. Of course, it comes standard with a number of appointments such as air conditioning, electric windows, electric mirrors, cnetral locking system with remote keyless entry and driver side airbag. Options include Satellite navigation system that integrates with multimedia unit and includes NAVTEQ mapping, up to three audio/visual reversing cameras that integrate with the multimedia unit, bulbar, and more. All this is protected with a 3 year/100,000 km warranty with extended warranties available up to 6 years/300,000 km. Check out more on the NLR CNG model and other CNG models at www.isuzu.com.au. | |