Treat colleagues like customers

Try this just for today

I once worked in a restaurant where the owner was totally focussed on customer service. The diner’s experience had to be perfect.

Unfortunately, he was obsessive. If a waitress returned to the kitchen to refill a salt shaker, she would not be acknowledged for being on the case. Instead, she would be castigated for not having sorted it out before the diner arrived.

People hated working there. No one felt they were on the same team. Staff turnover was massive. The food was good but the business was a disaster.

Customer service has become a mantra, but if you want a balanced and successful business, extend the idea of service beyond your customers.

What about colleague service?

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Start your own think tank

Working with others

Once a month I have dinner with four friends. We are an odd mix, and there is a 20-year span between the oldest and the youngest in the group. We have one thing in common: we are all interested in business and ideas.

Mostly we just shoot the breeze. But we always finish with one simple process. It has four steps and it doesn’t take long:

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