WOW Word-Of-the-Week #468: Delight
July 25, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #468: Delight
Delight – something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment.
What thoughts come to your mind when you read this week’s WOW? Is it your computer? How about your cell phone? Oh, I know software right?
Believe it or not this is the latest buzz word trend to sell just those things. I kid you not! Chris O’Brien reporting from Palo Alto for the LA Times writes, “Yes, delight. A squishy, subjective, hard-to-pin-down term. So daringly unquantifiable, so proudly immeasurable. And now, suddenly, all the rage in data-driven Silicon Valley.
Like so many other things in Silicon Valley, the word is a legacy of Steve Jobs who often spoke of wanting to “surprise and delight” people. Now, Yahoo Inc. Chief executive Marissa Mayer wants to “put our users first and make their daily routines truly delightful.” Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and mobile payment service Square Inc., wants his companies’ products to “delight the world.” Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom suggests, “If you delight people even a little bit with a simple solution, it turns out it goes very far.”
It’s not just Silicon Valley that is drowning in delight. In the surest sign that delight may be on the cusp of morphing from insurgent idea to overused buzzword, Microsoft and Dell have embraced it. It’s the corporate equivalent of parents joining Facebook, making it instantly uncool.
“For Jobs, the word encapsulated the powerful insight that good design could induce people to fetishize their appliances, rather than just being satisfied with them,” says Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at UC Berkley’s School of Information.
I would say by the number of people who seem totally consumed with their IPhones Jobs did just that. They definitely appear to have a fetish!
This week’s focus is on delight. What gives you great pleasure and enjoyment? What do you do to delight your customers, guests, members or clients? Does your computer, cell phone, software, etc, delight you? I am grateful when they all do what they are supposed to do and don’t break down!
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #467: Follow up
July 18, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #467: Follow up
Follow up – carry to completion; follow through on.
How often do you have to follow up with people to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain? Does it happen at work? Do you have to prod people to complete tasks or assignments?
This week’s WOW comes from my husband Chris’s experience trying to join a wine club. For those not familiar with the winery culture, they are very hospitable, most often will go to great lengths to please you, and in short they are “muy simpatico!” It’s all about the cult of wine enjoyment!
In January, 2011 we were on a Caribbean cruise and I wanted to crash a private party. The adult side of me said not to and in the end I was sorry I didn’t. It turned out that we met the owners of Macchia winery, located in Lodi, California who had hosted the event, at the airport on the way home. They said, “What a shame we didn’t meet you sooner as we had a lot of leftover wine we needed to drink.” How’s that for a bummer!
That June we took a road trip and decided to stop in Lodi on the way to Yosemite. We went to Macchia and loved all of their wines and joined their wine club. Several wineries later we asked what we should do for dinner we were told they were having a Farmers Market downtown. That didn’t really appeal to me (I’ve been to lots of Farmers Markets) but everyone we talked to said to do it.
Well, let me say this, it was more like a Street Fair that went for blocks with music and tons of people. At 7 pm we were hungry and you can imagine every restaurant was full. Fortunately I’m a very lucky girl and we came to a restaurant with an outside patio that was just in the perfect spot to view the street fair. So I went to the front desk and said, “In a perfect world you would have an outside table for us.” At that very moment they did and the lady said, “I just need to clean it and the table is yours!”
We ordered a bottle of wine we had never heard of (Van Ruiten Cab-Shiraz”). As our server was opening the bottle, a man sitting at the table next to us said, “If you give me a glass of your wine, I’ll buy you the bottle.” Well that as no brainer! That nice gesture, and nice man, turned out to be John Van Ruiten, the owner of the winery. We spent the evening with John and his two friends going to a number of wine venues. We had a blast and Lodi turned out to be such a wonderful memorable experience.
This brings us to June 28th, when Chris went online to join the Van Ruiten wine club and take advantage of two Birthday sales that would expire on June 30th. Before submitting the order, he noticed the shopping cart listed incorrect prices. He called the number for Jackie Van Ruiten, Vice-President/Wine Club Manager; there was no answer so he left a message explaining the reason for the call (it was about 11 AM). A return call was not received so he called again later that afternoon, still no response. The next day, Saturday, he called the Tasting Room after 10 AM thinking someone would be there. Left another message and the reason for the call. Still, no response.
Chris thought, “There must be a simple explanation for this, after all the cult of winery hospitality must certainly be alive and well. The offices are probably closed for the weekend and I’ll receive a return call on Monday.” You guessed it, no return call. Curious and not wanting to give up on this, he sent Jackie Van Ruiten an email on Tuesday July 2nd explaining what had happened. Yep! Still no response. By Monday, July 8th he decided to give it one more try and forwarded the July 2nd email to Bill Rogan, President/General Sales Manager. Within an hour be responded and said, “Chris, I will have Audrey take a look at this today. Sorry.” Well, Chris thought, “Just a misunderstanding, my faith and love for hospitality and service integrity would prevail. Someone really is alive and well up there.”
Well, it is now July 18th and not a word from anyone at the Van Ruiten Winery. Chris’s last thought, “How bizarre, how bizarre, I’ve given up. I’m just verklempt!!!”
This week’s focus is on follow up. How much business do you think is lost because people don’t follow through? Do you complete tasks when asked or assigned? Do you need to follow up with fellow workers to make sure they follow through on their tasks or assignments? How does it feel when people don’t follow through on your requests?
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #466: Personal
July 10, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #466: Personal
Personal – that which directly affects you.
What does personal mean to you? What issues that directly affect you do you have to deal with? Is that a positive experience or a negative one?
My husband Chris has said from the time I met him, “Change is always personal.” What is change? And why is change so hard sometimes?
Change is the result of something being different. We are constantly dealing with change every day. We are either comfortable with or adapting to how things are around us. Change is not always negative or always positive.
Chris spent 45 years working as an administrator for the health care organization, Kaiser Permanente. Health care is one business that is in a constant state of change. Not only are you dealing with the Science of Medicine, Procedures, Breakthroughs; you have Regulations, Technology, Computers, etc.
During his career one of the biggest changes at Kaiser came when they implemented Electronic Medical Records. Every one of their employees and physicians nationwide was directly affected by this! In addition, all doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, and health plan workers had to be computer literate. And how hard do you think that was for some people to deal with? How about a doctor in his last few years of practice before retiring who never even used a computer?
I say everything is personal! Not everyone wants to travel. We love it and can’t imagine our life without the wonderful and very different experiences we have had. If everyone had the same likes and dislikes it would be very boring!
This week’s focus is what personal means to you. How do you feel about change? Is it different if it’s your idea? Do you like to have a say about those things that directly affect you?
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #465: Independence
July 4, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #465: Independence
Independence – freedom from control or influence of others.
Did you know that July 2nd was actually the day that the United States declared its independence from Great Britain? Are you thankful for your freedom?
Independence Day FUN-facts from Wikipedia:
- In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died
on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. - Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third President in a row who died on this memorable day.
- Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only President to have been born on Independence Day.
- In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.
- In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.
- In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.
- In 1781 the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.
- In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled, “The Psalm of Joy”.
- In 1791 the first recorded use of the name “Independence Day” occurred.
- In 1820 the first Fourth of July celebration was held in Eastport, Maine which remains the largest in the state.
- In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
- In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
This week’s focus is about celebrating Independence Day and our “unalienable Rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” I hope you have a great day and appreciate how lucky you are to live in the best place in the entire world. God Bless America!
FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Up: Easter Island, Chile
July 1, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Up: Easter Island, Chile
Easter Island FUN-facts
- Dutch explorers landed on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722, and named it Easter Island.
- There are 887 “moai” stone statues – the biggest at 32 ft high and weighing 82 tons.
- They were carved with stone chisels between 1100 & 1680 AD and took a team of 5 -6 men one year to finish.
- Over half of all the statues are located around the quarry at Rano Raraku.
- It’s one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world and a long way to the middle of nowhere. 2200 miles from Chile, it takes 5 hours by plane, and 5 days by ship.
- 15 miles long by 7.5 miles at the widest and a total of 63 square miles.
- Easter Island is pretty primitive and our best guess is probably what Hawaii was like in the 60’s.
- Hanga Roa is the only town and has paved roads. Most of the other roads are bumpy dirt roads.
- It’s part of the Polynesian triangle with Hawaii at the top and Tahiti to the west.
- In the summer of 2007, more than 90 million people cast their votes to determine which architectural marvels in the world deserved to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There were a total of twenty-one landmarks vying for that title.
Rano Raraku
- Of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, only the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt still stand. The pyramids were given an automatic spot after infuriated Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace to have to compete for something that had belonged to their country for so long. I agree! We saw them in 2007.
- It is our goal to see all twenty-one landmarks. Also, Chris and I have collectively seen a lot of the twenty-one, however, not together. So the rule is, we go back and see all of them together!
New 7 Wonders of the World we’ve been to:
#1 Chichen Itza, Mexico – 2005
#2 Great Wall of China – 2010
#3 Machu Picchu, Peru – 2012
#4 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2012
#5 The Colosseum, Rome, Italy – 2012
New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Ups we’ve been to:
#9 Statue of Liberty, New York – 2005
#10 Sydney Opera House, Australia – 2005
#11 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – 2007
#12 Acropolis, Athens – 2007
#13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia – 2010
#14 Eiffel Tower, Paris – 2010
#15 Stonehenge, England – 2011
#16 Easter Island, Chile – 2013
Ahu Tongariki