My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Bridge Authority and Information Gap
In most organizations, people with decision-making authority lack frontline information, while people with detailed customer knowledge lack authority to act. Bridging this gap is essential for customer experience innovation.
Decision Rule
Before making customer experience decisions, ensure people with authority get information from people on the front lines, and give frontline people authority to act on their insights.
How It Works
Customer-facing staff know exactly what customers want and need, but typically can't authorize resources to address it. Managers have budget authority but lack detailed customer insights. Combining both enables effective solutions.
Failure Modes
Making customer decisions without frontline input
Having great ideas but no authority to execute
Assuming managers know what customers really want
Creating bureaucracy that prevents frontline action
Example Decision
“Before creating hospitality initiatives, involve entire team in brainstorming sessions where frontline staff share customer insights and management provides implementation authority.”
Related Knowledge
The most human moments are perfectly imperfect
Businesses should balance pursuit of perfection with willingness to be silly, human, and connective
Generosity begets generosity
Small investments in customer generosity create disproportionate returns through reciprocity principle
Three Categories of Unreasonable Hospitality
A systematic approach to customer experience divided into three categories: one size fits all (improving every touchpoint for everyone), one size fits some (pattern recognition for recurring situations), and one size fits one (personalized gestures for individuals).
Rules for Productive Criticism
A systematic approach to giving feedback that positions criticism as investment in someone's growth rather than negative judgment.
Enable systematic execution of creative hospitality ideas without bandwidth constraints
Frontline staff consistently execute creative customer experience ideas because someone dedicated removes execution barriers.
Identify and enhance overlooked customer interaction points for maximum impact
Customers notice and remember your business because you care about details others ignore.