In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 26, 2012

With forty years in the saddle, hundreds of dusty trails and a few fistfights along the way, I have an oasis of management insight in which to draw. My original premise for this blog was to share a variety of leadership and branding principles with the current generation of business leaders.

Reis 240

Reis Brand Apparel Energy 240

Curious Cat

JUNE 3, 2015

In the current ASQ Influential Voices post , Laurel Nelson-Rowe, ASQ managing director, asks: What’s the Future of Quality? There are quite a few people that have provided very good material on lean thinking and the other ideas on management improvement. – New Rules for Management? – New Rules for Management?

Quality 40

Quality Reis Deming Software 40

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 29, 2011

In a TV commercial for outdoor gear maker REI, we see the backs of two women who are sitting atop a peak, taking in the scenery at night, when the announcer intones, "October 28th. When asked how he managed to write such gripping horror novels, Stephen King once responded, "I cut out the boring stuff," and so can you.

Stage-Gate 15

Stage-Gate Venture Capitalist Reis Sports 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 25, 2013

When Eric Reis was popularizing the concept of an MVP, the guiding principle was to build and release a product with as few features as possible, and then use the market’s reaction to gauge how to refine the product. Coin has managed to test the market without ever actually releasing the physical product.

Products 8

Products Productivity Reis FAQ 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 6, 2017

They shared five key insights for employers looking to improve retention and engagement, including how to improve manager training, diversity and inclusion, and scheduling. Train frontline managers to support people and process. How can companies help their managers become more effective?

Survey 8

Survey Retail How To Reis 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 7, 2011

Microsoft managers probably shouldn't bring iPhones to business meetings. Shouldn't organizations living up to their sustainability promise inherently mean having their management and employees being as green as they reasonably can be? Ford employees shouldn't commute to work in BMWs.

Loyalty 15

Loyalty Brand Reis Metrics 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 7, 2017

REI) charges customers $20 to $40 to tackle the 60-foot climbing walls and structures it has in its flagship stores, offering instruction and also essentially getting customers to pay to try out its mountain-climbing equipment. Consider what I think is the best new retail format in ages: Eataly. Recreational Equipment Inc.

Merchandising 12

Merchandising Retail Reis Discount 12

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

All of these require year-round dedication to management and marketing, rather than once-a-year sales gimmicks. Outdoor retailer REI does this well across their channels including email, mobile, website, stores, in-store kiosks, and print. For instance, one of the most popular gifts last year was a gift card from Starbucks.

Retail 8

Retail Reis Price Discount 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 13, 2015

It’s time to end the fear of customers’ public feedback and to start managing relationships with abusive customers in a disciplined way. REI cancelled its lifetime return policy due to customers blatantly purchasing products with the intention of returning them. Review and assess criteria regularly.

Reis 8

Reis Airlines Morale Hotels 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

They seemed to think that designing and managing the customer experience is a marketing function, as if the customer is only associated with marketing, and the store only with operations. billion public company, how many other organizations could be struggling to understand and manage customer experience appropriately?

Brand 8

Brand Reis Objective Merchandising 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 23, 2014

Yet for each Radio Shack and Barnes and Noble fighting for its life, there are still those beloved corner stores and discount chains that manage to thrive. Backcountry.com and Zappos, for example, are excellent online retailers, but they haven’t displaced REI or the local shoe store, because people value that hands-on expertise.

Retail 9

Retail Price Reis Banking 9

Thin Difference

APRIL 11, 2019

Holacracy is a way of structuring and running organizations that replaces the conventional management hierarchy. Instead of operating top-down, power is distributed throughout the organization, giving individuals and teams more freedom to self-manage, while staying aligned to the organization’s purpose. Key Elements of Holacracy.

Organization 62

Organization ESOP Cooper Reis 62