Competing in a Global Economy

Sometimes we make business more complicated than it needs to be.

A few nights ago I gave a lecture on "Ideas for Competing in a Global Economy" for a Global Communications class at Fontbonne University. I told a story about needing a jacket and shirt at the last minute for a meeting. I called up the Nordstrom's store on Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago and they kept their store open later so I could get the clothes. Then I told them how the Nordstrom's in St. Louis had a shoe shine salesman who carried my shoes out to my car so I could hold on to my three-year-old son Ben's hand.

I asked them what ideas from that story they felt were important for competing successfully in a global economy.

One student said, "Be willing to go the extra mile."
Another said, "Empower your employees to take care of the customer."
A third one said, "The people you hire will make all the difference."
And the fourth one, and my favorite one, said, "A genuine act of kindness goes a long way."

Competing around the world is the same as competing in your own city. Go the extra mile, empower your employees to create and deliver value, hire people who will provide the type of value you want to be known for delivering, and remember that a genuine act of kindness goes a long way.