It's Babka Friday!

We're taking a slight detour this week...

First question: What happens when a classical music maverick, a clinical psychologist, and an ultra-endurance athlete all walk into David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts ?

INSPIRATION!

These were just three of the fantastic speakers at this year’s The Welcome Conference . If you’re not familiar, the Welcome Conference is a hospitality symposium co-created 10 years ago by Will Guidara , former owner of Eleven Madison Park and author of Unreasonable Hospitality. ?

(And if you’re a total geek like me, you know that Will Guidara was one of the producers of Season 3 of The Bear ?? co-wrote Episode 3, “Doors”??and appeared as himself in Episode 10, “Forever.” That last episode of the season was the inspiration for this post: https://tinyurl.com/3cbpau7r )

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Second question: Have you ever attended a conference where all 3,000 attendees were practically glued to their seats the entire time, not distracted by devices or other people?

I have, and it was AMAZING!

From the Welcome Conference website: “Our attendees believe, as we do, that hospitality is a craft that can be honed, a muscle that can be strengthened — that how they serve their clients is as valuable as what they serve. They believe in caring as much for the people they work with and serve as they do about the products they make. They believe every one of us can choose to be in the hospitality industry, no matter what we do — and that you don’t have to be a luxury business to do it.”

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You might be thinking to yourself, “OK, cool, but what does any of this have to do with #EX or #CX?”

SO. MUCH.

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Here are my 10 takeaways from this year’s Welcome Conference:

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1.???? Each speaker touched upon concepts that are critical components of excellent Customer Experience: purpose, communication, storytelling, empathy, teamwork, making people feel seen, and collaboration.

2.???? Employees before customers. Employees must have great experiences and feel like they’re given opportunities to learn, grow, and move forward.

3.???? It feels good to make other people feel good. This is true for both employees and customers. And if employees feel good, they will want to make customers feel good.

4.???? In every organization, there are “illuminators” and “diminishers.” Illuminators “shine the brightness of their care on people and make them feel bigger, deeper, respected, and lit up,” while diminishers “see people as objects to be used, not as persons to know and care for.”

5.???? Your purpose or mission should not be about what you do; it should be about how it makes customers feel when you do it.

6.???? Strong organizational leadership requires resilience, adaptability, and commitment.

7.???? Strong leaders stand in their authority but never think they’re better than their employees.

8.???? Too often, we automatically assume that bad behavior implies bad intentions. Customers are out to screw us; employees are lazy.

It is much more likely that bad behavior is happening for two reasons: customers are acting out because they don’t feel seen, and employees are acting out because they haven’t been taught how to behave differently.

9.???? There is a difference between the “right teams” and the “best teams.”

The right teams may be more successful but it’s every man for himself. The best teams work together for the most mutually beneficial outcomes.

10.? At the end of the day, the only competitive advantage comes from consistently excellent experience.

Was anyone else at the Welcome Conference on Monday? If so, share your thoughts in the comments! ????

Who wants to come with me to next year's conference? Let's do it!

We can meet for donuts & coffee beforehand ????

Hit me up [email protected]