Built on Values. Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition

The fully revised and updated edition of the classic book about Nordstrom's extraordinary customer service In this new edition of the management classic, the authors explore in-depth the core values of the culture that have made Nordstrom synonymous with legendary customer service. These essential values have enabled Nordstrom to survive and adapt to dramatic market shifts regularly since 1901, and the new edition explains how the Nordstrom approach can be emulated by any organization—in any industry—in every corner of the world. This is not a book about selling shoes or clothes or cosmetics or jewelry. It is a book about how underlying values such as respect, trust, compensation and, even fun, are the building blocks of a culture where employees are empowered to consistently deliver a world-class experience to customers. Nordstrom believes that the employee experience determines the customer experience, and that when you attract and reward people who are comfortable in a service-oriented culture, then everyone succeeds—both individually and collectively. No wonder Nordstrom is one of only five companies to make Fortune's «Best Companies to Work For» and «Most Admired» lists every year since those surveys have been taken. With new interviews from senior Nordstrom executives and family members, the book explains how to successfully respond to today's tech-savvy, time-crunched customers who demand a convenient, seamless, painless, personal experience across all channels. Nordstrom gives its frontline people all the digital tools necessary to satisfy the customer—and your organization must do the same, if it wants to adapt. The authors show what it takes to earn brand loyalty, lead through change and uncertainty, and combine extraordinary brick-and-mortar with online experiences. 'The single most important reason we try to provide great service is this: It enables us to sell more,' says co-president Blake Nordstrom, great-grandson of the founder. 'The best way for our company to achieve results is to do what's best for the customer.' In this book, readers will find: Suggestions for becoming the Nordstrom of your industry The ten values that define a customer-driven culture Lessons for providing superior service and experience across all channels

Praise for RESULTS RULE! «What on earth could pre-thawed turkeys, Eva the dolphin, and toothpaste tubes squeezed from the middle have to do with the success of your business? Everything. Results Rule! is that rare business book that you can't put down, and you shouldn't, because the lessons within aren't just helpful, they're vitally important. Don't put Results Rule! on the stack of books you mean to read soon. Buy it, take it home, and read every word before your competitor does.» –Joe Calloway, author of Indispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customers Can't Live Without «Most business books give you everything you need and want to do, except the only thing that matters–getting results. This book is well written, with great examples, stories, and real advice that will actually show you how to improve your results. Buy it–read it–heed it–and watch your results improve.» –Larry Winget, author of Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life «Results Rule! delivers practical ideas that will keep your organization on course for success in a competitive marketplace. Randy Pennington offers ideas that work if you are on the frontline or in the executive suite. He has nailed the essence and importance of culture.» –Howard Putnam, former CEO, Southwest Airlines author of The Winds of Turbulence «If you hate your competition, it's because they're beating you. If you want your competition to hate YOU–read Randy Pennington's book, and give it to all your people.» –Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling «Six rock solid concepts plus real examples in a quick and easy read equal real results. A guide to differentiating your organization in the marketplace.» –M. Cass Wheeler, CEO, American Heart Association «Randy's business savvy and expertise are evident throughout this book. His thoughtful analyses produce vital points for any business that wants to grow and thrive in the twenty-first century.» –Nido Qubein, President, High Point University Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Company «In a very engaging, quick read, Randy Pennington cuts through the hype of most management bestsellers to propose a deceptively simple premise–a culture that never loses focus on the desired result and always wins. Pennington takes you by the hand and shows you how to take an honest look at your own organization, then act immediately to create and nurture a culture that achieves results day in and day out. Results Rule! is one of those rare books you'll keep close at hand for years to come.» –Marci Armstrong, PhD, Associate Dean, Masters Programs Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University

"This crystal-clear book offers to any who will listen invaluable, detailed guidance on how and why to move toward a true culture of excellence in hospital care. It isn't easy, but, as their results show, it's a journey well worth taking."—Donald M. Berwick, MD, president and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement The Baptist Health Care Journey to Excellence presents tested principles and best practices to help improve your corporate culture and customer satisfaction, which will lead to loyalty, stability, sustained productivity, and profitability in your own organization. Order your copy today!

Our seduction into beliefs in competition, scarcity, and acquisition are producing too many casualties. We need to depart a kingdom that creates isolation, polarized debate, an exhausted planet, and violence that comes with the will to empire. The abbreviation of this empire is called a consumer culture. We think the free market ideology that surrounds us is true and inevitable and represents progress. We are called to better adapt, be more agile, more lean, more schooled, more, more, more. Give it up. There is no such thing as customer satisfaction. We need a new narrative, a shift in our thinking and speaking. An Other Kingdom takes us out of a culture of addictive consumption into a place where life is ours to create together. This satisfying way depends upon a neighborly covenant—an agreement that we together, will better raise our children, be healthy, be connected, be safe, and provide a livelihood. The neighborly covenant has a different language than market-hype. It speaks instead in a sacred tongue. Authors Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann, and John McKnight invite you on a journey of departure from our consumer market culture, with its constellations of empire and control. Discover an alternative set of beliefs that have the capacity to evoke a culture where poverty, violence, and shrinking well-being are not inevitable—a culture in which the social order produces enough for all. They ask you to consider this other kingdom. To participate in this modern exodus towards a modern community. To awaken its beginnings are all around us. An Other Kingdom outlines this journey to construct a future outside the systems world of solutions.

Why dissenters can be an organization's most valuable asset and how to transform dissent into innovation Innovation is essential to competitive survival in today's global marketplace. But in the majority of traditional organizations, innovators are perceived as counter-productive dissenters, single-minded troublemakers who are difficult to manage and politically naive. Written by a leading international expert on change management, this groundbreaking book explores the vital link between the need for innovation in the e-business world and the new role of dissenters as agents for constructive change. With the help of numerous case examples and anecdotes, Frances Horibe helps managers appreciate the value that dissent can bring to an organization, and she provides proven strategies and hands-on advice on how to encourage innovation and manage creative dissent, while avoiding paralyzing conflicts. Readers learn about the new role of managers as political handlers who help develop and support new ideas and sell them to senior management, and much more.

There has possibly never been a more daring business figure in Canada’s history than Ted Rogers. Hailed by some as a visionary with an incomparable insight, and equally loathed by others as a ruthless opportunist, Ted Rogers relentlessly conquered his rivals in three industries – radio, cable television and cellular telephony. High Wire Act is an unprecedented, in-depth analysis into how Ted Rogers, driven by the psychological need to restore his family's name, leveraged his stake in a small Toronto FM radio station and propelled it into a media and telecommunications behemoth worth over $23 billion. The many topics covered in the book include details on Rogers’… Unmatched ability to foresee the convergence of cable and telephony before anyone else did Insatiable appetite for debt and risk taking, and how he bet his company three times to carry out his vision Shrewd political and regulatory maneuvers that always kept him one step ahead of his competitors and political adversaries such as Bell and the Aspers Opportunistic acquisition of the Toronto Blue Jays High Wire Act is a fascinating and one-of-a-kind look into one of Canada’s most audacious and visionary business figures of the past fifty years. Every Canadian business reader will be enthralled by this enduring success story of Canada’s only true telecommunications mogul.

An intimate and moving portrait of a family combined with an account of the events which swept through Africa in the post-independence period.Aminatta Forna’s intensely personal history is a passionate and vivid account of an African childhood – of an idyll that became a nightmare. As a child she witnessed the upheavals of post-colonial Africa, the bitterness of exile in Britain and the terrible consequences of her dissident father’s stand against tyranny.Mohamed Forna, a man of unimpeachable integrity and great charisma, was a new star in the political firmament Sierra Leone as the country faced its future as a fledgling democracy. Always a political firebrand, he was one of the first black students to come to Britain after the war. In Aberdeen he stole the heart of Aminatta's mother, to the dismay of her Presbyterian parents, and returned with her to Sierra Leone. But the new ways of Western parliamentary democracy were tearing old Africa apart, giving rise only to dictatorships and corruption of hitherto undreamed-of magnitude. It was not long before Aminatta’s father languished in jail as a prisoner of conscience, and there was worse to come.Aminatta’s search for the truth that shaped both her childhood and the nation’s destiny begins among the country's elite and takes her into the heart of rebel territory. Determined to break the silence surrounding her father’s fate, she ultimately uncovered a conspiracy that penetrated the highest reaches of government and forced the nation's politicians and judiciary to confront their guilt.

Silver Medal Winner, Business and Leadership, 2012 Nautilus Book Awards Respected former CEO, professor, and speaker examines what it takes to become a values-based leader In this highly-anticipated book, Harry Kraemer argues that today's business environment demands values-based leaders who, in «doing the right thing,» deliver outstanding and lasting results. The journey to becoming a values-based leader starts with self-reflection. He asks, «If you are not self-reflective, how can you know yourself? If you do not know yourself, how can you lead yourself? If you cannot lead yourself, how can you lead others?» Kraemer identifies self-reflection as the first of four principles that guide leaders to make choices that honor their values and candidly recounts how these principles helped him navigate some of the toughest challenges he faced in his career. Offers a framework for adopting the principles of values-based leadership—self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility—to lead organizations effectively Based on Kraemer's popular Kellogg MBA course on values-based leadership A recognized expert in values-based leadership, Kraemer is a sought after speaker on the subject Lively and engaging, Kraemer's book comes at a critical time when true leadership in every facet of society is desperately needed.

Written for those who are trying to nurture authentic faith communities and for those who have struggled to retain their faith, The Tangible Kingdom offers theological answers and real-life stories that demonstrate how the best ancient church practices can re-emerge in today's culture, through any church of any size. In this remarkable book, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay «two missional leaders and church planters» outline an innovative model for creating thriving grass-roots faith communities.

Use cognitive diversity to your advantage and transform your organization Work That Works is a guide to building better teams and an exceedingly positive workplace culture. Based on the tools and principles of Emergenetics, this book helps you improve communication, connection, and performance through an enlightening process of self-discovery and sharing. You'll discover the unique combination of strengths you bring to the table, and understand the power of your Thinking and Behavioral Preferences to gain greater clarity and a better understanding of your skills, habits and behavior. As people understand and share their Profiles, the real magic happens—teams can be built synergistically, and team members can collaborate more effectively by «borrowing another person's brain.» Cognitive diversity is a given whenever a group of people work together toward a common goal; the critical factor is whether those differences become an obstacle or a catalyst. By bringing each person's «true self» to light, you provide a window through visible elements of diversity and shine a light on their gifts—and it's only then that those gifts can be leveraged to their utmost capacity. Dr. Geil Browning's second book outlines this process of discovery, effective communication, using thoughtful language, addressing challenges and instituting long-term behavioral change. By honoring the Preferences and Attributes of all employees, you lay the groundwork for enhanced performance and engagement. Learn how changing your language changes your thought patterns, and eventually leads to changes in behavior Dig into the real differences between you and your co-workers at the cognitive and behavioral levels Discover the strengths each person brings to the table, and synergize those strengths to collaborate more effectively Learn how to apply these same principles to social activities and family life to improve all communications and connections Work That Works provides a blueprint for the transformation, and the practical guidance you need to build a better organization.