Questions to Consider & Help You Set Goals to Leverage the Value of the Book in Your Business and Personal Life

These closing questions are designed to guide you in applying the principles of people service in our work and personal life. I wish you success in mastering the principles of outstanding people service.

Chapter 1:

Can You See Me?

1. What are the most important ingredients in creating great people service experience?
2. What system do you use to gather and organize information about the people you serve? How could you improve it?
3. Focus on one aspect of your job. Whom are you serving? How do you receive feedback? What could you do to get better and more accurate feedback?
4. How could you get more and better feedback in your closest personal relationship?

Chapter 2:

Objective Listening:

What Would Howard Do?

1. How would you rate yourself as a listener?
2. What do you do to prevent yourself from jumping to a solution too soon?
3. What aspects of listening could you improve upon?
4. Do you know a Howard? What makes him or her such a good listener?
5. Do you think it is helpful to get permission before offering a solution?

Chapter 3:

You’re Going to Have to Serve Somebody

1. Have you worked for someone who was a master at leading up?
2. How can you incorporate some of the things he or she did into your work?
3. What new ways could you use leading up to serve people in your personal life?
4. Do you think giving people freedom to experiment is an important part of leading up?

Chapter 4:

What Will They Say About You?

1. Can you think of some ways to make your product or service stand out in a positive way? Think about the last couple of people you interacted with today. What would they say about you?
2. How do you handle the difficult people in your life? Do you allow them to get their frustration out before you jump in with your solutions? Are you able to remain objective?
3. How is the balance in your life? Are you giving yourself the time you need to keep yourself healthy and happy?

Chapter 5:

The Truth in Black, White and Gray

1. What is the most difficult people service situation that you have faced? How did you overcome it?
2. When your people service falls short of your service standards, what do you do to make it right?
3. What would you change about the way you deliver people service at home or at work? Why?
4. Do you think people service would be better if front-line employees had the kind of latitude they do at Nordstrom?

Chapter 6:

How’s Your Seven-Second Delay?

1. Is your seven-second delay working? What techniques do you use when you are delivering people service and need to slow yourself down?
2. Can you think of a specific instance when you overcame the anger and frustration of a bad service experience?
3. What techniques did you use to keep yourself in check and remain objective?
4. What kinds of people service situations should be handled face-to-face? What are the limitations of e-mail? What “best practices” do you use when communicating using e-mail or instant messaging?
5. How big a role do optics play in delivering great face-to-face people service? How can you improve your optics?
6. Do you know someone who is exceptional at delivering great people service in emotionally charged situations? What do they do that makes them so effective?

Chapter 7:

The Power of Possibility Thinking

1. What do you do for yourself every day to start off on the right foot? Do you ever save old thank-you notes or other positive letters to get a “second opinion” when you get down on yourself?
2. Can you think of someone who makes you feel great almost every time you talk to him or her? What is it about the way this person interacts with you that produces such a positive result? Could you use the same technique on people you serve?
3. Is there something you want to change, although you don’t know where to begin? What small step could you take to start toward the goal?

Chapter 8:

The F word

1. Which businesses that you patronize deliver excellent people service? What do they do to maintain customer focus?
2. Do you have any dedicated family time built into your week? What do you do to unplug from the world of work?
3. Are there any areas of your job that you could do better if you had wider authority?
4. Is there a dream that you have abandoned because you think you have too much invested in your life as it is now? What would you try if you knew you could not fail?

Chapter 9:

The Dog Didn’t Eat Your Homework

1. Do you think there is less accountability today than a generation ago?
2. Can you think of three ways that you model accountability?
3. When a people service issue requires follow-up, what tools do you use to ensure that the issue is resolved?
4. What are the most effective ways to teach a child about accountability?
5. In what ways are you accountable for the people service you provide at home?
6. In what ways are you accountable for the people service you provide at work?