Seattle's Best, SXSW & The Employee Loyalty Deposit

Well for those of you who kept emailing me this past week to quit partying and hob knobbing and get to work....I did just that today I am happy to report. However it was in the commission of this work that I witnessed a first hand SXSW Seattle's Best Ripple and I just had to share it.

I was scheduled to have a meeting at our downtown Seattle's Best with a colleague and someone that she was introducing me to. As is my custom, I always arrive a minimum of 30 minutes early to any meeting I have downtown because Austin traffic is very unpredictable; more so because of the SXSW Conference and Music festival going on through this weekend.

Well I walked into the Seattle's Best location downtown where our meeting was to take place and found a very nice young man happily greeting me behind the counter. As you know I always perk up and appreciate someone who is exceptionally attentive to customers (especially when it is me) and I decided to chat the young lad up a bit. I asked him if they had been absolutely overwhelmed with business given the SXSW hustle and bustle? He happily replied that they had in fact been very busy, actually "slammed at times" but it was "all good" as he cheerfully handed me my tall dark roast. You have to love it when someone has a positive attitude about receiving business...especially in the retail industry.

I noticed he had a SXSW music band on so I inquired if he had seen any good shows. He said he had made several shows last night but was really saving his energy for the next few days when he would be off and able to stay out for some of the later shows. Then he told me something that actually floored me and made me an even bigger fan of Seattle's Best (SB) than I had been previously.

He explained that SB had allowed him and two of his co-workers to work their way to Austin so that they could attend SXSW activities and still get their hours (and pay) in by working at one their Austin locations. This was the third year he had attended SXSW and simply loves coming and serving Austin customers and experiencing our great city.

He went on to explain that SB truly "get's their employees" and does special things like allowing them to transfer temporarily to locations where concerts or special events are happening. They do whatever they can to accommodate their people so they can pursue their lifestyle interests.

Totally fascinating!

This guy was truly passionate about SB. I learned he had worked there for five years and despite originally thinking it would be a stop-gap job, he has successful made a career choice to work there for at least the next several years. You would have to assume that the effort that SB has made on his behalf to accommodate his desire to see SXSW these past few years only serves to increase his loyalty and make him a happier more engaged worker. If his demeanor this morning is any indication then this strategy is working flawlessly and the positive Ripples it is creating are likely too large to measure.

If you run a company what could you being doing to copy what SB is doing to generate the kind of loyalty and employee satisfaction that obviously is working to their brand advantage?

Way to go Seattle's Best!!!

Ripple On!!!

Steve

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SXSW Hangover!

Okay, so I must admit that it's not entirely the hangover you likely assumed when you first read the title to this post...but it's close.

Attending SXSW has truly been an awesome experience. My panel on How To Attract Your Ideal Clients with Jen Blackert and Carlon Haas went very, very well. See the picture...that's me blocked behind the head and computer monitor ---great PR eh?

My last minute idea on NOT HAVING a power point presentation was apparently a hit as well as the second picture shows a picture of the slide I made (my contact info is alas covered by the speaker!) that said we weren't doing any slides. Several people sent me links to this yesterday and I thought it was hilarious we made someone's official photo from the conference and that our straightforward approach to presenting was appreciated by those who attended our session.

My book signing could not have been better! I actually had the second best selling book at SXSW according to the Barnes & Noble folks. How awesome is that?

Last but not least the connections just keep mounting as I met an up and coming rapper from Detroit, the head of the movie commission from San Antonio, and three producers who all "dug" (their word not mine) the concept of the Ripple and want to talk "possibilities" when they return to Los Angeles. I can't believe how resonating the concept of the Ripple is with the people whom I have spoken to at this conference but it is been invigorating and certainly recharging for the old confidence batteries!

I hate to admit it but our Gold Badges got us first rate Rock Star treatment and for a lonely little unknown author like myself it was a truly surreal experience. Private parties, lots and lots of SWAG and of course free drinks is always a plus in the Harper camp! It has been an awesome experience and one I hope to repeat for many, many years to come!

Tonight begins another round of private parties and fun social events which you know I am all over that! I took last night off to recover from what seems like a world wind round of events, sessions and lots and lots of conversations but my batteries are recharged and I am ready to Ripple!

Ripple On My Friends

Steve Harper


P.S. THERE IS SOMETHING BIG COMING DOWN THE PIPE IN TERMS OF RIPPLE TRAINING AND COACHING! STAY TUNED!!!

Why Won't They Just Connect?

I posted on our 8 Minute Ripple Community BLOG yesterday some suggestions for our fellow Ripplers to come down (obviously if they are already in Austin) and check out the SXSW scene. It is an ideal opportunity to make some new connections, meet some great people and just hang with a very diverse and unique crowd. A perfect environment to just practice Rippling!

Feel free to check out the BLOG post from our 8 Minute Ripple BLOG by clicking here.

So officially day two of my official SXSW experience ended with my meeting some amazing new people and learning a lot thanks in part to my willingness to Ripple. As I sat in one of the ballrooms yesterday morning waiting for a session to start I had an ample opportunity to watch and observe all the people and the mojo of the room. I continue to be amazed by just how disconnected people tend to be. People opened their laptops and were busily instant messaging or sending email or on the cell phone or tapped into their Ipods. They were doing anything and everything to be a party of one in a sea of hundreds.

I wanted to jump up on stage and yell from the top of my lungs, "Look around you! There are amazing people right next to you and no one is talking! Hang up your phones, shut off your laptops and just start talking!" Those few people I did see make an attempt were not talking about anything remotely engaging!

Never in my life did I want to teach the masses the power of Rippling! Those few unique connections that I observed were the typical "So what do you do?" blah, blah, blah followed by the mind-numbing polite chit chat that inevitably leads to the gloss over eyes and walking coma.

Can you say painful?

I made it my point to step outside my box and do a fair amount of connecting. I met some great people whom I never would have met if I hadn't opened my mouth. I met some cool people who live right here in Austin, some people who traveled from overseas to just come to SXSW and about a five or six people from both coasts. I made it a point to really connect and not let anyone take the path of least resistance, or sucker's choice, by defaulting to talk simply about business. And you know what? By starting a conversation by just asking "So what's the coolest thing you have seen so far at SXSW?" the connections and the Ripples began to really stack up!

I cherish this gift of attending this event. Despite having the opportunity to speak at SXSW and to do a book signing or two, I am just thrilled with the opportunity to surround myself with some interesting people from all over the world and to make some new friends.

Why anyone would squander the opportunity to connect in such a wonderful environment is beyond me. No matter what, I am going to make the most of these next few days and hope to find a whole new audience for the power of the Ripple!

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Steve

SXSW Virgin

I guess am what you might call a SXSW virgin and it was never more apparent than on Saturday night. As my friend Carlon and I went to the Austin Convention Center to pick up our Gold Badges (something we get for speaking at SXSW), we began to feel like rock stars as people handed us swag bags filled with goodies of all kinds, invitations to private parties that comp'd us drinks and basically showed us the Southern hospitality that we here in Austin are known for. It made me proud to be an Austinite (well sort of)!

Being a virgin at SXSW is an awesome experience. There are so many things to choose from in terms of conference sessions, movie premiers and of course the most amazing live music you can't find anywhere else on the planet.

Saturday night was filled with several fun parties and the opportunity to hob knob with some Hollywood peeps, some local dignitaries and of course a few super models sprinkled in there for good measure. It was a pretty incredible experience and I can't wait to see what today holds!

One thing is for sure....if you have never been to SXSW you absolutely need to put it on your calendar for next year! I am a convert!

Ripple On!!!

Steve