Blog
Three Invaluable Types of Trust that are Often Overlooked
In my years working with Fortune 500 companies, I’ve seen firsthand how systematically building and maintaining customer trust creates what I call “The Trust Tailwind” — an accelerating force that fuels growth through shorter sales cycles, smoother cross-sells, and stronger advocacy. These advantages compound over time, helping trusted brands outperform their competitors by as much … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WI-FI
#WordNerdWednesday I had to double check this week’s WNW entry with multiple sources before I would believe it. Apparently “Wi-Fi” doesn’t stand for “wireless fidelity.” It doesn’t officially stand for anything. Brand agency Interbrand came up with Wi-Fi to promote a then-new wireless connection technology called “IEEE 802.11” to non-techies. The public wasn’t likely to … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – PARTNER
“How do we get customers to see us as a strategic partner, not just a vendor?” I get this question all the time. My answer is simple, if not easy – to gain trusted partner status with your customers, START ACTING LIKE ONE. I don’t mean that to sound snarky. It’s the B2B equivalent of … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – BENEVOLENT CONCERN
#WordNerdWednesday Organizations need to balance competing stakeholder needs. Consider these common situations: ⇨ Acknowledging a product’s limitations might mean you lose the sale. Do you tell prospects anyway? ⇨ Keeping prices low might hurt profit margin. Raising them might cost you sales. What do you do? ⇨ A customer’s order arrived damaged. Do you make … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WEDNESDAY
When I found an article on how the days of the week got their names, I had to share it with you, my #WordNerdWednesday crew! A link to the full piece is in the first comment, but here’s a sneak peak with my color commentary below: “Wednesday, the fourth day of the week, was named … Read more
The Trust Tailwind: Four Elements That Shape The Success of Your Business
Trust is an underused, underappreciated asset–especially in business. We know it’s important; PWC’s 2024 Trust in Business study found 93% of executives think building and maintaining trust will improve the bottom line. They’re right. Trust Across America found we’re 91% more likely to buy from organizations we trust, and trusted organizations are 2.5x times likely … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – SPELLING ALPHABET
#WordNerdWednesday If you have a unique or frequently misspelled name, you’re probably an expert “spelling alphabet” user. To avoid getting an extra H or EA added to my name I use some variation of the following – “M as in Mary, E as in Elizabeth, G as in Girl, A as in Apple, N as … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – WASTE
#WordNerdWednesday You may not know this, but I lead a quarterly book club that draws on insights from other domains to help customer-focused leaders find creative solutions to perennial problems. Our Q2 2025 book selection is “Reset” by Dan Heath, and I wanted to float one of the definitions from the book by this community … Read more
Word Nerd Wednesday – A LA MODE
Last Friday was Pi Day, so named because the date (3.14) matches the mathematical constant Ï€, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Dork that I am, I had to serve pie for dessert on Pi Day. Deciding whether or not to buy ice cream to go with it got me wondering – … Read more
