While there were all the accolades you might imagine, a comment by Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, of Disney — where Jobs is a Board member and largest individual shareholder — is one that really caught my eye.

“We recently decided to revamp our Disney stores, and his contribution, very early in the process, was to ask that we create a statement — in other words, ask ourselves, ‘What do you want the stores to say to people when they walk in?’ He didn’t tell us what it would be, but he told us it was necessary that we have one.”

It made me wonder how many businesses of ANY kind have done that? Have you ever asked yourself what your store, product, service, approach…whatever…says to your customers when they encounter you?

And, have you ever asked them, “If you could receive the Ultimate Customer Experience ™ doing business with someone like us…what would that be?”

I can’t tell you what your UCE should be…your business and your customers are unique…but it is necessary that you deliver one!

Thanks to Jim & Paula Cathcart — Jim for the invite to address the 101 Leaders Prosperity Series, and Paula for shooting the video with her Flip camera!

Wrong.

I realized this watching my stepson, Faron, the other night. My wife (and Faron’s mom), Tammy, had been critical of him…pushing him to “pay more attention” toward his school assignments. Yet, here he was just a few night’s later, on a weekend evening, playing a video game with passion and intensity. He was engaged with his PS3 online — and his partner was a friend from the school Faron used to attend near Fort Wayne!

In other words, he was connected with someone over 100 miles away…and his attention was riveted for hours on the task (or game) at hand. The attention he was focusing upon his task was anything but short.

It makes me think that maybe we have the attention span thing all wrong. It’s not that today’s generation has an incredibly short attention span. It’s that we have so many elements competing for our attention that we’ve become infinitely more DEMANDING about where we choose to allocate our awareness.

Consider it for a moment — more competition for our attention…our scrutiny is more sophisticated…therefore, it takes a truly distinct approach to really gain our total connection.

How do you gain the attention of customers and prospects when attention spans are not short — but, rather, extraordinarily demanding?

You’ve GOT to be distinct!

“Lonesome Dove” is to me the epitome of storytelling — the book is one of my favorites, too — and the performances are uniformly brilliant. If you haven’t watched it, it is the definition of MUST SEE.

Robert Duvall as Gus is simply the most astounding acting that I have ever seen. I had an opportunity to interview him several years ago, and he told me that not only was it his favorite role, it was also a bit depressing to think that he will never deliver another performance, or be cast for another role, that will match it.

Yet, I didn’t realize that Augustus McCrae also made a statement about the importance of customer service all those many years ago. We need to keep it friendly and speedy — and create Ultimate Customer Experiences — or else a retired Texas Ranger might make us pay!

CBS News had an interview with Dr. Beverly Bunn — an orthodontist taking part in the weekend program. Her version of the event is shocking and devastating. And, the pain she is so obviously enduring makes this difficult to watch.

Yet, who are these people would will pay so much — and willingly subjugate not only their thoughts, but also their very safety — for this kind of program?

Let me state from the outset, I know it could be construed as hypocritical for me to ask such a question. I’m paid a significant fee for a one-hour speech. Yet, in almost every case, it is a corporation or association that is footing the bill– I’m usually not being compensated by individuals — and, organizations hire me for a very specific reason. They expect that they will receive a return in improved profitability because of the intellectual property I’ve developed that will far exceed their small corporate investment. After twenty-five years of doing this, if I wasn’t delivering, the word would be out by now.

And, as my close friend, Mark Sanborn, told me — “Scott, if you fail — maybe their customer service isn’t what it should be. If I fail — maybe their leadership isn’t what it should be. We never aspire — nor do we feel qualified — to deal with life and death.” Mark is so right.

It seems to me that these are not the same people — often on the lower end of the economic ladder — who have been easily persuaded over the years by unscrupulous evangelists, who pervert God’s word for their own profit. These people are different. They are the sophisticated gullible.

They’ve become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and managers. Yet, somehow, the professional success they attained somehow didn’t fulfill their soul the way they imagined. So…along comes someone who says he can make all of the pieces fit. You’ll be healthier, happier, and your life will have meaning if you just attend his seminar. You see…he has a “secret.”

When Sheri was dying of cancer, one of her friends recommended that she go to Mexico to try treatment that wasn’t approved in the U.S. The doctor there had a “secret cure” — and the big pharmaceutical conglomerates were suppressing his “natural” approach so they could continue to sell their poison chemotherapy, the friend told my wife. As Sheri had only months to live, she decided to give it a shot — “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” she said. Thanks to my friends in Speakers Roundtable, we were able to go.

The best part about the treatment was that — at the end of her life — Sheri had no regrets. She never asked the question, “I wonder if I would have lived if we would have gone to Mexico?” However, the doctor there was nothing more than an unscrupulous charlatan.

As I later realized — if you could REALLY cure cancer…why would you have to do it in a tiny, run-down clinic in Mexico? The word would spread so positively and rapidly, your fortune would make Bill Gates’ look puny. The pharmaceutical giants would offer billions for your knowledge. All the “doctor” was doing was preying on the desire of people who would do anything to prolong the life they desperately desired.

After so many centuries of people attempting to improve their lives and enhance their satisfaction with themselves, don’t you think that any “secret” would be out in the public by now? Even THE “Secret” of the book’s fame is a rip-off of many previous works — most notably Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret.” (How can it be a “secret” if it’s been written about for decades?)

Just today, I received an e-mail advertising a new set of CD’s that will teach me the “method of communicating with God that has been ‘lost’ for centuries!” Sadly, it was sent by a company I perceived to be more reputable. Seemingly, integrity can be discarded when a “lost secret” is concerned.

We have a relatively new breed here — those who own everything and know nothing. Those who have the wealth to purchase “Spiritual Warrior” weekends, but not the insight to understand why they still feel so empty.

(Which, of course, plays right into the hands of the leader. “You just need MORE seminars, retreats, coaching, and investment. You’ve only seen a portion of what our deep, deep message has to offer. So…sign here.”)

Want to know how to lead a better life? There’s more information that you could ever consume waiting at your public library. Want a specific program? There are many — I have one on iTunes, “Just Say YES: Step Up to Success” is available FREE. (Just go to iTunes, search for it, download it. It’s that simple.) You couldn’t send me money for it if you wanted to…

The people who REALLY want to assist you improve your life do NOT want you to “follow” them! They want to help…because to whom much is given, much is expected in return.

Certainly, they should receive compensation — as they have a right to live their dreams, too. But, when the size of their compensation reaches the point it impinges upon your financial stability — you have to wonder if something is wrong with the priorities. Don’t be so gullible!

(Wouldn’t it have been great if James Ray International was earning its stated $100 million plus a year because it was helping a million people achieve their dreams at $100 each — as opposed to something like 10,000 people at $10,000 a piece?)

You don’t need a guru.

You need information, dedication, and discipline.

Wikipedia defines motivation as “the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior.”

And, while there are a myriad of theories regarding motivation, Dr. Douglas McGregor’s classic “Theory X and Theory Y” states:
• Motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job.
• Motivated employees are more quality oriented.
• Motivated workers are more productive.

Therefore, it seems obvious that “motivational speakers” –- at least in business — are those who make presentations conveying content to audiences encouraging the activation of goal-oriented behavior that stimulates productivity, quality, and improved performance.

Who could be opposed to that?

Philosophically it’s hard to oppose “motivational speakers.” So, it stands to reason that what is really driving the current controversy about them is not what motivational speakers are supposed to accomplish – it’s those individuals who aren’t able to meet this standard.

On a flight last night, the guy in the seat next to me asked, “So…what do you do?” I told him I was an author and speaker on the topic of how to distinguish yourself and your organization from the competition.

“Ah…” he said, “you’re a motivational speaker.”

Well…no. Don’t get me wrong – I hope that what I say, and how I say it, IS motivational. I hope my content is presented in a manner that moves people to take action. However, I do not define myself as a “motivational speaker.” I’m a business speaker.

One of my best friends, Mark Sanborn, calls himself “the high content speaker who motivates.” I like that a lot.

Another of my best buddies on the planet is Larry Winget, “the pitbull of personal development” – a perfect description if ever there was one.

Mark, Larry, and I all try to help individuals and organizations perform at the highest level. However, I don’t know if we would readily accept the label of “motivational speaker.”

When I think of the term, my first thought is Zig Ziglar. Through his classic use of compelling stories and powerful style, Ziglar has changed countless lives – including mine.

Jim Rohn doesn’t have Ziglar’s platform flair – yet, the simple truths that he relays in a profound manner are unbelievably impactful.

Yet, unfortunately for many, Chris Farley’s motivational speaker, Matt Foley – who lives in a van down by the river – is dead on. Some perceive a “motivational speaker” as an overly enthusiastic guy who will “pump you up” – yet has no achievements or qualifications of their own upon which to base their presentation.

The problem is – to address the “elephant in the room” – the point when we get to the self-help gurus who have lately been attracting so much attention. (Especially now that my long-time friend, James Arthur Ray, who sponsored the event in Arizona where three have died in the now-infamous sweat lodge incident is being featured in the national media.)

As an aside, I was on a program just a short time ago with one of the other self-help guys prominently featured in “The Secret.” We were backstage right before I went on to address a group of about 2000 real estate agents. He was an arrogant, pompous ass.

Maybe it’s just my convoluted thinking here – however, it seems to me that if you make your living talking about self-help and a “secret” – and ESPECIALLY if you truly believe that you attract what you are manifesting – then a degree of humility and kindness towards others is mandatory.

I think the guy is full of crap — and it has NOTHING to do with whether or not I agree with his philosophy. If you don’t (or can’t) openly and honestly display that you live what you talk about, then you have absolutely no right to pontificate on it from any platform. It’s true for ministers and rabbis…and it’s true for motivational speakers and self-help gurus.

I’m going to withhold comments on James Ray for now. We’ve known each other for over twenty years. We’ve communicated since the incident. It’s enormously tragic – however, I am infinitely more distressed over the loss of good people seeking to improve their lives, and the families who must go on without their loved ones, than I am over what the consequences will be for James.

A few bad doctors doesn’t mean all of health care is bad. One corrupt Congressman doesn’t mean every Senator and Representative is on the take. It simply means that there are appalling individuals in every worthy endeavor.

At the core, all motivation should be about helping you improve. A motivational speaker is merely a catalyst…someone who presents stories, thoughts, and ideas that assist you in “activating or energizing goal oriented behavior.”

The litmus test is simply this: Does the essence of the presentation focus upon your development…or the speaker’s ego?

There has never been a moment where I felt that Ziglar or Rohn were about aggrandizing themselves at the expense of the audience. Rohn even emphasizes in his speeches that he’s looking for “students…NOT followers. There’s no movement here. It’s all about personal development.”

If the only person the “self-help” expert is about is himself…RUN.

(By the way, this post is NOT meant as legal advice…this is a professional, business recommendation. That’s my field of expertise, not the law. However, my personal experience is that if you do what’s right for customers, you end up with a lot fewer legal problems, anyway.)

PepsiCo’s iPhone app for AMP Energy drink features 24 types of women, according to news reports, including “nerd”, “foreign exchange student” and “treehugger”, and offered possible pickup lines including “Wasn’t I in Space Academy with you?” and “You know the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. I wonder what else she shaves?”

As you might imagine — and one wonders why Pepsi didn’t imagine this prior to the app’s release — the firestorm created by this “pickup primer” was swift and vicious.

Social media website Mashable posted an article, “Alienate Your Female Customers? Pepsi Has An App For That.”

So…Pepsi’s response? It was to say, “Our app tried to show the humorous lengths guys go to pick up women. We apologize to those who feel it’s in bad taste and appreciate your feedback.”

Notice what’s wrong with that statement? It’s not that they’re sorry for being so offensive. It’s that if YOU find it in bad taste, then…they’re sorry.

Could you imagine when you were in school coming home to your parents and saying, “Mom…Dad…if you find ‘F’s’ on my report card offensive, then I’m sorry I offended you.”

How about a husband saying, “Honey…if you find drinking too much, staying out all night, and sleeping with people you’re not married to offensive…you may possibly be upset by my actions of the previous evening…and, if that behavior happens to offend you…let me extend my apologies.”

Whatever happened to an unconditional, “We’re sorry”?

Pepsi is only sorry if YOU are offended. Which, basically, is a subliminal way of saying that if you aren’t offended, then their actions are A-OK.

In other words, they’re sorry…IF you are so overly sensitive that you don’t like their behavior. (Now…it’s YOU’RE fault that THEY have to be sorry!)

If you’re fine with the app, then they aren’t sorry at all…keep on playing the app on your iPhone…and drinking AMP. Rock on, Neanderthal dude.

We see it in politics and other fields, too. The Governor caught with the hooker (after prosecuting hookers and their johns as criminals) says he’s sorry…to people offended by his behavior. The Evangelist cries and wails to the congregation…but somehow both leave us with the feeling that what they are really sorry about is that they got CAUGHT.

Malpractice insurance companies are on record with proof that doctors who sincerely, unreservedly apologize when something goes wrong usually don’t get sued for malpractice. It’s when they hide behind lawyers, and fail to acknowledge the obvious, that patients feel the only way they can get the doctor’s attention and make a point is via the courts.

Want to really make an impression on customers and colleagues? When you screw up, tell them that you’re sorry. Sincerely. With no qualifications or wiggle-room. You are flat-out sorry.

That makes you a professional or organization of integrity. And, we customers are kind of funny…we like doing business with people and places that have that quality.

“Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
a little of the glory of, well time slips away
and leaves you with nothing mister but
boring stories of glory days…

Glory days…well they’ll pass you by
Glory days…in the wink of a young girl’s eye
Glory days, glory days…”

(You can hear it in your head right now, can’t you?)

My favorite blogger, Bob Lefsetz, writes about the entertainment industry, and he had a great line in a post yesterday: “The glory days of the music business are history. They’ll only return when the glory days of music come back.”

He’s writing about music — but he’s right about everything.

The glory days of the car business will return when we have American companies producing more glorious cars that customers REALLY want. Whatever your business, you can have glory days in your industry when you create and deliver something really remarkable for customers.

The economic rising tide we experienced a few years back lifted all boats. Which, of course, means that mediocre players were also doing very well. However, when the recession hit us in the face, it appeared that the “glory days” were done. And, they were…for those of moderate performance.

This leads to Lefsetz’s next point: “But it’s going to take a very long time, especially if the usual suspects have their way…baby boomers who focus on getting rich first and care about the consumer last, if at all.”

Well, as someone on the tail-end of the baby boomer generation, and concerned about customers, I take a bit of issue with this — however, I totally understand where he’s coming from, don’t you?

It’s important to get the point here — when the music industry was all about the music, it was the glory days and all were making money. When it changed and became about getting rich and making money, the music business tanked.

It’s so counterintuitive, it’s borderline impossible to recognize.

I think Steve Jobs has held up the long-rumored Apple tablet computer because he wants it to be — as he often says — “insanely great.” It’s about making the PERFECT product, because it is all about the device to Jobs.

On the other hand, I can’t imagine Jobs would have EVER given the “go-ahead” to Vista if he was running Microsoft.

Which may explain why now are the “Glory Days” for Apple.

Want to experience “Glory Days” in what you are doing? Here’s an idea: Focus intently on creating glorious customer experiences through products and services that are phenomenal. I’m willing to bet that if you do that, you won’t have to worry too much about the money.

I’m fed up.

Not very eloquent…but, perfectly descriptive.

I’ve had it with the arrogance and ignorance inherent in most political discussions today — and particularly when it comes to the business of health care.

How did we get to the point where we have no desire to listen to one another…that there must be something wrong with someone who feels and thinks differently…and that if one is on the opposite side of the political spectrum, then they can add nothing of value to any conversation?

I did a short and simple Tweet (are there any other kind?) today on how bankruptcies are happening to people who ARE insured, yet encounter a tragic health care situation.

The first response I received was: “I doubt the American Journal of Medicine’s estimate of 62% of bankruptcies were because of medical debts. I’d like to see the research.”

OK…let me get this straight…YOU are going to evaluate the research better than the American Journal of Medicine — hardly a bulwark in the fight for change — can? I doubt it.

Second response: “The types of debt over-extending consumers were different. What puts you over the edge may be medical, but what got you there?”

What GOT you there? Let me tell you from experience — having a family member DYING got ME there.

I’ve posted about this before, however, here’s a recap:

When the Clinton Administration made its ill-fated attempt to change health care, I watched as people were paraded in front of the camera to talk about how they had lost everything because they couldn’t afford an illness in the family. I thought, “Well, how could they have been so stupid? Didn’t they have insurance? Why is it my job to pay for their ignorance?”

Until I literally lost everything…the resources of over twenty years of work and effort…because my wife developed ovarian cancer…while we were insured.

As some of you know, Sheri had abruptly resigned her job under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. However, we had a nice savings, and lived so well within our means we could make it on my income. It was the end of the week, and we were going to acquire our own family policy in the following week, knowing that we had the COBRA coverage for the time being.

Unfortunately, and unbelievably, that very weekend she developed a blood clot that was the precursor to the discovery of a rare and aggressive – and, ultimately fatal — form of ovarian cancer.

From that moment on, no other medical insurance company would take us. She had a “pre-existing” condition that made us uninsurable. It was the beginning of an almost five-year nightmare.

Under that policy, we had to pay for all prescriptions, and the insurance company would then reimburse us. As she was undergoing chemo – and, because of her blood clots, she had to painfully inject herself with a form of the blood-thinner Heparin (named Lovenox) twice daily to continue live – our monthly bills were in excess of $25,000.

The problems intensified when the medical insurance company would constantly drag their feet in reimbursing us. They would claim they had not received our form, or that there was some “error being researched,” or “the check was in the mail,” or other flat-out lies.

Could you, right now, at this moment with no preparation come up with $100,000 so your spouse could live?

And, don’t forget, this is after your initial funds have been depleted, you’ve sold your house because you’re out of cash, and you’re living in a rent-to-own home because your credit is shot, as you’ve had to make medical payments? (And, we no longer had Sheri’s income. This was not because she quit, it was that she was obviously too ill to find another job – meaning we were making half as much, at the same time our monthly overhead was up over ten-fold.)

Had it not been for the support and generosity of my best friend, Tim Durham, I don’t know how we would have made it. He would float us what we needed until we got reimbursed, or we had speeches booked, and could temporarily catch up. The reality is, however, the chances of having a friend like that are more rare than getting struck by lightening. We lost all we had – but, without Tim, we would have been bankrupt and wondering where the next meal – or shot of Lovenox – was coming from.

One time when Sheri was talking to the “patient advocate” with the insurance company and complaining to them about their lack of responsiveness, the man asked, “Don’t you realize what this is all about? We want your husband to have to go to work at Wal-Mart.”

She didn’t understand what he meant, so he made it clear: “If your husband has to go find work, maybe he will get a job somewhere with a health plan so large it will accept you and get you — and your expensive case — off of our rolls.” In other words, the tougher they could make it on us, the greater the likelihood that we would have to take steps that would reduce their exposure to claims.

And, this was said to someone who was dying.

Make no mistake about it — I’m a conservative. But, seemingly unlike some involved in this debate, I’m also a human being.

I don’t think government has to PAY for everything here. However, it does have an obligation to make the rules fair…and then enforce them. If we can require every driver to have auto insurance, why can’t everyone be required to own health insurance? And, did having all this competition in the marketplace drive prices up or down? Well…seen many Geico, State Farm, or Nationwide commercials lately?

And, I’m fed up with the pseudo-conservative who leaves his FHA-financed house (hooked up to city water and sewage, of course), after picking up his mail delivered to his house by a postal employee, to drive on the bond-financed highway, to go to the local school his kids attend (built and run from property taxes), to raise hell about not wanting any government in his life.

It seems to me we’ve gotten to the stage where two very tragic perspectives have emerged.

I always thought conservatives viewed the government as the referee — allowing competition to flow, and making certain the minimal rules are enforced. Now, it seems that we have some who want government to be nothing but a spectator in the stands — cheering for the battle, but having no impact on whether the play is fair.

Or, some view government as the OTHER TEAM — which means that everything they do is against us.

I just don’t think either is the right — or most productive — approach.

This isn’t going to be perfect straight out of the chute. We’re going to make mistakes — points will have to be fixed.

But we can do BETTER. And, we should.

And, I can PROMISE you one thing…unfortunately. Under the current rules, YOU are just one tragic illness or event away from losing almost everything you own.