Guiding Vision

I wrote about my first impressions of Blog World while still at the event  It’s been non-stop busy since then, so I’m working on catching up with work, blogging and my sleep.

One session that was standing room only was called “Creating Customer Loyalty” and featured one of my favorite business leaders, Tony Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”) CEO of Zappos.com. The panelists talked about how companies are using online tools such as blogs and twitter to interact with customers.  Here are some of the notable quotes from that seminar:

“Being involved in the internet is the only way to retain customers.” ~ Frank Eliason, Comcast

[The internet and social media] “are changing expectations, changing the whole service model.” ~ Brian Solis

“Some companies say they care, we really do.” ~  Tony Hsieh, Zappos

There were many other good points to this seminar… though I was using the old fashioned paper and pen to take notes as my laptop had died by the last session of the day.

Southwest Airlines, who had a big booth at the conference, has been well known for years for its focus on the customer experience.  I’ve only flown Southwest a couple of times but now that we’re as close to Oklahoma City as DFW, I’ll have to try to book with them in the future.  At least they won’t charge me $15 per bag like American.

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon they showed some videos that their “blog-o-spondents” created over the weekend.  I just saw Abigail’s video (which was great) before I realized that I was missing the free snacks in the back of the hall.  They had scheduled sessions from 11-12 and 12:15-1:15 so by the time you got out it was starvation mode.  Unlike PubCon, which Tracie and I went to last year, Blog World did not include lunches with your conference registration.  On Saturday there was nothing at all, except overpriced pizza at the deli which I declined.  At least on Sunday there was lots of free Jones Soda to go with the chips ‘n dip.  I also met some neat people hanging out waiting for the next sessions to start.  So overall it was a great afternoon.

Today’s quote is one of my favorites.  It comes to us from Walt Disney, a man who had a remarkable idea, that went way beyond a little cartoon mouse.  His vision for an entertainment empire to bring together children and families formed the foundation for a company that today brings in an estimated annual revenue of $35 billion.

In 1959 Disney decided to build a much larger version of the successful Disneyland park.  With land totaling over 27,000 acres, he met with resistance from land owners and government agencies alike.  There were probably many people who didn’t believe that the park would ever happen.  But it did. Unfortunately Disney did not live to see the grand opening day in 1971.

His dream lives on and each new generation discovers the magic of Disney for themselves.

I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.

~ Walt Disney (1901 – 1966)