CEN Miami: Be Honest, Are You Excellent at Service?

Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) Miami presents The Power of Personal Service – Now More Than Ever featuring Barbara M. Talbott, Ph.D., CEO and Founder – GlenLarkin Advisors, former Executive Vice President Marketing, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in conversation with Michael Johnson, Dean of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.

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Now more than ever, delivering the best customer experiences can help any organization stand apart – protecting and building market share even in challenging times.

On Wednesday, February 10th, at Four Seasons Hotel Miami, we’ll cover some key lessons learned from Four Seasons and other great service organizations through a very interactive conversation. Our event is applicable to all Cornellians regardless of their degree at Cornell and professional work. In a tough economic climate, there will be ideas you can take to work the next morning, as well as more ground-breaking, enterprise shaking-ideas that will have you thinking long after this session ends.

• Recruiting – Why should any conversation about service start there? How do you find great people?
• Leadership – What qualities do outstanding service leaders share?
• Service Training – How much? What makes it meaningful?
• Turn-Arounds – Is it possible to reshape an existing culture? What does it take to do that?
• Us and Them – Why are basic service expectations often so hard to meet? How can organizations become more customer-centric?
• Pricing – What does your price say about your brand? What’s most important to your customers and how can you deliver it, uniquely?
• Loyalty – Does it require a program? Is there a downside to points and perks?
• Time – We’re all stretched thin. (AND you’re probably reading this on your Blackberry, right?) Why is time pressure one of your best market share opportunities?
• Research – What can you learn about your customers through conventional research – and other sources? What are we working on at Cornell? What’s going on in the industry.

Barbara Talbott has been on tour with us at Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) for several years. Perhaps better than any other speaker we’ve featured, Barbara grasps the power of stories to educate. She is funny and engaging, practical and approachable, and yet quickly draws you into very deep thinking. Why can’t every customer interaction offer an opportunity to show excellence? You’ll find a great example of Barbara’s research at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research titled “The Power of Personal Service.” A little over a year ago, Barbara retired from Four Seasons and is now devoting her time to teaching and consulting on service innovation and branding. Barbara begins as Chair of The Committee of 200 in January 2010. The primary mission of C200 is to foster, celebrate and advance women’s leadership in business. Through targeted outreach and support to future leaders, C200 also helps to ensure that women will continue to take evermore significant and visible leadership roles. This is Cornell at its best, research and applied field practices, changing the world. We know you’ll enjoy this event.

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
6:00pm Doors open/Networking reception
7:00pm Presentation, Discussion, and Q&A 8:00pm Optional Networking Continues

Cost: $30
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Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 1435 Brickell Ave, Miami FL (305) 358-3535
Contact:

Shannon Murray ’94
Senior Director, Cornell Business Communities (CBC)
Office of Alumni Affairs
Cornell University
650.755.9711
shannon.murray@cornell.edu