Make the Most
of Your Training

What is Open Book Management?

Blog ·

How to Implement Effective Organizational Change

Blog ·

Change is hard.

Zingerman’s 12 Natural Laws of Business

Blog ·

The creation of the 12 Natural Laws of Business is a lot like the story they tell about gravity. Apples had been falling off trees and hitting the ground long before Sir Isaac Newton figured out how, and why, and how fast. Similarly, somewhere along the way in our over almost 38-year-long existence, Ari Weinzweig […]

7 Common Customer Service Mistakes

Blog ·

Over the years that I’ve been a Trainer and Speaker with ZingTrain, sharing how Zingerman’s builds a culture of great service, I’m sure you can imagine how my awareness of the way that different companies deliver customer service has only increased.  Of course, there’s a wide range out there – I personally try to patronize […]

The 6 Characteristics of an Effective Servant Leader

Blog ·

Before we dive into what it means to be an effective Servant Leader, I want to tell you a story…

How to Give Great Customer Service Over the Phone

Blog ·

You’ve probably spent some statistically significant portion of your life on the phone. You know how to pick up the phone, basic phone manners, and how to hang up. We’re all, most likely, perfectly capable of picking up a phone and talking into it… But we also need to learn to take the art of […]

A Beloved Third-Generation Ann Arbor Business Writes a Vision of Greatness for Grand Reopening

Blog ·

Ask any Ann Arborite where to find a pair of shoes that are as comfortable as they are stylish, complete with a truly enjoyable shopping experience, and it’s more-than-likely that you’ll be guided to MAST Shoes.

How to Hire for Positive Bottom-Line Results

Blog ·

There may be industries out there where employee turnover isn’t a problem, but retailing certainly isn’t one of them. Finding, hiring and retaining good staff is one of the biggest challenges that retailers face, and many owners and managers get discouraged by how hard it is—regardless of the economy.  One of the most frustrating situations […]

How to Lead When You’re Not a Leader

Blog ·

In the Servant Leadership workshops we teach, we often lead in to the content we’ve adapted from Robert Greenleaf by asking the group:

4 reasons to consider open book management

Blog ·

Open Book Management was a brand-new concept to me just four months ago. I hopped on the ZingTrain in October 2018 as the next-generation ZingTrain Concierge, a position responsible for coordinating ZingTrain’s public seminars and workshops here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In addition to that, I report on, forecast and track ZingTrain’s public sales numbers at our weekly […]

Bring Your Best Self to Work

Blog ·

Back in 2007, when Zingerman’s wrote Zingerman’s 2020 Vision describing what the business would look like in the year 2020, we wrote that “we [Zingerman’s] have successfully quantified fun, measured fun, and improved our fun factor by at least 380% since 2007. We actively teach people how to have fun at work. We have games […]

Giving Great Service to Your Staff

Blog ·

We all know service is important—right?  We’d be surprised if there were a company left in the US which hasn’t incorporated some version of “the customer is always right” into its employee handbook.  Every politician and business leader can quote statistics about the pros and cons of the relentless move towards a “service economy.” And […]

When Things Get Hectic… Appreciate!

Blog ·

When the holiday season rolls around, most of us have the ‘Busy Dial’ turned up to 10, or even 20 on some days.

How to Handle a Customer Complaint

Blog ·

Do you like handling customer complaints? Why or why not?

4 Reasons to Write a Vision

Blog ·

We are big believers in visioning at Zingerman’s. We’ve seen firsthand how it can improve our organization and the personal lives of those who use the vision process.

Just Say no! Because sometimes, it’s the right thing to do…

Blog ·

“You can say ‘no’ to customers!”  feels like an outrageous thing to advocate, especially when your organization is known for delivering great customer service…

Open Book Management: AN FAQ

Blog ·

As far as ways to approach your business’ finances, Open Book Management has a lot going for it – the numbers! The transparency! The shared sense of ownership! The accountability!