Here is a brief excerpt from an interview of Stan Phelps by Glenn Burr for the Inc. Small Giants Community, one that is made up of small business leaders all over the world who define success by more than just their financial bottom lines, but also by their contributions to their communities, a dedication to great customer service and the creation and preservation of workplaces cultures of excellence. In his book Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big, (Paragon 2006) Bo Burlingham observed a set of six common characteristics in the unique and inspiring companies he was examining. He dubbed the combination of these characteristics to be “business mojo.” The Inc. Small Giants Community serves to make these characteristics more common in how small business owners run their businesses.
To read the complete interview, check out other resources, and learn more about the Inc. Small Giants Community, please click here.
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The average distance between the human brain and heart is 9 inches. And according to What’s Your Green Goldfish? (available March 29) author Stan Phelps, bridging that gap is the key to creating a great culture that delivers high employee engagement, and in return, a successful business. In this week’s interview, Inc. Small Giants Community Executive Director Raul Candeloro sat down with Phelps to learn more about why, “…the biggest mistake small business owners make is not recognizing the impact of increased engagement and the importance of culture as a competitive differentiator.”
Candeloro: Let’s begin by talking about yourself, so our readers can get to know you better. Could you briefly describe your life journey until you wrote What’s Your Green Goldfish?
Phelps: My background spans a 20 year career working with global brands including adidas, IMG and the PGA of America. I joined adidas immediately after finishing my JD/MBA, moving to Portland, Oregon. Over my seven years with “the brand with 3 stripes,” I held a variety of marketing positions. A highlight? Working in Yankee Stadium as Brand Marketing Manager for adidas’ partnership with the team. A native New Yorker, I was on hand as they won the World Series not once, but three times, even riding in the celebratory parade (“one to tell the grandkids.”) Thinking it couldn’t get any better, I had to pinch myself when adidas asked me to manage Global Tennis Sports Marketing and relocate to Amsterdam. A lifelong tennis player and former associate head coach at Villanova, I jumped at the chance. I honed my skills working as Chief Solutions Officer for seven years at the award-winning agency Synergy Events. At Synergy I took a wide look at marketing with the premise of finding unique ways to engage customers. I currently am the Founder/CMO (Chief Measurement Officer) of 9 INCH marketing, an organization that inspires leaders to think differently about marketing. Nothing personal about the 9 inches (unfortunately), it represents the average distance between the brain and the heart. Given the goal of winning the hearts of your customers and employees, it represents the longest and hardest distance to navigate in marketing.
Candeloro: Now about the book. With already so many business and management books out there about, what new information does What’s Your Green Goldfish offer?
Phelps: What’s Your Green Goldfish? is based on the simple premise that employees are the key drivers of customer experience and that “Happy Employees Create Happy Customers.” It is the second book in a trilogy. The first book was an Amazon Best Seller entitled, What’s Your Purple Goldfish? Purple focused on customers, whereby Green focuses on employees. Both books are based on a new approach called marketing g.l.u.e. (marketing by giving little unexpectedextras). The book is based on the findings of the Green Goldfish Project, an effort which crowd sourced 1,001 examples of signature added value. Key themes emerged from the Project. The book is filled with nearly 200 examples spanning the 15 different ways to drive employee engagement and reinforce culture.
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To read the complete interview, please click here.
Want to get in touch with Stan? Find him on the web at any of these locations:
Website: http://9inchmarketing.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/stanphelps
Twitter: http://twitter.com/9inchmarketing
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/stanphelps