“We have all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the power we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
I recently finished reading The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector and I seriously can’t stop talking about it. Spector examines all the aspects of Nordstrom’s business and culture that make it such a beloved icon of customer service excellence. From hiring to inventory to their almost unconditional return policy, every facet of Nordstrom is driven by an exceptional customer experience.
My very favorite part of the way they run their business is the simplicity. Two stand-out examples are related to their hiring and onboarding. When a new employee starts at Nordstrom, they receive the employee “handbook” which is a single card with a single rule: Use good judgment in all situations. Amazing. And when Bruce Nordstrom was asked who trains his salespeople, he answered, “their parents.” Bad ass.
I don’t have a particular taste or knack for fashion, but now I find myself wanting to shop, work, and just hang out in my local Nordstrom store. I will look at retail service differently from now on. I hope to translate many of these lessons to my job and personal life, knowing we are all capable of and responsible for creating amazing experiences for those around us.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone in a client services industry or anyone who needs an inspirational story of how business can sometimes get it really right.
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”
The leaked The Great Gatsby poster starring Leondaro DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. The film is set to release this Christmas. I can’t wait!
I spent the majority of this weekend sitting on the couch watching the Harry Potter films (thanks Vanessa and ABC Family). While I’m certainly no fanatic, I do love and appreciate the ease with which these characters have enchanted us all. This week the final chapter of the film series is being released and marks an end to one of the greatest literary and film stories of our generation. I saw this collection of photos on pinterest and thought it was so charming. The characters will be missed, but I’m excited to see where the actors go from here.
Entertainment Weekly recently posted some first look photos of the much anticipated Peter Jackson film The Hobbit. Jackson made history with the three The Lord of the Rings films and ever since we’ve been anxious for the completion (and technically the start) of the much lighter and more fun prequel. I was thrilled when Martin Freeman was announced as Bilbo, but I’m not so thrilled the film is being split into two parts. Along with being released a year apart, the films are also set to feature characters who don’t appear in the original book. Regardless, I’m still very excited to see the final product.
After my trip to Disneyland this past weekend, I’ve been looking for some inspirational and beautiful concept artwork for our house. I stumbled upon some shots from Pixar’s book The Art of Ratatouille and they are amazing. Until I can find some prints, I’m putting this book on my immediate wish list. Ratatouille is one of my very favorite films, combining my loves for Paris, food, and Pixar’s magic.
This item on my 26 before 26 list was difficult for me. I technically only completed half of it, but I’m still crossing off #4: Read and return all borrowed books.
For the past year, I’ve discovered my inability to read books. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading. I used to read a book a week and couldn’t get enough. Lately though, with work, family, and house, I just can’t seem to focus long enough to get through a decent number of pages. I read a chapter, but can’t remember most of it. My mind is a wanderer. So as I work towards getting my reading groove back, I decided to return any borrowed books from friends and family anyway.
I was surprised to feel a weight lifted. The pile of borrowed books on my to-do list was always in the back of my mind and it was a relief to clear them from my space. I’ve resolved to first read any books I own that I have yet to enjoy and, in the future, to only borrow one book at a time.
19 October 2010 – 9:13 am
Although digital books and eReaders are becoming more popular, I still know several people who prefer to read and keep real books. While most of us don’t have a full library, we do have a few cases worth of books to store. Organizing these books can be both daunting and confusing; there are several different ways to do it. There are four main questions to consider before choosing an organizational method:
- Who else, besides you, will need to find specific books in your collection?
- How frequently will books need to be found for reference or other purposes?
- How much do you care about the appearance of your bookshelves?
- Are you fairly limited in shelf space?
Here are the three easiest ways to organize your books. Of course, the answers to the previous four questions will determine which method is best for you.
Alphabetically – This is the most standard way of organizing your books. Because this is your library of books, you can choose to organize alphabetically by title or by author. Choose the method that is quickest for you to find them. This method is best for those that have a few different people referencing the same library of books and if the books are referenced frequently. While this won’t make your bookshelves look like anything special, it will be easy to navigate and easy to keep organized. Recommendation: separate books into fiction and non-fiction.
By Size – Grouping your books by size has two main benefits: an aesthetically pleasant library and the best possible use of space in your bookcase. If your bookcase has adjustable shelves, organizing by size allows you to position the shelves tighter together. Each shelf contains one size of book and doesn’t need to accommodate several different sizes. This method is best for those who don’t need to reference books as frequently and if shelf space is fairly limited. Hidden benefit: As most books of similar genres are around the same size (novels vs. reference textbooks), this method also tends to group books by purpose.
By Color: Organizing your books by color is probably the least practical, but the most visually stunning. This method is best for those who store their books in main living spaces and would like to use their books as decoration. It does require an existing knowledge of the library’s catalog, as well as a memory for individual book covers, so this is not a good method if more than 1 or 2 people are referencing them.
Recommendation: If you’d like your books to have visual impact, but can’t afford to organize them by color, consider making custom jackets for your books. They can still be beautiful, but organized alphabetically or any other way you choose. The photo above features custom book covers meant to look like traditional vellum. You can use any kind of material you’d like. Even something inexpensive like basic brown paper with black writing would look great.
