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.

“You can make all the fun of Yoda that you want. Yoda would be f***ing killer in a business meeting.”

Over the holiday, Clay and I visited family in San Francisco. While there was plenty of food and games to go around, we also saw a handful of really entertaining shows. We visited Cobb’s Comedy Club to see the Daily Show’s John Oliver, with Alex Koll and Drennon Davis opening.

I’m happy to say they were all hilarious and it was probably one of the best stand-up shows I’ve seen live. Drennon Davis does the Imaginary Radio and it’s not only musically impressive, but super freaking funny. Here are two songs we couldn’t stop giggling about. And I dare you to get the baby deer song out of your head.

Just because.

After several years of waiting, I finally saw the first installment of The Hobbit. Even with all the anticipation and the anxiety about the story being broken up into three films, it was truly excellent. The magic and fun of the story are easily captured and the epic scale of the original trilogy is well maintained.

Especially wonderful is the opening scene, showing an interaction between Bilbo and Frodo just moments before The Fellowship of the Ring begins. It’s a perfect nod to the trilogy we all love and shows how this new series of films will fit right in. And the very best part is the magnificent Martin Freeman, portraying the simple, yet courageous Bilbo as we always imagined.