Dick asked for tales of excellence. Here’s one from my local public library. I was browsing the travel section, having already checked the catalog and determined that the library’s collection did contain some books about Prague. But I couldn’t find them on the shelf–guess I didn’t notice that, if I’d looked closely, the catalog would have told me they were checked out. A librarian walking by noticed my disgruntlement and stopped to ask if I needed help. I explained the situation and she asked when I was going to Prague. Not for a month, I said. OK, she said, I’ll order one for you.

Order one?? Spend money?? Not wait until the ones they already owned were returned? Not go the ILL route? Wow.

Not long after I received an email that my book was waiting, a brand new tourist book for Prague. Excellent!

Two lessons here, I think. One, I didn’t approach the librarian. She took the initiative to approach me. Two, she perceived an immediate information need and fulfilled it in an extraordinarily timely fashion. She didn’t ask permission; she just ordered the book. I may take it out multiple times simply to justify her pro-active attitude.

In preparation for BSeC ’09, I had a briefing earlier this week with Lior Arussy, author of Excellence Every Day and a featured keynoter at the conference.

I wrote earlier in this blog about how much hope I took from this book, seeing in it a truly inspirational message in our troubled economic times.

Now it’s your turn to help light a candle in the darkness.  The author is interested in gearing his remarks to the content industry.  You can help by either posting a comment here or filing a story at the Excellence Every Day web site.

Ever since reading the book, my co-chairs and I have been tossing around examples of excellence that we’ve witnessed in our daily lives.  Stories about how people can and do go out of their way to delight their customers.

When’s the last time you yourself were “delighted” during an information seeking experience?  What content provider made you feel warm in your heart?  Help shed some light on how good a user experience can be.

What the heck, you can even pat yourself on the back by sharing something that your own company did to delight your users.

Please comment here.

In preparation for a briefing with BSeC ’09 keynoter Lior Arussy next week, I’ve just finished reading his book, Excellence Every Day.

While Information Today, Inc., is the publisher, I like to take pride in my objectiveness as a journalist.  So I kid you not when I say, I found it both timely and  inspirational, with a distinct ring of truth and a message that can only help us emerge from economic crisis better off than we were before.

From Lior’s point of view, excellence is not about a moment of stardom or public acclaim.  Excellence is its own objective and its own reward.  And the potential to achieve excellence exists in every moment, for each of us and every one of our employees.

What is excellence?  It’s stepping outside the processes that make our companies so efficient and allowing our employees to provide that all important human touch in their dealings with customers and each other.

It’s about creating a work environment where our people can achieve their human potential and our companies, their best destinies.

It’s a credo that Lior’s own company, Strativity Group,  lives by.

So far, every encounter I have had with his office has been remarkable. We nailed down  his speaking engagement in a single afternoon, rather than taking days or even weeks, as is so often the case to close these deals.

When Lior couldn’t make a meeting we had scheduled in New York due to a travel delay, his assistant was all over it, and again within minutes we had a rain date.

People who go out of their way . . . small acts that leave a big impression.  How would you like to be treated?

In the book Lior tells a lot of stories to illustrate his point.

My personal favorite is the one about the Virgin Airlines flight attendant who, when the in-flight entertainment system failed, decided on her own to give all passengers a choice of duty-free merchandise or 10,000 frequent flier points:  Service beyond the call of duty.  Service outside the regulation manual.  Service that  delighted customers and took the heat off the complaint desk staff (saving 25 pounds sterling a call).   When excellence prevails, everybody wins.

Wow!

Lior tells us to empower our staff to do the right thing when the moment for truth presents itself.

Though it may be a dark time, Excellence Every Day gave me a lot of hope.  I immediately applied some tips from it in dealing with my staff (my own customers) and I’m now on the look-out for random acts of excellence to encourage and reward.

In addition to hearing how this approach can aid information companies through their current challenges, all those attending BSeC ’09 will get a copy of Excellence Every Day.  If you can’t make it  to the conference this year  or want to read the work in advance, click here to order.   IMHE, It’s well-worth the read, and I’m not saying that just because we are the publishers.