Project Distinct Podcast

A famous book tells us, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” Yet, for most businesses and professionals, sweating the details is an essential element in distinction. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain will tell us why we should pay attention to the small details, and offers a three-step plan to help us know how to “sweat the small stuff.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are coming from a good place: we want to get better, personally and professionally. Thus, we often fall for promises that cannot be delivered upon — and often feel that we have failed, not that the promise was ridiculous. In a recent post by Brad Stulberg, titled “The Problem with ‘Hack’ Culture,” it’s exposed that many of the career or life “hacks” we see around us are the 21st Century equivalent to snake oil sales. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain talks about overcoming this sad aspect to our culture — and what you REALLY need to do to improve in your personal life and professional efforts. Here’s the link to the original post: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-problem-with-hack-culture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday’s episode generated several questions about where soft skills are in relationship and importance to hard skills. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain takes a look at the question…asks if perhaps we need different names for those qualities…and expands on why both are critical to success, but one is more important in today’s hyper-competitive world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s an old business cliche that says, “You can only manage what you can measure.” On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain reveals why that saying is a blatant lie in today’s marketplace. Citing research from Harvard Business Review, this episode is how a focus on metrics can actually create significant problems for you and your organization! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything you want is currently controlled by someone else. The money for the future of your business is currently in the hands of customers and prospects. The promotion you desire is under the control of someone else in your organization. The college where your kids want to attend gets to choose whether they will be admitted or not. So, how do you get chosen for what you want in business and life? On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain outlines four steps that will help move us toward the type of performance and achievement we need to attain to get chosen for what we want in business and in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just curious — do you suppose that pushy salespeople like dealing with aggressive sales types when THEY are the customer? Probably not. Yet, it continues to happen. So, how do you make sales when no one wants to be “closed”? Today’s PROJECT DISTINCT agrees that sales is a numbers game. The problem is, most sales people don’t examine ALL of the numbers! You’ll learn what that means on today’s episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the recent Ultimate Business Summit, an important and insightful point was made: “Displaying your understanding of the customer’s problem is more important than presenting your solution.” This means that we all must be constantly learning and listening to ascertain the real problems that our customers — both external and internal — are facing. How can we accomplish that? It’s the topic on today’s PROJECT DISTINCT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could ask three primary questions that would help you discover how to deliver an Ultimate Customer Experience ®? On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain reveals these three simple — but fundamentally important — questions that you should ask yourself to help enhance your ability Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you think exactly like everyone else in your industry, you won’t have the creative ideas required to create distinction. So, what if you started looking at what other iconic organizations do to serve their customers? Scott McKain noticed a recent blog post that used World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a model — and, believe it or not, it makes a great point! On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, you’ll discover three reasons that you should be taking concepts from the WWE and applying them to your business! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his recent book, “It’s All About CEX: The Essential Guide to Customer and Employee Experience,” Jason Bradshaw — Chief Customer and Marketing Officer and Director of Customer Experience for Volkswagen Group Austraila — points out that we “must transcend the obvious” as we deal with our customers. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain reveals this viewpoint of his friend and client...and discusses what it means for you to go beyond what’s obvious to generate a higher level of experience for YOUR customers. If you’d like to read more about Bradshaw’s book:  Click here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a month of travel, Scott McKain is back with a NEW episode today — and it focuses on FOCUS.  Not only was that the name of the conference for wealth managers of LPL Financial where he was a speaker, it’s also related to the First Cornerstone of Distinction: CLARITY. It’s one of the most important aspects any leader needs to understand in order to stand out and move up.  And, it’s the topic of today’s PROJECT DISTINCT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve been trained to think we must have a positive approach to business — sometimes to the point that we think anyone who brings us negative information must be a negative employee! Sadly, that means many organizations and managers create a “shoot the messenger” approach. This means we sometimes aren’t learning of friction we need to eliminate to deliver an Ultimate Customer Experience ®. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain discusses what he learned in his research for the book, ICONIC, and the importance of “positive negativity” to eliminate the points of customer irritation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We know that an Ultimate Customer Experience ® has to be consistently delivered — it cannot be a random occurrence.  That’s one way that automation and AI can help a business of any size.  However, we also know that customers want humanity and transparency.  On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain addresses that conundrum, and offers some thoughts on how we walk that fine line between efficiency and engagement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his recent book, ICONIC, Scott McKain revealed that organizations and professionals who achieve the highest level of distinction “play offense.” In other words, they take charge rather than focus on being reactive to situations in their respective marketplaces. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott relates six steps to an offensive mindset that will allow you to take charge and become iconic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday’s episode dealt with organizations that leverage information on customers to provide as little service as possible. Today’s PROJECT DISTINCT looks at the flip side: quantifying the return a business obtains through an Ultimate Customer Experience ®. Scott McKain reveals research published in Harvard Business Review and discusses why now is the time the discussion should be over: it doesn’t matter what you might think…the evidence clearly shows companies and professionals who deliver a better experience are more profitable than the competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence can be used to help us know more about our customers and serve them more effectively. But, what happens when some companies use it to wring every cent from a customer and take them right to the breaking point? It’s happening, according to the Wall St. Journal — and today’s new PROJECT DISTINCT discusses what smart, iconic companies do instead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your customers are now turning to social media more than ever before to connect with you and your organization! How can you leverage your presence on social media to enhance the customer experience so you can expand customer loyalty, retention, and referrals? That’s the topic of today’s PROJECT DISTINCT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of the cliches about leadership are truly valuable — but they are ones we’ve often heard. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain relates information and insight from a book on leadership that challenged the writers to come up with some new and innovative ideas about the role of a leader in a distinctive organization. Some you’ll like — some you probably won’t — but all will challenge your thinking. Today’s episode aims to expand your perspectives on leadership! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to a major study by Salesforce Research, almost 70% of customers say they have higher expectations of organizations like yours — and professionals like YOU — in today’s marketplace than ever before. Problem is, they also feel that OVER HALF of all organizations fail to deliver on their promises. Here’s the latest data and info on customers — and why it’s important — and what you need to do about it — on today’s PROJECT DISTINCT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can’t create distinction or deliver ultimate experiences to your customers if you’re constantly feeling burned out and uninspired. In today’s 24/7, fast-paced, global marketplace, it’s easier than ever to have severe burnout sneak up on us and knock us for a loop. If you’re a highly driven achiever, it’s surprising how suddenly you can have feelings of fatigue, detachment, and pessimism. On today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, Scott McKain will help you identify if you’re potentially burning out — and what you need to do about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices