L.L.Bean Chairman Shares Insights into Delivering Extraordinary Service on The CEO Show
L.L.Bean Chairman to Share Insights into Delivering Extraordinary Service on THE CEO Show
October 3, 2007 – Leon Gorman, Chairman and former 33-year President of L.L.Bean will discuss how he helped grow the organization from $4.75 million to over $1 billion through strategy, structure, systems and highly focused service. The 19-minute discussion will air nationally on The CEO Show with Robert Reiss, on Sunday October 14, 2007 at 9 p.m. EST. Gorman, who is the grandson of founder Leon Leonwood Bean, is the author of the recent hit book, L.L. Bean, the Making of an American Icon, which they will also discuss on the program.
The CEO Show with Robert Reiss is the only business radio series in America devoted exclusively to stories about reinventing industry through exceptional customer service, and features in-depth interviews with America's top CEOs. Recent show guests include David Neeleman, Founder & Chairman, Jet Blue Airways; Simon F. Cooper, President, The Ritz Carlton Organization; and James H. Quigley, CEO, Deloitte & Touche.
For a list of radio stations that broadcast the show, go to www.theceoshowonline.com. Listeners can also tune in online at www.wgch.com.
This exciting new series has received rave reviews from top executives. All about honest and frank discussion, The CEO Show with Robert Reiss has already built a reputation for being the must-listen-to source for cutting-edge ideas on the critical art of customer service.
Some insights from CEO Show guests include this from Bernie Marcus, Co-Founder and 19-year CEO of The Home Depot: “Very few people think about what the customer wants…they think about what they want to give the customer.” The ramifications can be far reaching. And William P. Lauder, CEO of The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc., emphasized on a recent broadcast, “Extraordinary service is the ultimate over time in driving shareholder value.”
And being all things to all people doesn't help. Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com and America's foremost inventor, explained that, “Ideas are not the currency of value. Too many choices confuse customers; we call it mental overload.” Commenting on metrics, Patrick Charmel, CEO of Griffin Hospital – Fortune Magazine's #1 best small company to work for in America, said, “Measure pride, not satisfaction. Once you satisfy needs, new needs will arise.”
As far as the actual show goes, maybe it was explained best by Carolyn Kepcher, CEO of Carolyn & Co., former judge of The Apprentice, EVP of The Trump Organization and author of the bestseller Carolyn 101, who said, “I've been very involved with the media. What's great about The CEO Show with Robert Reiss is that you get to the core and discuss what really matters. Also, it's a lot of fun. I encourage everyone to tune in and listen!”
Robert Reiss is a much sought after customer service expert who coined the term “Customer Experience Organization.” According to Reiss, “Millions of business people ask the same question…'What can I do to help my business succeed?' The CEO Show will answer this question every Sunday evening, so listeners can get a head start every Monday morning.” Reiss further explains, “The show's popularity stems from the fact that Americans know intuitively that the customer experience is at the center of business success.” Asked where he got the idea for the show, Reiss explained that linking the customer experience to long-term profitability was a recurring subject in his consulting and executive interviews. “My concept for the show was to have candid in-depth discussions with industry leader CEOs so that the general public, investors and business executives could hear the secrets of linking customer experience and strategy.”
The show was a natural fit for Reiss, who pioneered the “strategic customer service” concept. Over the past two decades, he has interviewed over 1,000 executives and his work has been featured in many publications including The Harvard Business Review. He is President of Reissource, a firm that facilitates strategy-through-service planning as well as strategic retreats, and he has co-authored the recent book Golf and the Art of Customer Service. Reiss also delivers keynote speeches across the country on the impact of customer service on an organization.
