Angela Megasko

Vacation – it’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? Apparently not in the United States. ABC News reports that only 57% of Americans take all of their vacation time, compared to the French who use 89% of their vacation days. When I read these percentages, I wasn’t surprised. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been on vacation with friends who have assumed the hunched, round-shouldered position of typing into a Blackberry or laptop when they could be reclining on a beach chair soaking up the rays or hiking on a cool and refreshing mountaintop trail.

I, too, am guilty. The minute we see an email, text, tweet  or other form of correspondence from work, we immediately go back into “work-mode.” Those messages from the office start a chain reaction of worry and dread. With so many Americans concerned about the security of their jobs, it’s easy to understand why the old cliché “out of sight, out of mind” is so popular. If we are at least emailing and texting, we’re present and...

Ever see a receipt bearing the words “thanks to you, our valued customer” – and how often do you scoff? Especially when the receipt comes after you’ve scanned and bagged your own groceries, punched in your own loyalty code and made your own change. Oh yes, you feel valued: you’re doing the work of an employee and paying for the privilege.

This self-service practice, seemingly everywhere, saves money for the companies who pay fewer employees to deal with customer concerns, but what does it do for customers? “I went into a store where I’ve shopped for years and found new management,” a busy woman said. She’d stopped in, planning to buy a baby gift for a friend having twins, but she couldn’t find what she wanted and none of the employees offered to help. “I finally left because the manager was too busy talking on her cell phone to answer my questions,” she said.

This scenario could be repeated in any chain store coast-to-coast, with profits up and customer service scarce...

The credit card commercial’s catchphrase tells us to blithely charge all those pesky expenses like clothing, computer accessories, or even hot dogs at the big game – just pay right there with a swipe of this card. But it also reminds us that some things can’t be paid for with plastic, the “priceless” experiences like sharing the fun of that game with a favorite friend or beloved child.

“Priceless” – meaning you can’t put a dollar value on it – can apply to everyday experiences, too, from a double rainbow in the summer sky to a brilliant idea for making your business more efficient. Not every idea qualifies as priceless, but the flow of ideas and opinions is an asset no credit card can pay for. When a customer seeks you out with an idea for something he’s thought about, it demonstrates how much he not only values your service but wants to see you do better. An employee’s suggestion tells you she’s thinking on, and off, the job.

You may need to streamline and tweak the...

The ultimate illustration of perseverance in action took place 31 years ago this month. At the Lake Placid Olympics, a youthful team of amateur hockey players, clad in red, white and blue, skillfully defeated the long-established “Big Red Machine,” the Soviet hockey power. The victory electrified the nation and left observers wondering how the Olympians did the impossible. No one could beat the Russians!

But they had, and not by luck or timing but sheer, repetitive effort. Their savvy coach worked the players so hard, their resentment and desire to “show him” helped them jell into a team. Pride pushed them to display ever-greater effort. Fine tuning their game plan, they didn’t consider the possibility of defeat because they were staying on point, building on each day’s efforts. After the thrill of beating the Soviet team, they remained focused, with a single opponent remaining between them and the gold medal. (Impress your friends by knowing this answer: After beating...