Today was the fifth consecutive Monday morning I had met someone for coffee. Each meeting was a great conversation, has yielded new ideas and resources, and has started my week on a very positive note. These meetings have also caused me to take my own advice -- continuously learn from those around you. As a result, I have not had a case of the Monday's in over a month.

Last week I made a short post about customer service email response times and vowed to do a little (unscientific) research on the subject. Twenty four hours is a standard response time, but there's a little more to it.

I sent a "fire and forget" email to Dyson's customer service department last week. Fire and forget as in, "I fired off the email" and then "I forgot I sent it". Their response came almost a week later, which got me thinking. What is the appropriate amount of time to respond to a customer service email?

Today was a gorgeous day in San Diego, so I went for a hike at Mission Trails.There must have been 50 to 100 people on the trail up to the top of Cowles Mountain. When I reached the top I kept going along a ridge to nearby Pyles Peak. There wasn't a single person on the trail to Pyles, but I was rewarded with better vistas, more vibrant plant life, and more active wildlife. Hiking alone on this part of the trail, I realized a few things about what sets the best companies and employees apart from the rest of the pack.

You've almost certainly heard of the online shoe retailer Zappos.com and their amazing customer service. They have an impressive 5 out of 5 rating on Epinions.com with over 16,000 customers posting reviews. Their "secret sauce" is actually a very simple employee engagement strategy, but they execute it far better than 99% of the companies out there. Zappos has built its core values around outstanding customer service and everything they do is connected to those values. Here are just a few examples:

Inc. Magazine ran a fabulous article in their January/February edition called "The ultimate business tune-up for times like these". The article quotes a wide range of business leaders who give quick-hit ideas for all of us who want to improve performance. Here are my favorite (and not so favorite) suggestions: