Laura DeVeau Smith, who is one of several owners of a company called Within Organics that sells organic cotton tee-shirts with affirmations (printed on the inside!), wrote this in her company’s blog:
Not too long ago Nikki, my Within Co-Owner, told me about a book called The Go-Giver. She also announced that she wanted to be our “Director of Customer Experience.”
I thought that was a very cool title, and really true to what Nikki was already doing.
Of course we are a company with a product, but the experience around that product is equally important – everything from posting inspiring quotes and videos on Facebook and Twitter, to handling shirt exchanges and answering emails. It’s all a part of what makes us Within Organics, beyond our clothing. It’s where we really get to interact with people, whether or not they are customers. And Nikki is the finest “Director of Customer Experience” I’ve ever seen. That girl truly, truly cares and pours her heart into every tee shirt she folds and ships and every newsletter she writes. It is an honor to work with her, and she constantly inspires me.
Photo: Within owners Laura, Amie and Nikki
While reading The Go-Giver, it became clear that Nikki had taken this book to heart. In a way, I’d heard it all before, but the way this book explained it got me really excited about giving.
Reading this book reinvigorated the way I look at Within and what we’re doing. We’ve always thought about it as more than selling a product, and now I truly understand what that means and what it takes. I’d rather wake up in the morning and say, “How can make someone’s day?” instead of, “How can I convince people to buy what I’m selling?” Ew, that second question is not the best motivator for me.
It was so easy to go out and test the theory by randomly giving, or contacting someone I hadn’t spoken to in a while and telling them something I always liked about them. It was amazing to watch how it spiraled into all kinds of wonderfulness, and I was touched by how the simplest gesture could make someone’s day.
It seems at the same time I started getting free help from respected mentors and in-demand consultants, as well as sincere compliments back from the people I had reached out to. It is so easy and so perfect and really the way the world should and can be.
Bob and John, thank you so much for sharing my blog post. I really can’t say enough about how much reading ‘The Go-Giver’ has reinvigorated me and Within. I wrote the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success on the cover of my to-do notebook, so I can carry the message around with me all day. Maybe we should print them on the inside of a tee shirt?…
You are so welcome, Laura — and thank you! That reinvigoration goes both ways!