I’ve worn reading glasses since kindergarten, so it was a very big adjustment for me when I switched over to contact lenses in my late-20s. I’d spent over twenty years putting on my glasses whenever I needed to work...whenever I needed to concentrate. In fact, it was difficult to learn to focus without first putting on my “thinking cap.” Then, a few years later, it was actually a relief when my eyes worsened, and I needed reading glasses again and I could return to the security of my thinking glasses.

I've been watching the news reports on the Toyota recalls very closely since I drive a Toyota myself. The other day I was at the dealership for a minor repair (my car is not one of the recalled models) and asked the service manager whether it was a relief to be dealing with a problem that had nothing to do with the recalls. His response, "Oh, I don't mind the recalls. It's great for our service business. We get paid by Toyota, so we're now very busy at an otherwise slow time of the year." In our down economy it's interesting to find a silver lining in a cloud such as the Toyota problem. I was also surprised to hear that, despite the media hype, their customers are not in a panic over the recall so it's been pretty easy to manage.

Last week, I had the privilege of touring the factory of the Chabaso Bakery (http://www.chabaso.com), which makes delicious Artisan breads. This was a perfect tour for me... I love finding out how things are made (ever see 500 pounds of bread dough in a hot tub-sized mixer?)... and I love, love, love fresh bread. I was at Chabaso's as part of my membership in a business group I'm part of, Vistage (http://vistage.com), an organization that provides business and peer coaching to business owners, presidents and high-level executives. It's kind of like group therapy for business people, where the facilitator prods us to confront the most pressing and strategic issues in our businesses, and fellow members provide their insights and advice based on their knowledge and experience. Few business leaders have people who really talk back to them because subordinates are too afraid of being honest for fear they'll lose their jobs. And yet constructive disagreement and challenge are critical. One good idea will more than pay for a year's membership, and it has for the longer-term members in our group.

Customer service expert John Goodman (founder of TARP Worldwide, the world's premier customer experience agency, www.tarp.com; his new book is called Strategic Customer Service) recently shared with some of my colleagues that the cutting edge of customer service is "Psychic Pizza". This simply means that companies anticipate what customers will want (or want to know) next and offer it to them before they ask.  Where does the term "Psychic Pizza" fit in?  Just imagine: Your doorbell rings, you open it, and there's a delivery man with the pizza you were just about to order.  In the customer service world, it's staying totally in touch with your customer -- thanks for your order, regular updates on the status of your order -- it is about to ship, your order has shipped, it is about to arrive, how did you like your order?. Amazon.com does a great job of this. As does Zappos.com and many other major online retailers.