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Book Review

Discovering the Soul of Service -
The Nine Drivers of Sustainable Business Success
By Leonard L. Berry

"Waiting for the "masterwork" on service?  Wait no longer.  Leonard Berry's Discovering the Soul of Service is it!  A brilliant book, eminently compelling case studies from Charles Schwab to Midwest Express.  It doesn't get better than this."

- Tom Peters author of The Circle of Innovation

In a world where customers regard flawless products as a given, service is the key differentiator between competitors in any field. This wise and inspiring book by Leonard Berry, our leading service expert, explains how great service companies meet their toughest challenge: sustaining long-term success.

  

From Berry’s exacting study of fourteen mature, highly successful, labor-intensive companies comes an astonishing revelation: the single most important factor in building a lasting service business is not a matter of savvy business practice, but of humane values. In all fourteen award-winning companies, values-driven leadership connects with strategic focus, executional excellence, control of destiny, trust-based relationships, generosity, investment in employee success, acting small, and brand cultivation to drive customer satisfaction, innovation, and growth. Dedicating a chapter to each of these nine drivers, this book is the most far reaching and insightful vision ever presented of the principles and step-by-step actions that continuously bring success to life in a company.

Berry’s comprehensive model reveals the soul that underlies the strategies and day-to-day operations of great service companies, guiding the thousands of daily decisions of individual employees. Clear, compelling, path breaking, Discovering the Soul of Service is essential reading for managers everywhere.

This is an outstanding work from an outstanding human being!  Len's book chapter on values-driven leadership is brilliant and worth the price of the book alone!

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