I love learning from great organizations. What we learn when we look into them is what makes them great. One of my favorite things to do is to take my clients on a field trip to learn from those who do it best. I have done this several times and there is always a ton to learn.

The best way to do this is by sending people out in groups with observation questions designed to maximize the learning experience. The questions you ask will guide people’s thinking and the outcome you hope they experience.

 So, if you want your organization or leadership team to get new ideas about things like customer service, the importance of values, branding, etc., then send them out armed with their observation questions and instructions and when they get back be sure to debrief and ask what can we learn from these observations and what would it look like for us?

Here are my top ten organizations to learn best practices from and their best practices

1. Disney – Customer service, creating an environment and experience for people, values, leadership, branding, fun

2. Southwest Airlines – Driving values through an organization, enduring a crisis, advertising, fun

3. Panera – Creating an environment and experience for people, values, quality

4. Nordstroms – Customer service, sales

5. Apple (the Apple Store) – Branding, customer service, change, creating an environment for people

6. Starbucks – Branding, values, management, pride, change

7. In & Out Burger- Quality, simplicity, hiring, values

8. Chick-fil-A – Commitment to excellence, values, telling a story

9. Google – Simplicity, fun, loyalty

10. Trader Joe’s – Branding, Customer Service, Identity Of course there are more places to learn from and there is more to the process.

Feel free to contact me if you need help or ideas.

Enjoy the learning!