CONTENTS

Author's Notes

Preface

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION   Setting Free the CEO (Why a Business is Like a Bowline Knot)

      Smashing the Service Ceiling

      Living Proof

CHAPTER 1       Chart Your Rhumb Line (Plotting a Three-Dimensional Vision)

Plan in Three-D

Pretest Your Plan for Failure

Building Milestones

Notes

CHAPTER 2       Know Your Peak Zone

The Peak-Zone Manager

Finding Your Peak Zone

Hiring a Blended Team

Trusting the Ropes

Notes

CHAPTER 3       Smart Sourcing: Hire the Best—Outsource the Rest

The Hidden Costs of Full-Time Staff

Insource Customer Relationships

Competing on Knowledge

Managing the Experts for Accountable Results

Notes

CHAPTER 4       Give Your Crew Preflight Checklists

Automated Workflows

Set It and Forget It

Notes

CHAPTER 5       How to Build a Service Brand (It's Not About You)

Hiring the Right People

Empowering People to Help

Embracing Disruption

Anticipating and Closing the Customer's Loops

Sweating the Small Stuff

Notes

CHAPTER 6       Break the Service Ceiling with Systematic Customization

Applying the Vitals Worksheet to Your Business

Customization is Sweeping Key Industries

Note

CHAPTER 7       Keeping a Loyal Crew

The Virtues of the TLO Mindset

Viewing Employees as Assets Like Clients, Not Liabilities

Communicating the Big Picture

Fixing the Process Before You Blame the People

Linking Compensation to the Appropriate Performance

Participation, Training, and Transparency

Notes

CHAPTER 8       Made to Sell: Changing the Watch

If You Own ...

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