More and more, in my consulting work with companies and brands, we end up co-creating customer service and customer experience solutions together with the company's actual customers.  While co-creation is no substitute for improving the customer service provided directly by your staff, nor for innovative leadership efforts to improve the customer experience, it has a value that is growing quickly and should not be overlooked.

It is not difficult to build a network of people who know and trust you. It's easy, like breathing, if you just treat networking like any other kind of human relationship-building. The first time you meet a new neighbor, someone who's just moved onto your block, you'll probably introduce yourself and ask your new neighbor a few questions about his or her journey from wherever he or she came from to your street. The next time you see him or her, you might ask how things are going and whether your neighbor needs any advice or recommendations about services nearby.

It is not difficult to build a network of people who know and trust you. It's easy, like breathing, if you just treat networking like any other kind of human relationship-building. The first time you meet a new neighbor, someone who's just moved onto your block, you'll probably introduce yourself and ask your new neighbor a few questions about his or her journey from wherever he or she came from to your street. The next time you see him or her, you might ask how things are going and whether your neighbor needs any advice or recommendations about services nearby.

It is not difficult to build a network of people who know and trust you. It's easy, like breathing, if you just treat networking like any other kind of human relationship-building. The first time you meet a new neighbor, someone who's just moved onto your block, you'll probably introduce yourself and ask your new neighbor a few questions about his or her journey from wherever he or she came from to your street. The next time you see him or her, you might ask how things are going and whether your neighbor needs any advice or recommendations about services nearby.