Bill Campion's Blog (85)

There are a lot of things I don't know.  There's one thing I do know.  This is the first time I've used "poop" in a blog headline. 

 I went to the car wash yesterday.  It was around 7:00pm and this time of year it's dusk.  My Father-In-Law was kind enough to lend us his car and I wanted to return it all shiny and clean, hence my last minute trip to the car…

That’s what I’m having.  It’s bound to happen.  I spend 3 months getting pumped for what I consider to be the best event of the year.  Followed by 3 days on a high without a drop of alcohol (well maybe a beer or 2…). Then Summer Camp comes to an end. 

The withdrawals I’m experiencing are different than one might expect.  My withdrawals are laced with inspiration and excitement.  It’s like I was just exposed to this supernatural energy source and the molecules in my mind, body…

I have spent a lot of time thinking about a restaurant company’s worst nightmare - The Brand Gap.  Executives work hard to evolve their brands.  Some need a complete make over.  Others continue to tweak and tinker to make sure their brands remain relevant in an ever-changing marketplace.  They spend hours in meetings reviewing research, analyzing data and conducting focus groups trying to ensure their concept has a point of difference that resonates with consumers.…

At times I feel displaced.  I spent my first 18 years in one town then I started my life as a ping pong ball.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved my life and wouldn’t trade my experiences for the world. 

After high school it was 4 years in Ashland Ohio for…

Birthdays Are The Best!

Ah yes, I just turned another page on the birthday calendar.  I’m working really hard to avoid the trite, worn out sayings like, “Time flies when you are having fun” or “It beats the alternative” or “If I knew I was going to live to be this old I would’ve taken better care of myself”.  I know I’m a sap – birthdays matter to me. 

Once, when I turned 30-something I missed a birthday.  Actually the birthday occurred but nobody I was with that day…

My Brain Hurts in a Good Way!

Communication is the key to success!   If we have heard it once we have heard it a gabillion times.  It’s easy to say and much harder to do.  Why do organizations typically struggle with communication?  I realize opinions are like noses - everyone has one.  Allow me to offer several on this important topic.

The Telephone Game

If you are of a certain…

Soup and Sandwich.  Bacon and Eggs.  Love and Marriage.  Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Culture and Customer Service. 

Some things just go together !  Like the lyrics from a song my Mom used to sing “you can’t have one without the other”!  If there’s any truth to this premise, why then are there so many organizations that seem unable to admit it?

(Break out…

When I go to Kroger I am inspired.  No kidding!  The Kroger I frequent is really no different than any other.  Okay, their produce is significantly better than Meijer and they do a fair job with customer service but it’s really not all that special.  That was until…

I love air travel when it goes according to the plan.  I hate air travel when it doesn’t go according to the plan. …

Attention Boys and Girls:

I’ve got every excuse in the book but I’m not even going to attempt to explain why my bucket list has gone done the tubes.  I will however own it and ask for a reprieve from my friends and fellow bucket list participants.  

I know something about me.  I’m either all in or all out and for the past couple of weeks I’ve been the latter.  Here’s a rundown on my inability to deliver on my bucket…

I come from an Italian family.  Those of you familiar with Italian tradition, know sharing a meal tops the list.  Growing up, no matter what aunt, uncle or cousin we’d visit there always seemed to be an excuse to eat.  Didn’t matter the time of day, whether you had just finished a meal elsewhere or if you didn’t like what was being served you always had to “mange” which of course is Italian for eat.  I was always relatively skinny as a kid so my aunts…

I know that fuel prices are up and margins are thin in the airline business. The airlines are struggling and we all know it.  I heard the following story from a friend of mine the other day that I felt compelled to share with you.

My friend is like a triple medallion,…

I’ve been in the restaurant business my entire career.  I have enjoyed the challenges and successes and I’ve learned a great deal from the failures.  I have a real passion for the people who work in the business, especially those who work in the restaurants. 

Much has changed since I…

They did it again.  I walked away from another PR/BBI event shaking my head.  I guess I shake my head because for about a day afterward I'm speechless.  

People ask me , "How was the conference?" and I have a hard time describing the experience.  It's more than just a conference and people just don't get why it's so different.  It's for this reason I shake my head and mumble something like, "You had to be there..."

Now that I've had a chance…

Remember when “shifting paradigms” was the buzz phrase back in the 90’s?  It became “marketing speak” and just like any great phrase it got used and abused and eventually lost its meaning.  I’m bringing it back for this blog because quite honestly I can’t think of a better way to communicate my point. 

Shifting a paradigm is described by Wikipedia as follows:

 …

Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.

Our mission is to support our stores so that they are able to do what is most important in retail — serve our customers' needs.

The mission…

I’m wondering when a chain of full service restaurants is going to do it.  I’m certain it’s just a matter of time before one company goes against the advice of their legal counsel, pretends they are Nike and just does it.  The one that goes “all in” will reap huge rewards because the others will be too afraid to pull the trigger.  If I ran a restaurant or a chain, I’d do it tomorrow.  Yea, I know that’s easy for me to say...

I’m talking about…

Pursue your passion. I suppose this is an overused cliche.    If we’ve heard it once we’ve heard it a thousand times.  Come to think of it every cliche is overused.  Isn’t that the very nature of a cliche?  How many times have you heard these cliches - “What goes around comes around” or “Worry about what you can control and let go of what you can’t control” both overused and both cliches.  The reason we’ve heard them a lot is because they are the truth.

So…

I never went to Summer Camp growing up.  I always thought it was a little weird because your mom had to sew your name into your underwear and things like that.  The kid across the street went every year and told me all about it.  He’d like get shipped off at the end of the school year and show up just in time to go back to school at the…