I've decided to take a two week vacation from blogging, social media, and writing. You may not be taking a break at the same time, so I'm running a few best-of posts while I'm away. Look for a brand new post from me on September 13 when I return to my normal writing schedule.

I'm currently writing on a book about companies with customer focused cultures.

It's a topic I obsess about. How do a few companies get their employees to deliver consistently outstanding service while everyone else struggles to be average? The book is still a work in progress, but you can download the first chapter.

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite blog posts on the topic of culture:

• Corporate culture's hidden influence on customer service
• Why culture initiatives fail
• What the heck is a customer service vision?

Thanks for reading!