Robert L. Dickie III is taking a professional sabbatical to further engage in the non-profit sector to give back to the community. During this time he is also furthering a social media project with a group of investors and exploring a number of interesting opportunities both in the United States and Europe. Additionally, he is training to complete an exhausting two year schedule to climb the fabled seven summits for the 7 Summit Challenge. As former CEO for Signature Management Team, an international leadership development company headquartered in Flint, MI, Robert spearhead a coordinated action plan to help grow a Midwest focused business into an international business that more than tripled in size in five years. Prior to this, Robert served for over 6.5 years as a Captain in the United States Air Force in various assignments that led to extensive duty in Europe and Asia. Robert earned his Bachelors degree at the University of Tennessee where he was captain of the track and cross-country teams and competed in three NCAA national championships. He later went on to obtain his Masters degree in Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas. Robert is extremely active in the community and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization and Tennessee Letterman's Association, President of All Grace Outreach non-profit and co-founder of the 7 Summit Challenge non-profit which is raising money for autism, cancer, and alzheimer's support and research. He is married to the beautiful and talented Brandi Hope Dickie and has four children, Lachlan, Tristin, London, and Amaris. Read more here...

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Robert Dickie on the "Starbucks Experience"

I just finished reading The Starbucks Experience by Joesph Michelli and think this would be an excellent book to read for anyone in a leadership role supporting customers in any fashion. I have picked out a few quotes from within the book that I feel will give the reader a better insight into the culture of Starbucks and how they have developed a service first attitude with their staff around the world. "Starbucks management understands that a competitive advantage occurs when everyone in a company appreciates that nothing is trival and that the customers notice everything....Managers have to constantly put themselves in the shoes of their customers, seeing everything from the other side of the counter. "Commitment to detail is critical in all businesses. If you ignore the smaller things that are important to those you serve, you'll fail to create the experience they crave. This inattention will be a surefire way to drive those customers straight to your competitors. "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee." "The trick for management, therefore, is to get employees to see the bigger picture and understand that small components of their day to day tasks can actually have a transformational impact on customers and the people with whom they work, not to mention on the company's overall mission and reputation." I love that last quote. Some companies are so obsessed with reputation that they will spend millions of dollars on advertising to help their "public perception" but this basically amounts to a white wash of rotting wood. The real issue continues to be the poor customer service and support given to their customers. A better use of those advertising dollars would be to fire the non-qualified managers running the company into the ground and bring in a new leadership team that is connected to the customers needs. Read more here...