I’m quickly becoming a fan of the NBC show “Undercover Boss.” If your not familiar with the show, each week a CEO goes undercover to work the front lines of their business, in the quest to understand the process of what’s working and what’s not. What they find, is everyday hard working folk that make the touchpoints of their brands to the customer. The CEO’s are surprised and often moved by the stories they find out in the field. Yes, this makes for good television, but also makes for some good business insight.

Brains On Fire has a new client—Capital Communications Federal Credit Union in Albany, NY. Their CEO is Paula Stopera; an insightful, personal leader. The first time I met Paula was at a monthly company-wide breakfast meeting. Paula took the microphone, walking the floor engaging her employees in a session called “Ask the CEO.” Watching “Undercover Boss” made me reflect on Paula, could she go undercover at Capital Communications Credit Union? My guess is No!

So as Heather Hough and I were wrapping up a presentation to the Capital Communications team, I asked her that very question. She laughed and she said “the other morning I came in the door on my way to my office… it took me 26 minutes. I chatted with employees about work, kids, dogs, you name it.” Paula would have liked to get to her desk 23 minutes sooner but that’s part of her day, everyday— because she’s the accessible CEO.

Paula is a lot like our CEO Robbin Phillips, Robbin has an investment in the success of our company but she also has an investment in “us as people.” In my opinion knowing that Robbin will always stop and listen to an idea, a problem, a laugh… makes all the difference in the world.

Don't miss the most important thing.

I’ve been been on the road with a band the past week-and-a-half. And that means lots of coffee. And lots of coffee means lots of local coffee shops.

We stopped at a really neat shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan called the “Ugly Mug.” Yes, they serve cups of coffee in an assortment of hideous, garage-sale style mugs. When I went up to the counter to get my fix, I noticed something that caught my attention and made me smile.

They had this little sign on the register that said: “Get off your phone! Thank you!”

On first glance it seemed like all of the other notes taped on registers by employees that are annoyed with phone-distracted customers not ordering and slowing traffic down in the morning caffeine rush.

Or maybe it was getting at something deeper. Either way, it made me think.

You see, the Ugly Mug takes a lot of pride in their coffee, but they take even more pride in their baristas. I had a chance to meet one of them - he knew incredible amounts about coffee, matching tastes, roasting, tasting, testing and crafting incredible beverages. They don’t just pour coffee and make lattes - they’re experts. And they want to do everything they can to match a drink to your palette that will blow you away.

I think sometimes we get so busy staying connected to other people we know through the electronic devices that have become necessary in our lives that oftentimes we miss the people right in front of us. In fact, we don’t only miss them - we miss out on them. Bad customer service aside, face-to-face interactions are one of the most powerful things we can experience - personally or when we’re interacting with a brand. If I had been calling, texting, emailing, tweeting, etc. while I was ordering coffee, I might have missed out on one of the coolest baristas I’ve met - and consequently his guidance to one of the best espressos that I’ve ever had.

I think my goal this week will be to keep my phone in my pocket whenever I’m about to interact with someone face-to-face. There are lots of things worth missing out on, people aren’t one of them.

I’ve got friends in all the right places,
I know what they want and I know they don’t want me to stay.
– from Manchester Orchestra

I’ve been sitting back digesting the latest Edleman Trust Barometer. The study instantly created a lot of buzz about America’s Trust Deficit in social media. America’s trust has been eroding with companies, it’s advertising, and now it appears “friends” are the next level of America’s trust deficit.

But let’s back up… have I lost trust in my social media friends; in virtual landscapes like Facebook and Twitter? Or more importantly have I lost trust in my “friends” you know, those folks you’ve got real connections with… face-to-face or by sharing conversations in an online community I care about?

My take… do I trust my friends 20% less than I did a year ago? NO!

In the mad rush for numbers (friends, and sadly fans) brands, celebrities, and us ‘regular folk’ have made it all about the follow… what happened to the journey.?

In doing this we’ve made opting-in to communities, fan pages, personal pages easy, and meaningless.

I’ll close with another line from the song I’ve got friends in all the right places. “I know what I need… I need it quickly!” Boy isn’t that the truth.

If I’m sitting in a meeting, or an airplane, or at dinner… I’m usually doodling. I’ve kinda refined my doodle’s to be a personal gathering spot for ideas, reflection, and fears. Last week I was traveling with Robbin Phillips to Austin, Texas and she spied on one my doodles. Robbin thought it was worth posting.

This particular doodle is a continuous doodle thought…

I love this TED video from Tim Brown at IDEO. I seriously have a business crush on the man.

After Tim asks his audience to sketch their neighbor in thirty seconds (geez, I wish I had thought of that one) he realizes that upon revealing their neighbor’s pictures in this group of adults there’s a lot of “I’m sorry” going around the room.

He goes on to say that we fear the judgment of our peers. We’re embarrassed to show our ideas to our peers and this is what makes us conservative.

Don’t you love that?

He quotes his partner and one of the founders of IDEO, David Kelly, as saying “I set out to start a company of best friends. Friendship is a short cut to play. It allows us to trust.”

Trust is good for a company’s soul.

I have been thinking about that lately. Brains on Fire is a company of best friends. We love together, fight together and play together.

But more importantly we trust each other.

And we are lucky to work with clients who get this. I can often feel in the very first phone introduction if a company feels relaxed with each other.

Spike and I had a call the other day and when we entered the call the tone was set as we listened to this group joke about the wii fit someone had just gotten for the holidays. They laughed when we realized they didn’t even notice we had joined the call. But no one apologized. We all just laughed. It was a nice way to start a relationship. At play. Trusting each other. No one taking themselves too seriously.

What can you do today to help break our adult habits?

Hmmmm….