This week’s Links of the Week is short and sweet. We’ve got one link to a “Top 10” book list and a couple of articles on employee engagement and startups. Enjoy!

#1

Lessons Every Startup Can Learn From The Hotel Industry (Inc.)

So why isn’t disrupting a market with a fanatical focus on delivering the best quality customer service considered a barrier to entry? Can customer service become an investable competitive advantage?

This article was by-far the most popular Tweet of the week – and for good reason. It makes a compelling case that startups can use excellent customer service as a barrier to entry against competition. So much of the startup world is focused on creating a better app or developing new technology, but customer service can be a key differentiator – just look at Zappos as an example.

There are a lot of great tactics from the hotel world that the article recommends to improving your customer service including never saying “no”, managers being on the frontline, and honouring loyalty over price. If your startup is looking for a way to distinguish itself, consider customer service – it’ll make your customers and staff happy to be working with you.

#2

Employee Engagement: Building Bridges (David Zinger)

On a Bhosporous ferry ride in Istanbul I saw the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge near the Black Sea. I believe this is an iconic image for work on employee engagement…I love how the bridge is being built from both sides. In employee engagement, engagement must be built by both the employee and the organization.

Great visual and metaphor of what it means to develop employee engagement. Both sides have to be open and ready to engage, and there’s much more than meets the eye. Building a bridge can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience but it takes a lot of coordination and hard work.

#3

Top 10 ‘Start Your Own Business’ Books of 2015 (Inc.)

2015 could arguably be named the “year of the entrepreneur.” Shark Tank became must-see TV, the SEC allowed regular folks to invest in startups, and Inc.com has become one of the most-visited business websites in the world.

I’m excited to check out Guy Kawasaki’s new book The Art of the Start and Jay Samit’s Disrupt You! Darren Hardy (from SUCCESS) also has a new book out called The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster which may be an interesting read for managing the emotional rollercoaster of being an entrepreneur. Either way, it’s a good list if you’re planning out your 2016 reading list.

Some great articles this week. Thank you to those that liked, re-tweeted, or commented on the posts. Looking forward to next week’s roundup!