Lack of a clear vision leads to higgledy-piggledy services and experiences - Interview with Ari Weinzweig of Zingermans

Today’s interview is with Ari Weinzweig, the CEO and co-founding partner of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, a gourmet food business group headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Ari was previously on the podcast back in 2020 and is also one of the contributors to Punk XL. Ari joins me today to talk about business visions, visioning, his new pamphlet on visioning (The Story of Visioning at Zingerman’s: Four Visions, Forty Years, and a Positive Look Towards the Future), how many service and experience initiatives lack a clear vision of what it is they are trying to create and why and how this can leads to the higgledy-piggledy services and experiences that we often encounter. Note: This podcast is the first in a series of contributions (podcast chats, blogs and mixtapes etc) from the contributors to Punk XL that will appear here over the coming months. This interview follows on from my recent interview – The digitization of the supply chain and it’s impact on customer experience and sustainability – Interview with Sanjay Brahmawar of Software AG – and is number 436 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Om Podcasten

An ongoing series of interviews where I, Adrian Swinscoe, interview leading entrepreneurs, leaders and thought leaders about how to deliver stand out customer experience and service. Essentially, I'm looking for practical clues that will help you build a business that both customers and employees love. Topics covered in the interviews include customer service, experience and engagement, employee experience and engagement, technology, adaptable and responsive organizations, high-performing teams and all such related issues. Note: This podcast series was originally known as the RARE Business podcast but rebranded in late 2019 on the back of the publication of my book: Punk CX.