I was at an event recently where one business speaker asserted that there were four words you should never tell a customer: “I can’t do that.” And he had some very good reasons for this assertion:

Your competitors love it when you tell a customer, “I can’t do that.”

It’s music to their ears.

When you tell a customer, “I can’t do that,” you’re giving them an excuse to look elsewhere, and you’re opening a window of opportunity for your competition. This is a bad thing.

Except when it’s not.

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Some of you know that I used to produce a sketch comedy TV show in Seattle called Almost Live! It was on the air for fifteen years, and number one in its time slot for ten straight years. During those fifteen years, my team and I won more than 100 Emmy Awards. At the risk of sounding immodest, we were really, really good at what we did. Our goal was to give an award-winning performance every week, and most of the time we did just that.

So here’s the thing that always amazed me.

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I’m getting ready to board a plane, something I do several times a week. Each time, I’m putting my trust—and my life—in the hands of the pilot. This is, in all likelihood, a person I’ve never met, and never will meet. But I rarely, if ever, think about it, and I’ll bet you don’t either. The trust is so implicit that you don’t even think about it.

So my question for you today is a simple one: Do your customers have that kind of trust in you?

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Would you hire you?

A friend and I were talking recently about Michael Gerber’s seminal book, The E-Myth Revisited, and that got us talking about the by-now-almost-cliched concept of “working on the business” rather than “working in the business.” The basic idea is that a baker (to use Gerber’s example) decides to open a bake shop, and then spends all her time baking rather than running a baking business. To grossly oversimplify, Gerber is saying that, as business owners, we need to step back from being a “technician” within the business and look at it from a larger, more entrepreneurial perspective.

I propose we step back even further, and look at our businesses not as technicians, not as entrepreneurs, but as customers.

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See that guy on the left? The one at the Steinway? That’s Andras Schiff, one of the greatest concert pianists alive today. Andras and I have a few things in common: 1) we both play the piano; 2) we both play Steinways (although his preferred instrument is a Bosendorfer); 3) we’ve both had dinner with my sister (but not at the same time; I’ve never met Mr. Schiff, whereas I’ve met my sister several times).

I want to talk about #1. We both play the piano. We have that in common. Here’s where we differ:

I play notes; Andras Schiff plays music.

I enjoy playing the piano. I’ve played in a few bands, and I can play well enough to entertain myself, and—on a good day—others. But I’m not a master. Unlike Andras Shiff, my playing doesn’t rise to the level of award-winning performance.

Here’s the difference.

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You don’t need an award to have award-winning performance.

A couple of friends and I went to a little jazz club in Seattle on Saturday night. The quartet, led by vocalist Greta Matassa, was outstanding. My friends and I had a wonderful time, but here’s the thing that really struck me:

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Back in my Seattle TV days, I used to hang out occasionally with a guy named Dave Grohl, who was the drummer for a little trio called Nirvana. Last night, he and his current band, Foo Fighters, picked up five Grammy awards. While accepting the award for Best Rock Album, Dave said something that really struck a chord (pun intended, thank you very much) with both the Grammy audience and with me:

To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].

Dave Grohl and me back in the day

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So I got a Roku for Christmas. Now, I know that “a Roku” sounds like one of those yappy little dogs that Paris Hilton would carry around in a purse, but it’s not. It’s actually a very cool little device that sits near your TV and lets you stream movies and TV shows from sources like Hulu and Netflix. And the Roku is great–it works exactly like it’s supposed to. I have no problem with the Roku.

It’s Netflix that sucks.

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I’ve had the good fortune to meet Paul McCartney a few times. And I say “good fortune” not just because it’s cool meeting famous people; I say “good fortune” because of the lesson I learned—and re-learned—from this guy (who, as a refresher to our younger readers, was one of the Beatles).

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Cool guy Steve Spangler with Ellen DeGeneres

At a recent convention where I was speaking, I ran into my good friend and science wizard Steve Spangler. As always, I was astounded by just how successful this guy is. He runs a multi-million dollar company, he’s an Emmy winner, and he’s appeared numerous times on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. And if you ask him what he does for a living, he’ll tell you the truth. He’s a science teacher.

So how does a science teacher achieve that kind of success? I think it boils down to a decision he made several years ago—a decision that most of us would never have thought to make.

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