"It's the smile, stupid."
With apologies to Bill Clinton, this slogan describes the power of one of the simplest yet most powerful competitive weapons for service companies in modern business. According to Tom Kelley, general manager of the California-based industrial design firm IDEO and coauthor with Jonathan Littman of "The Ten Faces of Innovation," it's also one of the reasons why Japanese airlines have the edge on their U.S. rivals.
A frequent traveler to Japan for both business and family reasons, Kelley says he noticed the difference between United Airlines and Japan Airlines when he boarded his first trans-Pacific flight -- all the flight attendants smiled as his family came onboard.