Using Pixar's 'Inside Out,' Jon Webb Gives Advice On Improving Service Culture

The roughly 75 attendees who chose to hear Webb Development executive Jon Webb's education session were treated to a balloon popping, a scene from Pixar's "Inside Out" and even got to travel to the future. 

Jon didn't have a time machine, but during his session, "With Great Service in Mind: Service Excellence from Strategy to Delivery" at BOMA's International Conference and Expo, he asked attendees to pretend as if they were two years in the future and picture what their business should look like. 

He said this allows business owners to imagine their ideal situation playing out, visualize what progress would be made and what kind of company they want to have. 

A volunteer stood in one spot representing the present, then Jon had her walk over to the screen labeled "The Future," and describe what her business looked like two years down the road.

The business owner from Northern California said she envisioned growth within her company and industry, more internal collaboration and better relationships with clients. 

After taking his attendees to the future, Jon blew up a balloon to explain how negative working relationships can build up pressure in our heads and lead to unintended outbursts.

"The pressure in our mind grows and grows until someone comes along and I just can’t take it anymore," Jon said as he popped the balloon. "And we blow and we take it out on somebody because that’s what our mind is telling us"

To further his point, Jon played a clip from "Inside Out" on the projector screen. The movie family sits at the dinner table while tiny characters in their heads cause them to lash out at each other.  

Controlling frame of mind so negative feelings don't spill over into the way people treat their clients is important, Jon said. He emphasized the importance of cultivating positive relationships with coworkers to set the tone for the culture of a company.

"How well we operate with one another has a huge impact on how we operate externally," Jon said. "Were so task and process driven that sometimes we forget that relationship, that emotional connection with our colleagues."