Gary Potter over at A Sabre Geek has an interesting post today about how Travelocity is looking into using the latest tracking tools to improve its customer service. While I’m not sure exactly what he and the Travelocity rep talked about specifically, there are lots of services you can subscribe to to monitor mentions of your products or organization–or even your meeting. One of my favorites is Technorati, which will monitor any keyword or URL you give it and let you know what’s out there on the Web about it, updated almost in real time.

Gary says he uses it for customer service issues–he tracks mentions of Sabre (the company he works for) and travelocity, and if he finds a customer having problems, he can jump in and help. Now that’s customer service. Might be something to think about, eh? After all, Travelocity is, as are many other companies and organizations.

Futurist, consultant, author, speaker, and all-around nice guy Jim Carroll has written an article called The Masters of Business Imagination Manifesto, a must-read for anyone who’s looking to move their meetings–and more importantly, their careers and their organizations–ahead. Forget about becoming a master of business administration; shoot instead to be a master of imagination. According to Jim, MBIs

• see things differently…They continuously challenge the assumptions that surround them, and use that as the formative fuel for their creativity…
• spur creativity in other people…
• focus on opportunity, not threat…They regularlyy scan for signs of disruptive threat, and rather than viewing it as something to be feared, ask themselves: “where is the potential here?”
• refuse to accept the status quo… 
• have the ability to bring ideas to life… 
• have the skill to learn and unlearn… 
• refuse to say the word “can’t”… 
• accept challenges with passion and enthusiasm… 
• embrace change rather than shying away from it…
• listen to people who are different then them… 
• live for the opportunity to have ideas challenged and debated… MBI’s truly understand that their own bias, developed through years of experience, can often blind them to real opportunity…They encourage debate, knowing that it is through such a process that a simple idea can be turned into a “great idea.”instead of saying “it won’t work,” asks the question, “how can we make it work?
• instead of saying “it won’t work,” ask the question, “how can we make it work?

Ah, the summary thing doesn’t do it justice. Go read the article. It’s short, and it’s a fantastic way to jumpstart your day–and possibly even your life.