Khaltat × Hind Al Oud × Cortex

December 2026 · L&D Book Month · Retail

The Service
Culture Sprint

Three sessions on The Nordstrom Way, translated for our shop floors, warehouses and offices, led by Aladdin.

Start the Scent Match See the programme

Sessions are presented in English. The Scent Match and sign up work in Arabic, English, Russian, Hindi and Urdu.

A
Aladdin
Khaltat & Hind Al Oud · Book sessions

The programme

Nine values. Three sessions. One town hall.

Each session runs 30 to 45 minutes: a story, three values, how they land in retail for every role, then a practical activity people remember.

01
The Relationship
TrustRespectLoyalty

Why one rule beats a rulebook, the inverted pyramid, and selling a relationship rather than a bottle.

Aladdin · 30 to 45 min · Activity: The Judgment Room
02
The Floor
AwarenessHumilityCommunication & Collaboration

Heads up service, measuring both feet, servant leadership and communicating three times.

Aladdin · 30 to 45 min · Activity: Measure Both Feet
03
The Engine
Competition & CompensationInnovation & AdaptationGive Back & Have Fun

Healthy competition, pay that follows results, adapting channels, and a culture people enjoy.

Aladdin · 30 to 45 min · Activity: Scent Match Town Hall
Run of show for a 45 minute book session (30 minute version in brackets)
TimeBlockWhat happensMaterial
0 to 5 (0 to 3)HookOne Nordstrom story told from memory, then the question: would that happen in our store today?One slide, one image
5 to 25 (3 to 15)Three valuesEach value in our own words: the idea, a short clip, one line everyone can repeat.Three slides per value, one 60 second video
25 to 35 (15 to 22)Our floorThe same value for the associate, the store manager, management, warehouse and office. The room adds examples.Role grid slide, this page's reader
35 to 45 (22 to 30)ActivityThe week's activity, in teams, with one visible outcome everyone leaves with.Activity card below, prizes

Session content

Three sessions, every slide written

What goes on screen, what to say, what to show and how long it takes. Open any slide for the talk track, or press Present to run the session full screen from this page.

Talk tracks are original Cortex text summarising the book's ideas. Where a slide says “tell the story from your copy”, read it from the book itself: we do not reproduce the book's text here.

The book, in our words

The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence

Robert Spector and breAnne O. Reeves, third edition, Wiley, 2017. Nine chapters, each one a value. Tap a card to read it through a retail lens.

This is a learning companion written by Cortex for the sessions. It summarises ideas in our own words and is not the book's text. The book itself is the publisher's, and each presenter and branch should have a copy.

After every session

Three activities people talk about the next day

Session 1 · 10 min

The Judgment Room

Six real situations from our stores. Teams of four get 60 seconds per card to decide what they would do with no manager available.

  1. Customer returns a half used bottle without a receipt.
  2. A tester is empty and the customer is waiting.
  3. Two customers want the last gift set.
  4. A delivery arrives short by two cartons at closing time.
  5. A customer asks for a scent we do not carry.
  6. A colleague is rude to a customer in front of you.

Take away: a wallet card with one line, "Use good judgment in all situations", signed by the store manager.

Session 2 · 10 min

Measure Both Feet

Pairs. One partner talks for two minutes about their last weekend. The other only listens, then names three things they noticed that were not said. Swap.

  1. Round one: listen, then name three observations.
  2. Round two: the same, with a customer story instead.
  3. Room vote: the sharpest observation wins the Awareness pin.

Take away: a two minute morning huddle format each branch runs for the next week, one observation about a customer per person.

Session 3 · 10 min

Scent Match Town Hall

Everyone scans the QR code, signs up with their name and role, plays the Scent Match and lands on the big screen board with their photo.

  1. Scan, sign up, pick a vibe and an occasion.
  2. Get your match and add yourself to the board.
  3. The most picked scent wins. Its team pitches it in 30 seconds.

Take away: the board stays up as the final result of the last session, and the pitch becomes a training clip for new joiners.

Play

Scent Match

Sign up, tell us your vibe and the occasion, and get the Khaltat or Hind Al Oud scent that fits you, with its notes.

1 · You2 · Your vibe3 · Your match
Start typing to search, or write your own.
Your photo (peace sign welcome)
?
Optional

Town hall board

Most picked scents

Live tally of everyone who played, with their name, role and photo. Put this on the big screen during the last session.

Sample data

Who played