Of Ritual and Rodents
Continuing to search for staff (help, employees) without changing your unsuccessful offer is ridiculous. If you want to attract people, the working conditions, flexibility, lattitude of action, pay, benefits, travel, fringe benefits, contact with others, customer interface, and so forth must
Funny Thing
Creating the correct expectations saves a lot of grief farther down the road. Sometimes people approach me for coaching telling me they want to make a million dollars their first year in business, or they want to close a deal
What Does It Take to Persevere to Prosperity?
It's reported this morning that the auto dealers' convention in Las Vegas is an ecstatic event because after a tough time during Covid's worst moments, things are booming now. The housing market has gone crazy. Professional services firms are doing
There’s No Reason for It, It’s Just My Policy
If you think consulting is rocket science, allow me to disabuse you of that notion. A couple of weeks ago, in talking to a client on other matters, I learned that his top sales commission for his people was 15%. That
Business (Not) As Usual
There is nothing as strong in obtaining business as your willingness to walk away from it. When you act as if you must have the business, as if your survival depends on it, you are obsequious and fawning. When you're
Forget the Target, What’s the Range?
We tend to think of success or "victory" as a bullseye. We think there's only chance of succeeding, some royal road. In sports, one team or one person wins a game, but over the course of a season, you don't have
Icing
In Detroit, one person operates the plane de-icing truck, shooting the liquid from an elevated perch while also steering the vehicle below that supports it. Eight people operated eight vehicles. In Boston, the truck is driven by one person while
The Odds
I'm running workshops and making a speech in Las Vegas. A great many people visiting here are entertaining themselves by gambling. But some people here are under the delusion that they can ultimately win against the house. If you're trying to
Why Did This Happen? Or: Who Did This?
When I see something amiss at a client, I don't look for blame, I look for cause. Finding a "scapegoat" merely makes people think the issue is resolved, but in actuality, the problem remains. Cause, not blame. Such a simple concept,
Whom Are We Concerned About?
Most airports are made for planes, not customers. Most ordering sites are made for the company, not the consumer. Most instruction books are written for the technical people preparing them, not the end user. Most politicians are eager to gain office and power,