Craps Check
In casinos, there's a bet at the craps tables called colloquially, "craps check." That means you bet against yourself on the first roll if you have a huge positive bet on the table. If you roll craps (2, 3, 12)
Here Today, Gone This Evening
A client relationship, no matter how strong, can vanish overnight through no fault of yours. Buyers, technology, competitors, and a host of other variables can all change beyond your power to do much about it. Never allow any one client to
I Don’t Care How You Work
I don't care how my computer works, I care that I can create email, write books, and calculate my finances. I don't care how medicine works, I care that it can improve my health. I don't care how my phone works, I
Hitting the Streets
For every person who can (legitimately) claim he or she has acquired business from a social media post, there are a million who haven't. Just as in LA, for every person who claims their screenplay was picked up by a
Preventive Action
Here's a "must" preventive action line for new clients: "Here's my deal. If you don't believe what people tell you about me and the project's status, I won't believe what your people tell me about you!"
Can You Move the Ball?
I played varsity basketball and ran varsity track in high school. Track practice was simple—I was a sprinter, so I would run a quarter mile for stamina and 30 yards for speed. Then the race itself was over in ten
Income Investment
We rent the same house at the Jersey Shore every year. Between the prior week's tenants leaving and our arrival, the owners (who live here in another house) check everything out to make sure the cleaning crew has been thorough,
It’s the Service Level, Stupid
I tried to place an $800 order yesterday on the website for TrainWorld in Brooklyn, where I've purchased trains in person before. The site hung up at the final pay option, repeatedly. I called and a bored woman told me to
The Benefit of the Doubt
No one is perfect, and every organization will make mistakes. The key is not to try to achieve perfection, but to achieve such an excellent and trusting client relationship that you're given the benefit of the doubt when there is
Get Paid
Your customers' problems are not your problems. Too many consultants who work with small businesses allow their buyers to delay payments because of poor cash flow or other issues they've brought on themselves. Once you do that, you're at the