Perceived Value
Perceived Value
Meet Your Host, Alan Weiss
Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.
His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations. He has served on several boards of directors in various capacities.
His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 60 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill) now in its 30th year and sixth edition. His newest is Your Legacy is Now: Life is not about a search for meaning but the creation of meaning (Routledge, 2021). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into 15 languages.
Get to know AlanShow Notes
The airlines’ major frequent flyer programs began with American Airlines back in 1981 (thought Texas International Airlines had one in 1979). Everyone quickly followed. Travelers fell in love because they were earning free trips without paying anything extra for the ticket. You may feel the travelers were and are silly. Well, the average major airline today has a liability of about $7-10 billion if these points were all cashed in.
Although there are attempts to squelch this with blackout periods and restricted seats available, this is none the less a very real monster under the bed. However, many people never cash them in or they the points may expire.
Airlines and hotels figure the points won’t all be used. This is called “breakage,” believe it or not, and it’s the monster-slayer.
Another example of this is the US Postal Service, which prints about $14 billion in postage stamps each year. But it’s estimated that over half of this amount is never used for postage because it goes into collections so there’s no attendant labor involved.
I provide “unlimited access” to me for my top clients, both corporate and individual. That seems like it can’t be fulfilled, and many people ask how I can do it. It’s simple, virtually no one abuses the privilege. In fact, many people apologize for “bothering me” or ask if they can have an appointment. One year I had 36 corporate clients, and these days I have hundreds of these top echelon clients globally. They call when there’s a need and, since they’re so successful, the needs are relatively few and reasonable.
This is my monster multiplier. Even successful solo consultants don’t generally offer this, and I’m probably the most approachable and reachable person at my level in the world.
Use your airline points. Collect stamps if you like. But provide unlimited access. Then go sit on the beach.
Alan Weiss's The Uncomfortable Truth® is a weekly broadcast from “The Rock Star of Consulting,” Alan Weiss, who holds forth with his best (and often most contrarian) ideas about society, culture, business, and personal growth. His 60+ books in 12 languages, and his travels to, and work in, 50 countries contribute to a fascinating and often belief-challenging 20 minutes that might just change your next 20 years.
Introduction to the show recorded by Connie Dieken
