Price, price, price!

He’s in a dirty shirt, his breath smells like cigarettes and his store is a mess. His consumer, Mrs. Smith, instead of telling him she’s not comfortable with “him” says the proverbial “I’ll have to talk with my husband about the price.”
He walks in the back room mumbling that all consumers think about these days is “price.” He lowers his…expects his suppliers to lower theirs. “Damn economy” he says.

Down the street, the clean cut, well-trained store owner with the immaculate store sells Mrs. Smith $6,000 in product while her two kids watch SpongeBob on the small TV in the “play room” section of the store. Mrs. Smith is offered a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie while she writes out her deposit check…all without talking to her husband. "Damn, what an economy" the store owner says.

Go away (for a short time)

Go on vacation! Have all your direct reports go on vacation. It’s important (sure for them- but I’m talking for those of us that stay behind). It is only when someone who works for/with you goes on vacation that we really find out how much we rely on them…how valuable they are…how much we need them.After the reminder, tell them. Thank them. Build their value. We’d be lost without them…

Presentation Zen

A new book by Garr Reynolds, “Presentation Zen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery” is a great read for everyone who gives presentations. If not to improve yourself- then to make everyone who has to listen to you a little less annoyed. Presentations are “opportunities” to say something, not to read the screen and put us all in “PowerPoint Hell.” Garr Reynolds says, “Think of the audience. What is it they need? What is it you want to say that they need to hear? Identify what’s important and what is not.”

With all due respect to your data and your numbers, if you can’t tell what the numbers mean, if you can’t add compelling stories to your data or bring passion and emotion to your presentation then stay seated, flip through your slides in silence and then move on. You’ll be doing more that just boring the hell out of everyone- you’ll be saving your reputation. (or you could get the book, read it, apply it’s lessons and become someone people want to listen to.)

New Year? Same stuff?

Not that we need an excuse to improve, focus, etc. But a new budget season means were all going to be wondering how to get more out of less. Well, it does- has- must come down to three things;
Improve quality, improve the distribution and improve service. There's not much more to it.