A Rose by Any Other Name?

What’s in a name (or names as many companies choose)? Nothing unless you are trying to establish a brand. A brand is more than a name. It is an implied promise, a category of thought that a company occupies in the mind of the public. When you think Volvo you think safety. When you think…

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Service With an Attitude

Bad things happen that companies can’t control. Like airlines. They can’t control weather or weather delays or the cascade of customer problems that come with a monsoon like Atlanta has just experienced. Delta had equipment scattered all over the US and out of position due to the storms and flooding. It happens and, while frustrating,…

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10 Ways to Protect Cash

1. Renegotiate every monthly expense you have from rent to cell phone bills. 2. Manage your receivables like your life depends on it. 3. Offer discounts for faster payment from your customers. 4. Cut your variable costs by at least 10%; there’s still more to reduce. 5. Refinance all bank related loans for a lower…

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An Example of Waste

The government has invested heavily to translate a Spanish language version of the I-9 and then decided that it can only be used in Puerto Rico. Hmmm. Let’s think about this. 16% of the US population is Hispanic and many don’t speak or read English well. Being able to use a Spanish language I-9 would…

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Good Sticky and Bad Sticky

Sticky refers to how long a person stays on your website. It also refers to how difficult it is for a customer to stop doing business with you or switch to another provider. Obviously the stickier we are the better—but not all stickiness is created equal. For example, I have 2 months left on my…

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Healthcare Reform

So the President have a fantastic speech tonight. Sincerely I was impressed and score this a major victory for the Administration. I have to say though that the factually deficient, syncretistic bill he proposed will pass and will ultimately have roughly the impact of Johnson’s failed war on poverty (which only served to create a…

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Open Book Management

There’s very little that employees shouldn’t know about the numbers of your business (compensation aside) and even less that they can’t understand with a bit of explanation. Try having a company wide discussion of your P&L and letting folks see what’s really going on.

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Technology vs. Travel

There’s no substitute for being there but technology can give you the next best thing. Check out solutions like Go To Meeting, Go to Webinar, Skype Video, and CynergiSystems’ new product “CQ.”

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Keep Meetings Short

Most meetings are too long, unproductive, cover too many topics, and leave participants frustrated. One simple way to stop “meeting abuse” is to put a severe time limit on them. If there’s one topic, limit the meeting to 15 minutes and makes sure people have info in advance to avoid wasting time “informing” them at…

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