What Are We Missing?
In reading the book Maestro (the story of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan written by Bob Woodward), it was interesting to learn of the dilemma facing the Fed in trying to figure out why the economy was acting in certain ways. The biggest concern was over corporate profits. In the old models, prices would rise and hence profits would most of the time also increase. But in the economy of the 90's, prices did not rise, labor costs did not go...
What’s Stopping You?
Frustrated that you are not breaking through new levels of success? How about the frustrations you may have with your employees who are not breaking through new levels of success? Many times we will want to accomplish a certain breakthrough, yet we are often deterred because we are saddled with all the reasons and stories as to why it cannot be done. For the most part, these stories are either real or imaginary. We define real as having tried to...
Bud Newton (1935-2001) Cognis Corp
A few days ago I spoke with a long time client and learned that Bud Newton, a top producing sales executive for 20+years, died suddenly from a heart attack on board a plane in route to a customer call. When something hits home like this, it gives us a chance to look at the life of the individual we are remembering to see if there are any lessons to be learned. In Bud Newton's case, there are volumes to be...
James Redfield, Author- The Celestine Prophecy
"Once you become conscious of the questions active in the moment, you always get some kind of intuitive direction of what to do, of where to go. You get a hunch about the next step. Always. The only time this will not occur is when you have the wrong question in mind. You see, the problem in life isn't in receiving answers. The problem is in identifying your current questions. Once you get the questions right, the answers always come."...
Getting Information When You Want It
My Palm VII (wireless) has become a source of great value, especially when it comes to tracking my flights. Instead of calling the airlines to see if my flight is on time, I simply check my Palm Pilot and get the latest info on departure, arrival and gates at both airports. Funny thing is I often get better information from the Palm Pilot than from the pilot flying the plane. When stuck at the gate for those long delays (5...
Does Anyone Care?
Remember when you called up a vendor's customer service hot line to relay a complaint and was left with the impression that nobody really cared. The most frustrating thing is to call for service and feel like your comments are falling on deaf ears. Think about it. Your future success depends on feedback from customers on what they like and don't like. Hertz claims that some of their best service innovations evolved out of service complaints. If this is the...
Honor Thy Buyer
Richard Burley comes through again. If you recall, Richard was highlighted in our Titan Profile last month. Recently, I spoke with Richard on the phone and he was telling me of his plans to invite 100 of his clients to a roundtable discussion in April with the theme being "Honor Thy Buyer". What a powerful concept! How often do we take the time to sit back and really appreciate all that we have? If it weren't for our customer's business,...
Pat Bald
Pat Bald,Contract Administrator, Agfa Medical Imaging During a recent tour, I heard sales executives of Agfa Medical Imaging in every city refer to Pat Bald as "Saint Pat". So, who is Pat Bald? Pat is an invaluable resource who works tirelessly and unselfishly to support the needs and requirements of the U.S. Sales Teams. She gives them fast turnaround on requests for film agreements that results in customers committing to Agfa as quickly and expeditiously as possible. In doing her...
Are There Any Dissenters in The House?
In any presentation, but especially in those given to groups and committees, there is a strong possibility that there will be at least one person sitting at the table whose life revolves around finding a reason to question or criticize something you're saying. When this happens, you will most likely be dealing with a person in the organization who is looking for a chance to show off his or her technical expertise. So how do you handle this situation? The...