It was early in the day, just past 7 AM, and most of the people gathered in the lobby appeared to be waiting for a morning meeting. It was impossible, however, for the small gathering not to become interested in the discussion taking place at the hotel's front desk. It seemed that a customer was complaining about a discrepancy in the room rate...
"Excusing of a fault doth make the fault worse by the excuse." William Shakespeare The owner - manager of a well established business was discussing the cause of performance problems in his business. When asked the difference between an excuse and a reason, he replied, "I have reasons, everybody else has excuses." In looking to improve...
What's your time worth? How do others value the benefit they get from the use of your time? These are important questions for professional service businesses that charge their clients by the hour for their services. The key to success in the professional service business is to deliver value. Your clients are not buying your time, they are buying...
It wasn't too many years ago that all the major business journals were proclaiming that our once proud industrial based economy was in decline and that we would soon have a service based economy. Economic debate focused on the desirability and the consequences of an economy dependent on the service sector. The debate missed a central point of...
It's that time of year, balls of all shapes and sizes , games of all descriptions are in progress. The Super Bowl is just completed, the basketball season is in full swing, baseballs are coming out of the closet and the Winter Olympics are right around the corner. Is there a message for managers watching all of these sporting events? Think back a...
The trash containers were over flowing, the floor was dirty and the employees seemed to be going about their jobs in an uninspired manner. While I was there to buy hamburgers and not to do business analysis, I quickly came to the opinion that this was a poorly run operation. A long wait to order and less than energetic counter personnel did...
Are you sometimes perplexed why otherwise logical people exhibit seemingly irrational behavior in the workplace? Do you sometimes wonder how your employees can make it home safely at the end of the day? Considering the manner in which some decisions get made, do you ever speculate how the boss became the boss? There are no magical answers to...
It seems like most everybody has a few initials after their name to indicate professional competence. There are MBAs, CPAs, MSs, DDs, CLUs and registered this and certified that. Sometimes its hard to tell one from the other or a good one from a bad one. I'm going to introduce you to a really important set credentials. Those that are qualified...
This is a story about classical management theory and donuts. An odd combination perhaps, but I can assure you the donuts would have lasted longer if there had been a touch more classical theory in the mix. The coffee was good, the donuts weren't bad and the folks working behind the counter seemed real pleasant at first. Since it became a regular...
"What will you base your purchasing decision on?" "We will give our business to whoever provides the best combination of price, quality and service." I am certain that sounds like a familiar dialogue to most of you. In fact you probably have played both roles in this conversation numerous times. If this conversation is frequently a part of your...