Getting back to The Golden Rule: Taking care of each other is what will sustain us in business and in life.

I am sure, if these old drive-in speakers could talk, there would be stories. Not just those stories, necessarily, but stories about the conversations that went on, perhaps conversations that included talking about a future that, back then, seemed to be so certain in America, a future that all but guaranteed there would be plenty of jobs to go around and all you had to do was apply for them and then apply yourself.

Have things changed since I was a boy? Incredible changes have taken place. Instantaneous, wireless communication replaced these old speakers a long time ago.  But,  the speakers were part of an era I want to discuss more with you; that era of back when we actually talked to each other, one-to-one.

Read the rest of this entry »

Struggling to make things happen? Me, too.  But the struggle needs to be tempered with appreciation for the journey.

Perhaps you or someone you know can identify with this quote. I know I certainly can. Today marks the 27th running of the Los Angeles Marathon, an incredible test of strength, training, endurance, conditioning and a certain amount of pride in going for and completing something most of us wish we could claim but never will.

As you might expect, I look at today’s event and tend to focus on the aspects of it that are a triumph of the human spirit more than in watching for great running times or records broken. It is that insurmountable goal that becomes something achieved that is the real story, here, and the story that reconfirms for me that marathons are run every day of our lives by most of us who struggle to accomplish anything.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ready for more market-share? With the right networking system in place and specific objectives in mind,  you may never need to cold-call again.

Just think for a minute about how many networking breakfasts, lunches, ‘coffees’, afternoon iced teas, later afternoon mixers and evening networking functions you have gone to already in just the first couple of months of the new year.

Have you won new accounts every time you have attended something? Or, do you, like most of the rest of us, have a stack of business cards on your desk that you thought you would have done something with by now?  How many of them have notes written on the back and, weeks later, you are trying to make sense of your scribbling that took place in a darkly-lit bar using a ball point pen on the coated-stock back of someone’s card??  It’s sad.  And, you’re not alone. This happens all the time and it is time for a change.

Read the rest of this entry »

College students who are about to graduate are understandably worried. They’re about to complete their commitment they started 4 or more years ago. They’ve had a good time, made friends, made their parents proud. They’ll probably receive nice gifts that include big checks from their wealthier relatives and, for a few weeks after the ceremony, they’ll still be receiving congratulatory remarks from those wonderful folks who are late on everything.

Eventually, however, reality will set in and they will join the thundering herd, looking for their first job or their first career move. Some of them will quickly taste rejection, perhaps for the first time. They’ll show off their straight A’s and their list of extra curricular activities, hoping that this is all they will need to get an edge over everyone else. Inside, they’ll be wondering ‘Will I be luckier at finding a job than what I’m are hearing? Will someone who knows someone who knows someone else pave a way for me, maybe call in a favor for me?’ 

To be sure, it is a highly speculative situation they are in.

Read the rest of this entry »

Forsaking long-term customers and their particular needs just to hit the numbers isn’t sustainable.

Yes, we need for every company selling a product or a service to be successful so that they can grow and expand and thrive. And, yes, we need for every customer to be happy and satisfied with that product/service so that they will want to buy more of it. But, what I see is a lot of companies willing to sacrifice long-term opportunities to create customers for life for the short-term sales they believe they need to keep their doors open.

It’s a conundrum, to be sure. Does it have to be?

If American companies are going to still be here 3 to 5 years from now (compare that to some companies claiming hundreds-of-years plans), they’re going to have to work harder at building sustainable relationships with their client base.  Easy for me to say and tough to do, for sure, but, is there an alternative?

There’s more than one way to compete. It doesn’t have to be just on lowest price.

Read the rest of this entry »