Monthly Archives: September 2014

September 25, 2014 · 9:43 am

The New Year And Business

A shofar made from a ram's horn is traditional...

A shofar made from a ram’s horn is traditionally blown in observance of Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish civic year. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy New Year!  When I posted this last year for the second time I said I was thinking about making this post an annual thing.  I guess it now officially is.  As Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I thought I’d try to put what the holiday means into a business context.

Last night marked the start of the Jewish New Year.  I didn’t go down to Times Square to see if they were dropping a giant knish at the stroke of sundown – probably not.  L’Shana Tova – a happy and healthy New Year to all of you.

One of the things Jews do over the next 10 days (or at least are supposed to do) is to reflect on the year gone by and think about where it took you on life’s journey.  It’s not really as much about looking back in my mind as it is about looking forward.  Oh sure, one is supposed to think about where one strayed from life’s path in terms of dealing with other humans and human codes of conduct.  We get a day of fasting next week to get that sorted out.  But it’s also a time to think about a fresh start.  Which, of course, promoted a business thought.

When do businesses stop and enter a period of reflection?  It’s obvious when they’re changing – witness Facebook last week – but I, for one, certainly wonder sometimes if those changes happen due to the momentum of previous (maybe not so good) decisions or if they’re the result of a pause, some reflection, and a willful thought by the entire organization as to the direction.  Often, I fear, it’s the former.

Jews are to use the next ten days for reflection and repentance.  I like to think of them as ten days of self-improvement.  I’d also suggest that it would do many businesses a lot of good to build the same sort of period into their corporate calendars.  Some do – they call it the budget process – but I think that’s too selective in terms of participants and goals to do much good.  Some smart CEO needs to declare it New Year’s Day for the company once a year and get everyone to do the same sort of professional reflection that many of us do on the personal side.  Identify your sins (figuratively speaking) and atone.  Faulty customer service, weak brand identity, bad employee relations, products that aren’t optimal, fostering an atmosphere of fear – these are all good places to start.

Leave a comment

Filed under Thinking Aloud, What's Going On

Tagged as , , , , ,

September 24, 2014 · 12:26 pm

The Walk To The Next Cube

Tonight marks the start of the new year in the Jewish calendar.  I thought, given the occasion, that some of you might have resolutions on your mind so here is a thought and maybe something we can all resolve to do a bit better.

While our world has never been more connected I can’t recall a time when it seems as if people who work together seem very disconnected.  What I mean is that people come in to the office and log on to their computers, put in their earphones, and do their things.  When they need to interact with someone else on their team or elsewhere in the company they send email or instant message.   That often applies even when the person to whom they are “speaking” is on the other side of an office wall or in the next cube.  As a manager, this drove me crazy.

Maybe I’m very old school.  I learned the interpersonal parts of business long before there was IM, email, or even computers on every desk.   The nature of interpersonal communication these days, particularly among younger people is quite different.  I appreciate that having unlimited texting trumps unlimited voice.   However, when you think about it the one skill that many younger workers lack is the ability to read people.  Email and IM are faceless and can’t communicate nuance.  You can’t be sure you’re hearing tone accurately.

That was why I used to tell the folks with whom I worked that my expectation of them was that when they had need to communicate with a co-worker that they would get up and walk to the next cube.  I thought it was important especially if that cube was located on another floor.  Your presence means you are giving the matter a lot of attention and they should too.  If they can’t go in person (it’s not easy to walk to the cube in another building or city), then call.  Hear their voice.  Gauge their tone.  Learn to listen.  If those things fail, then email.

That’s the thing I’m suggesting we resolve to do.  Be more human as the world gets less so.  Walk to the next cube instead of writing yet another email.  I’m going to try.  Will you?

Leave a comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , ,

September 23, 2014 · 12:19 pm

Why Should They Bother?

If you’ve spent more than a few minutes here on the screed you’re aware of my unbridled passion for golf. As any golfer will tell you, when all else fails and your game hits rock bottom, it’s time for new equipment.  As sure as the sun will rise it’s always the tool and not the carpenter. From where does one buy that new driver that is going to solve all of one’s issues? The answer to that is actually instructive for most businesses.

A golf ball.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In general, one either goes to the pro shop at your local club or to a golf store. Of late most of those golf stores are located in cyberspace. This has hurt the big brick and mortar golf chains badly. In fact, not long ago Dick’s laid off 500 PGA Pros and is scaling back its golf business.  After all, the irons are the same not matter if you’re buying them from the manufacturer (who will sell direct), a big box retailer, the golf store, eBay, or your pro shop.  Suddenly, while every brand of club is different, once you’ve decided on the make and model the club itself is the same no matter which source you choose.  This has placed pressure on margins.  In this case, as is the case in many other businesses, the internet wins every time.

The real question is why should a consumer bother going to the golf store?  In the case of Dick’s, they did exactly the wrong thing.  eBay can’t do proper club fittings – making sure the length, lie, and swing weight are right for you.  Sure, you can get golf lessons from YouTube but that’s not nearly as good as having one on one instruction.  The shop at my club will put new grips on my existing clubs, extending their life.  I’m certainly not going to mail them someplace to have that done.

In other words, every business needs to figure out why consumers should care about them – why they should bother.  Price works for businesses without a human touch.  In fact, the move toward more personalization for web-based businesses points directly to the advantage any real-world business will have: the human touch.  We’d rather speak with humans.  Don’t automated customer service lines frustrate you?  I don’t want to press 3 if my issue involves an odor of gas – I want to talk to a person NOW!

We need to think about how our brands and businesses can get consumers to care.  Otherwise we’re completely vulnerable to someone who will do what we do and sell what we do for a dollar less – free shipping included.

Make sense?

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, Reality checks

Tagged as , , ,