Category Archives: Thinking Aloud

January 13, 2017 · 12:04 pm

Tastes And Trends

Foodie Friday! This is the time of year when there are all sorts of articles written about the best and worst of the previous year along with some predictions for the upcoming one. Food writers go along with this, of course, and I was reading a piece on some predictions for food trends in 2017. The predictions range from many foods with breakable crusts (think along the lines of creme brulee) to mixed use restaurants (co-working space by day, eatery by night) to more complex vegan food.

I must admit that I’m not really one who pays attention to food trends. For example, a friend taught me a chopped kale salad (finely chopped kale, arugula, toasted pine nuts, some grated parmesan cheese, EVOO and a squeeze of lemon!). It has become a staple on my dinner table. It’s not there because kale was trendy at one point or even because it’s particularly healthy. It’s there because it’s delicious. Which is, of course, the business point.

Do you buy heirloom tomatoes because they’re en vogue? Will you buy bread made from heirloom wheat because you want to impress your friends? The answer to those questions is a firm “no.” You buy those things because they taste better than many alternatives, even if they might cost a little more. No one repeatedly patronizes our businesses because they want to be a style maven per se. Sure, if you’re selling this month’s fashion there is a segment of the population that needs the ego boost of wearing the latest thing. But as with the puffy shirt episode of Seinfeld, style or trends can be fleeting. Customers want reliability and great value as you solve their problems.

As I’m writing this I’m realizing that many of the things I like in this world – foods, musicians, golf courses – tend to be classics that have endured over time. I’m also realizing that many of the businesses I patronize – even if they’re relatively new – have the characteristics that are eternal in business. They put the customer first, they deliver great value, and I can rely on them to always deliver what they promise and more. That’s a trend that’s always in fashion.

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January 6, 2017 · 9:13 am

The Missing Ingredient

First Foodie Friday of the year! If you read yesterday’s post you know that I’m on the road in Florida wth my folks, moving them into an independent living community. Part of the appeal of where they’ll be living is that their meals are all served in a lovely central dining room. I’ve now eaten there a few times and while the food was nicely cooked, I felt that it was on the bland side. Something is definitely missing. I thought it might be seasoning but I did have a blackened salmon one night which certainly had spice. It took until last evening to put my finger on it.

Their new home is a community where many of the residents suffer from hypertension. As a result, the chef doesn’t use much salt in his cooking. While there is salt (and pepper) available on the table, I guess I’ve become used to most dishes I’m served (and those I cook myself) having an appropriate, although not excessive, amount of salt to enhance the other flavors that are going on in the dish. That’s what was lacking here, and it’s a good reminder about business as well.

No one orders most dishes with salt in mind (ok, salt crusted fish and a few other things are the exceptions) but they will certainly notice if the salt is absent. There are certain things customers expect from a business which are certainly not their primary reason for patronizing a business but which will dimish the experience if they’re not present. Sometimes we forget the most basic, simple ingredients in our businesses or we dimish their importance. That’s a big mistake. Even if other elements are perfect, the lack of a key, basic ingredient can wipe out all of our good work. We need to pay as much attention to the basics as we do to the spectacular stuff that makes us shine.

I don’t fault the chef here. He is serving a community with some specific medical issues that require an adjustment in basic cooking best practices. You probably aren’t in the same situation. Your community expects you to include the key ingredients. Are you doing so?

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January 5, 2017 · 12:44 pm

My Parents Are Brave

I’m in Florida this week helping my folks move. They’re moving into an independent living place where they have neither to cook nor clean. There is transportation to shopping and banks for them and activities available hourly. Not bad, right? Right, except I consider them to be very brave for having made the move. Let me explain, and let me also add how I think this can apply to your business.

A moving truck operated by Piedmont Moving Sys...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While my parents are both in decent health, there is no question that they are slowing down and less able to do things as easily as they once did. They recognized it but they were fearful of packing up two homes (one up north, one here) and moving into what my dad calls an old folks home. As a child, he was reared in an orphanage, so moving into an institutional setting stirs up stuff for him. My mom moved her mother into a place like this one and I’m sure that moving in herself stirs up a lot of memories. Nevertheless, they are making the move. I think they’re quite brave.

What does this have to do with your business? We often recognize that circumstances are changing and that the business is unable to perform as it once did. The easy thing is to keep on doing what we’ve been doing. The brave thing is to figure out what the right thing is – what the needed changes are – and to change our circumstances to make a better future. We can’t let our fears or our level of comfort keep us from putting ourselves and our businesses in the best possible circumstances to assure success.

Even though they were scared, they moved. Change is rarely easy but often necessary, in business and in life. What changes are needed in your world?

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