Tag Archives: business thinking

December 3, 2013 · 11:21 am

Can’t Help Falling In Love

Let’s talk about a goal I think most businesses have in common for our TunesDay fun.  As part of my initial work with clients we generally spend a fair amount of time discussing their goals.  After all, stumbling around from crisis to crisis without a real plan is no way to run an operation.  Most of the time, a lot of the goals can be distilled down into one simple thought – make your customers and partners fall in love with you and your offerings.  We want to get them to the place where The King is:

Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay, would it be a sin?
If I can’t help falling in love with you

The song – I Can’t Help Falling In Love (With You) is as close to a rock and roll standard as there is.   It’s been recorded dozens of times since Elvis did it in 1962 and it’s been a hit several times since.  In fact, Elvis used it as his show-closer for many years.  Here is one of my favorite performances:

The performance from the live in Hawaii shows are better vocally, but Elvis is too distracted by the audience to put everything into it until the end.  But I digress.  Having someone fall in love with your business isn’t as easy as it sounds, just as it isn’t on an interpersonal level.  In both cases, you must take the relationship seriously and not be dismissive of it (oh, there are other customers).  You need to love them and be willing to make sacrifices.  You need to be focused as much on their needs as you are on your own – sometimes maybe even a little bit more.

We don’t take enough time to find out enough about our customers/partners – their goals, needs, and passions.  You can’t have a serious relationship and fall in love without that understanding.  We need to support them and actively look to help them solve their problems.  Hopefully they, in response, are singing the finale to the song:

Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can’t help falling in love with you

That’s the goal.  How do we make it happen?

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November 26, 2013 · 9:46 am

Why Saying “Thanks” Is Good Business

Let’s say “thanks” this TunesDay, or at least consider how often it’s been said musically.  With Thanksgiving right around the corner it seems appropriate to do so as well as to think about the business point.

We begin with the weekly music video – this is one of my favorite thank you songs and it just happens to be from a guy named Keith.  It reminds us that

People say they’ll stand beside you/They swear they’ll never leave
But when the rain started falling/You know it only fell on me

We all find out who is loyal and who is not and how saying “thanks” may not even be enough to show one’s appreciation. We generally find out when times get rough, as they have for most businesses over the last few years.  The lads in Led Zepplin (“Thank You“) have a similar take, and say thanks for:

Today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the miles/Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one.

It’s nice to make someone’s world smile, but it makes the point that we might not even realize the effect doing so has on the recipient nor the depth of the response it can bring.  Dido (“Thank You“)sort of gives thanks for the same thing:

 I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life/Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life

Oh sure, her significant other handed her a towel and called her during the day, but mostly this is about how having a strong bond with someone can lift them up just by doing little things and being there.  Natalie Merchant (Kind & Generous) has an even longer list:

I want to thank you/For so many gifts
You gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you

I want to thank you/For your generosity
The love and the honesty
That you gave me

I want to thank you/Show my gratitude
My love and my respect for you
I want to thank you

There is more thanks offered in the song but it shows that when we stop to think about it, we have quite a bit for which to be thankful.  It could be as simple as letting someone be themselves (Sly & The Family Stone – “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin“) or for being a friend (Andrew Gold and also the theme to Golden Girls!) or even for music (ABBA).  Which raises the business point.

Every business has a lot for which to be thankful.  Loyal customers, hard-working employees, honest partners.  How often and in what ways do we say “thank you?”  As the above lyrics show, a little thanks can go a long way, we might not realize the powerful effect it can have on the recipient, and this is probably a great time to spread some around, don’t you think?

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November 22, 2013 · 9:53 am

President Kennedy

Fifty years ago today I was sitting in my third grade class when a teacher came in sobbing.

John F. Kennedy

Cover of John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy had been shot and the next few days have been burned into my brain ever since.  Strangely, all of those memories are black and white, since that was the kind of television we had at the time.  In retrospect, the day and his death ended an era of hope in this country as we moved into an era of conflict and chaos.

Smarter people than I have written about JFK’s impact but I thought it might be appropriate to translate a few of his thoughts into business thinking since that’s what we do here on the screed.  As is also our custom, I’m going to avoid the politics of what he had to say as well as what others had to say about him and his administration.  First, the most famous quote from his Inaugural Address:

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

In business terms, this is a recurring theme here.  Flip “country” to customer and I think you’ve got a solid paradigm through which you can view almost any business decision.  Next, the quote that triggered what might be his most enduring legacy:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

While we can debate the merits of the space program (and I wrote about that a while back), I don’t think there’s much debate about two things.  One, that program contributed to the rapid advancement of many of the technologies you’re using at this very moment to read this.  Those same technologies are driving a lot of growth in our economy and around the world.  Two, and this is the main business point, the imperative to think big thoughts.

No business can succeed by standing still.  What’s the next frontier?  How can we be better and lead?  Kennedy viewed space as a defense project which is clear when you read the address from which the quote is taken.  Dreaming big is a great defense, because the odds are your competitors are trying to as well.  As the space program has proven, the by-products of big ideas are often more valuable than accomplishing the goal itself.

Finally, Kennedy took office as a 43-year-old, following President Eisenhower who was 71 when he left.  He was the first president born in the 20th Century and projected an image of youth and excitement.  His language was forceful and filled with imagery of destiny and long-term thinking about solving problems.  That’s a great model for anyone who presents ideas which most of us do on a regular basis in business.

What happened 50 years ago today was a tragedy.  I wonder sometimes how different this country – and the world – might be had Kennedy served two terms.  While his presidency wasn’t without controversy and crisis (if you haven’t seen the movie Thirteen Days, find it and watch it!), it’s his legacy of civil rights, social programs, NASA, and the Peace Corps that stand out in my mind.  His approach to leading is a great model despite some of the personal foibles he had, and taking his approach to business issues isn’t bad either.  You agree?

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