Tag Archives: business thinking

February 11, 2013 · 11:53 am

I Know They Suck At Business

We had a little snow here over the weekend.  You might have heard about it – all 30+ inches worth of it.  Fortunately, we hunkered down and made it through without any damage of loss of power.  By yesterday we had been plowed out and the streets were clear enough to venture out.  Besides getting some fresh air, I got a quick business lesson I’d like to share.  It’s the business equivalent of a poker “tell” – something a person does that is a dead giveaway as to how good or bad a hand they hold.  In this case it has to do with how good or bad they are at business and it’s something you can use as well.

Driving around we saw an incredible number of cars with snow on their roofs.  I’m not sure why but the majority of them seemed to be SUVs.   Oh sure, I understand that its difficult to get all the snow off of the roof when the car is six feet tall.  It takes a little extra effort and maybe a minute to find a broom.  Apparently, that was too much for the folks behind the wheels of these vehicles, none of whom looked to be older than me (so age and infirmity are no excuse).

I know they suck at business.  The snow on the roof is a dead giveaway.   Driving behind one of these idiots is dangerous – we must have seen six or seven explosions of snow and ice blow off of the roofs as we drove down the parkway.  Not that it makes a huge difference but this was not some dusting of snow that blew off – most of the cars had a least a foot of snow on them.  Fortunately, we didn’t see any accidents but we did see several cars hit their brakes or swerve.  Pretty dangerous.

I know they’re bad at business because they’re selfish and self-absorbed   They can’t possibly put the needs of customers or clients ahead of their own desires   They can’t stop thinking about themselves long enough to listen to an employees cry for help.  They can’t make products that appeal to others. They’re too “Me”-focused.  If they weren’t, they’d take the time to think about the drivers sharing the road with them.

An over-reaction on my part?  Tell me.

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

Tagged as , , , ,

February 5, 2013 · 12:18 pm

Early Dismissal

It’s snowing lightly here this morning. We’re a couple of miles from the local schools but I can hear the minds of every child putting out vibes for early dismissal. That’s a fine thing when you’re sitting in a classroom but it’s a very dangerous thing in business. Let me explain with a something that’s going on in my business.

I was speaking with a business partner a couple of weeks ago and in the course of conversation he asked me a question that was a complete nonsequitur. He asked if I knew anyone who wanted to buy a large quantity of something (yes, it’s totally legal). He is not in the business of brokering purchases of this stuff and neither am I. After I stopped laughing I asked him to send me more information. Rather than dismissing the idea of brokering a deal in a field that’s unfamiliar, I spent a few minutes running through my contact list and thinking about his question. I sent out a few emails to folks I knew who might know a buyer.

Strangely enough, a little while later I received a response from someone who had a buyer. This was not a person who has anything to do with what is being bought and sold but in his network he had a friend who is in that business. While we’re still putting the deal together, it’s looking good and could be a nice piece of business for everyone involved.

All of this happened because I am an advocate for never dismissing any idea out of hand. How many opportunities can you think of in your business that went by the wayside because someone with less vision than you dismissed them too early?  I’m not naive enough to believe that every good idea is fully formed when it first emerges from its cognitive womb, but I do think that in almost every bad idea is the germ of something that might be worth pursuing.  The problem comes when we dismiss them on the basis of the obvious bad thinking and ignore their potential.

Early dismissal is something that should appeal only to school kids.  It can be fatal when it’s practiced on a regular basis by business folks.  Think about that and let me know if you agree.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, Helpful Hints

Tagged as , , , ,

February 1, 2013 · 11:24 am

Chefs And Cooks

Ah, Foodie Friday!  The gateway to the weekend.  One of the things I like most about the weekend is that I can spend time in the kitchen and not feel as if I’m neglecting work.  I suppose for those folks for whom the kitchen is work – on both an amateur and professional basis – that’s not such a treat but it is to me.  There are, of course, an awful lot of differences between what I do in the kitchen and what a professional does.  The biggest difference, aside from the skill level, is that I’m usually there working by myself as both chef and cook.  If you’re not clear as to what the main difference is, read on – there’s a business point in it as well.

English: White House chefs, directed by Execut...

.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Running a business is similar to running a kitchen.  The key in both cases is for the person in charge – the chef – not to get too caught up in doing the grunt work but instead in spending their time and energy supervising and helping the line cooks.  Any great chef will tell you that the hardest part of their work isn’t  creating the dishes they serve.  Instead, it’s in taking those menu items  and putting them into a system that will work efficiently.  You must produce each dish in a timely manner and at a consistent level of quality.  Managing a business staff is the same – the art is in creating a system that produces consistent work in a timely, efficient manner.

Another point to consider is the complexity of those dishes or the projects you assign to your staff.  I used to play music with a lot of extremely talented musicians.  However, there were a few pieces that were just too difficult for us to pull off and in the interest of our audience we didn’t try to play them publicly.  Knowing the limitations of a staff or your business to produce something is an important part of the management mix and the creative process.

Most chefs have no problem stepping into a station on the line if need be.  Most great managers can step in and help with the grunt work as well.  The ones who aren’t worthy of their titles are the ones who think it’s beneath them or who don’t have the focus on the customer’s immediate need for the work.  Which are you – a chef or a cook?  Which role should you be playing?

Enhanced by Zemanta

2 Comments

Filed under food, Helpful Hints

Tagged as , , , , , ,