Tag Archives: business thinking

April 24, 2019 · 2:09 pm

Good Caddies, Great Business

I like walking the golf course with a caddie. I really don’t get to do so much anymore since not a lot of places employ caddies. Even rarer are the places that employ professional caddies (as opposed to some kid who will carry your bag but knows less about the course and golf than you do).

I was thinking about the differences a professional caddie can make and it dawned on me that some of the things I appreciate most about good caddies are the same things that can help transform a good business into a great business. Ironically, those things don’t include what is often cited as the caddie’s three jobs: show up, keep up and shut up. There are, however, a number of other things I’d like to point out.

First, great caddies are available. What I mean by that is that they keep up with you and are by your side when you need them to be. They also leave you alone when you don’t need them, as you chat with your golfing companions. Great businesses are available as well. You can reach someone 24/7, even if it’s only to get told “we hear you and someone will get back to you by 9am” and their website information is up to date and complete. Great businesses let you know they are available and they hear you.

A caddie is an epitome of combining service and convenience. That’s what your business needs to do as well. The convenience of someone buying online and the service of going to pick up the order at a special desk at your local retail outlet does that (and saves shipping charges as well as time).

Caddies are proactive. They have the right yardage figured out when you get to the ball and they hand you the right club for the shot. By the way, great caddies give you the club you need, not necessarily the club you want. After a few shots, they’re pretty good at assessing your game and understanding the best way to help you have a great round. Great businesses are the same – they’re proactive. They know their customers and have what they want before they ask for it.

Finally, the best caddies are fun people. They’re great to talk with, generally have a decent joke or two to tell, and help you to focus on your task at hand. They make it easy to have the best experience possible. Isn’t that exactly what great businesses do as well?

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April 19, 2019 · 1:44 pm

The Buffet Bill

Happy Foodie Friday and a Happy Easter and a Zissen Pesach to those of you who celebrate one or the other (or both!). I spent much of this week in Las Vegas, one of this country’s great food cities. I know – how can I say that about a town that’s built pretty much just to separate you from your money? Well, you gotta eat in between all of that spending and it seems as if every big name chef has a place in Vegas. There is also an awful lot of great local places too.

While the food is very good at most places in town, it’s pretty expensive. Obviously, the high-end, big-name chef places are pricey but even some of the small local joints I patronized ended up costing quite a bit of change. While I realize that the prices I pay in my little North Carolina town aren’t “big city”, I’m quite used to NYC pricing since that’s what I paid my entire life. The prices in Vegas are beyond that when you total up all of the ala carte items you order.

One thing that’s a real tradition is the Vegas buffet. Every hotel has one and there are many stand-alone buffets in town as well. They’re not inexpensive either. The one at my hotel was $31 including the tip. Yes, even bottomless mimosas! As I was running through the massive food service area (for the third time), I realized that I’m very much a buffet guy and I think most consumers are too.

What I mean by that is that we seem to be living in an age where everything is ala carte. Your airline ticket may be your protein, but you might want some veggies (an assigned seat), a salad (a checked bag), and a starch (fuel surcharges, booking fees, etc.) which will make up the real cost of your meal.  Sure, your hotel room is $139/night, but the “resort fees” and fees for things like having a safe in your room or built-in tips for the housekeeper can inflate your bill quite a bit.

Everyone complains about what most ticket services tack on to the base price of a concert ticket. Look at your cable or telephone bill and I’m sure you can find quite a bit of dough you’re being charged that takes your monthly tab beyond the advertised price that drew you in as a customer in the first place. I’m a buffet-pricing guy. Tell me the entire price upfront and let me decide. Sure, the lower price might get me in the door once, but the anger I feel when I see the final bill will assure that I won’t be back.

You might be fine with ala carte pricing. In theory, I am too because why pay for something you won’t use? The problem is that you really don’t have the option. When an airline charges you for carry-on bags or for checked bags, there is no “option” unless it’s a day trip without luggage. You’re paying the fee. why not include it in the price?

Enjoy your buffet this weekend!

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Filed under food, Helpful Hints, Reality checks

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April 10, 2019 · 12:55 pm

Circular Firing Squads

One thing that used to amaze me without fail was when a room full of intelligent people would form a circular firing squad and shoot away. OK, so it’s not literally true, but you know what I mean and you’ve probably been in one or more of these situations yourself.

Photo by Holger Link

It happens when someone surfaces an idea or an argument that deviates from the conventional wisdom or thinking on an issue. Instead of evaluating the new thinking on its merits, people start taking potshots at one another. They should be united against a common “enemy” – the competition, for example, or a big problem. Instead, they attack one another.

I’m not really sure how one combats this. I always used to raise ideas along with all of the flaws inherent in what I was espousing. By showing that I understood the weaknesses in my thinking I was also showing that I could be balanced and not delusional enough to think that every idea I had was gold. What I was hoping for was for others to focus on the good parts of my thinking instead of spending time trying to surface the problems because I had already done that.

Whenever possible, I’d draw pictures of some sort – Venn diagrams, flow charts, whatever – because I believe that pictures are more easily understood, even those drawn by a person with zero artistic ability (me). The goal was always to get the team standing back to back, rifles pointed out at the problem and away from pointing inward at one another.

Creating an environment where new ideas flourish is one of the biggest management challenges. Keeping the team focused on the big goals and not on taking pot shots at one another to further their personal goals is another one. What’s above are some of the ways I do that. How do you do that?

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