Tag Archives: business thinking

How It’s Made

One of my favorite Canadian imports – besides hockey and Neil Young – is a quirky show called “How It’s Made.” You can see it on The Science Channel. Basically it shows you how lots of things both common and uncommon are created. Because today is Foodie Friday, and the Fourth of July, I’m embedding the clip on how hot dogs are made:

Yummy!  You can find lots of clips on the show’s site.

But I’ll also ask you to think about a business question – do you have any sense of how the things your business produces are made?  I mean, how well do you really understand the people and processes that are responsible for your economic health?  I always felt like I should know enough about each person’s job so that I could provide guidance by asking good questions.  That doesn’t mean I could, or wanted to, do their jobs.  But I could do mine, which was to help them do theirs.

But enough business – on to a great holiday weekend!

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Business Language

Like some of you, I watch a lot of sports on TV.  I listen to sports when I’m in the car.  I’m kind of obsessed, I know.   Because of this, I hear a lot of different announcers – good ones, bad ones, smart ones, dumb ones.  But it’s only over the last couple of weeks – yep, World Cup again – that I’ve come to appreciate how the careful, clever use of language can enhance the event experience much as food is enhanced by the cook who knows how to season it properly.  And that’s something to keep in mind for business as well! Continue reading

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Plan? I’m Wide Open

There’s a scene at the end of The In-Laws (the original, not the awful remake of a few years ago) when Sheldon and Vince are up against a wall facing a firing squad.  Shelly asks Vince for the plan – how are they going to escape?  Vince replies “Plan?  There is no plan.  I’m wide open” and it dawns on Shelly that they’re going to be shot.

That quote has stayed with me over the years because I can’t believe how often it’s appropriate in business.  The latest instance of this came just last week based on a survey by Digital Brand Expressions on corporations‘ use of social media. Continue reading

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