Tag Archives: Reality checks

February 17, 2014 · 10:02 am

Happy President’s Day!

Today we celebrate the birthday of George Washington and of course since the government decreed this a holiday it will never occur on his actual birthday (true!).

1795 - 1823

1795 – 1823 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In many places, the holiday also celebrates Lincoln’s birthday – these two men were born on dates only 10 days apart although separated by 70 years or so.  Since today is a holiday for many of you, I thought I’d get in the “day off” spirit by reposting something from 2009 that still is good advice – Washington’s, not mine!

It’s no surprise that almost 282 years after his birth, George Washington has some business thoughts.  Now before you click to the next blog, let’s remember that this is the man who predicted the European Union a long time ago except that he called it the “United States of Europe“.  His open letter to the American People, written as he left office, raises themes that are even more true today.  He urged Americans to unite for the good of the whole country, to avoid permanent foreign alliances, particularly in Europe, and to keep morality first and foremost in government.

Turns out he had some pretty good business advice as well although I’m not sure he intended it as such.  So, let’s follow his advice to “Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive” and look briefly at a few quotes.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

We’ve discussed that point many times in this space.  It’s impossible to do good business while doing bad things.

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

Right-sizing, in other words, but also giving people responsibility and the freedom to act.  I suspect that he knew a lot about conservation and deployment of resources from his time near the Delaware.

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.

Oh boy.  Is there a better quote to sum up all that has gone down in the housing and mortgage industries?  Don’t do bad deals and you’ll sleep better!  And finally:

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

For whom you work and with whom you do business say a lot about YOU!  So Happy Presidents Day and let’s remember the people behind the holiday as well as what they had to say.

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February 14, 2014 · 12:37 pm

Chef? What Chef?

Our Foodie Friday Fun this week coincides with Valentine’s Day.

Chef preparing food 2

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us will be taking our valentines out for a special meal to celebrate.  It’s nice to have someone else do the cooking every so often and hopefully that food is of a higher quality and more sophisticated that what we’d prepare ourselves.  Then again, it might just be frozen vegetables and a microwaved entrée.  Think I’m kidding?

Anyone who has ever watched any of the “kitchen rescue” shows – Restaurant Impossible or Kitchen Nightmares – knows that some lower quality places substitute the microwave for the stove, presenting reheated frozen food as freshly made.  However, as a recent Wall Street Journal article pointed out, even high-end places in France serve food that has been cooked elsewhere.  In fact, of the 80,000 table-service restaurants in France, fewer than 10% have labels certifying that most of their ingredients are fresh and that the dishes are cooked on site.  The reasons they cite are high labor costs and high food costs.  Who needs a chef when you have a factory?

The reasons behind this aren’t the point today.  Instead, let’s think about the diner.  When most of us go out, there is an expectation that we’re paying for convenience, sure, but also for food that’s prepared on site.  As with any business, when the business knowingly delivers something that differs widely from what the customer is expecting, that business is teed up for problems.  Put aside the fact that you’re deceiving the customer.  If all the restaurants serve the same frozen food from the same factory, what is it that distinguishes their product from the competition?  Service and decor to be sure, but is that enough to keep a customer in the face of the guy across the street with the same food at a lower price?

The message for all businesses is pretty clear in my mind.   If we cut corners, do everything cheaply, and sacrifice quality for margin, what are the long-term prospects?  Someone else can always find a cheaper way (hello, U.S. electronics industry, car industry, etc.) to do what we’re doing.  Instead, we need to provide value, quality, and something uniquely our own.  We need to honor the expectations WE set in our customers’ minds.  Deception is a self-defeating business practice.

I’d be angry if I found the exact same meal for which I paid $25 in the frozen food case for $4, and question going back to that restaurant again.  Wouldn’t you?

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February 7, 2014 · 11:55 am

Full Of Beans

Our Foodie Friday Fun revolves around stupid food labeling tricks.  It’s hard to believe some of the things food marketers do.  Some are just silly; others are downright deceptive by design.

From Alphaila.com

The latter is what I want to talk about today.  You really wouldn’t think that any smart brand manager would try this stuff in a time of massive social interaction among consumers.  You’d be wrong.  In fact, a bill was introduced last year (the Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2013) which seeks to change food labeling requirements as well as dealing with package labeling and allegedly misleading claims about what foods are “healthy,” “natural” or “made with whole grain.”   Now given the state of affairs in Washington, it’s not unlikely this bill will become law (oops, no politics here!).  However, the fact that the issue of deceptive packaging and marketing  is on the minds of both state and federal legislators doesn’t speak well of the industry.

Just because a package can say “No Trans Fat” if there is less than half a gram in the product doesn’t mean “no trans fat.”  If there is a half gram per serving and you eat two or three servings (as if you only eat the amount of snack foods that’s a single serving…), you’ve ingested an amount that should be identified.  “Natural” is sold as healthy when it’s can be anything but (see “high fructose corn syrup“).  Telling consumers that high-sugar products are good for them (Nutella) or how they’ll protect a kid’s immune system (Rice Krispies) is more dumb than dishonest.  But food brands aren’t the only ones.

Since it’s that diet time of year, false weight-loss claims are in vogue.  So much so that the FTC has issued Gut Check: A Reference Guide for Media on Spotting False Weight-Loss Claims, which is an update of a 2003 booklet on how media should treat weight-loss advertising.  We still saw ads for wearing sneakers that can make you skinny.  Let’s not even get started on airbrushing models.  It’s nice that someone is charged with verifying advertising claims but it does raise a very basic question.

Why would you lie?  Labeling lawsuits are skyrocketing.  Maybe in part because we live in a litigious world but maybe because it’s much easier for consumers to get information and to communicate.  Why would you feel the need to lie given those things?  Why does it take a lawsuit or governmental intervention or a social media blow-up when all that should be required to fix this is a brand manager’s common sense? Your ad may be for cereal but it often turns out the box is full of beans (as my Dad likes to say about people who are full of something else…).

Consumers are smart and getting smarter every day.  Treating them any differently is dumb, which you’re not, right?

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