Ask questions while the answers still matter
Back in November 2017, my wife hit a deer at 70 mph on a four-lane road on her way to work in the pre-dawn hours a few days before Thanksgiving. The events that followed provided a number of takeaways...
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Listen to clients. They say the darndest things.
I love polarized lenses. Sunlight reflected off snow or water is brutal on my eyes. Polarized prescription shades make it all better. They aren’t inexpensive, yet the payoff in improved vision and eye...
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Strategic responsibility: Client Care and Feeding
The custody, guardianship & defense of your clients is a strategic responsibility for anyone interested in customer retention. When you fail to provide timely, wise counsel to your clients, it...
View ArticleChaos, frenetic activity and burning buildings
Years ago when the photo software company first started, it was not all butterflies and rainbows. Quite the opposite. Day one was full-on chaos. On Friday, the check was delivered and a jointly-written...
View ArticleUnderstand anything and everything
On this Armistice Day, I’m reminded of the wisdom of the Vets who influenced my life. Typically, this means lessons learned from my dad and father-in-law, who both served as B-52 mechanics (Presque...
View ArticleAssumptions are dangerous
For the last month or so, I’ve been working on an all-consuming project. Yesterday, during a conversation with the recipient of this work, it became obvious that both of us had made some assumptions...
View ArticleStrategic Notepad: Take Ownership
Last week, we talked about the opportunity presented to you when you find yourself helping a client in a stressed, deadline-driven or other pressure-filled situation. You can either create a good...
View ArticleStrategic Notepad: Customer Service
Last week, I noted that how you should recover from a client’s poor experience with you is dependent upon the context. For example, a four hour flight delay is meaningless if you have a six hour...
View ArticleProtecting your business
Business owners protect their business by reducing risk, managing cash flow, getting appropriate legal advice and insuring their people and assets properly. The thing is, you can do those all things...
View ArticleWhere’s the Maitre’ D?
When a new client arrives at your store and/or on your website, do they know exactly where everything is? Probably not. If not, are there clear introductions to where things are, what the rules of the...
View ArticleAnd after Small Business Saturday?
Besides being a particularly busy Christmas shopping day, this coming Saturday is “Small Business Saturday”. Once a year, American Express (organizer of Small Business Saturday) encourages shoppers to...
View ArticleYour referrals leave an impression
Recently, I received an email from someone who described a rather unpleasant home improvement job, which involved the purchase of materials and a subsequent installation of them. We like these things...
View ArticleOn the playing field, little things matter
Saturday was a bit of a football day. I attended my first Griz game, watched my Razorbacks disintegrate in the fourth quarter (yes, again) and stayed up late watching a fascinating, action-filled Utah...
View ArticleCommunicate when nature threatens
Last week I said “Allowing perceptions to percolate in our guests’ minds without updates is dangerous not only for this year’s success, but for future years as well.” Part of your job is to set guests’...
View ArticleForest fire communication can burn you
Now that the Reynolds Creek fire is 65% contained, there are two myths to squash: “The fire is almost out.” Not true. Ask anyone close to the fire teams and they’ll likely tell you that only a...
View ArticleWhy do they want to disrupt your market?
The big word in the startup world is disruption, as in “We will disrupt the what-cha-ma-call-it market.” Thinking about last week’s discussion about buying a new vehicle, let’s talk about what...
View ArticleThe care and feeding of leads
Last weekend, we did a little shopping for a “large recreational purchase”. We hadn’t shopped in this market before, so you wouldn’t have been surprised that I would have my radar fully unfurled to...
View ArticleWhat your customers don’t know
One of the more dangerous things that can get stuck a writer’s head is the feeling (assumption) that everyone knows or has already read about what you’d like to write about. This usually happens...
View ArticleThe hardest part of helping businesses
There are a lot of rewards that come with helping businesses improve beyond what they expected, or even simply going a step or two beyond an artificial boundary the business owner thought was in front...
View ArticleDesperate for business?
Recently, I drove past a local shop advertising everything they sell at 50% off. While I don’t like to assume, it’s hard not to wonder if such a radical price cut is anything else but a desperate move...
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