What Is A VIP Customer – And What Does He Want?
“Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.” – Thorstein Veblen (The Theory of the Leisure Class, 1899) I am a Miami Heat season-ticket holder. I have two seats. Each one costs me $150 per game. With 44 season games and playoffs,…
READ MORESeeds of Wealth
Dear Early Riser, What you are doing by honing your success skills — in my humble opinion — is the smartest thing you can do for yourself. The economy is faltering, and recession is upon us. Every businessman I know is working scared. Soon there will be cutbacks and layoffs.…
READ MOREThank Your Customers Over And Over Again
“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” – Jacques Maritain (Reflections on America, 1958) Most of our time is spent figuring out how to get new customers. But some of it must also be spent thinking about pleasing the ones we have. So, today, let’s spend a few minutes…
READ MORETaking The Long-Term, Big-Picture View
Yesterday, I had a conversation with DK, a fellow Miami Heat season-ticket holder and the president and CEO of a billion-dollar food-distribution business. DK is successful even by Boca Raton standards, but he’s also a laid-back, low-key guy — which marks him as an oddity among his more aggressive neighbors,…
READ MOREHow To Be A Successful Negotiator
Three elements are at play in a negotiation, according to James Sebenius (writing in the Harvard Business Review) who has done thousands and ought to know: 1. Issues are on the table for explicit agreement. 2. Positions are one party’s stands on the issues. 3. Interests are underlying concerns that…
READ MOREIn Business, As In Life, There’s A Big Difference Between Having A Sense Of Humor And Not Taking Anything Seriously
I used to employ a young copy editor, MB, who was bright and talented and doomed to failure in the corporate world. This was clear to me from the very first moment I met him. We had just been introduced when he said something like “So I guess you’re the…
READ MOREHow To Make Meetings Work, Part 2
“For the most part, our leaders are merely following out in front; they do but marshal us the way that we are going.” – Bergen Evans (The Spoor of Spooks and Other Nonsense, 1954) Dave Barry says the reason the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its…
READ MOREHow to Make Your Business Profitable in the First Year
“The key to success isn’t much good until one discovers the right lock to insert it in.” – Tehyi Hsieh (Chinese Epigrams Inside Out and Proverbs, 1948) Four things to know about success: 1. It has almost nothing to do with luck. 2. It very seldom happens “overnight.” 3. If…
READ MOREBusiness Idea: Psychological Counseling For Business People And Investors
I have been thinking recently about some of the failures I’ve had in business (product launches and investments). I was trying to figure out if there was one common element, one mistake that was common to all of them. And I realized that for most of them, there was. The…
READ MOREWhat To Do If You Get Blindsided By A Bad Customer Service Report
“Criticism is prejudice made plausible.” – H.L Mencken Sooner or later, one way or another, you will find yourself being criticized publicly and unfairly for some breach of customer service etiquette.Your natural action will be defensive. You are a good manger who cares about how your customers are treated. In…
READ MOREYou Can Learn Alot About Your Company From Your Employees
“All inquiries carry with them some element of risk.” – Carl Sagan (Broca’s Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science, 1979) Every time I take a walk around a company that I own and talk to an employee I hardly know, I discover something interesting about my business. More often…
READ MORE“Inward” Vs “Outward” Business Management
“Everything which is properly ‘business’ we must keep carefully separate from ‘life.’ Business requires earnestness and method; life must have a freer handling.” – Goethe (Elective Affinities, 1809) According to Inc. magazine, Ed Ossie built MTW Corp. (a consultant to web-based businesses) into a very successful company by creating a…
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