Right now, nobody seems to be happy with President Obama’s proposed health care program. The doctors don’t like it because it stresses cost containment which would interfere with their individual prerogative to practice medicine the way they feel it should be practiced and it would also make it that much more difficult for them to…
During difficult times, it’s easy to get wrapped up in our own needs and concerns and forget all about the needs of those around us. We forget about how a kind word can brighten a colleague’s day or the impact that a caring gesture can have on a friend or neighbor. More important, we forget…
A good example of how spoiling customers is good business involves the Nordstrom department store chain. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, where until recently, there had been no Nordstrom. The closest stores were located in San Diego, some 300 miles away or one hour by air. So how did Nordstrom get people from Phoenix to shop…
Most of us will agree that one of the most boring things in the world is to have to listen to someone talk about themself while you want to talk about yourself. The thing we often forget, however, is that the person we’re talking to feels the same way. People really don’t care about what…
Chrysler and GM will emerge from bankruptcy with completely new looks. The logic is that the new Chrysler and the new GM will be in a much better position to compete companies like Toyota. As GM vice chairman Bob Lutz put it, “We will be smaller, leaner and we’re going to be a powerhouse.” Unfortunately,…
We’ve known for nearly a century that the better you treat people, the harder they’ll work. It’s a pretty straightforward relationship. This being the case, it seems logical to conclude that the job of every team leader, supervisor, manager and executive should be to treat their employees as well as possible so they become excited…
Several years ago, when I was conducting a seminar in Atlanta, one of the participants stood up and asked, “how come there aren’t more millionaires?” As I mulled this question around in my mind, it began to occur to me that the reason there aren’t more millionaires, or highly successful people in any endeavor for that…
Recently, I was walking across the parking lot toward the Trader Joe’s near my home. It was a gorgeous Arizona day and I was in a terrific mood, so I enthusiastically greeted every person I passed. One woman I greeted sarcastically said back to me: “You must not have any money in the stock market;…
It’s long been said that two heads are better than one. Even better than that is a group of 6-8 people who regularly get together to kick ideas around. About four months ago, I happened into a restaurant on a Saturday morning and noticed someone who I’d only met two or three times sitting with…
Even though they didn’t win the Super Bowl, the Arizona Cardinals are still this year’s amazing sports story. They went from being one of the perennial laughing stocks of professional football to playling in the Super Bowl in Ken Whisenhunt’s second year as head coach. Right after they won the game that earned them an…