Archive for the 'Digression' Category

Sarah Palin is a Quitter, and Quitters Never Win

Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit
Argh! I can hear my mother misquoting Vince Lombardi in my sleep: “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” A simple saying that forced me to keep my word throughout my life – even when it cost me money.
Why is it these simple clichés can hold such importance [...]

Filed in Digression, Leadership News and Views No Responses yet

Chaggle.com is the Next Big Thing - Don’t Haggle with The Manager

Chaggle is the Next (Fill in the Blank)
Last month a colleague told me about this little technology startup that had carved out a pretty cool niche for themselves – and within ten minutes of hearing his description of Chaggle.com, I was happily using what should prove to be the next big thing on the World [...]

Filed in Digression, Recommended Products No Responses yet

Email Etiquette for Message Importance – When “Importance: High” = “Don’t Waste Your Time”

Quick, Read This Email… Now!
Today I received another in a long line of email messages from a certain vendor touting their newest and greatest product improvement. This email, like all of its predecessors, arrived in my Outlook inbox as a message of High Importance. Because I receive just one in five hundred messages marked [...]

Filed in Business Situations, Digression, Sales Management One Response so far

Stop the Madness - Social Networking is not a Panacea

You’re Not Ready for Social Networking
A colleague who operates a retail franchise asked me my thoughts about incorporating social networking into his Internet sales efforts. Currently, he tracks about 35% of his sales directly to customers who first contacted his store via the Internet.
As I explained to my colleague (without trying to sound like [...]

Filed in Business Situations, Digression No Responses yet

Lazy Kids and the End of Entrepreneurship in America

The Future of Entrepreneurship in America
I noticed something strange while sitting on my front porch today: A professional landscaping crew of seven had descended on my cul-de-sac to industriously cut the lawns and trim the bushes at my home and the homes of my neighbors on either side.
While this same event happens twice [...]

Filed in Digression, Leadership Observations 4 Comments so far

Proper Filenames are Critical to Proper Business Etiquette

 
Sometimes You Have to be a Prick to Those Outside of Your Company
 
I just received the March 2009 purchase report from one of our company’s 50+ vendors who provide such recaps. This particular vendor chose to name the file MyCompanyMarch.xls. By “MyCompanyMarch,” I mean he put the name of my company and the month in [...]

Filed in Business Situations, Digression, Leadership Observations, Management Training No Responses yet

Secretary Duncan Should Wear a Dunce Cap

 
Lessons on Leadership and Humanity from Arne Duncan
 
As we wrote last month in our post about local school administrators: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach, become administrators.” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is the administrator of all administrators.
 
On Tuesday, Secretary Duncan was in Denver proclaiming that American children [...]

Filed in Digression, Leadership News and Views 2 Comments so far

Madoff Accountant Friehling Could Be More Culpable Than Madoff

 
If You Want the Swindlers, Get Their Accountants

“If you want the Mafia, get their lawyers,” explains Mitchell McDeere, formerly of Bendini, Lambert and Locke.

I think we’re missing the real villains in the Bernard Madoff affair. Madoff, in case you’ve been under a rock for the last few months, is the 70-year old investment fund [...]

Filed in Business Situations, Digression One Response so far

Next Page »