When a Keynote hits the wrong note.

I attended the central Mass business expo this week and subjected to their keynote speaker. I use the word subjected because I am trying to be polite - boring in delivery and more noteworthy - boring in content. This was an opportunity to provide these business people with something helpful, timely and applicable - it was also supposed to be information that would help their business to do well in a rough economy and unfortunately, it accomplished none of these.
Here are some of the gems I did happen to glean from the presentation.

• turn down the heat and buy your people long sleeved sweatshirts to reduce costs through the winter.
• LOCK the supply cabinet.
• take a close look at your expenditures and go to your vendors and get them to lower your price.

So if you like those and think they would make a difference in your business surviving the recession then here are a few more you might benefit from.

• CLOSE your doors - save a bundle.
• QUIT - go work for someone else.
• MOVE - change your name and find a new identity, start over.
• Start collecting cans and bottles on the side of the road.
• Get rid of your car, walk to work.
• See if you can save money by "acquiring" your lunch in the dumpster behind McDonald's.

Sounds Ridiculous doesn't it? I thought it would.

Bigger = Slower?

So here I am watching Tom Peters speak to a group of business people that are attending his presentation because they all desire to see their business grow. One problem according to Tom - that may not be the right thing to focus on and often big companies often equate to bad companies.
Think about yourself - maybe you have put on a few pounds, maybe you are a "little" out of shape and surely as you have grown older you have discovered more aches and pains? Your bigger - so to speak, but you are hardly faster or more energetic. Same proves true in business - with growth often a business finds themselves losing some of their nimble moves and stamina, not to mention flexibility.
So the point would seem to be - focus on the right things, the fundamentals and not the flashy things. In history all empires seem to have grown to a point where they suddenly cannot get out of their own way, they experience a social and financial collapse and then they implode - sounds a little scary doesn't it?

Write it Down!

I was watching a show about Herodotus this weekend. Much of what we know about the ancient Greek world is seen through his lens. He was diligent about recording events and offering his interpretation of them - he wrote everything down. Not everything was spot on, not all of it was accurate, many criticized his viewpoint but still - he wrote it down.
Too often in business and especially sales there is not enough written down. Well of course there is no shortage of excel reports and forms but that is not really what I am talking about. If you are a CEO do you get sudden inspiration and ideas and then jot those down immediately, if you are a sales person do you document your success and your failures in a journal of some type.
When I think about putting all of your thoughts in writing I can't help but mention Rick Roberge. In his Blog he mentions everything that happens and willingly offers his perspective. I really enjoy watching events unfold through his lens and I know there are times when the mere process of documenting these situations helps him get his head around things.
The same is proven true for the belly to belly sales person as much as the high level CEO. Writing things down will help you get your head around things and provide a measurable way to improve your skills or your business!

Hey Diddle Diddle

So here we are - weeks since my last post and the news and outlook for this economy is worse than ever. More big banks have floundered and fell, AIG is in trouble for spending $500k on a trip to reward their sales people (who didn't sell by the way???), the Dow is below 9000 and the behemoth of GM is poised on the edge of bankruptcy.
Apparently all of these troubles were brewing under the surface for a long time and nobody saw this coming - imagine that! Could there be "huge problems" hidden beneath the surface in your organization? Wouldn't it be nice to expose them earlier, before they turn into a really big and unfixable mess.
I would imagine that if I could go back in time to speak to the CEO's of AIG, Bear Sterns, Wachovia or Lehman Brothers they would say "all set", "no problems", "I have a great team of people who know what they are doing" etc, etc. Of course they would have been wrong but therein lies the curiosity. All too often so called business leaders don't lead and have ulterior motives. Finding "problems" that need fixed will mean work and change for them - yuk!
It is rumored that emperor Nero started the great fire of Rome and played his lyre while it burned. Don't know if that is true but it would make sense knowing what we know about Nero. The fire made room for a new Palace and gave him an opportunity to frame the Christians for the disaster (and then persecute them) as well as ridding the city of slums and many of the poor.
In our modern situation I think we all know that the "fire" could parallel this economic melt down - I haven't worked out who Nero is yet, but I am sure he is out there somewhere playing a fiddle.