I'm pretty sure most of us missed the Crusades … and know very little of medieval warfare.While battle strategy in that era appears to be random and haphazard, certainly in most movies depicting that period, planning invariably eclipsed brute force. Strategy proved to be the touchpoint for success in every battle, including the ones we’re…
Hope isn't a strategy. Action IS! For most of us, Spring is the time of the year when hope springs eternal. The sun is out ... the flowers are blooming ... and this year it seems we're finally emerging from the worst pandemic in our lifetimes. But maybe your initiatives…
I'm pretty sure most of us missed the Crusades … and know very little of medieval warfare. W hile battle strategy in that era appears to be random and haphazard, certainly in most movies depicting that period, planning invariably eclipsed brute force. Strategy proved to be the touchpoint for success in every battle, including the…
Most of us weren't around during World War II ... but D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion of all time.It involved over 250,000 troops and 15,000 ships landing along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944.Luck?Accident? ... or the result of rigorous strategic planning and project…
Yes, the holidays are here and already the list of things to do continues to grow – completing the annual budget, planning parties, visiting with friends, figuring out what to get who for when … and so it goes.Yet, my spirit remains strong, so I’ve prepared a menu of 12…
Hope isn't a strategy. Action IS!For most of us, this is the time of the year when hope springs eternal. We’re revved up for an exciting new year, determined to change all of the things that didn’t work last year so we can pound the ball out of the park…
If you woke up this morning with sugar plums dancing in your head, most likely Santa made it down the chimney ... and Rudolph is stretched out on the ottoman with a cup of spiced egg nog in hand. "Seriously?" my wife said. "You're really singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…
The holidays are here and we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to get it all done. So, instead of asking you to work at something – anything – I’ve decided to give you a gift of holiday music. Elmo did it, so did Ren & Stimpy, Winnie…
These are the four pillars of any firm’s long-term success
“Lary, give this customer a call. We’ve just received an unauthorized return, and I want these shoes sent back.
“Funny how the green shoes don’t fit and the red ones fit perfectly.”
It wasn’t uncommon for the chairman of company North (you may remember him from the 2nd article in our Culture Series, How Are You Paving the Road to Superior Performance) to stop by my office with a message like this.
I realized later he was talking in code
His remarks were actually a code:
“The red shoes sold well but the green ones the customer bought aren’t selling … so now they’re claiming they don’t fit so they can return them. We’ve had no other such complaints. Tell them we won’t accept them and refuse them at the door if they come back.”
I made a note to contact the customer, figuring I’d call them after lunch when I would be more likely to catch them three time zones away.