Everyone talks about R&D. Everyone talks about Customer Service. But never have I seen them put together. The companies that I’m most likely to provide feedback to are the ones that wow me. These (right or wrong) are the ones that I perceive as being the most customer focused. Direct client feedback, while sometimes misleading,…
Don’t just talk about it, prove it in the pitch – Put your #MoneyWhereYourMouthIs
I find it entertaining to sit through sales pitches about all the great things vendors can do for me where they sit in PowerPoint the whole time. I never leave a PowerPoint based meeting feeling confidence in someone’s ability to deliver. PowerPoint is the ultimate sales crutch – it enables people with no capabilities to…
Why aren’t more #Industrial #Engineers in #Technology Design?
When designing distribution processes, one of the key goals is to minimize the number of times an item is touched between receiving and shipping. Every time that you handle a product it adds cost and a possibility of a quality incident. Removing touches becomes a key goal. The same is often not true of web…
Thoughts on #value at a higher cost
Funny thing about customers – often they are willing to pay more if they are able to see, feel and understand the value they are paying for. Yes, many consumers do look at price first. But also see the curious case of a company known as Apple. Apple makes no bones about charging a premium…
What we can learn about our business from the #Election2012 coverage.
Hat Tip to abeskray for the comment “Hats off to Nate Silver for being a journalist and not an entertainer!” That got me thinking about how it isn’t just the news stations that too easily switch from reporting and analysis into full on entertainment mode (sometimes without realizing it). We all do it to some…
Take the lead by getting out of the lead. #leadership
Some days it’s just better to sit quietly off to the side and let everyone else take the lead. Leading is as much about sometimes taking a back seat and letting others take control. Just be sure you know when to jump back in if things go too wrong. Similarly make sure that the proper…
#Election2012 comes to a conclusion….statistical modeling wins again
I’ve written before that gut feel rarely trumps thorough and correct data analysis. Nate Silver has proven to the world again that this is the case. Regardless of your politics, looking back at his analysis throughout the campaign I’m not sure that many can argue that he wasn’t spot on. The most common argument I…
Going it alone versus working with the right team #teamwork
One of the things I have often found to be true is that teams outperform individuals. Let’s quickly define performance – outcome + schedule + budget. Put those together and you have performance. Many superstar employees prefer to travel their own road though. The frustration of leading people not at their level overcomes the long…
6 easy steps for improving your real estate deal #cre
I lied, there’s only one: Stop worrying about your deal and worry about the real estate’s impact on the business. A buck a square foot means exactly nothing. Five bucks means nothing. Stop worrying about it.
Networking and not networking….. #networking ?
It’s one thing to go out there and market yourself while also following up on valuable contacts. But don’t forget the people who have gotten you to where you are. Call that mentor from 5 years ago that helped you learn a new skill. Reach out to the retired former CEO that you loved to…