Over the last two decades I have consulted to, provided workshops for, and delivered keynote presentations on leadership to a variety of restaurant chains and individual restaurant managers. I continue to be surprised by the general confusion between management and leadership. Managers push, leaders pull. Managers try to light a fire under people, leaders stoke the fire within. Managers command, leaders inspire. Managers use position power,...more
Becoming an internet marketing pro is not as easy as you may think. Although you can learn a lot on your own, there are some things that you need to get help with. Of course, before you can do this, you need to know where and how you can learn the ropes of internet marketing. This is something that you can do if you put your mind to it. The main reason that many people fail in this area is because they are not totally dedicated to the learning...more
"Above all, we know that an entrepreneurial strategy has more chance of success the more it starts with the users their utilities, their values, their realities ... the test of an innovation is always what it does for the user...it is by no means hunch or gamble. But it is also not precisely science. Rather, it is judgment." Peter Drucker, Innovation and EntrepreneurshipJust because a company is spending money on research (such as markets, customers, or new technologies) and development doesn't mean they will get innovation. Innovation, as with advertising, training, or many other organization investments, depends on the quality of the investment as much as the quantity of resources put in it. A high proportion of innovative new products, services, and companies flop. That's often because managers build better mousetraps without first making sure there are any mice out there. Or that people still want to catch them.Many innovations come from a deeper level of customer and market understanding. They go beyond what current customers say they need. They solve problems that customers either don't realize they have or didn't know could be solved. These innovations create needs and...more
If you own or are interested in starting a credit repair business in Florida, one thing you will definitely need is credit repair leads.There are quite a few ways to obtain credit repair leads for your credit repair business in Florida. Such as customer referrals, an educational web site, and a toll free number to name a few.The benefit of...more
Undoubtedly, you've heard the radio commercial claiming you can get a mortgage despite having bad credit. Bad credit mortgages are better known as subprime mortgages. Subprime"Subprime" is a euphemism for a borrower who simply doesn't qualify for a traditional home mortgage. Subprime loans used to be very difficult to get, but things changed in...more
A strategic position statement is kind of like a statementfor your company. You want to explain this statement howyou view your company and how you view it within the restof your marketplace.Circuit City is a good example. It's an electronicdepartment store that is making excellent profit marginswhile their competition is going out of business. They'vetaken a unique strategic position, being number one inservice and taken that all the way down to their USP whichis "Service Above Beyond All That Is Expected."It's almost impossible to be the best in all and that's whyyou need to figure out what makes your unique and what yourstrategic positioning is going to be. What's your numberone calling card or claim to fame going to be?There have been tons written about the subject positioning.Positioning has been the marketing philosophy for mostsuccessful companies over the last ten years. But what isit? And how can you use it? What place do you hold in thepublic's mind? If the answer is none, then again, you havea problem.If you hold no place or a negative one in your public orMarketplace's minds, then they're not going to do businesswith you.For example Sony has been first at innovation....more
These days, it's hard to listen to the financial or economic news for long without hearing something about pensions. These news stories usually give us some bad news about the pensions shortfalls in the gaping holes in pension funds. The chancellor...more
One of the greatest things to happen to the world of travel in recent years is the advent of low cost airlines. Not only do they offer flight travel that is cheaper than any previous airlines by far, but they also offer some other great innovations...more
If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker looking to purchase mortgage loan leads, you may be considering what type of mortgage loan lead to purchase, and which company to purchase them from.There are a few different types of leads to choose from...more
A former colleague at a major stock brokerage firm always confused "fiscal" with "physical". On June 30th, he would talk about the close of the "physical year". Just a mental block for an intelligent man. Fiscal year-end differs for corporations with...more
Or is the customer always right? That's what you've always beentold. If you're in business, you know how ridiculous thatstatement is. The customer isn't always right, the customer isoften wrong. Worse yet, you know it, he knows it, and he knowsyou...more
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." E. F. Schumacher, 20th century German economist and conservationistThe evidence is clear and...more