(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   A great question that I love to ask business owners and managers:  “Does your business model serve your life model?”   Sadly, for many, it does not.  If your business model does NOT serve YOUR life model, what will you this year to fix that?
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   An important question to ask yourself and your Team:
    
   True customer engagement and ownership comes from consistently exceeding. not just meeting, their expectations.  Ask yourself, and your Team, this key question.  “What are we able or willing to do, that really matters to our customers, that our competitors do not?”  The answers are your compelling points of difference.
    
   If you’re not able or willing to do meaningful things that your competitors don’t do, you’re a boring, undifferentiated commodity who will be beaten up on price until you disappear completely.
    
3. Fun fact: Bangkok, Thailand was the world’s most visited city in 2025 with about 30 million visitors.  Hong Kong was #2, London #3, Macau #4 and Istanbul #5.
    
4. Saks 5th Avenue needs a billion dollar loan to stay in business. Luxury retail icon, Saks 5th Avenue, founded in 1867, is looking for a $1 billion loan to stay afloat.  Without this huge cash infusion, the retailer could file for bankruptcy in the next few weeks.  Saks has struggled with sluggish sales and its CEO resigned last week.  Who in their right mind would throw a billion dollars at that situation?
    
5. Toxic Team members can destroy any organization. The Catholic Archdiocese of New Yorkis creating a $300 million fund to pay victims of clergy sexual abuse.  They’re financing this through budget cuts and by selling assets.
    
   Do you have toxic Team members who are wrecking your culture, abusing your customers, or destroying your brand?  If so, what are you doing to fix that ASAP…and how are you fixing your recruitment and screening process to avoid hiring toxic non-performers in the fist place?
    
6. A transformational day with Donald Cooper. A number of regular Blog readers have recently asked how much it would cost to have a day with me to explore how they can sell more, manage smarter and grow their bottom line. Some of these businesses are partnerships or family businesses needing clarity and insight about the best path forward.  They’re looking for someone who has the experience, insight and courage to ‘get real’ and be helpful.
    
   So, I’ve put together a program that involves you and your management team taking about 40 minutes each to complete a few of my Biz Tools…me spending 2 days to recap and analyse them and prep for our day together.  The day can be with you alone, or with you and your Management Team.  It concludes with dinner and includes three follow-up calls to make sure that ‘stuff’ is getting done. The cost is $7,000, plus travel expenses.  I’m based in Toronto.
    
   If you’d like to chat about ‘possibilities’, I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com.

Now, to this week’s important topic: 

Are you avoiding ‘uncomfortable conversations’?

You can’t run a business or department just by being a ‘Good News Bear’.  There’s often a need for uncomfortable conversations and, sadly, many business owners and managers avoid having these uncomfortable conversations with Team members who aren’t performing, are hurting the culture and costing you money. 

Some avoid uncomfortable conversations with business partners, or family members in the business, to deal with issues that need fixing.  Some avoid uncomfortable conversations with suppliers who are letting them down, or customers who have become unprofitable predators.  Some avoid uncomfortable conversations with themselves about their abilities, management style, priorities, or succession & exit.

Ignoring problems just makes things worse.  And, when those problems, subsequently, become so bad that even you can’t ignore them, we often lash out in frustration, which turns problems into disasters. 

Make a list of those uncomfortable conversations that need to be had in your business and your life, with whom you must have them, and when you commit to have them.  Then, think carefully about how you’ll start the conversation and the outcome that’s needed.

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.