(Time to read this Blog is about 4 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:
   “How we look, sound and perform matters!  Master the discipline of constantly looking at every part of your business through your customer’s eyes…and then commit to fix what needs fixing.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   What can you learn about standing out from Las Vegas’s #1 hotel?
    
   Vegas’s extravagant and sprawling mega resorts have trained visitors to expect a certain formula: bigger, louder and kitschier. Spectacle is the baseline and excess is the rule.
    
   But for many, the excess, the spectacle, the crowds, the chaos and overstimulation simply don’t work. So, in the middle of all that raucous splendor is the Waldorf Astoria, a no-gambling, non-smoking hotel that’s an ‘oasis of tranquility in the middle of the chaos’.
    
   This unique property, voted the best hotel in Sin City for the second year in a row by Travel + Leisure readers, has a prime location, sleek understated design, full-service spa, rooms with sweeping views and elegant cocktails and cuisine.  But what stands out most is its quiet restraint. There’s no casino, no haze of cigarette smoke lingering in the air, and no rowdy crowds. Instead, the hotel feels like a secret members-only spot.
    
   So, how can you stand out from the pack, be and feel different, delight and surprise your target customers, proactively reduce their stress, and become their #1 provider?  It starts with profoundly understanding your target customers and then committing to be extraordinary.
    
3. Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay US $5.5 billion to settle about 69,000 civil cases alleging that the company’s baby powder caused ovarian cancer. J & J continues to maintain that it did nothing wrong and simply wants to move on. The settlement must be accepted by at least 95% of claimants to go through.
    
4. AI and the global water shortage. According to a Report by the UK Government, AI will lead to an increase in global water usage from 1.1 billion cubic metres in 2025 to 6.6 billion by 2027.
    
   At the same time, a Report  from the United Nations shows that almost 75% of the world’s population lives in countries deemed to be either ‘water-insecure’ or ‘critically water-insecure’.
    
5. Global Culinary update. The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea faces up to a year in jail for garnishing sorbet with live ants.  Apparently, the ants lend a contrasting sour taste to the dessert (and, I suspect, a bit of ‘crunch’), but this stroke of culinary genius was a regulatory no-no, as ants are not one of the 10 insects approved for human consumption in South Korea.
    
6. How are we doing at recycling? Germany recycles about 66% of municipal waste and almost 90% of plastic PET bottles.  Germany, Austria and South Korea are the world’s recycling leaders.
    
   By comparison, Canada recycles only 27% of municipal waste, and only 10% of plastic PET bottles.  That’s pathetic!  In the city of Toronto we’re doing a bit better. 45% to 50% of our municipal waste gets recycled.  USA recycles about 24% of municipal waste. 

Now, to this week’s important topic…

What are the ‘unforgivables’ in your business…and do you have them covered?

In just about every business there are certain things for which your customers, and perhaps the media, simply will not forgive you…and you’d better get them right.  

I first learned this as a teenager working at a summer camp where I was the riding instructor and my brother taught water skiing.  What I discovered was that if a child slipped off a horse and broke their arm, it was regrettable…but not a big deal.  They got driven into town, had a cast put on their arm…and back at camp everyone signed their cast.  They were practically a celebrity!

But if a child drowned at the waterfront, every parent would show up the next day to pull their kid out of camp.  A child drowning is unforgivable!  So, they had swim tests for every kid before they could participate in any waterfront activity.  Every waterfront staff person had to have their Royal Lifesaving Certificate. They used the buddy system in the swim area with buddy checks every five minutes and waterfront staff huddled every day to review safety procedures.  In other words, they had the waterfront ‘covered’.

In the meantime, up at the stable, it was just me, 12 kids each hour and a string of reluctant horses.   No daily safety drills, no ‘buddy system’ and no management interference,

Here are a few other examples of ‘unforgivables’:

• If you own a restaurant, serving hot food ‘cold’ is regrettable…food poisoning is unforgivable. 
• If you’re an airline, a plane arriving late is regrettable…a plane crash is unforgivable.
• In my opinion, a squeaky bed in an otherwise romantic hotel room is unforgivable.
• If you’re a manufacturer or distributor, anything that makes your customers look bad to their customers should be unforgivable.

So, what are the ‘unforgivables’ in your business?  Spend just 30 minutes with some of the best minds and hearts in your business, or department, and make a list of ‘unforgivables’.  In addition to actual life-and-death situations, what action, inaction or failure to perform might break your compelling Brand promise?  What about anything that will erode the customer relationship or drive a customer into the arms of a competitor?  While not life-threatening in the physical sense, shouldn’t they also be ‘unforgivable’ in your business?

Then, make sure that, like the camp I worked at so many years ago, you have all of these ‘unforgivables’ covered through clear commitments, continuous learning, systems, processes, discipline and measurement.  When do you commit to do this…and who will be in charge?

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.