(Time to read this article is about 90 seconds) When I was a young guy, girls who were “easy” were popular for all the wrong reasons.  But in business, being “easy” is a very good thing.  Staples, the office supplies retailer, has created a whole marketing campaign around being “Easy”. So, are you “easy” in […]

(Time to read this article is about 60 seconds) Christmas has become a time of year that mostly benefits overseas manufacturers and large retail chains.  As the holidays approach, with a little thought and creativity, we can all choose wonderful gifts for family and friends in a way that makes our own community more prosperous.  […]

(Time to read this article is about 90 seconds) Clients around the world keep telling me that running a business today is 10 times tougher than it used to be…and in many ways they’re right.  We all have more demanding customers, more and stronger competition, increased complexity, shrinking margins, and the challenge of attracting and […]

(Time to read this Blog section is about 60 seconds) Cooper’s famous Chowder. Every year at this time I remind folks about my very own “world’s best” recipe for Scallop Chowder. As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the perfect time for a steaming bowl of thick and creamy chowder. Readers all over the […]

(Time to read this article is about 90 seconds) Our customers have ‘4 currencies’ in their lives…not just one.  A ‘currency’ is anything of value to us that we don’t have enough of.  The obvious currency is money, but there are actually four things that we don’t have enough of… Money, Time, Feeling safe (physically […]

(Time to read this article is about 70 seconds) Reducing expenses by just 5% can improve your bottom line by as much as 20% to 30%.  Don’t take my word for it, do the math.  By removing the paint from each of their air freight 747s, Cathay Pacific Airlines saved $200,000 in fuel, per plane, […]

(Time to read this Blog section is about 60 seconds) ‘Goodbye’ Sears America. Sears, once America’s largest retailer and largest employer, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, October 15th.  It was inevitable. They’ll try to shed debt, they’ll close more unprofitable stores and terminate thousands of employees…but it won’t save them.   Once innovators, the Sears Roebuck […]

(Time to read this article is about 2 minutes) It’s October and now is the time to start the planning, making the decisions and taking the action that will make 2019 your best year ever.  As a teenager I ran the mile and 2 mile competitively.  What I learned was that the day to train […]

(Time to read this article is about 1 minute) Last week I met a 30ish young man who builds and installs cabinets and kitchens for IKEA customers who don’t want to do it themselves. Having personally gone crazy trying to assemble several IKEA products, I asked him if he loves his job.  Without hesitation he […]

(Time to read this Blog section is about 60 seconds) What’s your commitment to innovation and market leadership? In my Blog of last May 9th I quoted research showing that fully diverse teams that include age, gender and geographic / racial diversity made better decisions 87% of the time.   The challenge is how do […]