Change or Die!
I have always loved the expression “Ride the Horse in the Direction it is Going.” And for those of you who have tried to turn around a horse that is determined to go back to the barn, you know exactly what I mean. So, why do so many companies insist on fighting macro-economic forces? The […]
OMG! I am No Longer Relevant!
What does a company do when their core value proposition becomes less than relevant – overnight? That’s the problem Starbucks was facing when its longstanding “Third Place” value proposition (A place to meet that is not home or work/school) became superfluous to a population so fearful of Covid-19 that they didn’t even patronize their usual […]
Changing Breakfast to Survive COVID-19
This is a story about breakfast. Specifically, the former all-day breakfast at McDonalds. And, inspiration from a recent Inc article about how changing breakfast can give us insight into positioning our businesses to survive COVID-19. Nearly five years ago, McDonald’s started serving breakfast all day, which its most loyal customers had requested for some time. […]
Help! I Stopped Growing!
One of the universal truths in the revenue growth business is the seemingly random glass ceilings preventing further growth that companies of all types experience at certain levels of revenue. The most impenetrable one I have seen is at the $10M revenue mark. Imagine my surprise (and sense of validation) when I saw the Inc […]
How NOT to be trending in 2020
It was so nice to get away for the holidays. And by away, I mean away from media, and advertisements, and the unsolicited messages that bombard us daily. Yet it turns out there are a large number of people – unlike me – that actually pay attention to these messages. And those people – that’s […]
A Surprising Discovery in Vietnam
I recently returned from a trekking trip in northwestern Vietnam. It was absolutely fascinating to see the local culture, but I have to confess to being somewhat surprised by some of the local pricing. For those of you who know Vietnamese food, you are probably familiar with the Banh Mi sandwich. It is a 6” […]
Your Hospital’s Secret Revenue Source
I just returned from the Hospital Association of Southern California’s annual conference where one of the big topics was dealing with downward revenue pressure by diversifying revenue streams into non-traditional areas. And interestingly, these hospital-based initiatives provide a surprisingly good template for other businesses to follow. According to a recent study, https://tinyurl.com/yy5vzyqv, these new hospital […]
Using Trends to Make More Money
I always thought my grocery shopping patterns were a little crazy. There were certain items I bought in bulk at Costco, other items at a grocery store, fish at Santa Monica Seafood, and the list goes on. It turns out my shopping habits are not entirely unique. Amazon, with their purchase of Whole Foods, acknowledged […]
The New Way to Collaborate
I’ll never forget how I had a knock-down drag out fight with someone at another company only to find out the following week that I needed to partner with that same person on a project of mutual interest. That was my sudden introduction to the world of collaboration and frenemies (enemies on some issues that […]