Hard Cash & Easy Money

Focus for the day

1. First concentrate on earning the "Easy Money"
2. Use the "Easy Money" to earn the "Hard Cash"
3. Continue to INNOVATE

Make sure that the supplies of "Easy Money" and "Hard Cash" keep flowing

The Shirt on Your Back

A reflection on the power of team work

Sometimes we think we can get by without the help of others.


So take a moment to think abouth the "Shirt on your Back"

1. Firstly give thanks to Mother Nature
2. Then the farmers that grew the raw cotton
3. The people that made the truck
4. The people that transported the raw cotton to be processed
5. The people that processed the cotton,
6. In the factory that was built by many other people
7. The people that transported the cotton to the factory that made the fabric
8. The people that made the fabric
9. In the factory that was built by many other people
10. The people that transported the fabric to the Shirt factory
11. The people that checked the quality and colour of the fabric
12. The people that designed the Shirt
13. The people that made the buttons
14. The people that cut the Shirt
15. The people that stitched the Shirt
16. The people that packaged the Shirt
17. The people that marketed the Shirt
18. The shop that ordered the Shirt
19. The people that transported the Shirt to the shop
20. The people that sold the Shirt to you

Its amazing isnt it?

It probably took more than a hundred strangers to take it from the field to your closet.

This is why you should smile every morning when you put your Shirt on!

The Power of Language : The Captains Log

Often there are subtle communications in the way things are said and the things that specifically aren't stated.


One day the first mate on the ship got really drunk and the Captain made a note in his log

Today the first mate got really drunk

A few days later, after sobering up, the first mate found the captains note and felt betrayed.

He thought about it for a while and then wrote his own entry in the captains log.

Today the Captain was sober

I think that this is a great illustration of the power of language

Can Ford Pull it off?

Most car manufacturers are in trouble and Ford is in deeper than most, recording their biggest losses ever in 2006.

I had the pleasure of working with the Ford Motor Company UK on a Management Course back in 1993. Whilst the management team were very professional and in good spirits. I remember that even then I had feelings of doubt creeping in. They had just launched
the Ford Ka and remodelled the Fiesta. I thought the cars looked bland compared to their peers. There certainly wasn't the same buzz at the launches of these vehicles!

• Its all about the product
• Its about giving consumers what they want... not what we like to produce.

See what Toyota is doing

Have you been watching events unfold at fordboldmoves.com?

The video footage of the attempted turnaround is gripping.

And they even correctly define the root problem.

Americans are turning to smaller engined vehicles in response to the price of fuel and possibly even to climate change worries.

The amazing thing is that Ford then goes on to hail the gas guzzling Shelby GT and the Ford 150 as the vehicles that are going to boost their companies fortunes in the short term.

Whilst it is true that they are making efforts towards using cleaner fuels, Hydrogen and Bio, these are still medium to long term solutions.

I am sure that they have chosen a terrible short term strategy... wasting time that they don't have. As a result I dont think that they can turn it around. It will be a sad day for America.

Whilst still on the subject of the motor industry, have you noticed just how many second hand cars are stuck on garage forecourts these days? It seems like serious over supply to me. And sometime soon I expect retail car prices, new and second hand, to start sliding. We'll just wait and see... But remember you heard it first here!

Tribute to Franz Kafka

I really like this poem, it is quite profound

You don’t need to leave your room.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
Don’t even listen, simply wait.
Don’t even wait.
Be quite still and solitary.
The world will freely offer itself to you.
To be unmasked, it has no choice.
It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

Sometimes in business waiting patiently can be the best thing to do. The trick is to know when to wait and when to act...

I don't have any answers on that one yet!

Red Lights and Cultural Differences

Its great to work in a Multicultural Environment.

Cultural Differences can be very real.

It is important to develop a heightened sense of awareness, refined communication skills and a certain amount of sensitivity, in order to succeed.

In London a red light means Stop
In Paris it means Maybe
In Rome it is something to hang on your Christmas tree

Committees

I think it was George Bernard Shaw that once said that

A camel is a horse that has been designed by a committee

It is important to match decision processes to goals

• Sometimes a committee approach will be best
• More often, in business, decisions need to be chaperoned by good leadership

When committees are used as decision making vehicles, it is of vital importance that the Chairperson provides a high level of focus, control and leadership. Otherwise you are going to end up with a camel!

Video Blog : Good Managers

Bruce Tulgan gives a pep talk (2 minutes) — Thanks to Penelope Trunk

Special Report on Customer Service

There is a great report in Business Week which helps us to focus on the importance of good customer service

This article is about Southwest Airlines and its Chief Customer Services Officer, Fred Taylor. Fred used his experience and authority in this top level job to make the airlines customer service first class.

Snow - reflections on diversity

The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was
Spawning snow and pink roses against it
Soundlessly collateral and incompatible:
World is suddener than we fancy it.

World is crazier and more of it than we think,
Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion
A tangerine and spit the pips and feel
The drunkenness of things being various.

And the fire flames with a bubbling sound for world
Is more spiteful and gay than one supposes -
On the tongue on the eyes on the ears in the palms of one's hands -
There is more than glass between the snow and the huge roses.

Louis MacNeice

Video : Non financial compensation

Bruce Tulgan, author of "Its OK to be the boss" is back. Here he gives a pep talk about how to give or ask for recognition when funds are low - Thanks to Penelope Trunk.