Honestly, my mind has been on my friend Drew and his challenges, and it has been hard to focus on writing a business related post over the last couple weeks. I felt guilty about that, and in my efforts to catch up stumbled upon a post called “Three things that sound bad but can actually be good for you.” It resonated with me.
Often we tend to categorize all things as either “good” or “bad”. But in reality, it is the nuance, colored by context, which is the real definition of most things.
Edberg outlines three things that we’ve been taught to think of as bad, which in certain contexts are actually good for us.
1. Selfishness. It’s rarely seen as a positive thing. It fills your head with images of greedy and soulless types like Montgomery Burns or Gordon Gekko. Yet one’s own personal development can be considered selfish in a way. You are trying to make yourself and your life better. But the funny thing is that by focusing on helping yourself first, you can become stronger…better preparing you to help others in a better way too.
If you only focus on other people --- and never yourself --- you risk burn-out. People may take advantage of you if you don’t set limits or boundaries.
Selfishness and helping others often go hand in hand. My own selfish wish to see my son in California prompted me to plan a trip, which then provided me an opportunity to personally visit my good friend just at his most critical time of need. Coincidence? Perhaps. But because I focused on my own short-term needs, I was able to give back to another.
2. Laziness. Being lazy isn’t always bad. Being lazy about stuff that is irrelevant or simply not that important will help you free up your time, and minimize unnecessary stress. Getting the most stuff done isn’t always the best option. Getting the most important things done will improve your life and the world you live in the most. Manage your inbox, and pressing matters against your desire for increased social networking and inconsequential matters to balance your life.
Channel your laziness (now that’s an oxymoron!) to come up with ideas on how to simplify your life’s routine. Sometimes rationalization is just that: The most rational way of coming up with a solution.
3. Ruthlessness. A little ruthlessness, applied in the proper amount, in the proper context, can be a good thing as well. Sometimes you just need to be tenacious and direct in order to resolve an issue or take something to the next step.
Using Drew’s situation as an example again, his wife Mary shared with me that she was frustrated that the doctors didn’t seem to see the arc of Drew’s condition and treatments, so she assembled a spreadsheet and timeline of his treatment, vitals, and response. This data should have been easily available, but because there were three hospitals and numerous doctors involved, this was not the case. Her layman’s snapshot allowed the neurosurgeon to fine-tune his treatment procedure, addressing specific steps that had not yet been tried. Improvement was shown within a few days. Mary was ruthless in her message, and it appears to have worked.
Our Mothers taught us that selfishness, laziness, and ruthlessness was bad. But realize that selfishness can help you do good; laziness can help you balance your life; and being ruthless can help turn a bad situation around.
Its your call if you want to give her this message directly.
“It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.” --- William Shakespeare
PS: Although Drew’s ETV procedure did not produce the miracle recovery we hoped for, he has shown improvement over the past week, and will shortly be transferred from Stanford back to the rehabilitation hospital where he can concentrate on regaining his physical faculties. Thank you for all the notes and calls of concern for Drew. I have passed them along to his wife to show to him as he recovers.
This blog will step away from my usual sales/management/productivity focus to ask each of you to take one moment to say a little prayer (or just send good vibes) to my close friend Drew McMillen as he goes into surgery this morning for an ETV.
As background, please know that Drew is a young man of 47 with a lovely wife and a wonderful young family who five years ago suffered a stroke, striking him down and almost killing him…but only until he could struggle back over the past years thru intense rehabilitation to re-learn to talk, walk, and function normally. Before Thanksgiving of this year, the shunt inserted into the brain to regulate the ongoing pressure failed, causing an infection and an ultimate relapse of his physical functions. For two and a half months he has been in hospital and rehabilitation facilities as his neurosurgeon has struggled to stabilize his condition and solve the mystery as to why this happened, and how they can prevent it in the future.
Last week he was moved to Stanford Medical Center where their world-class neurosurgery staff can evaluate his condition and decide on a treatment. ETV stands for endoscopic third ventriculostomy, a procedure that will eliminate his need for shunts and will eliminate the ongoing chance for infection. The 50% success rate of this surgery is the reason I ask that you help by sending some “good karma” Drew’s way over the next few days.
In the event you do not know Drew, he is one of us: a foodservice professional. An MBA from the USC system, he is one of the sharpest and most creative marketing minds I have ever encountered, and had the privilege to work with at Multifoods Specialty Brands. Later, he spent several years as Director of Marketing for Anchor Foods during its incredible finger food explosion in the late 90’s. But in addition to being a terrific associate and active participant in the foodservice industry, Drew is my close friend, who never hesitated to help me when I needed it during a time of personal crisis. I count him as one of my best friends.
You may have noted that the TRMusings blog has not been published in its normal regularity for the past few weeks. One of the reasons for this temporary lapse was my trip out to the west coast to see Drew and spend time with him and his family at Stanford. Both he and his wife are in good spirits, and are anxious to try this specialized and fairly rare surgery in a last ditch effort to recover to a more normal life. It is encouraging and heart-warming to see how well they are both handling this latest setback in this nearly six year journey. They both fully realize that an ETV has only a one-in-two chance of full success, and are appropriately balanced in their enthusiasm. However, if there is a person --- or a family --- that deserves that success, it’s Drew McMillen.
Take a moment and focus the name Drew McMillen in your mind, and create some positive karma toward him during this most critical time in his life. If you pray, please say one for Drew.
Thanks.
“So by the grace of God, there go I.” --- unknown
I’m travelling this week, and it’s a little hard to wrap my head around writing a blog. I'm more about "absorbing" than "squeezing." To fill in, please enjoy this recent post by one of my favorite social philosophers, Seth Godin.
The first stand is run by two kids. They use Countrytime lemonade, paper cups and a bridge table. It's a decent lemonade stand, one in the long tradition of standard lemonade stands. It costs a dollar to buy a cup, which is a pretty good price, considering you get both the lemonade and the satisfaction of knowing you supported two kids.
The other stand is different. The lemonade is free, but there's a big tip jar. When you pull up, the owner of the stand beams as only a proud eleven year old girl can beam. She takes her time and reaches into a pail filled with ice and lemons. She pulls out a lemon. Slices it. Then she squeezes it with a clever little hand juicer.
The whole time that's she's squeezing, she's also talking to you, sharing her insights (and yes, her joy) about the power of lemonade to change your day. It's a beautiful day and she's in no real hurry. Lemonade doesn't hurry, she says. It gets made the right way or not at all. Then she urges you to take a bit less sugar, because it tastes better that way.
While you're talking, a dozen people who might have become customers drive on by because it appears to take too long. You don't mind, though, because you're engaged, almost entranced. A few people pull over and wait in line behind you.
Finally, once she's done, you put $5 in the jar, because your free lemonade was worth at least twice that. Well, maybe the lemonade itself was worth $3, but you'd happily pay again for the transaction. It touched you. In fact, it changed you.
Which entrepreneur do you think has a brighter future?
“Do not follow the road. Go where there is no road and leave a path.”
--- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Did Santa bring everyone a nice big
Blue Chair for Christmas? Have you tried it out? Don’t get too comfortable…there’s still lots to do!
In addition to the end-of-the-year Top 10 lists, retrospectives on the year’s events --- and the decade’s passing --- there are always commentaries and blogs that encourage us to “turn over a new leaf” and to “get organized.” If it were that easy, we’d do it on our own without prompting.
But one thing these motivational pleas provide us sometimes is a platform upon which to reflect and build on what we have already…and how we might improve upon it.
One of the blogs I read over the holidays that particularly resonated with me was by
Chris Brogan, entrepreneur/blogger extraordinaire, who suggests that we might all be doing the right stuff, but perhaps not aggressively enough. To wit:
· Talk about the business benefits you can achieve with the tools. Stop talking about the tools.
· Teach about the systems and educate your clients. Stop talking about talking.
· Share everything. Stop holding on to your “big ideas” and make them into collaboration businesses.
We all fall into patterns (and bad habits) over time. We get so enamored with our products that we talk of how shiny and sleek they are, and how proud we are of them, and neglect to focus on what they can actually do for our customers. We talk about process and sometimes forget to talk about the results they can achieve. And we bottle up ideas, waiting for the perfect time to secretly develop them rather than sharing these ideas with our customers, encouraging them to use them to improve their business.
This is the essence of the Blue Chair philosophy. Wearing your customer’s hat…walking in their shoes…or sitting in their chair…can help us understand and crystallize our strategies for our customer’s benefit, rather than miring us in our own product features and our own brilliant processes.
So this year lets all keep that Blue Chair handy, and sit in it often; not only to test an idea or concept, but to reflect on our customer’s perspective of their challenges so that we can provide the solutions they need (and sometimes can’t even articulate).
Looking back over the last year (and decade), I suspect that we all could admit that we can improve upon this factor in our business planning and process.
So make twenty-ten a year (and decade) when your Blue Chair gets a real workout. And by the way…make sure it has your entire team’s butt-print on it. Multiple perspectives improve upon the Blue Chair’s powers.
Use it wisely, my friend.
“The future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious.”
---Ted Levitt
Dear Santa,
I haven’t written to you for years, so let me catch you up on what I have been doing. First, let me thank you for the great train set you brought me in 1953. It was just what I wanted and I had loads of fun with it for many years.
Since that time, I have been working in the foodservice industry. I’m sure you probably know what you need to know about my career, so I won’t bore you with the details. I was prompted to write to you today on behalf of my sales and marketing friends in the foodservice manufacturing channel. It’s been an interesting decade (and a more interesting last 15 months!) and a lot has changed in the way our customers learn about our brand and products. In the old days, we’d run a lot of ads in the trade magazines, and call on customers directly to provide them with product information and ideas. But lately, those tools and activities aren’t really open to us anymore. Everybody wants to use the internet and do their own research and decide for themselves.
That brings me to my specific request, Santa. It is apparent from a recent
Technomic survey of visitors to foodservice manufacturer’s websites that we need some help. The survey said that manufacturer websites:
· Provide inadequate product information
o Incomplete nutritional information
o No ingredient listings
o No handling or prep instructions
o Lack value-added product information (such as recipes)
· Make information hard to find
o Poor navigation or confusing focus of site
o Product listings out of date
· Don’t provide very good assistance with
o Local contacts for additional information
o Lack of direct links to manufacturer sales reps or brokers
I’ve seen it myself, Santa. When I’ve visited potential client websites in doing my research, one of two things is apparent:
· The site is part of a larger corporate branding effort, and the foodservice division is buried away in a sea of corporate CPG messaging, or
· The site is superficial and stale, with virtually no useable product information to be found
There are some sites that do a great job, Santa. But alas, not many. So, Santa, I’d like to request that you do two things for my foodservice friends:
1. When they’re sitting on your lap to tell you THEIR list, lean down and whisper “You need a blue chair for Christmas”…and then…
2. No matter what they ask for, bring them one.
Tell them, Santa, that before they spend another nickel on marketing or sales promotions, to go sit in their blue chair and really think about how their customer might see (and use!) these things, and to try and really understand what their customer might need. And then to make sure they are delivering it.
You see, Santa, the blue chair is a kind of virtual metaphor for their customer’s perception to everything they do. The problem with ineffective websites is just an example of how far away from the real world many of us have strayed as we’ve grown up. We spend lots of money on snazzy websites that don’t provide useable information, and even more money on sales promotions that don’t help improve a product’s long term sales. And don’t even get me started on the pathetically weak field support many of my sales friends get nowadays. Some of us have lost our way, and don’t realize it. Bring us all a blue chair to help us get back on track, Santa.
Thanks for listening, my friend. Please pass my best regards to Mrs. Santa and to Rudolph and the rest of the gang. And here’s wishing you the best trip ever this year. Fly safely with all those blue chairs…
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
--- from the ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ poem
George from the iconic Seinfeld show was always one of my favorite characters. He was afflicted with an epic lack of personal awareness (like Ricky Gervais in the original BBC Office, and Larry David in his current HBO show). Socially inept, more often than not finding himself in jaw-grindingly embarrassing situations.
“My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter, I was raised to give up. It’s one of the few things I do well.”
But there are some terrific life lessons to be learned from George…and not just what NOT to do (though there are plenty of examples of that in his body of work!). A recent posting on the Positivity Blog site dealt with some of the wisdom of George Costanza, which prompted me to expand on his concept. So here from the mouth of George (and his alter ego Art Vandelay) are some examples of what I mean.
“You should've seen the look on her face. It was the same look my father gave me when I told him I wanted to be a ventriloquist.”
1. Believe in yourself no matter what.
“If you take everything I’ve accomplished in my life and condense it down to one day, it looks decent!”
One thing George could do was eventually find a positive aspect of nearly everything he faced. On the surface, he presented himself as a whiner and complainer, always bitching about what he didn’t have, or how his life sucked, but give him a few moments and he will come up with a rationalization to help him through.
“Jerry, just remember: It’s not a lie if you believe it.”
It’s the belief you have behind the words that make the difference. How are they presented? With confidence? Swagger? Relaxed conviction? Listen to George and you’ll notice he is truly convinced of everything he says. Say it with confidence.
This isn’t a talent as much as it is a way of internally processing information so you can deal with life. That’s how George did it. He believed in himself, even though if asked, he’d say he didn’t.
2. Do the opposite.
In “The Opposite” George comes to the realization that since everything he does results in the wrong outcome, he decides to begin doing the opposite of what he thinks he should do. His luck changes and everything begins to go his way, including getting a girlfriend, a job with the Yankees, and moving out of his parents' house.
"If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."
Personal development gurus point toward the fact that the difference between you and more successful people is that they are doing something you are not doing. Sometimes it’s as simple as working harder; and sometimes it’s trying a different approach to the problem. Try something you haven’t tried. Use common sense and expand your comfort zone to try something that feels unusual for you. Sometimes it’s that simple.
3. Don’t blow things out of proportion.
If there is one thing George excels at, it’s for blowing things out of proportion.
"Yeah, I'm a great quitter. It's one of the few things I do well. I come from a long line of quitters. My father was a quitter; my grandfather was a quitter... I was raised to give up."
Everyday life will grind you down if you let it. Simplify the things that bother you by “Zooming Out”. Instead of asking the George kind of questions like, “…why is the whole world against me?” Rather ask “Will this matter in five years?” or “Will anyone lose his life based on my bad decision?” You’ll quickly realize that whatever you are dealing with isn’t as bad as you think, and you can handle it.
4. Sometimes coffee is not coffee.
In one hilarious scene in the episode “The Phone Message”, George and a woman sit in his car at the end of a date.
Woman: Do you want come upstairs for a cup of coffee?
George: No thanks, if I drink coffee this late at night, it keeps me up.
Woman: Well, ok, good night…
George: Take it easy.
End of date.
Sometimes a cup of coffee isn’t just a cup of coffee. And words are only one part of a communication. Be alert and don’t take things too literally (which George is wont to do). You might miss something…
5. Drop your grudges.
In the episode “The Apology” George is after an apology for a comment made when he was at a New Year’s party. He was freezing and wanted to borrow the host’s cashmere sweater. But the host said: “No, I don’t want to have the neck hole stretched out.” And everybody at the party laughed.
When George learns that the host is going through the 12-step program for anger management and is apologizing to the people he has wronged in the past, George sees his opportunity. But when confronted, the host calmly and mockingly says that he doesn’t need to apologize. Of course this does not end well, with George blowing up and screaming at a Rageoholics Anonymous-meeting.
Grudges serve no one. You suffer inner turmoil and the wronged person internalizes his rage. Hilarious TV, but pointless in life. Hence the saying “forgive and forget.” George didn’t say it…but you can.
6. It’s a problem if you think it’s a problem.
One of the big ongoing issues about George is that he’s going bald and how he feels it makes him less attractive. His fixation on this issue makes it an issue, because people pick up on it. Talking about it all the time makes it so.
"Hey, believe me, baldness will catch on. When the aliens come, who do you think they're gonna relate to? Who do you think's gonna be the first ones getting a tour of the ship?"
Be OK with whatever it is and those you encounter won’t give it a second thought. (Another good example is “The Goiter” episode…but that’s about Elaine, and this blog is about George…) Don’t make your world a response to what you think and believe.
7. Don’t be your own worst enemy.
George tries to manipulate people in elaborate ways, but is never successful. Many episodes end with George self-sabotaging a good thing by over-thinking or blowing it out of proportion.
"I'm much more comfortable criticizing people behind their backs."
So how do you get past being your own worst enemy sometimes? Just be yourself and always try to do your best, and it will pay off in the end. And live by the golden rule, but always remember that it’s your turn first. If you feel good about yourself, others will feel good about you, too.
The wisdom of George Costanza: Don’t do as I do, or do as I say. Do the opposite and it will serve you well.
"Yes, this is a business office, but I'm not a businessman per se. I'm here working for the people. I'm causing dissent, stirring the pot, getting people to question the whole rotten system." --- George Costanza
When you’re using email to reach out to a new prospect, nothing is more irritating than to find yourself shuttled into a SPAM filter before they are read.
As a follow-up to our continuing series of tips and tricks for reaching difficult executives, here are five rules designed to ensure that your message actually gets through:
RULE #1: Personalize the Subject Line. Always place a personalized message in the “subject” line of your email, including something unique like your name, a networking contact’s name, or a key phrase with which the client will be familiar.
RULE #2: Avoid generic or “SPAM-like” Subject Words. Generic messages like “Free offer” or “Reply Requested” are red flags for SPAM or automatic deletion. Also avoid words such as Advertisement, Business, Cash, Cheap, Commodity, Congratulations, Credit, Deal, Debt, Degree, Disclaimer, Discount, Free, Gimmick, Guarantee, Income, Ink, Investment, Joke, Load, Marketing, Merchant, Money, Obligation, Offer, Opt, Opportunity, Outstanding, Payoff, Price, Profit, Promo, Promotion, Rate, Refund, Rich, Sales, Save, Shop, SPAM, Spree, Stock, Subscribe, Trading, Wealth, Win, Winner, Winning, and Won. These words will also brand you as cheesy and unprofessional.
RULE #3: Keep It Simple (Stupid). In the body of the email, avoid the use of background colors, large or unusual fonts, or more than one font. In other words, don’t make your e-mail look like an advertisement or a brochure. Instead, always emulate a business memo — one font, one size, one color. Put the emphasis on content rather than trying to dazzle the customer special effects.
RULE #4: Severely Limit Your Graphics. The only color or logo on an email should be in the signature block. Most SPAM filters (correctly) assume that any message that contains multiple images is probably adult content. Use MS Outlook “signature customization” tools to keep it professional and businesslike, including a discrete logo and a link to your website.
RULE #5: Only Include One (1) Link. SPAMMERS (especially advertisers) always put lots of links into their email messages. So limit the number of links you use to avoid getting caught in the company’s SPAM filter.
Finally, it’s always a good idea to pre-qualify prospects by phone --- or through networking tools like LinkedIn --- before sending them a blind email. Mass email campaigns rarely work for most professional salespeople, especially if they are selling intangible consulting or other service-based products. Do your homework and you’ll have a better chance at developing a prospect into a customer.
When measuring success, think "over time," not "point in time" --- Ken Blanchard
Although the first few steps outlined are fairly elementary (do your research, write out your key points, etc), the balance of the blog has some really clever and insightful tips outlining how you can get through to even the toughest potential contacts.
Even if you personally don’t do much cold calling anymore, I suspect you still need to reach C-Level executives from time to time in the course of your business, and this primer may hold the tip(s) that may make a difference.
In addition, I suspect that you have people who report to you who could use these tips. Pass them along, and/or bookmark the site for future reference.
It’s never easy to get past the gatekeeper. Why not learn from others who have succeeded? Good luck.
“My philosophy is that power is setting goals and getting people to reach those goals believing they did it by themselves.” -- Patricia Russo
As Thanksgiving approaches, my thoughts turned to turkey. This morning a couple of random facts popped into my head, and oddly converged with the management discussion we have been having lately in this space.
Turkeys have monocular vision: Each eye sees a different thing. Since their eyes are also located on each side of their head, they are able to see rather different views from each eye. However, both eyes cannot focus on the same image at the same time (like human eyes can). Although this helps turkeys avoid predators, it doesn’t give them much depth of vision. To focus, they sometimes will tilt their heads to get a better look, thus focusing the prominent eye. Furthermore, their eyesight overall is excellent so that when focused, they can easily see detail from over 100 yards away.
So, OK…that’s probably more than you wanted to know about turkeys. But we can combine this knowledge of a turkeys vision to better understand management’s analogous need to see what is in front of them, while at the same time see what might be coming at them from a distance. Let me call that TurkeyVision.
Good corporate managers must develop TurkeyVision to effectively manage their organizations. They must be able to focus on the tasks and issues immediately before them, while maintaining a long-distance (call it long-term) view of the marketplace. Granted, the long-term view is not as clear and sharp as the one you focus on day-to-day, but is required to assist you in conducting your activities properly for what awaits you. From time to time, you must consciously tilt your head to focus on that long view to assure you are still on track, and that there isn’t a predator coming at you from a distance.
Alright, it’s a bit of a weird analogy, but one that may help you address and fine-tune your management techniques. Like anticipating the
29th Day, the development of turkeyVision can be a worthy tool in your planning cycle.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.” --- Theodore M. Hesburgh, President of Notre Dame
I was listening to a discussion of environmental issues on the radio the other day, and the scientist speaking compared the world’s current global warming dilemma with the French parable of the lily pads. Say there is a pond with one lily pad. Without some intervention, every day the number of lily pads in the pond doubles. In theory, the pond will be completely filled with lily pads in 30 days --- choking off all other forms of life in the pond and killing it biologically. On what day will the pond be half full, allowing time to stop the process before it’s too late? The answer is the 29th day. On that day it will be half full, and when the lily pads double, cause it to be filled to capacity on the next day, then too late to react before the pond dies.
The lesson of this parable is to realize that there is a 29th day, and to understand, anticipate, and plan for your options before your entity dies.
The 29th day parable can be applied to American business as well. What did the Ford Motor Company see that others did not, allowing it to adjust for the approaching 29th day and to survive the current economic recession (and even make money in this horrible climate for auto companies)? We realize now that GM didn’t look toward, nor even understand, that the 29th day was coming. And although Chrysler may have seen it approaching, they did nothing to prepare themselves.
Alan Malally, Ford’s President and CEO was recruited from the Boeing Company. Many scoffed at the time that Bill Ford was crazy to offer the job to someone without any automotive industry experience. But Mr. Ford saw and understood what others in his industry did not: that what his company needed was a leader who knew how to look out and see the 29th day, and drive his organization in directions appropriate to anticipate it.
Airline manufacturers must plan their businesses decades in the future. Some initial orders are for delivery 10-12-15 years later. This has forced the industry to take a long view and manage their business based on long-term cash flows, capital demands, and economic conditions. Technology, plant and equipment, and labor contracts all fall within the view of the 29th day, and must be developed within a variety of contingencies so that the organization can remain nimble and flexible based on actual business conditions over time. That is what Malally brought to Ford.
American businesses such as the food industry need to work toward seeing the 29th day as well. I have spent most of my career working in large --- primarily publicly-owned ---- corporations and have participated in many “strategic planning sessions” with the top executives and boards of these organizations. The saying “…to a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish” applies, as the majority of these planning sessions focused only on the next year or 18 months, and never on the global macroeconomics or geopolitical issues that would affect our market economies, consumer trends, or demand cycles. We focused on the horseradish that was our immediate environment, and often didn’t anticipate (or even think about) what the world outside the horseradish might hold for us.
Although I am no longer directly involved in the corporate planning environment, I have sensed from my clients that the current severe economic downturn has empowered executives and boards with a newfound mission to begin looking out toward the 29th day and discuss, identify, and plan for various scenarios they may face. This is also the reason that the economy has been slow to recover, as corporations who are preparing for the 29th day have become more risk averse and perhaps even slightly more controlling of their yearly budgets. But the lesson from Ford provides insight that not only did the company reorganize (and reduce) their plants and workforce, but redoubled their research, design, and marketing investments toward building products that better fit the marketplace. Malally created a revolution of structure and development within Ford; not merely an evolution of plans, as with most other automobile manufacturers.
The element of investment in innovation still seems to be lacking in most American businesses. The food industry, for example, has focused on line and brand extensions rather than invest in new food technologies that will address environmental, nutritional, and regulatory demands that stand between now and the 29th day. Significant competitive advantage and demand creation come not from line extensions, but from true innovation in product and process. Is this part of your organization’s investment strategy?
So, will your organization be Ford or GM in this scenario? Are you aware of and prepared to anticipate the effect of your 29th day? Think about it.
“Unless you’ve moved beyond fighting fires and are managing based on your business priorities, your strategy isn’t as brilliant as you think…” --- Tom Peters