This clan wants your money.

Hillary wants you to give money to her failed campaign for President of these United States. Let's look at why you should not.

The Clinton's arrived in Washington D.C. after years living on the tax payers dime. As governor of Arkansas, Bill was paid a stipend and given free housing. Most of the Clinton's living expenses were paid by the state. When Bill became President, he got a big raise and the White House---rooms of which he rented for a fee. Bill put up a website asking for donations to pay his legal bills from the long the trail of misdeeds both he and Hillary committed over their years of public service. This gang went to Washington to do good and did very well indeed. A ghost writer penned Hillary's village book about child rearing. Bill wrote a book about giving. Their years of  "public service" has made the Clintons very wealthy. At last count, they had a net worth of $110 million dollars.

Hillary now wants to serve us. And she wants us to give her money ...
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The problem is not too many meetings.

Most meetings are not productive in relation to the time spent meeting. People believe they could be getting more done with the time consumed by meetings. This generally true. But that's because you don't have enough meetings.

I propose you have more meetings of shorter duration. In fact, I recommend using a timer to keep meetings brief and on schedule.

For example, let's say you need to discuss a new marketing plan. Limit the meeting to 30 minutes and that single topic. Say what needs to be said and accept input. Then plan a follow up meeting of even shorter duration for the next day. You'll find that people will speak more  concisely and they will stay on topic. You'll actually accomplish more in less time.

Limit meetings to one or two topics. The reason meetings last too long and become dull is that too much is covered at a single meeting.

This works. I've taught this concept at many companies and have sliced hours of time spent in meetings. Energy levels run much higher at a ...
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Here we have the common business wildebeest.

Ever watch one of those nature shows where the lions creep up slowly and nail a wildebeest from a herd of thousands clustered around a mud hole? The wildebeests remind me of most businesses.

The wildebeest will hang around the same diminishing mud hole and watch it dry up. As the herd gets more and more tightly packed around the diminishing resource, it gets easier and easier for the lions to pick them off. But do the wildebeests seek a new watering spot? Nope. Not until the hole goes dry.

The businesses pictured here are doing the same thing. They are competing for relief from the scorching sun under one tree. See the tree in the distance? No competition there. No wildebeests either.

As business wildebeests notice their own supply of new customers dry up, rather than try something new and remarkable, they'll cut their prices to stay alive. On a still day you can hear them bellowing over the shrinking market and the long lost big customers. Many wildebeests will starve. The lions will get some. ...
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Who is this woman?

If you don't recognize her, you're in big trouble.

She's your customer. She doesn't just buy laundry soap and convenience meals. Not any more. She may not even care if her toilet bowl is springtime fresh. She's probably never used Pinesol.

She buys tires, appliances, cars, telescopes, tools, computers, books, pet supplies and houses.

She works. She's not the secretary. She's the buyer for some potentially great B2B customers. She has authority because she makes good decisions.

With that authority, she buys lots of computers. She also buys expensive office equipment. She buys industrial equipment too. She buys mining equipment and cranes.

She hires talent. She keeps the books and pays the bills. She checks out potential vendors for her company. She runs many companies. She starts new businesses.

Her interests vary from cooking to science. She cares about the environment. She holds political office and wields considerable power. She controls more money than her male counterpart.

Something to think about.

Chris Reich, Author of TeachU's Business Talk Blog
Chris@TeachU.com

Build morale by providing excellent customer service.

Spend some training time. Remind your people about what great service means. Teach them to go that extra bit for your customers.

This is good for business and good for morale. When customers start commenting about the great experience they've had with your business, it lifts everyone's spirits.

That's the first step toward turning things around.

Chris Reich, Author of TeachU's Business Talk Blog
Chris@TeachU.com

Are we that afraid of change?

This country has had poor leadership for 20 years. Look where we are now. Stuck in a very stupid war on terrorism with our border wide open. Just how dumb is that?

Our economy is slowing to a halt and the dollar is dropping to record lows while companies such as Meade Instruments send our jobs to China. How dumb is that?

We won't trade with Cuba because of "human rights" violations while we operate a prison camp on the island of Cuba. How dumb is that?

Our biggest "trading partner", China, is world's most egregious human rights abuser and world's greatest polluter. How dumb is that?

As food prices soar, we turn corn into fuel to run cars instead of seeking new technology to free us from the internal combustion engine. How dumb is that?

Along comes a change agent. The Republicans won't vote for a "liberal". Half the democrats prefer a liar---yes, the Clinton's have a long history of lies. Bill Clinton inherited a peace dividend in the form of the end of the cold war. He blew ...
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