January 23rd, 2012
There seems to be a new race afoot. A new competition. A new business strategy by which great careers will be made and lost.
It is the race to offer the most insubstantial napkin.
Only a few months ago it seemed the napkin dispenser norm was a semi-absorbent sheet of paper folded once in half in one direction and then again in thirds in the other.
The first feature to get left behind was absorbency. In fact, absorbency is but a distant memory, isn’t it?! But that loss was easy to cover up under the guise of protecting the environment. That it now takes five napkins to wipe up what one used to suffice for is conveniently not mentioned.
Next to go was the full sheet folded in half. Clearly we had been over-cleaning ourselves after our burger and fries. Some executive most certainly gave themself a big salary increase for finding such a clever way to cut their paper costs in half.
More recently it seems the tri-fold is increasingly being ditched in favor of a single fold. (And a fold that isn’t even a full half fold at that.)
It’s amazing how little paper these executives feel is more than adequate to deal with grease, coffee, ketchup, or whatever else one might want to wipe off one’s hands.
Who do you feel is winning the race to offer the most insubstantial napkin? Leave a comment with your example. Let’s compare notes.
More significantly, where are your cost-cutting efforts inadvertently resulting in something like the need to use five insubstantial napkins instead of just one nice absorbent one?
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January 21st, 2012
“Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do the best.”
Marva Collins
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January 19th, 2012
Puzzled why mandating positive morale failed.
Karl Edwards
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January 18th, 2012
Far too many of us are waiting for the economy improve before we make important decisions and commitments of our own.
I suggest this is the case because most of us are waiting until we know it is safe to go back to doing things the way we did before our economy’s near collapse and this extended recession.
I am almost certain that the only viable way forward will not be found in going backwards. In fact, business may never be successfully done again the way it was before 2008.
To move forward aggressively and responsibly, though, we need to get our thinking out of the rigid box that limits us to the values, methods and means of the past.
We need new perspectives, new frames of reference, and new approaches.
In this week’s show, Claudia and I discuss making one of our “Bold Resolutions” for the new year to think outside the box.
Not crazy, impulsive, rash thinking. But creative, non-linear, and proactive thinking.
Listen in.
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January 17th, 2012
My reading list just gets longer and longer.
800-CEO-Read announced their 2011 awards for best business books.
You can read the entire book summaries on their blog post here.
The winners are:
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General Business
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Leadership
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Marketing and Sales
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Entrepreneurship
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Personal Development
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Finance & Economics
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Innovation & Creativity
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Management
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Head over to 800-CEO-Read’s website and check out the many resources they make available.
Enjoy!
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January 16th, 2012
“He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it.”
Dante Alighieri
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January 12th, 2012
Feigning decisiveness she dodges the question.
Karl Edwards
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