Howard Schultz came back and saved Starbucks in 2008.  His focus was to get back to the coffee experience. But what happens when the business focuses too much on the bottom line?  We forget that the customer refers and recommends the value of our offering by completing the following: “It is worth it because . . . . ” Starbucks is starting to focus on drive through business.  I have seen several of their “container” locations where they sell the profitable hot drinks, where the customer does NOT have a place to meet friends.  Those pesky customers are expensive.  The
Continue Reading

Forbes had a great article with statistics that will make you stop and think. In 2014 an employee given a 3% raise really only gets a 1% increase in spending because of inflation If that same employee leaves the company they can look forward to a 10% to 20% increase in salary (with some as high as 50%) This is a call for HR to rethink their methods. If that employee does leave consider The replacement costs for an entry-level employee is between 30% to 50% of their annual salary. For mid-level employees it could cost up to 150% of
Continue Reading

As published in the Midwest Society of Association Executives FOCUS magazine spring of 2016 by Kordell Norton “They can’t pass the drug test!” He is another client who is complaining about the workforce, more especially, those “Millennials”. Repeatedly business executives are frustrated by this emerging group of workers. “One half of all the applicants from this age group literally cannot pass the drug test. Then,” he pokes the air between us for emphasis, “those we do hire don’t want to work. After a couple of days they come and tell us that the work is too hard.” Who are these
Continue Reading

“I book 350 speakers a year,” says the meeting planner.  The salad suddenly becomes less important, with this nourishing new conversation. As the lunch conversation continues, I ask the question that all speakers want a real answer to, “what do you look for in a speaker?” The smile is wry, the answer thought of beforehand. “One.   I want a speaker who will customize their materials to my group.”   With the downturn of the great recession, there was a winnowing of the inventory of speakers.  Said one meeting planner, “Speakers who used to command five figures, now will gladly take the
Continue Reading