Situation: “Our Company shows profits every month and yet we continue to be short of cash, how can that be? Suggestion: To most non-financial individuals, the terms profits and cash are used interchangeably, which is incorrect. The phrase “cash is king” is very true. Let’s help to find where cash is likely hiding. 1. Accounts…
Tag Archive: problem solving
Who the heck is “MO”?
All of a sudden, the home team comes alive and starts moving the ball down the field with ease. The announcer declares “looks like Mo has changed sides again”. Who in the heck is Mo, he wasn’t on the roster for either team and yet everyone in the stadium seems to know where he is…
“but we are different”
I met with a company that was having severe operating problems. They were experiencing increasing order backlogs; excess component inventories; high expedite cost of out-of-stock components; and very poor communication between internal departments. When I explored their processes and asked a few questions about why they did not do things differently in a particular area,…
Four Failures from Uncertain Times
The economy may be slowly recovering but those I talk with are still very uncertain about the future. That uncertainty can produce failures that can have devastating results for your organization. If we cannot see the trees because we are focused on the forest, the results can be an unwanted surprise. I see four areas…
Word Of Mouth Marketing-What?
Obtaining and retaining loyal customers is about developing relationships. Companies spend $millions annually on advertising, hoping to influence the buying habits of their prospective customers. Advertising does not build relationships, it only hopes to influence the moment and convert those few seconds into a buying decision for a product. Word of Mouth (WOM) is the…
Are your new products failing and you don’t know why?
We conducted a survey of several Puget Sound companies asking them which area of their business caused them the greatest concern. The issue rated the highest was the failure to introduce successful new products. When asking these companies to explain why they see this issue as their greatest challenge, the responses were as diverse as…
“You Get What You Pay For”-Rewarding Incorrectly Will Hurt You!
Most organizations will say they reward “results”, yet that is not necessarily true. Organizations establish a formal or informal process to incentivize their workforce to achieve a desired level of performance. Depending on the size and culture of the enterprise, this compensation plan may include all employees, just management or something in between. All such…
Shifting From Accountability to Entitlement-Whose fault is it?
I recently read an article about the shift within corporate America from a workforce that expects to be held accountable, to a workforce that looks for entitlement. Why should we even be concerned with this shift? We should be concerned since a growing level of entitlement within our population is having an impact on the…
Seven Ways a CEO Can Hurt Your Organization
There are organizational leaders that are what I call “empty suits”. They look the part, they sound like they know what they are doing, they have impressive resumes, and yet their track records for organizational results are mediocre at best. Years ago, there was an article (author unknown) that outlined the characteristics of Chief Executive…
Full Service Professional Organization Failures: Why?
Full Service Providers are not always the best route for clients since many do not have the commitment to all skills that they do their core competency- Why?
