I am continually surprised at the number of suppliers who will promise anything to get shelf space or their preferred terms and then shrug their shoulders when it comes time to deliver upon their commitments. Read the rest of this entry »
Makers, keep your word
December 3rd, 2005Don’t worry, you have a corporate identity
December 3rd, 2005“We don’t have a corporate identity.” I hear this a lot. I always respond, “Yes you do.” Whenever human beings come together for a specific purpose, or even without any stated purpose, that gathering — that corporate entity — will form a personality, a system of beliefs and values. It has an identity. And so does your company. Read the rest of this entry »
The Iron Law of Retail
October 29th, 2005Once a retailer has established their identity — once they know who and what they will be — they must focus on what they must do. These four things are simple. And in their execution they are all hard. When mastered, they guarantee success. Read the rest of this entry »
Better a communicator than a linguist
October 20th, 2005Being bilingual opens up many opportunities that the monolinguist never gets to experience. For example, I have the ability to completely misunderstand, fail to listen or otherwise lose the plot in two languages. Read the rest of this entry »
Hire your own *@$! interpreter!
October 1st, 2005I wish I had a Euro for every time I’ve heard an otherwise knife-sharp captain of industry express relief that his or her counterparty was providing the interpreter for an important business meeting. On the face of it, not needing to provide an interpreter represents a significant cost savings. Let me explain why it is not. Read the rest of this entry »