Blog
Dreaming is hard work
Regardless of the time zone or continent you call home, the last decade has been nuts. Sunday morning in Chicago I heard an older song for the first time, really. Here is the opening lyric: Oh, the last ten years, it's been quite trip. Over thirty-six-hundred spins...
Idiom: Expectations
You expect the rep to pick up the dinner tab. You expect your kids to get good grades. And sometimes they let you down. Not to say anything bad about your mother, but we're only human, right? It's somehow even more disappointing when our unmet expectations are...
Flabby brains make Johnny a dull boy.
"The brain has three natural roadblocks that stand in the way of truly innovative thinking: 1. flawed perception 2. fear of failure 3. the inability to persuade others." – Dr. Gregory Berns, neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and Distinguished Chair of Neuroeconomics at...
Toughing it out. Keeping it together. Making ends meet.
The language of the left brain is logical. The educational system in the United States has effectively taught generations of left-brained thinkers. However, studies have shown that children loose a large percentage of their creativity between ages 5 and 7. Things like...
Recession Survival Kit, Part III
Today I spoke to retailers at the High Point furniture market. We discussed the two types of customers. They are transactional and relational. I'm often asked, "Which one is best?" Or, "How do I attract this type or that?" There's more than one answer. Every person...
Recession Survival Kit, Part II
If you're in High Point, come find out what's working for other retailers during this "economic downturn" tomorrow at 2:30 pm in the 12th floor resource center. There are actually six things- no, seven things your family business can do in a recession. The first is to...
How to survive a recession
This week in High Point, North Carolina, furniture retailers from around the country will be asking, "How do I survive this recession?" Come find out what's working on Tuesday at 2:30 pm in the 12th floor resource center. There are actually six things- no, seven...
Idiom: Fear
What keeps you up at night? The unpaid invoice to your biggest vendor? The grinding sound when Truck 1 changes gears? Switch gears yourself and put on your "home" hat. Does your credit card statement keep you up at night? Your son's grades? The leaky faucet? Your...
Independent Retailers Win Again
Daily life keeps me humble. Killing lions and bears like my namesake has never out of the question. Of course with killing you create a lot of mess. Mess always has to be cleaned up. (Notice the current financial condition of GM and Chrysler.) When we think about the...