Category Archives for Swim With The Sharks
Ask an Old Grizzly
The ability to listen to others is not, typically, the entrepreneur’s greatest strength. If you’re the oldest guy in the shop, if you’re the one others turn to when they want to hear about the “old days,” it’s time to find yourself an even older grizzly. When I first bought Mackay Envelope, I was […]
Continue readingKnowing Something About Your Customer Is Just As Important As Knowing Everything About Your Product
Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing everything about your product. Take politicians, for example. A politician will support your proposition only as long as it is politically popular or uncommonly rewarding. That isn’t to say that pols are any less honest or reliable than the rest of us. It’s just […]
Continue readingThere Is No Such Thing as a Bad Memory
Little Johnny, in sixth grade, came home with a report card that was all D’s and F’s. His father asked why. “I can never remember anything,” answered Johnny. The old man said, “Well, you’re not going to any more baseball games until you get your grades up. And to begin with, forget tonight’s game.” […]
Continue reading“Nothing Is Greater to One Than One’s Self Is” – Walt Whitman
The next time someone calls you a one-way, egotistical son of a bitch, don’t forget to thank them. They have just provided a strong endorsement of your mental health. “Self-esteem” is a buzz word these days, and it’s about time. The higher it is, the better you get along with yourself, with others, and […]
Continue readingWhat’s the Best Way to Save Time?
Spend more time on time management. You’re in as good a position to save time as your richest and most powerful competitors. Over a lifetime, it’s incredible how much time you can save, and the advantages you can achieve, while you’re sitting on your duff in your car. For example: Use a cell phone… […]
Continue readingYou Can’t Solve a Problem Unless You First Admit You Have One
Alcoholics Anonymous has used that principle as a starting point to reclaim thousands and thousands of lives. Thousands more are never reclaimed because it’s so hard to change. Sheer stubbornness has destroyed a lot more bottom lines than new technologies. There were just as many mean spirited jibes at Coca-Cola for abandoning its original […]
Continue readingGive More Conventions and You Can Give Fewer Raises
All successful sales organizations offer a constant round of morale-boosting meetings, incentives, awards, and recognition. No matter how often salespeople are told “It isn’t personal” when they’re turned down, professional sales managers realize how psychologically draining those rejections are. It’s a never-ending struggle to keep their people up and motivated. What applies to salespeople […]
Continue readingCalling Mr. Otis
Lesson 25 “Calling Mr. Otis” You say you’ll not likely be called on to negotiate a treaty to restrict Weapons of Mass Destruction, or handle the company’s real-estate or labor contracts? No matter. You’re still going to find yourself in the midst of a negotiation where your ability to get up and walk away is […]
Continue readingIt’s More Fun When It’s Spontaneous
Lesson 45: It’s More Fun When It’s Spontaneous No, I’m not talking about sex again, though the same principle applies. Have you ever noticed a certain lack of enthusiasm for what passes for fun of the usual corporate variety? You don’t have to wait until the calendar tells you it’s time for the Christmas party […]
Continue readingBelieve in Yourself, Even When No One Else Does
Lesson 15 Believe in Yourself, Even When No One Else Does Remember the four-minute mile? People had been trying to achieve it since the days of the ancient Greeks. In fact, folklore has it that the Greeks had lions chase the runners, thinking that would make them run faster. They also tried tiger’s milk—not the […]
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