Tag: discussion

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Future Shock

My wife and I recently had a discussion about what the younger generation will do in, say 2030, when they look back and realize all the moments of their lives are forever captured by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and whatever arises as the next can’t-keep-away-from-it-must-update technologies du jour. (We also spoke about their ultimate realization of ‘Why did I ever get these tattoos?’ – but that’s another story.)

I’ve decided, however, we’re being unfair to the youth of today – what with adults already setting such embarrassing examples. Take Rick Sanchez who was fired by CNN on October 1st for inappropriate comments about his bosses at CNN and Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart. Sanchez violated the first rule my mother taught me in high school: “In everything you do, act like there is a camera on your shoulder for all the world to see it.” (Keep in mind that was 35 years ago.) How a professional journalist could allow himself to speak such controversial things is mindboggling. Those few sentences Sanchez said on satellite radio will follow him forever.

An episode of ABC’s Modern Family addressed this topic just two weeks ago when Claire Dunphy confessed to her daughter that she wasn’t as pure and wholesome a teenager as she tried to make her children think. Regardless of whether you’re in high school, college or already in the working world, keep in mind what you say and do is subject to someone else discovering it. There are no secrets anymore. Think about that before you post something that might not reflect positively on you down the road.

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Bountiful Feast

Yesterday during a phone coaching session with one of the franchising groups I facilitate (our monthly lunch-and-learn discussion), someone commented they’re awaiting the economic turnaround to occur before making a big decision about an opportunity for their business. This person suggested there is too much uncertainty right now to commit without knowing when things will get better. I responded they might want to consider ordering off that menu now in order to position themselves ahead of everyone else when a better day arrives.

You have to eliminate inertia to achieve results – in business or boiling water. While this is not the time to spend lavishly at five-star restaurants, it’s also important not to be paralyzed by fear and eat TV dinners. The objective, during high-flying times and periods of hunkering down, is to improve the bottom line. If you’re like most businesses, you’ve carved all the fat out of expenses. That means the only way to improve profitability is to increase sales, and with your customers in a similar dollar-menu mindset, you’re going to have to take market share from competitors in order to enjoy your desserts.

During economic expansion there’s room for everyone at the dinner table… and the feast is extravagant. Today, it’s a blue plate special… and there aren’t as many place settings. To ensure you don’t go away hungry, you need to be assertive and show up early while others are standing around waiting on an invitation. Eventually, everyone will be clamoring to get inside the most popular establishments; you’ll already be there dining on the delicious entrée.

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