I have to admit I tense up whenever someone begins using the Ritz Carlton as an example Funeral Service should use to fashion its own customer service profile. Not that we can’t learn some things from the Ritz. We most certainly can! But it is a dangerous recommendation when we fail to “Go Deep” on… [Read More...]
Is A Scarcity Mentality Keeping You From Being A Good Leader?
September 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. They also have a a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people. Yet it is… [Read More...]
Video: If You Want A High Performing Organization Are You Measuring The Right Things?
September 3, 2012 by 1 Comment
My hero, Peter Drucker, believed: “For the organization to perform to a high standard, its members must believe that what it is doing is, in the last analysis, the one contribution to community and society on which all others depend.” For more than 30 years I have believed that DeathCare makes just such a contribution…. [Read More...]
Why Families Seem Ruder Today and Some Tips on How To Respond
June 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
Funeral Directors are increasingly distressed about being treated rudely by families. This rudeness often causes practitioners to lose control of vital conversations at critical moments. Industry vendors know that Funeral Directors can be very rude as well. In my opinion the reasons both are rude is fundamentally the same. And Yes! Funeral Directors can… [Read More...]
Are Funeral Directors “wired” to Lose in The “New Normal” Part 3
January 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Last week in part 2 of this series we learned that “Challengers” don’t educate, they teach. They are not afraid of pushing their customers to think in new ways. We also learned that while people may like those who are nice to them, they like those who help them gain new insights even more. But… [Read More...]
Are Funeral Directors “Wired” To Lose In the “New Normal”? Part 1
January 2, 2012 by 6 Comments
DeathCare has been losing ground relative to consumers for almost 30 years. Now comes research that may explain why and what to do about it. To many observers (myself among them) what we sell seems well on the road to becoming a commodity. As a means of moving market share, differentiation based on price seems… [Read More...]
Things Not To Do Or Say When You Fire Someone
October 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
There is a difference between a disciplinary interview and a termination meeting. Disciplinary meetings are about second chances and action plans. Termination meetings are about neither. 1. Never reconsider in a termination meeting. Firing is always a last resort. Hopefully, you have already given warnings and second chances. Some employees will try to negotiate… [Read More...]
Managers Vs. Leaders: Which Are You?
January 24, 2011 by 1 Comment
As a student of leadership and as a “Benchmark” Assessor for the Center for Creative Leadership, I am well aware of the impact poor leadership has on results. The problem, in my mind, is the historical emphasis on styles more appropriate to factory settings than businesses that actually interface with the public. The difference between a manager… [Read More...]
The Emperor Has No Clothes
January 11, 2011 by 5 Comments
What employee turnover reveals about your leadership. Employee turnover can reveal a lot of things. Surely turnover is normal but both too much and too little are signs of serious management issues. The pressures of the last ten years have led many in DeathCare to be frustrated with their employees. An attitude has sprung up… [Read More...]
Are You Too Necessary?
Saturday morning, January 7, 2012 my phone rings at home. “Al, this is Bob. Guess where I am?.” Bob Neiman is a successful internet entrepreneur who flies his own plane and dominates a narrow niche in the construction industry. Bob and his wife Amy have been friends of ours for many years now. Amy is… [Read More...]