Funeral Home Owners struggle with financial information. It is very difficult for people who are not financially oriented to understand tabular data. Thanks to artificial intelligence and new software there is now a way for them to connect the dots at a glance and know what to do. Join me at the Kates Boylston Webinar [...]
The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt to eradicate Infantile Paralysis (Polio). With the advent of Jonas Salk's vaccine in the early 1950's the disease was largely eradicated in the Western World. In 1994 the United States was the first nation to be certified "Polio Free." What does this have [...]
Case Studies in Succession Planning: The Case of the Reluctant Successor It comes as a surprise to most owners to learn that more than 50% of potential successors, whether they be children or key employees, either don't want the business or can't swing it financially. But many owners operate on the assumption that when it [...]
What, Then, Shall We Become? So, considering the issue from a theoretical, rational and contextual perspective, we are left with the question: Now What?! When this most recent transformation began several decades ago the question was: “how can we adapt?” I believe that question led us down some unfortunate rabbit trails. It is less about [...]
Six Blind Funeral Directors - Third Installment In our prior two installments we looked at our future from a theoretical perspective and a rational perspective. This installment we will focus on a contextual perspective. A Contextual Approach To The Future A study of the evolution of contemporary American DeathCare beginning in 1850 suggests that our [...]
Six Blind Funeral Directors - 2nd installment A Rational Approach To The Future Last week we explored the theoretical approach to our future using the allegory of the Six Blind Funeral Directors. This week we explore a Rational Approach. Our first question is: What do we know? We know that our market has changed and [...]
Six Blind Funeral Directors Describe Our Future Chapter 1 The Theory of DeathCare We are all familiar with the parable of the six blind men describing an elephant. As we struggle with imagining the future of funeral service a survey of trade journal articles and convention agendas can’t help but bring this parable to mind. [...]
Artificial Intelligence - Doing more efficiently that which is already done poorly. It's all the buzz - Artificial Intelligence. Of course the excitable "hand wringers" among us are already speculating about its disruptive potential. Perhaps this time they are right. It remains to be seen. AI's first toehold is in the writing of obituaries. Feeling, [...]
Posted on March 25, 2023 By Thomas A. Parmalee Forty-three years ago, Alan Creedy took over the financially distressed OGR Service Corp., the for-profit arm of what is now the International Order of the Golden Rule. With a background in accounting and psychology, he had no idea he was [...]
I know this is a politically charged topic. It is not my intent to influence anyone's perspective. These words so precisely express my own viewpoint and are so encouraging to me that I feel compelled to share them. The words of C.S. Lewis guide us yet today. It’s now clear that COVID-19 is a deadly [...]
