[Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information.] Much of my career has involved business turnarounds. This experience serves me well as a funeral home consultant. Over the course of more than 30 years I have learned a lot about human nature. [...]
...The problem is cowardice!! There, it's been said. Plain and simple: We have been unwilling to stand up for what we believe and now we are not sure we believe it any more. After all how long can you get beat up and still try to stand? So, instead of taking a stand we assume [...]
When Growth Stalls, How it happens, why you’re stuck and what to do about it. By Steve McKee, Jossey-Bass 2009 “when growth stalls, everything begins to break down. Confidence wanes, and it can be difficult to tell which problems are cause and which are effect.” This simple statement hits too close to home in an industry [...]
I serve on the Board of Directors of a community bank based in Orlando, Florida. In that capacity I receive frequent educational correspondence and one I received this week highlighted the striking similarities between what we do and banking. The author says: "Bankers often forget that they are in a retail business where [...]
A few years ago we came to the realization that there was a real necessity to review our system. Not all calls are equal in service type, in merchandise and in revenue. The old system indicated that direct cremation had the same market share value as a traditional burial. In a sense that [...]
I recently joined several industry discussion groups. I had heard that Selected Independent had a great one and, since I am not a member and can't join it, I joined several others. I guess I am naive because I was hoping to really engage in some meaningful discussion forum about industry issues with people expressing [...]
Remember that bill congress needed to pass to see what was in it? Well, surprise!! The Medicare Tax has been expanded to include almost ALL income (active and passive) over $200k for singles and $250k for couples. This even includes the gain on the sale of a personal residence over the exclusion amount. If the [...]
When asked what it was that made him so exceptional a hockey player, Wayne Gretzky is said to have responded, "I see my job a little different from most other hockey players.” Pressed for details, he said, "my job is to skate to where the puck is going to be.” The question that all of [...]
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 [...]
Last week, in Part 1 of this series, we explored the idea that funeral Directors, as consummate relationship builders, may be wired to lose in an environment that has changed radically over the past 30 years. Based on non-industry research we posited that the "Challenger" style was 13 times more likely to succeed in the [...]