Sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do...or what we don't do. Will my kids be able to enjoy the same rewards and lifestyle as I have? What am I supposed to do with the investment I have in facilities and rolling stock? How can I get myself, much less my [...]
We need to quit talking about change and figure out HOW we need to change if we are going to be sustainably viable. Don't you think it's time we learned HOW we need to change? Announcing the 21st Century Summit WE need to learn how to ask tough questions: How much am I worth and [...]
When it comes to customers funeral directors are often the nicest people. But being nice and being kind are two different things. It takes courage to be kind. There is risk to it. You don't really have to be more than just agreeable to be nice. Smile, never say anything bad about anybody and NEVER, [...]
Ever since it was revealed that SCI enjoyed a big discount the discussion around the convention lunch table has been preoccupied with the subject of discounts and rebates. For more than 15 years I have heard a lot about percentages but never about dollars. It's not my dog much less my hunt but I think [...]
I am out of my comfort zone. It's ok. But it's like learning to write your name with your left hand if you are right handed. Try it. It's hard. you have to think about it. Hopefully, by now, dear reader you have figured out my true passion. I believe in funeral service and I [...]
"one cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it." Peter Drucker The Cornerstone Assumption of the funeral side of DeathCare is that being nice is the same as being effective. Our "worldview" of being nice people is that we must never, ever make waves or create awkwardness. We run pell-mell from any form [...]
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 [...]
Most people speak of those they work with as a team. But, in my experience, people rarely understand what a team really is. In funeral service what typically represents a team is really a group of people who are very nice but work towards their own ends independently. If the firm has clear standards and [...]
The saying goes, "It's lonely at the top." Who do you talk to when you're the boss? Edgar Schein, Professor Emeritus at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, observed that the most common self - image among business leaders is that of the "Lone Warrior - Hero." I have found this to be true [...]
Many Funeral Directors consider themselves caregivers. This article causes me to see a two way street. As you read it think about the critical role you can and should play with your customers AND their guests. But to those of us who support the practitioner, let's think about the critical role WE should and can [...]
