There are, in fact, many firms today that remain in denial that our profession has changed dramatically and will continue to change into the foreseeable future. We cannot help them. I have lost count of the financial statements I have analyzed over the last several years. What strikes me is that virtually all of them [...]
Are you a shop foreman or a leader? In recent years a new focus has crept in to the profession. We are trending toward becoming shop foremen instead of leaders. The belief being that we must measure everything and compare everyone to everyone else. This is, in fact, a good idea and a long time [...]
Are you addicted to helping others or are your customer relationships creating unhealthy responses? Perhaps you’ve fallen victim to the Rescuer Syndrome. One of the common threads I am discovering as I get deeper into the study of culture within the funeral profession is the belief that one must be a “suffering servant” doing what [...]
I am a little annoyed with myself. As I address this topic of Leadership i find that I have fallen into the same trap as most others. I have succeeded in treating the difference between managers and leaders as two ends of a continuum and conveying the impression that one (managers) is bad and the [...]
Protecting the Past and Perfecting the Present Does Not Equal Finding a Future. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic is a behavior often seen in organizations responding to massive change. Why is that? and why is it so prevalent in DeathCare. It turns out our century old culture is to blame and resolving a [...]
As I travel about the country I encounter a lot of good ideas and some bad. It seems to me that my readers might enjoy learning about some of these first hand. Not long ago I encountered a young funeral home owner who had improved on an old idea. In fact, when I first saw [...]
Insights come from the strangest places. This time from why women dress the way they do. My wife has bad feet. Most women do. Why? Because women's shoes are not designed for practicality. They are intended only to create an impression. Comfort and productivity, as purpose, are lost in favor of competing with others. When [...]
OR WHY FUNERAL DIRECTORS ARE NEUROTIC A pastor friend once told me: "The test of love is whether or not you are willing to tell someone their fly is unzipped." Funeral service I love what you do and I love many of you. Your fly is unzipped. My phone rings: "Al, this is Ron." Me: [...]
Sometimes you read stuff and it fits so perfectly all you are left with is: "I wish I had said that." Just as I was preparing my next followup article on how to make yourself unnecessary Linked-In published this blog post. Since I couldn't improve on it I will just share it. If you are [...]
Funeral Service is simultaneously over managed and under led. The key to overcoming the "Being Necessary" complex is to recognize the difference between management and leadership. It is the overmanagement that creates all the physical and emotional stress in this profession. More to the point the current trends in misapplying management data is turning professionals [...]
