What is the link between Terrorism and Funeral Service? Well, you have to read a very short story and watch an even shorter video to find out. But the rewards will be worth it because I am going to reveal some of my secret sauce. A few years ago a friend shared that: "Alan see [...]
In Old Testament Days the Hebrew Temple contained the "Holy of Holies" behind the "Veil of The Temple". The Ark of The Covenant which, in turn, held the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments and Moses' rod was inside this area. So sacred was it that only one priest was allowed to [...]
There is a level of neglect in our profession that will (and is) causing too many to approach the end of their careers facing great disappointment, forcing the postponement of retirement or spending retirement much more humbly than anticipated. It is too dangerous to be considered benign. Dangerous, certainly, at the individual firm level. [...]
I once heard a sermon that now seems appropriate to this last in my series on reinvention. We all know the story of Jesus healing the blind. This sermon wondered not about the healing but THE DAY AFTER. The man's whole life was turned upside down. He had KNOWN HOW to be blind. His livelihood depended on [...]
Last week I referred to Andrew Grove's comments relative to the reinvention of Intel in which he referred to the process as the "Valley of Death." Strategic Inflection Points: what happens to a business when a major change takes place in its competitive environment... what is key is that they require a fundamental change in [...]
Reinvention will soon become the latest catchword in the DeathCare professions. I agree! Reinvention has been a long time coming. But I fear that many have already mistaken cosmetic touchups to our traditional practices as reinvention thus fooling themselves into continued complacency. There are many shades of reinvention and the magnitude of the one called [...]
The Funeral Service Foundation has just released the results of its "Bleeding Edge" research project with world renowned Olson-Zaltman Associates simultaneously revealing both disturbing and encouraging insights. Recognizing that the growth of cremation has more than doubled (leaping from 1% to more than 2% annually in the last several years) The Funeral Service Foundation commissioned the unconventional market [...]
This question and its brother: "How much does a funeral cost?" Are non questions. When we attempt to answer them directly with rational logical explanations we only end up annoying most people. Especially if we weigh them down with a litany of hours, cost of having a building and the time we waste being ready [...]
In the near future the difference between winning and losing in DeathCare will be a result of one factor: LEADERSHIP. Yet many owners and general managers are confusing supervision with leadership and are in danger of turning themselves into nothing more than shop foremen. Too many funeral home owners blame their staff for the lack of [...]
I feel like maybe I have backed myself into a corner. Price-Led-Costing A simple concept; but for an industry steeped in generations of pricing from exactly the opposite perspective and whose most respected financial advisors continue to advocate cost-led-pricing this is bound to be a real challenge. To enable you, dear reader, to flip the [...]
