The Creedy Commentary
The Neurosis That Defines Funeral Service: Perfectionism
I have a book on my office shelf entitled “Perfectionism…Sure Cure For Happiness”. The reason this is important is that, having performed almost 100 culture assessments in funeral service I know that perfectionism is the dominant industry neurosis. Yes, I agree, “Funeral Service Is In The Details”. But it’s how we measure performance that gets […]
Business Partners: The Rainmaker & The Operator
Partnerships, by their very nature, are problematic. They are worse when there is not a clear vision of role differentiation that is understood by all and mutually respected. This role differentiation is key to smooth and successful partnerships. When differentiation is not present roles tend to overlap and conflict. Competition among partners develops and eventually […]
Why I Am Not A Funeral Home Broker
Why I Am Not A Funeral Home Broker Jack B. Stalk has a special goose. His goose lays a single golden egg every year. That annual egg has enabled Jack to live in a nice home, drive a luxury car, take nice vacations, eat well, put his four kids through college and be a well-respected […]
5 Ways To Breathe Life Into Your Business
This week I was privileged to be interviewed by Sebastian Thalhammer of Austria. You may or may not have heard of Sebastian but he is a pretty interesting media guru who somehow decided I had something to say. So, Here is my “15 minutes of fame.” Actually, it’s 45 minutes but it does have some […]
New & Improved Funeral Home Valuator
I have chosen to celebrate the re launch of my new website with an updated and improved funeral home valuation calculator. This calculator is part of my effort to help practitioners access quick and easy tools that will help them make better choices for their business. You can use these calculators any time and as […]
How to Make Change More Fun And Effective
It seems like funeral service has been talking about change for my entire career of almost 40 years. Sometimes it gets a little…well you know…boring. It seems like everything changes: While we all feel stuck and even depressed as we try to accommodate (rather assimilate and build) what we feel like is out […]
The Intentional Funeral Director
What is an Intentional Funeral Director? Some years ago I attended a Men’s Retreat at my church. The plan was that we would all ride to the camp on the church bus. What the pastor told us before we climbed on board set the whole tone. He said: “Some people rise above their circumstances and […]
What Would You Pay?
Big Question!! How much should the value of a funeral home be discounted if the facility is being sold for other use? A funeral home in your area has accepted an offer for their real estate that is much greater than the business is worth. How much would you discount the value of the business if you […]
Difficult Conversations For Those Who Hate Conflict
Funeral directors are notorious for being conflict avoidant. Yet they have a job where they must engage in difficult conversations with staff, vendors and their customers. I used to attend a church with a pastor who would go to bizarre lengths to avoid conflict. He was beloved by the congregation and staff alike. But the […]
Merchandising Urn Arks
I think I saw my first Urn Ark around 20 years ago. I was immediately taken and still consider it to be the best way to dignify the ceremony in a cremation. Most funeral homes that use them… and, sadly, too many do not…don’t charge for them. That practice doesn’t bother me but I do […]
How To Be Smart About Buying Caskets
It has now become routine for me to analyze what they are paying in “True” wholesale prices for caskets. In the process I typically save tens of thousands of dollars for them over the course of a year. But what I do isn’t rocket science. Nor does it always require they change vendors…although it often […]
Funeral Service and Post Traumatic Stress
After the Newton Massacre I brought up the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a blog entitled: PTSD: The Slow Leak in Funeral Service’ Tire I got so many responses I republished it as: The Unspoken Affliction:PTSD and the Funeral Director Since then I have received a number of comments and participated in several discussions […]