Practitioner Forum: Insights and Ideas
Funeral Service: It’s All In the Attitude
It has been almost two decades since the new millennium began. Much has changed. 20 years ago, copper caskets were still being sold…today, we feel lucky when we sell a casket at all. 20 years ago, only 1 out of 3 or, even, 4 chose cremation…today, it is more than 1 out of 2. 20 […]
Should Women Wear Pant Suits?
I seem to have a penchant for joining fights that aren’t mine. Not long ago I was presenting a seminar on dress and decorum to funeral directors at a large state convention. Several women asked for my opinion on wearing pants. Frankly, I hadn’t thought about it so I didn’t have one. Since then, I […]
Is Funeral Service Ready For Innovation?
Uhhh…NO! I got an email from Harvard Business Review today. It invited me to take an assessment on innovation readiness for my company. Instead, I took it as if I worked for all of funeral service as I know and experience it. The results weren’t surprising but still disturbing. I did my best to be […]
The Lesson of the $300 Shoes
Last week’s blog sparked a lively conversation on and offline about clothing. From those conversations I think it might help to add one more insight. It was 1989. George H.W. Bush was president. I had just come from a podiatrist because my feet were in constant pain. I have flat feet. My prescription: wear only […]
This Is What I Would Tell My Staff
What happened to social etiquette? You spend a couple of million dollars on a new building and you let the public be disappointed the moment they enter the door. I visit a lot of funeral homes and the experience ranges from abysmal to glorious with a whole lot more on the abysmal side than the […]
A New Approach To Price Shoppers
I subscribe to the Harvard Business Review Blog and an interesting article came through today that I wonder might have application to those of you who might be challenged by low price competitors. It is a way to separate those who are truly price shoppers and those who are looking for value. It also might […]
Is Coca-Cola Still “The Real Thing”
Why Adaptation May Not Be the Right Strategy “You Can’t Manage Change…You Can Only Get Ahead Of It.” Peter Drucker Last year, for the first time in the history of the annual Best Global Brands report, it was reported that Coca-Cola was no longer the most valuable brand in the universe.Interbrand, a leading brand […]
How To Overcome Negative Stereotypes
“The best way to break a negative stereotype is to shock the stereotype” The Funeral Profession plays to the negative stereotype by the persona they cultivate: Formal, unapproachable, dignified, conventional, guardians of the past and so on. I have found one of the best ways to shock a stereotype is with humor. If I owned […]
Why We Fail: How Blame Game Defeats Us
Why is it so important in the funeral service culture to find blame? Blame is always a counterproductive force that slows us down and PREVENTS us from the personal accountability we need to move us to a higher plane. Some years before my engagement with funeral service I was employed as a project manager and […]
The Funeral Director Who Invented Social Media
I am glad I don’t have to compete with Frank Dawson. His use of social media for the past 50 years has built a veritable competitive fortress. Ron Hast, the recently deceased owner of Mortuary Management magazine, had a very compelling habit. It was shortly after I started my career at Batesville Casket Company in […]
We All Know The Questions…It’s Time For Some Answers
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 […]
Hey You…Yes You!
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 […]