Our Business Beliefs

If you are going to engage the services of a consultant group, we believe you should know what is in their hearts regarding business practices. We feel very strongly about the following issues:

• Management Considerations:
  • The reputation of your organization is its most valuable asset.
  • Leaders of organizations have three key challenges: How to increase revenue? How to lower cost? How to improve cash flow?
  • Managers do things right. Leaders do the right things.
  • Management requires objectives, monitoring/ measuring, analysis and action.
  • No one person has all the answers – not even the owner, president or CEO.
     
• Personnel Considerations:
  • Every business has non-performers. The longer you keep them around, the longer your entire organization will struggle.
  • For every problem between two employees, there are always three sides: Side A, Side B and the real story. Never jump to conclusions, no matter how much faith you have in one of the people involved.
  • It is inevitable that you will have to terminate workers at some time. Do it with dignity and compassion – don’t burn any bridges.
     
• Sales Considerations:
  • “New sales” is the fuel that drives business
  • If you cannot clearly articulate that what you offer is better than what your competition offers, you will be forced to compete on price. For most businesses, being a “me-too” organization becomes a death-spiral.
  • There are more opportunities for new business than most organizations can handle.
     
• Quality Considerations:
  • Good quality is free. It is non-quality that drives cost up and customers away.
  • When a problem occurs, it is imperative to identify the root cause. If you don’t, the problem will continue to occur.
  • Quality has two aspects – real and perceived. Real quality is simply conformance to requirements. Perceived quality is what the employees of your customers really think of your organization. In the long run, real quality is important, but perceived quality is critical.
     
• Customer Considerations:
  • Customers may not always be right, but they deserve your respect. If all else fails, fire the customer.
     
• Communication Considerations
  • People have two ears and one mouth. Using them in that proportion serves you well.
  • It is important to learn the “power of pause,” that is, think before you speak.
  • Email is the least effective way to communicate; face-to-face is the most effective.