I realized that I had not heard from my car insurance agent in a long time, and could not remember even a bill. He is a State Farm agent and I have had one or more cars insured with him steadily since 1985 (26 years).   When I called them, I found that State Farm had [...]

I learned about the value of “customer service as exception” back in my Mr Ching venture days from Pepsico, our investor.  For instance, a customer comes into a Pizza Hut at 2:30pm and asks for a personal pan pizza which the company does not make after 2:00pm.  The manager is trained to explain the 2:00 [...]

What if you are sitting at your desk and someone says, “let’s brand fragrance.”  You reply, “you mean a certain fragrance?”  “No” they say, “let’s brand all fragrance.”  Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well consider what Muzak did years ago when they created the idea of using music in the background in the workplace.  Muzak is [...]

The following advice comes from Fawzia Gulsha, a friend in Dubai, who is both a royal princess and a very successful real estate agent in Dubai. “The starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is for you to dream big dreams. There is nothing more important, and nothing that [...]

My generation read The Little Engine That Could, that while pulling up a tough hill kept saying to himself, “I think I can, I think I can.”  You would assume that today’s business leaders, mostly in my generation, would remember the Little Engine That Could. You would think that they would step forward and seize [...]

Many of you know that I am a fan of Native American wisdom and rhetoric.  One of you just sent me this parable which I had forgotton.  Seems to be appropriate for the last few posts and comments. One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He [...]

If you work in any organization, you are always going to have friends and you are always going to have enemies.  That is if you are any good.  Medium performers can have only friends, but top performers always have enemies. Oscar Wilde said, “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”  Robert Greene in [...]

Albert Schweitzer said, “A man does not have to be an angel to be a saint.”  I believe that. A really good leader is a saint.  You do not have to be perfect.  Remember one simple thought.  A good leader is one others choose to follow.  It really is that simple.  Others either choose of [...]

Heard good advice on TV, CANE episode tonight. The patriarch of the family gave this advice to Jimmy Smits who he has put in charge of the business. “Learn to listen. People will say, ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this. But they tell you anyway. It’s one of the most commonly used phrases.’ Know as [...]

I’ve been out of the US for over a week now, and being out and about always changes or clarifies my viewpoint on the World. I ran into an interesting quote from the Dali Lama that I think pertains not just to politics, but to business as well. “Wars arise from the failure to understand [...]