The Entrepreneur's Mentor

The Three Inescapables

For years I have heard that businesses have only three areas to use as selling points:

• Quality
• Service
• Price

It has been said that it is impossible to offer the best service and the best quality and still have the best price. So, the issue is to pick which two of the three are meaningful to you.  If service and price are critical, then quality will not be the differentiator.

Is this true? Do you know of exceptions? What about your business? Can you list 5 businesses that offer outstanding service and quality at the lowest price?  If so, how do they do it?

Has the internet changed this axiom? Where does Amazon.com fall in this "equation?"

Some Clients Don't Fit

So, why fire a client?

I can think of a few good reasons.

1, Personalities clash, so working together will not be fun.

2. The client does not clearly understand what he/she wants, and therefore won't be happy with anything you deliver.

3. Unrealistic expectations.

4. Unreal budget to achieve expectations.

5. What the client wants isn't what the client needs. Give what is asked for and you fail and get the blame.

6. The client is not committed to the project.

7. Your capabilities don't fit the project.

8. You don't have the time to do it right.

Ridding Yourself of Wrong Clients

Well, I fired a client this week.  I guess turnabout is fair play. How many of you have done that?

What were the reasons? Looking back, are you glad you did?

I have some regrets because I like the people involved.  But, they didn't have it together, and what they hoped to accomplish would not happen under the rules they were creating for the engagement. It was a true lose-lose situation.

I think I did the right thing, but I still feel bad.

What is your experience in doing this?

Employee Engagement

I just read an article in The Gallup Management Journal which floored me!!  It says that only 26% of employees are engaged.  "Engaged" workers are those who work with passion and feel a deep connection to their company. The article says 56% are not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged. WOW! What is that costing employers? What is it costing you?

What is your experience with worker engagement? In my businesses I have always had a "bad apple" or two who had the potential to create a poisonous atmosphere. But I was never aware of this level of disengagement.

Do you know about it?

If you do, what do you do about it?

If you don't, what can you do to find out?

Defining Success

In our culture, the concept of success is very important. We are measured by whether we are successful or not. In many cases, our reputations are built on others' perceptions of our success. Yet, it is conceivable that one individual's definition of their own success may be perceived as failure by others.

The idea of success is very subjective. We each have to define success on our own terms.  We each have to write our own story. Don Miguel Ruiz talks about this in his magnificent book The Four Agreements. One of his "agreements" is to not take things personally.  He states that by taking what others say personally, we are letting them create who we are and we let them control our feelings.  The same can be said about success. Your mother in law's view that you are not successful may be based on a view totally unrelated to you and your wife.