Meant to protect investors and increase transparency in corporate accounting, implementing the Sarbanes Oxley Act takes some organizational introspection.The 2002 Sarbanes Oxley legislation (new, enhanced standards for all U.S. public companies) was established in response to high-profile financial scandals (Enron etc) in order to protect shareholders and the general [...]
Customer collaboration is always a good idea; however, leveraging customer collaboration during challenging economic times can be one of the keys to success. Pick up the phone - some of the largest successes I've seen result from simple yet critical conversations. It can be as simple as calling a [...]
Clearly, one of the keys to thriving in the current recession is to be ahead of the competition in terms of sales: Remember value - don't focus solely on price. Focus on value, defined in terms of value perceived by your customer. Differentiate yourself with customer service - providing [...]
In today's economy, there is no doubt a large focus on reducing operational costs (whether they are the traditional operational costs of a business or the day-to-day personal operational costs). Reducing operational costs reduces your breakeven point - definitely a key to success in today's economy: Reduce waste - [...]
To succeed in today's environment, it is no longer desirable to have a world class operation focused on providing a value add while maximizing resources; it is a requirement. Today's global business climate is becoming more competitive. It is tough to stand out in the crowd, and it is [...]
It has recently occurred to me that businesses are missing a huge opportunity to leverage the transferability of best practices. Although as a business consultant, leveraging best practices has been an "assumed" part of the value I provide clients, even I missed the boat and forgot to leverage this [...]
The value of customer service might not be clear until it's necessary - after all, it seems like not a big deal to potentially sacrifice a bit of service in order to gain a good discount. How many of us shop for discounts at the store? Or, in a [...]
Even the founder of lean principles, Toyota can falter on quality; thus, anyone can lose their edge - yet it is cornerstone to business success. View quality from your customer's perspective - what matters is what your customer expects when agreeing to purchase the product or service. Be vigilant [...]
As we are nearing the end of the first quarter of 2010 and continuing to teeter on the edge of a recovery of sorts, it is a good time to think about the power of focus. Ideally, your company developed and clearly articulated the top priorities for 2010, and [...]
As I'm on my way to New York to give a speech on leveraging supply chain strategy to achieve a competitive advantage, I've been thinking about common themes with my speeches, articles, surveys and client observations - customer service emerged as a vital priority in all cases. Customer service [...]
