Bumps Ahead for Hooters

A brand, it is said, is not about what you — the company — says it is. It’s about what the customer says it is. So…Hooters, that great family restaurant, it appears is suffering.… Read More →

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How Will Your Employees Remember You?

While rummaging through the piles of paper I call my “archives,” I ran across a “thank you” note received some years ago from a former supervisor. The note took me back more than… Read More →

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Branding, Blind Men, and an Elephant

I’ve used this story more than once in my career whilst trying to explain the importance of branding. It’s used as an analogy for many other situations, as well. If you’re unfamiliar with… Read More →

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Which ‘type’ are you? Gene Kranz? Or that Grumman guy?

Apollo 13. Love that movie. I watch it so often that my wife and kids no longer moan when it’s on. As Americans…as humans…it really was of our finest hours. The tragic events… Read More →

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Organizational Narcissism: Readers Respond

Several readers responded to my recent post “The Perils of Organizational Narcissism” to me via e-mail. Some of their responses follow. As far as “remedies” for this situation are concerned, as some readers… Read More →

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The Perils of Organizational Narcissism

Some time ago, I posted a piece about a Gold’s Gym franchise in New Jersey that was hurting financially. The owners decided to lower the cost of membership to compete with area independent gyms… Read More →

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Loose Lips Sink Ships: The Titanic’s Achilles Keel

I couldn’t let the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic pass without a mention. I was in second grade when my brother borrowed from our grade school library the then-definitive account… Read More →

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Penn State: There But by the Grace of God…

I used to work in the oncology field. Whenever we learned of a treatment error occurring at another hospital or cancer center, we recited a little prayer made popular by our chief nursing officer: ”There… Read More →

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10 Reasons Why Businesses Don’t Follow Jobs’ Example

Now that the posthumous praise for Steve Jobs begins to ebb, one wonders why we love Jobs and his success at Apple — but eschew his lessons. 1. No One Really Likes a… Read More →

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Let’s Turn Off Our Electronics for One Minute…

I can’t help but feel the loss of Steve Jobs’ passing. Didn’t know the man. Never met him. But news of his death strikes me like that of an aunt or uncle whom… Read More →

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