Do you have any regrets in your life? I sure don’t. Read on… I’ve made lots of mistakes, had failures, had successes, made good decisions, made bad decisions. I’ve upset close friends. Then I’ve cried with them. And cried over them. I’ve not slept because of worry. I’ve regretted things I’ve said, done, and everything in-between. But… I’ve learned from every single one of those victories or struggles. Truth. This past week was another hard one. In the past nine months, I’ve experienced an unbelievable amount of tragedy in friends of mine – and some have been and are very … Continue reading
Experts tell us we are bombarded with more than 50,000 marketing messages a day. I wonder just how many of those we remember. Maybe one? Maybe none? Here’s one I’m sure to remember. Walking through O’Hare a few weeks back, I ran across (or rather escalated across) advertising for a United Mileage Explorer Card. The medium was a bit unusual, the handrail that slides along with the people mover; the execution was quite effective, though: a captive audience with nothing better to do than take a photo of the message or text a friend. The advertising, however, sent more than … Continue reading
I spent a lot of my time on the road talking to companies or groups about culture, and the impact that culture has on your team, your clients and even you as a business owner or member of management. Often, I find that companies either have no culture, or their culture is archaic and not embraced by everyone in the company. Right now, I have several clients I’m working with specifically to create culture and a communication standard that emulates that culture – from every team member that calls the company home… It amazes me the impact of a positive … Continue reading
Yesterday, I finished my meetings outside of Washington, DC, and figured I would head down to the National Mall to walk around, snap some photos with my phone and think as I walked. It was a BEAUTIFUL day in DC, clocking in about 80 degrees, so it was pretty awesome to stroll along. I was able to think about how busy the week was, all of the great conversations I had, but also some of the challenges that businesses have right now. One thing that was fresh in my mind, mostly as a result of my lunch meeting earlier that … Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I traveled to PLANET’s Green Industry Great Escape to network and learn from some of the best landscape companies in North America. It was an amazing week with new and old friends, learning about their businesses, and learning from the educational sessions. One thing that always seems to enter a conversation with me is customer service. It’s paramount in today’s unique marketplace… It’s been said by smarter people than me that there’s opportunity in failure. No, we’re not talking about taking a step off a cliff or falling off a ladder. There’s not much good that … Continue reading