Business Scene Investigation

The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the disappointed.

The facts:

It looked like the perfect evening:

• A summertime shindig at a recently-opened lakeside bistro;
• A world-class chef at the grill; 
• A pre-holiday weekend;
• A perfect weather forecast, and
• A renowned local band providing entertainment.

With more than a month of preparation and provisioning invested in the event, expectations were high.  Instead of a perfect evening, it was a perfect set-up:  only 35 patrons showed. A crime for sure.

The loss the house took that night is still being counted, both financial and psychic.  Certainly, the crowd was far below estimates as indicated by the number of staff on hand. While the diners were oblivious, the pain was clearly evident on the proprietor's face and in his voice.  He had been taken. Big time.

Beneath the waterline

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As you may have heard if you weren't stranded on an ice floe, the supposedly unsinkable Titanic went down in the North Atlantic exactly 100 years ago this weekend.

It remains an epochal event; one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20^th century.  At the time, it was “unthinkable,” "impossible."  A black swan. 

Until the details emerged.  With the benefit of hindsight, it all seemed inevitable:  corners cut, disbelief suspended, expert opinions ignored.  This is partly why Titanic has transcended the literal and become metaphor for commercial hubris, institutional blindness and human fallibility (and more, to some.) 

Haircuts, Lipstick and Yogi

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One day recently I dashed into a local haircut shop shortly after it opened, hoping to beat the rush and get a quick trim before a meeting.  It had been a while and I was looking and feeling shaggy.

The store is one of those national franchise chains that have grown, weed-like, to seemingly inhabit every local shopping center.  It has been hawking its franchises on CNBC, LinkedIn, and other media.

There was no one in the store when I entered…no customers and no employees up front.  After a couple of minutes, a young woman (I'll call her Abby) came up from the back and apologized for my wait, saying, “it takes us a little longer to open up because we are short-staffed these days.” 

My family and I patronize this store frequently.  The staff is attentive, friendly and professional.  The cost of its services are reasonable, the cuts competent and the customer loyalty program keeps us, well, loyal.  The store has been popular and can get crowded at peak times, hence my early morning visit.

Heat Burns

It's been an interesting week in damage control.

• Goldman Sachs, one of the mercenary handlers of the "animal spirits" of capitalism, found itself the subject of a lovely parting gift from departing employee Greg Smith.  (Ouch, that one will leave a mark.)

• Dollar Shave Club, whose funny, snarky introduction generated a viral sensation and tons of new customers, found that operating the business was a little trickier than creating a funny ad:  they announced that they can't ship initial orders on time because they weren't prepared for the demand. The impact: to be determined.

How well are you prepared to defend yourself in the court of public opinion?  Every organization -- whether a globe-straddling colossus or a start-up just launching itself -- will face an emergency at some point.  After all, accidents happen, things break, smart people do stupid things and sometimes good people do bad things -- occasionally on purpose. As the saying goes, "stuff" happens.

Failures and other success stories

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It took Thomas Edison ten thousand tries to perfect the light bulb.  It’s a, if not the, classic story of overcoming failure through perseverance.

But the reality is that the founder of GE had resources unavailable to most private business owners today.  It begs the question:  how many failures can you afford before you get it right?  Certainly, it's far less than old Tom.

Failures are part of business, and life.  If we are smart, we learn from them. If we are not, we are soon out of business, and sometimes out of life. 

But let's not dwell on the negative.   There are plenty of motivational and instructional quotes on the value of trying but failing, one of my favorites being "A man's errors are the portals of discovery."

If failures are inevitable, can we minimize their occurrence and impact on our businesses and our lives?  How do we turn them into teachable moments, into Joyce's "portals of discovery?"

Always be losing?

The movie Glengarry, Glen Ross was on TV recently.  I watched for a few minutes.  I always do when I spot it.  It's like a roadside accident; disturbing, yet hard to avert your gaze. 

The most famous scene in the film is when Alec Baldwin's character comes to "motivate" the under-performing sales team.  "Always be closing," he spits.  "Coffee is for closers," he sneers.  It is the epitome of the "man-up," high-pressure school of sales.  It resonates because we recognize and empathize with both sides of the dialogue.  I guess that's why the play won the Pulitzer Prize.

"I need to increase sales," is the most common refrain I hear from business owners and CEOs.  They are constantly looking for the magic bullet:  the system or process that will tap the revenue gusher that they know is just a little further beneath the surface.  Just keep drilling.

There's a reason that only politicians are trusted less than salespeople, according to one of the leading sales training organizations.

Do your customers or prospects respond to being accosted, being stalked?  Do you?  Can't you just picture the stereotypical "bad" salesperson?