Creating Value

It’s a simple question and one that often makes me wonder whether I can or not.  I’ve tried to write and use elevator speeches and that just doesn’t work for me.  I never can get the speech to sound authentic.

One of the hardest things I do is try to define what it is we do with our clients.  When I tell someone our job is to help make your life better, they often look at me with a blank stare.  When I tell another that our job is to help create business and personal value, another blank look.

I’m a huge fan of W. Edwards Deming.  His work has been a guiding light of mine for years.  In 1984 I started down the road of installing a total quality program in my vending company.  We continued working to make our program better until I sold the company in 1995. 

OK, I admit it.  I have a thing for Alpaca’s.  You know, the cute furry creatures that some people raise to sell their fleece.

I’ve become very interested in Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System.  Both are ways for companies to use their internal strengths to dramatically improve throughput and profitability.

Daniel Pink has done a great entry on saying no and what are some of the issues around it.  His post isn’t just about how to say no, but how to say no to things you might actually want to do.

I often find that people I’m around both at home and work have a hard time committing to doing things.  They find reasons not to commit and at the same time they don’t say no either.

I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth over each of those words for a long time.  I’ve thought both are not what I want to be.

We’ve all heard the term, “it’s a no brainer.”  I guess this means the decision is so easy, that you just don’t have to think about it.

We spend too much time thinking that there is not enough in the world.  At least in the US, scarcity seems like a silly concept.  We live in a land of abundance.