Archive for April, 2010

Stop Planning and Start Pioneering

By Jim Whitt Before you invest time and money in traditional strategic planning consider this — only 5-10% of strategic plans are ever implemented. The reason most organizations engage in strategic planning is to reduce anxiety. It’s like taking a couple of aspirin for a headache. In this case the headache is the future. The aspirin is a couple of days locked in a room putting checkmarks in the appropriate boxes. Mission statement (yada, yada, yada): check; SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats): check; long range goals (3-5 years): check. Ah, that feels better. And like the aspirin bottle, the… Read More

April 28th, 2010 at 7:15pm

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The Hand That Feeds You

By Jim Whitt In The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Humphrey Bogart plays the role of Fred C. Dobbs, a down-on-his-luck American in Mexico during the 1920s. Times are so tough that Dobbs is reduced to panhandling for food. In the opening scenes he hits up a well-dressed American played by John Huston, “Say mister, will you stake a fellow American to a meal?” Dobbs doesn’t look at the well-to-do American’s face but instead stares at the peso he plops into his hand. With his head down Dobbs continues to ask for money on the streets. He encounters Huston again and… Read More

April 21st, 2010 at 8:58pm

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Take a Look in the Mirror

By Jim Whitt A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some customer service experiences that served as lessons for what shouldn’t happen. Unfortunately those experiences are increasingly becoming the norm. So much so that when we have really great customer service experiences we are surprised. I managed to have a couple of great customer service experiences on a trip to Houston this week for a speaking engagement. For all you road warriors out there, you know what a difference it makes when the people you fly and stay with make your journey just a little more enjoyable. If you’re… Read More

April 14th, 2010 at 8:34pm

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Here’s a True Big Fish Story

When people tell me they want to write a book, become a speaker or launch their own business I do my best to encourage them and point them in the right direction. They have lots of questions about who, what, when, where and how but I tell them those are not the most important questions. The single most important question has to do with why. When Bryan McMurry found the answer to the why question the impact it had on his life was immediate. Within minutes Bryan found himself sitting in front of his computer writing the first chapter of… Read More

April 7th, 2010 at 7:57pm

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