What does a company do when their core value proposition becomes less than relevant – overnight? That’s the problem Starbucks was facing when its longstanding “Third Place” value proposition (A place to meet that is not home or work/school) became…
This is a story about breakfast. Specifically, the former all-day breakfast at McDonalds. And, inspiration from a recent Inc article about how changing breakfast can give us insight into positioning our businesses to survive COVID-19. Nearly five years ago, McDonald's…
One of the universal truths in the revenue growth business is the seemingly random glass ceilings preventing further growth that companies of all types experience at certain levels of revenue. The most impenetrable one I have seen is at the…
It was so nice to get away for the holidays. And by away, I mean away from media, and advertisements, and the unsolicited messages that bombard us daily. Yet it turns out there are a large number of people –…
I recently returned from a trekking trip in northwestern Vietnam. It was absolutely fascinating to see the local culture, but I have to confess to being somewhat surprised by some of the local pricing. For those of you who know…
I just returned from the Hospital Association of Southern California's annual conference where one of the big topics was dealing with downward revenue pressure by diversifying revenue streams into non-traditional areas. And interestingly, these hospital-based initiatives provide a surprisingly good…
I always thought my grocery shopping patterns were a little crazy. There were certain items I bought in bulk at Costco, other items at a grocery store, fish at Santa Monica Seafood, and the list goes on. It turns out…
I’ll never forget how I had a knock-down drag out fight with someone at another company only to find out the following week that I needed to partner with that same person on a project of mutual interest. That was…
I just returned from five days of skiing in Park City Utah and realized I had forgotten how expensive it is to eat on the mountain. With $23 salads and sandwiches in addition to $5 bottles of water and appetizers…
I was so excited when I got my first break into the music business in the 1980s. The record labels were making so much money and it was such an exciting time. Of course, we all know the history since…