Show Me Quality

Monday (December 7), the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award were announced. And the winners are:

Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies:  Kansas City, Missouri (Manufacturing)
Midway USA;  Columbia, Missouri (Small Business)
Heartland Health; Saint Joseph, Missouri (Health Care)
AtlantiCare; Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey (Health Care)
VA Cooperative Studies Program Clinical Research Pharmacy; Albuquerque, New Mexico

Notice anything [...]

They’re Still Spending Money

I spent an extended weekend in Branson, MO, injecting myself with a megadose of Christmas spirit.  For those who don’t know, Branson is one of the few places in the world where belief in God and country isn’t just a good thing, it’s the only thing.
Branson is also a shopper’s paradise.  Three outlet malls, a [...]

“Black” Friday

It’s unfortunate that the media have chosen this particular name for the day that often makes or breaks an American  retailer’s year.  It is the day when many retailers bottom line changes from red ink to black, but the term still has a negative connotation for many people.  In fact, depending on the outcome of [...]

It’s All About the Mission

I spent the last two mornings helping set up for a charity auction.  The Poor Clare nuns hold an annual auction to help pay for the expansion of their monastery.  That’s right.  They’re actually expanding.  Reports of the demise of religious orders is greatly exaggerated.  Some orders are actually doing quite well.  But that’s a [...]

I Can Do Without the Glamour Shot

OK, I understand that our elected employees never go out of campaign mode.   At the very moment that the newly-elected employee places his/her hand on the Bible the reelection campaign has begun.  I get that.  But how much is too much?  How much of their reelection process are we, the taxpayer/employers supposed to pay for.
Case [...]

Twitter Can Improve Your Search Engine Ratings

Thanks to Andrew Williams of Vac Shop, Mayfield, Newcastle Australia for pointing out this post at Website Magazine.  Search engines Google and Bing (formerly MSN search) announced last week that they’re going to start indexing Twitter tweets.
According to Website, a new eMarketer report (“Social Commerce on Facebook, Twitter and Retail Sites”) “while some e-commerce merchants [...]

See the USA in Your ????

Here in Saint Louis, a local car dealer, Frank Bommarito, often buys full page ads in the dead-tree newspaper to comment on business topics. He recently did a nice comment piece on the death of his competitor, Dave Sinclair.
But today, in a piece on China’s economic recovery, he made some comments that frankly, scare the [...]

5 Tips for Shopping Local

Thanks to Phil Reed of  Vacuums and More in Lincoln City, OR for sending me the link to this article from MSN City Guides.  It’ s directed toward your customers.
The article, by John Rossheim,  begins by appealing to shoppers’ civic pride and their desire to help their fellow citizens.  If that doesn’t move them, Rossheim [...]

Telephone Etiquette

What with high gas prices and time pressure, your customers and prospects are using the phone more than ever to get price and product information.  How you and your staff handle this important means of communication may well determine whether you ever get a chance at someone’s business.
Jeff Mowatt provides an interesting telephone test on [...]

Persistance

[This post originally appeared at Mine Your Own Business on October 10, 2006.]
Today, I’d like to offer a famous quotation without any additional comment. It’s just something to think about.
“Nothing
in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not;
nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; [...]