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Friday, March 5th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s address a problem that plagues the customers and clients of many highly skilled professionals: the inability to understand what’s their professional advisors are saying to them.
One of the hallmarks of a profession is education in a specialized field and, with it, immersion in [...]
You want a latte with that handgun?
Friday, March 5th, 2010It can’t be easy to run Starbucks these days. Even before the recession hit, the wildly popular coffee chain had become the poster child for extravangant self-indulgence. All too often, if personal finance gurus wanted to demonstrate how little sacrifices add up to big savings they’d point an accusing finger at the decidedly [...]
The ethics of training orcas
Monday, March 1st, 2010The death of Orlando SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau last week has raised a firestorm of debate about whether it’s right to train big predators to entertain the public. Ms. Brancheau was killed by a 22-foot male orca named Tilikum. No one really knows what caused Tilikum to grab Ms. Brancheau by the hair [...]
Don’t let problems escalate
Friday, February 26th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s discuss a mistake that even the biggest companies make: letting problems fester and grow until they do serious damage. For today’s example, we need look no further than Toyota Motor Co.
Toyota’s woes have been well-publicized, and investigations continue into what and when [...]
Mr. Toyoda, just tell us what went wrong
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Today’s Congressional hearings about Toyota’s safety problems were deeply disappointing to those of us who hoped that the company would put its ongoing troubles to rest. Toyota’s President, Akio Toyoda, appeared in person to apologize to American consumers for the quality control issues that have dogged his company. It was a defining moment [...]
What really tripped up Toyota?
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Seems as though almost everyone who writes about business has a theory about what landed Toyota in its current fix. Some pundits blame a failure of leadership in Toyota’s management, others claim that Toyota failed to stay true to its brand, and still others tag Toyota with the arrogance that comes from being a [...]
To stay out of court, smove!
Saturday, February 13th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to introduce you to the concept of “smoving.” Its creators have a delightful website called GiveMore.com where they offer a variety of products designed to help folks in service jobs deliver better by smiling brightly and moving fast whenever an opportunity [...]
Toyota, what took you so long?
Friday, February 12th, 2010Toyota Motor Corporation, former superstar of the automotive industry, is struggling to recover from a major hit to its reputation. The company has been dogged in recent months with a series of quality control problems: allegedly faulty floor mats, reportedly sticky gas pedals, and allegations that the braking systems on recently-issued Prius hybrids were [...]
Wall Street missed its moment during the Superbowl
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010So, how about those Saints? Regardless of which team you favored, this year’s game was terrific. It also broke records in another respect. This Superbowl was among the most-watched televised sporting events ever, and ads broadcast during the game have been all over the Internet ever since.
In other words, [...]
Is McDonald’s abusing the legal system?
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The attorneys at McDonald’s certainly seem to be of the “take no prisoners and damn the torpedoes” school of legal thought. The fast food giant has had Egg McMuffin all over its corporate face on two separate occasions this week. There was the employee in the Netherlands who successfully sued McDonald’s for firing [...]
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