This one comes under the heading…

…what were they thinking?

As I was scrambling from one appointment to another I realized I hadn’t eaten so I stopped at a fast-food franchise that will remain nameless.  I wanted something quick – a burger and small shake.  Here’s the exchange that took place at the counter.

• “I’d like a cheeseburger and small chocolate shake.”
• “Sir, if you add fries to your order you’ll save money.”
• “I don’t want fries; I’m clogging enough arteries with the cheeseburger and shake.”
• “Sir, if you add fries you’ll save $1.70.  You don’t have to eat them, just order them.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  They were lowering their price to give me something I didn’t want and increasing their costs to boot.  Ouch!  Ouch!

Apparently it’s counter-intuitive, but driving up costs and reducing your price at the same time isn’t an effective business model.   Giving customers a discount to take something they don’t even want is even more ludicrous.  It would seem that the intent was to help their customers feel that they were getting more for their dollar.  Even that’s a questionable goal if you’re already providing good value, which they were.  I, frankly, couldn’t find a worthwhile reason for this “pricing strategy.”

If you’re going to give up some of your price to entice a customer to try something, make sure it’s something they want or something they might not normally try.  Otherwise you’re flushing profits down the drain.  Then limit the savings to only the first order.  Once they’ve sampled your wares and like them, let them pay full price.

You’re probably wondering whether or not I took the fries.  I did and I left them on the table as the counterperson suggested.  Was that the right thing to do?  Economically, for me, only in the short-run.  Here are some other considerations?

I trained them to continue inappropriate and ineffective behavior by taking their offer.  I wasted resources (the fries, oil, energy, equipment, packaging and labor that went into preparing them).  Not to mention the costs of removing my garbage, taking it to the dump and the impact on the environment.  When I add all this up, did my actions cost me more in the long run than that immediate savings?  Probably.  Would I do it again?

Absolutely not.  I was obviously part of the problem, not the solution.

I’m not into self-flagellation.  My point in highlighting my failing is threefold.  One is to let you know that no matter how adept we get at counter-intuitive thinking, our humanity will trip us up occasionally.  Second, there are long-term gains to be realized when we evaluate our contributions to really bizarre experiences.  Finally, I hope that you’ll learn from my mistakes and avoid some of the long-term costs we’re all incurring for very small, short-run savings.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 7, Evaluate Opportunities, to show you how the absence of an effective approach to evaluating opportunities can lead to some ludicrous “pricing strategies.”  I also used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to demonstrate my contribution to the problem – or at least it’s perpetuation.  Finally, I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to help you see that short-term savings can be very expensive.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Enjoy!

Dale is an internationally-acclaimed author whose work is recommended by the University of Glasgow, University of New South Wales and the Australian Institute of Management.

Why do people waste your time?

More importantly, why do you allow it?

In a community service role, I met with a group of people twice, at their request.  In both meetings they bemoaned the situation they were in and continuously blamed others for their plight.  As I asked them to look at their contribution to the problems they were facing, I could see their eyes glaze over.  They had no desire to become introspective.

After the second meeting, I found myself feeling frustrated and a bit angry about the fact that these folks were wasting my time.  When I set aside these emotions, I was able to see my contribution to the problem.  I was reinforcing their image of self-importance. My actions invite future requests for meetings – meetings that will waste even more of my time.

Once I realized my contribution to the problem I was able to craft a solution.  In the future, should they request a meeting, they’re going to have to earn the right to my time.  How?  By telling me:

• what the problem is
• what their contribution to the problem is
• how they’ve changed their behavior to remove their contribution to the problem
• what result they’ve gotten
• what they intend to do next

Unless they’re willing to provide me with that information, I’m not not going to meet with them again.  It would simply be a waste of my time.

A similar situation existed very early in my career when I was working for a national CPA firm.  A number of people that I supervised on my audit team had a genuine interest in the operational side of the businesses they were auditing.  They’d spend a lot of time asking “What if” questions.  “What if the company used this marketing strategy?  What if they employed this technology?”  You get the picture.

The problem was that there wasn’t time built into the budget for “what if” questions.  How did I deal with this situation?  I told them I’d be happy to discuss those questions with them over a drink after working hours.  Amazingly, no one took me up on my offer.  I guess it wasn’t really that important.

So what’s the message here?  People may attempt to waste your time by pushing a personal agenda.  But they can’t unless you allow it.  It’s counter-intuitive, but simply asking them to meet your expectations prior to having access to your time can help you quickly discern who is serious about getting a better result and who isn’t.  Only those who are serious get access to your valuable time.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, both to help you see how others might waste your time and to demonstrate my contribution to the frustration I was experiencing at having my time wasted.  I also used Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, to show you how to qualify requests for your time so that you can be assured that those requesting it are serious about wanting a result and not merely wanting to bemoan their plight.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at amazon.com, borders.com and barnesandnoble.com. Enjoy!

How do you deal with aggressive personalities?

By violating the laws of physics.

Isaac Newton’s third law of motion says that “for every force there is an equal and opposing force.” Indeed, our natural reaction to aggression is aggression. If someone insults us, we tend to respond with cutting remarks. If the person pushes us, our tendency is to push back. If the person launches a full out attack, we’ll fight with every ounce of our being. That’s human nature; it’s the way we’re wired.

Yet, these natural tendencies fly in the face of what we know works. Mahatma Gandhi showed us how powerful non-aggression is in diffusing aggression. In a similar vein, the philosophies behind Tai Chi and Akido, two martial arts disciplines, both require that students remain calm and unaffected emotionally by the aggression around them. As, Josh Waitzkin, a World Champion Push Hands Tai Chi Chuan master so eloquently puts it “If aggression meets empty space it tends to defeat itself.”

One of the keys is that the aggressive personality is expending huge amounts of energy while the non-aggressive personality expends virtually none. Given this reality is easy to see how aggression “defeats itself.”

So how do we overcome the natural tendency to lash out at those who become aggressive with us. Remind yourself that the cool head wins.

I recall one particularly vivid experience I had very early in my business. I was functioning as a part-time CFO for a client. The owners were involved in a wide array of businesses and kept adding more to the mix. The accounting function quickly became overwhelmed with the sheer volume of activity.

One day, two of the owners spent 45 minutes telling me how frustrated they were because they weren’t getting the information they needed to make informed decisions, what information they needed and how disappointed they were in me and my team’s performance.

It’s a wonder my lip didn’t bleed because I know I was biting down on it to avoid saying what I really felt. I allowed them to vent until they ran out of energy. Then I allowed a lengthy pause to make sure they were finished.

Finally, I said “You’re right. You should be getting this information. You do need it to make informed decisions, but if you recall I’ve been telling you for the past three months that we don’t have enough people and that the computer system is inadequate to handle the volume we’re experiencing. Until we get more resources, I’m afraid that your expectations aren’t going to be met.”

The two owners looked at one another then asked “What do we need to do, Dale?” From that moment forward I got exactly what I needed to meet their needs. My ability to keep a cool head in the face of a personal attack allowed me to win. Now when I find that I’m the focus of someone’s aggression, I call upon that experience to remind me that “the cool head prevails.”

It’s counter-intuitive, but allowing aggressors to defeat themselves is the only effective way of dealing with aggression. Once you’ve used this approach and achieved your desired result, you’ll have the strength of that experience to draw upon during future attacks. Once you develop this habit, you’ll consistently defeat those who target you with aggression.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier. In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to draw from the laws of physics, the world of martial arts and India’s history to make my point. I also used Step 4, See Similarities, to relate the concepts from all these sources to both our natural tendencies as well as a business situation most of us have faced at one time or another. Finally, I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that non-aggression is a counter-intuitive approach. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com. Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why some authors are so mesmerizing…

…while others are so easily ignored?

Mesmerizing authors offer a glimpse of what’s to come – tiny tidbits of information that grab your attention and build anticipation.  You want to know more, but the author makes you wait knowing that joy lies in anticipation.

If you doubt that, recall a book that you were enjoying when the author telegraphed the ending.  Remember your disappointment as you waded through the last fifty pages or so knowing what the ending was, but afraid not to finish the book in case you were wrong.  When your suspicions were finally confirmed, you felt cheated.  The author just wasted your time by “forcing” you to read those last fifty pages.

From the author’s vantage point, the only thing worse is having you decide within the first fifty pages that his work isn’t worthy of your time.  Ouch!

What’s this have to do with you?  Whether you’re a business owner, a career business development specialist or someone with a great idea who needs the approval of others to move forward, you need the skills of a mesmerizing author to attract new customers or champions for your cause.

What are these skills?  How do you develop them?  Our natural tendency is to think that we’re logical human beings who, when presented with all the facts, make reasonable, informed decisions.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  You don’t have to trust me; simply recall the last time you presented a well-thought-out idea and the reaction you got.  Remember the dismay you felt as your audience’s eyes glazed over.  You’ve just experienced the “ouch” the author feels when his work is discarded after fifty pages.

How do you avoid having this happen to you?  Learn to think like a mesmerizing mystery writer.  Learn how to craft messages that engage others with intrigue and anticipation.  Specifically you want to frame your messages to:

• Avoid telling them anything – allow them the thrill of discovery
• Don’t be afraid to use misdirection
• Use language that triggers an emotional reaction
• Leave them wanting more – even when they’ve already bought

Imagine how exciting it will be for your customers and champions if they always have something new to look forward to when dealing with you.  You’ll be this endless font of wisdom from which they’ll drink without ever being sated.  That’s the feeling others will have of you when you develop the skill of a mesmerizing author.

Let’s take a look at each of the above components of an intriguing message in more detail.  First, avoid telling them anything.  All great authors use questions or innuendo that give their readers a glimpse of what’s to come without letting them know what the outcome will be.  Indeed, many will employ the magician’s art of misdirection to cause the reader to vacillate between a number of alternative outcomes none of which will be the ultimate outcome.

Use language that elicit emotions.  Logic is BORING!  I know that exercising thirty minutes a day is good for my health.  Boring.  But exercising so that I can continue to scuba dive into my eighties, that excites me.  Make sure that your language targets what they want, not what they need.  I need to exercise, but I want to go scuba diving.

Finally, leave them wanting more.  Even though you know where your idea is headed, don’t share any more than absolutely necessary to get the sale or the approval you need.  Leave a few things hidden so that you can continue to wow them well into the future.

It’s counter-intuitive, but you’ll enjoy greater, more lasting success in any endeavor you choose if you learn to think like a mesmerizing author.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, and Step 4, See Similarities, to demonstrate how people who make their living attracting readers can help you attract more buyers or more champions for you cause.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at  amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Enjoy!

If I only criticize…

…then I’m no better than those I’m criticizing.

Those of you who have been reading The Invaluable Leader for a while have seen me rail at the media for a variety of ills – at least my perception of their ills.  I have not, however, offered an alternative – until now.

I’d like to introduce you to Community News, www.mycnews.com.   This local paper, under the guidance of Robert Huneke, publishes only good news.  It serves St. Louis and St. Charles Counties in Missouri.  They print:

• good news
• upcoming events
• health and fitness tips
• safety tips
• movie reviews
• recycling tips

and a host of other topics all designed to make people’s lives better.

Kudos to Robert and his team for showing us the inspiring side of life.  They comment candidly on the stimulus package and its effectiveness, or lack thereof, and other timely topics without either sugar coating the message or reporting with the intent to create fear or anxiety.

If you listen to most members of the media, you know that they consider Community News’ approach to be, at best, naive and, at worst, a prescription for failure.  Yet the Community News continues to thrive in the markets it serves.

The public craves good news, particularly in challenging times.  It’s why box office hits during tough economic times have historically revolved around superhero and good-triumphs-over-evil themes.  The public, at least subconsciously, seeks an escape, a respite, from the difficult reality it faces.

It’s counter-intuitive, at least in the minds of most media people, that good news is what the public desires.  Any time you, whether you’re a member of the media or not, have a chance to deliver good news, you have an opportunity to inspire others to overcome whatever challenges they face.

Isn’t that one of the reasons we’re here – to help others navigate the storms they encounter during their journey?  And if we help others in this way, aren’t they likely to reciprocate when storms cloud our vision and attempt to throw us off course?  Please follow the lead of Robert Huneke and the Community News’ staff and deliver good news whenever you can.  You never know when your message will be just what your listener needs.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to see that my criticisms of the media wasn’t well balanced and to rectify the situation.  I also used Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, to ask a few questions to allow you to form your own judgment about our purpose in life and Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show how the Community News‘ approach is contrary to conventional media wisdom (group think).   For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

I’m pleased to announce that AMACOM, a Division of the American Management Association, has set September 9, 2009 as the release date for my new book, Pricing for Profit.  The book shows business owners and leaders how to free themselves from the bonds of industry pricing.  Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com are both taking prepublication orders.