Dave Gardner’s “Thank God It’s Monday” 26MAR12

“Thank God It’s Monday” is to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: our food supply

I’m concerned about our food supply and what I’ve personally consumed. How is it that it’s become okay that:

• Hamburger included “pink slime”
• We add sugar to everything–including salt
• Salt is used in amounts three times or more what we need on a daily basis
• We use MSG (which has 14 different names including “natural flavorings”) to make our brains think the food tastes better. [Note: it doesn’t make the food taste better!]
• Chemical substances are routinely added to our food–read the content labels

How is it that food has become a negotiation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? How is that a “beef” taco has to have laws defining what “beef” is allowed to consist of? How is it that companies can lobby the FDA to have their additives included in our food supply? Is this in our best interest or theirs?

If we are going to thrive physically and mentally, we must become more aware of what we are ingesting.

Thought for the week:

“Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.” – John Kotter

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

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Dave Gardner’s “Thank God It’s Monday” 19MAR12

“Thank God It’s Monday” is to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: configurable products and services

Why is it so many companies that offer configurable products and services are so ill-equipped to deal with the customer-facing side of the business? Here are 3 key reasons:

• When the business started, the focus was on the product, not on how products would be configured, priced and quoted–the processes never caught up

• The inefficiencies and operational challenges are seen as a “cost of doing business”

• Your ERP system is optimized for a different business paradigm: mass production

The result is margin leaks–margin leaks amounting to 3% or more of revenues. How much is that costing your company year after year in real dollars?

What if you could add 3% or more to your bottom line? How would that change the valuation of your business? How would more effective processes favorably impact customer relationships and your customer’s experiences?

The cost of correcting these problems is trivial compared to the annualized cost of the problem. Solving this problem will help you and your company thrive.

[Note: Here are self-assessment tools to help you determine where your company stands.]

Thought for the week:

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George S. Patton

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Dave Gardner’s “Thank God It’s Monday” 12MAR12

“Thank God It’s Monday” is to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: innovation

Our dependence on crude oil impacts our national and economic security.

It’s time the U.S. government sponsors a “Manhattan project” or “JFK man on the moon project” to develop and commercialize technologies that would, in a few short years, create the path to eliminating our dependence on crude oil. The U.S. needs to move aggressively on this, not simply study possible solutions.

The corporations and nations benefiting from the current situation are content with the status quo. The U.S. government can put substantial heft behind initiatives to alter the status quo.

Let’s not restrict ourselves to one technology or approach, e.g., electric cars, hydrogen, compressed natural gas (CNG), nuclear, etc. Just kidding about nuclear I think–but, who knows? I’d also like to see an upgrade path to economically converting existing internal combustion, gas-powered vehicles to CNG or other energy forms so people can realistically and affordably take advantage of these technologies.

“Drill, baby, drill” isn’t the answer, in the short-term or long-term. When will the U.S. take the lead on this and create hundreds of thousands of jobs that help our nation and other nations in the world thrive?

Thought for the week:

“If we don’t face our fears, our fears will chase us forever.” – Paul Coelho

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Dave Gardner’s “Thank God It’s Monday” 05MAR12

“Thank God It’s Monday” is to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: business execution

HP has done what a lot of companies have been doing the past 3 years: hunkered down trying to ride out the economic downturn focused primarily on reducing costs while searching for sales.

HP has paid a price for this. And, so have other companies that have adopted similar strategies.

Defining and executing a compelling strategy, addressing critical business processes and system needs, and driving innovation are key to maintaining the vitality of a corporation.

There’s no time like the present to tackle those issues you know are going to hurt your company as the economy continues to rebound. Take action to ensure you and your company thrives.

[Read my entire Fast Company Blog post here: Avoiding the Fate of HP, Zombie Company.]

Thought for the week:

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” -Abraham Lincoln

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

___

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.