Value

In theater, breaking the fourth wall refers to addressing the audience directly. Recently I had an experience where the customer service rep “broke the fourth wall” making me a fan for life. How can you apply this breakthrough strategy to your business?

I found myself alone with my daughter, Shi, and did what most dads do in this situation: went out for pizza. My daughter is two years old and taking her anywhere requires a multitude of items including toys, diaper bag and the kid herself. We went to the local Round Table Pizza where I ordered a King Arthur and then had fun wandering with Shi until the order was ready. While eating, an amazing thing happened — the young woman behind the counter came around to see how we were doing.

Now I would expect this at a more expensive sit-down style restaurant. But at Pizza it was startling. In that moment I went from quietly enjoying my meal to becoming a grateful parent.

Most businesses that have a counter between the customer and the employees use that counter as a barrier. The unspoken message is clear as you walk up: this is my side, that is your side. Most employees would never think to cross that divide.

This got me thinking about the “forth walls” we put up between ourselves and our customers. From phone systems to email there is an invisible divide that keeps us on our side and them on theirs. Being Incluesive means bringing the two together.

It’s time to bring out the wrecking ball and knock down those walls!

I am a fan of anything that brings people together and few communities are as strong as the open source community. These people work hard to bring quality, earth-changing products to you and me.

I am also a big fan of increased security, greater user control, system flexibility and fantastic prices.

My latest open source infatuation is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a flavor of Linux that is incredibly user friendly.

I used to dabble in Linux though it has been several years since I actually did any installs myself. Putting Ubuntu on my new laptop took less than an hour including downloading the free software, reading the directions, moving my Windows partition to make room and getting it all installed and running.

On this laptop I’m trying an experiment to see just how far open source has come. I do have a Windows XP partition just in case but even that only uses the commercial software for the operating system. The rest is all open source including OpenOffice, Thunderbird (for Win) and Evolution (for Ubuntu).

For the record, OpenOffice works even better than expected, especially Calc (their version of Excel) and Presentation (PowerPoint) looks amazing! I’m also particularly impressed with the robust features of Evolution.

Like you, I am an incredibly busy person. This transition has been easy and even… fun! In fact, I’m already thinking about setting up a server so I can get even more functionality from Evolution like an online calendar.

Total cost so far: $0

Total time: 2 hours (1 hour to install and a second hour to configure various programs)

If you are a small to medium sized business looking for ways to make life easier and reduce expenses (like the one where you have to track all your licenses!), there is probably a flavor of Linux out there waiting for you. Or, if you are unsure about the process go ahead and contact me. I’ll be happy to discuss my experience and offer suggestions for your situation.

I used to work for an international chain of stores and by far the best experience was working under Melissa Fish. Melissa was a world-class manager who broke all company records moving from $0 - $100,000 per month in revenue in less than 6 months!

How did Melissa do it?

• Trust
• Clear job positions
• Clear chain of command
• Training!
• High expectations
• Transparency!
• Honest, open dialogue with every employee (even - especially? - the front line)
• Extra helpings of care

Melissa’s trust created an atmosphere of employee ownership. Nobody wanted to disappoint Melissa. Not because she was the boss. Because she was honest, strait-forward and opened the whole operation to every employee. We all felt like we made a difference. And we all learned how the business operated.

In those days I was surprised by the level of transparency at this one branch. I had worked at other locations and none of them had the same spirit of employee entrepreneurship that this one did.

In fact, when I left that job to return to school, my Introduction to Business course was a breeze because I already knew the topics, I only had to apply labels to them! My whole business career was jump-started by Melissa.

Melissa, if you are reading this, thanks!

PS. On the topics of “big picture” I’m taking this weekend off from posting in celebration of my wedding anniversary. See you next week!

What is the difference between a $50 hotel room and a $500 hotel room? When looking for a hotel room you need only a few things:

1. Shelter
2. Bed
3. Shower

Everything else is extra. A room with a nice decor costs extra. Bigger bed - bigger price tag. Add amenities like a pool or gym, add some dollars. These “extras” have become standard in the hotel business and with good reason: people will pay more for them!

And all of these “extras” have a small up-front cost to a long-term (extra) income generator.

But the Accounting Trap will say that you need to bring in an extra X% before you can add these “extras”.

The essence of the Accounting Trap is that you have to save the money you want to invest instead of invest the money to enjoy the savings. Many a great business has fallen to the Accounting Trap. After all, “the numbers don’t lie.”

The numbers don’t lie. They are limited by what was, not what could be. Smart investments build value. Value is what your customers buy.

Nobody wants an even exchange. Your customers certainly don’t. They want a deal. They want value!

Consider that your business is not only your investment.

Your customers invest in it, too. Every time they buy your product they are investing in you - your business. And they want (demand! deserve!) a BIG return!

Or they will start investing in someone else.