What began for me as a simple trip to get my iPhone set-up at the local outlet of my wireless carrier turned into an experience that can serve as an important “teachable moment” about the need to empower managers — and workers — to do their jobs effectively. — Introduction My 5 month-old iPhone 13 just suddenly died just after Christmas. I didn’t drop it. I didn’t dunk it. It just plain died! Despite all the help from the “amateur tech support” (my two adult sons and their significant others) gathered at our house for the holidays and from my…

Southwest, which for years has been regarded as the “gold standard” for customer service in the airline industry, has had nothing less than a systemic meltdown this holiday season? How can the airline recover strategically? Here’s 5 ideas for the carrier moving forward. — Overview: The Great Southwest Meltdown of 2022 As a strategic management consultant and professor, certainly Southwest Airlines is always — always — one of the first firms — if not the first — that students will mention when we discuss which companies provide excellent customer service. And that has not just been the case this year, or…

New research shows a very real mismatch between the desires of prospective employees to work from home and those of hiring companies to have them work in the office. Will the Free Market work its magic in the employment market to find equilibrium between what management and workers want today? — Introduction The free market does work. It may not be as pretty as we would like it to be. It may not be as fast as we would like it to be. It may not be as painless as we would like it to be. It may not be a lot…

A Marketing Case Study in How to Stand Out in Our Noisy, Busy World Today — For companies everywhere, it is becoming more and more difficult to actually reach potential customers with their advertising and marketing messages. Here’s a simple lesson in how to conduct a low-cost promotion that works in capturing consumer attention today! Introduction As a strategic management consultant and professor, I can say that…

The latest research shows that despite all the investment retailers are making to merge the physical and virtual worlds of shopping, most consumers still shop in an “old-fashioned,” disconnected manner. — The road to wasting a whole lot of money in business is typically paved with good intentions — and often backed by reports from numerous consultants who say that such a strategy — especially when it involves the twin sirens of technology and cost-cutting — are “helluva good ideas!”

Recent data shows that despite all the alternatives out there for communicating instantly with one another, the “old fashioned” text is still a vital communication tool for all of us — and a key success factor for your career! — Introduction The humble text message. There are so many different — and inarguably, technically and operationally better — ways for us to instantly connect today. With just a swipe and a few taps on your smartphone, you can instantly communicate with literally anyone on the planet. We have the means today…

A manager of an Olive Garden in Kansas City sent an email to her employees after she got tired of one too many of them calling in sick that went viral for its cruelty, and she (rightfully) got fired for sending it. What you can learn from her email that should have been left as a draft! — “We are no longer tolerating ANY EXCUSE for calling off. If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us.

The National Golf Foundation just released its annual report on participation in the sport, finding record numbers of Americans “playing” golf — but in new and different ways. Here’s what the quite surprising findings mean for golfers, golf courses, new and existing golf ventures, sports media and more. — Introduction Every once in a while, you run across a statistic that simply makes you go “WOW!” As a strategic management consultant and professor, I could think of many more “fancy” ways to label the recent statistics released by the National Golf Foundation (NGF) on the rapid growth — and changing…

How I Saved My Job — and Likely Several Others — This Week with Just One PowerPoint Slide (That Wasn’t Shown)! — This article presents the story of and the lessons to be learned from how an innocent, well-meaning, yet unseen, alliteration on a student’s last presentation slide could have seen her expelled and cost not just me my job, but likely those of the higher ups at my university as well!