Sounds like you had a tough weekend. I’m sorry for your trouble and I think my wife and I have been in the same spot before.

I have an opposite story. When I got home this afternoon I noted that my contractor had completed the excellent fence I commissioned between my house and a neighbor. I cost me an arm and a leg, but it’s done and it beautiful. I didn’t put this out to bid. I didn’t search on the Internet. I did ask my neighbors, my bicycle group, and the neighborhood Google group, who had fences built and would they recommend their fence guy? Then I looked at the fences recently built and contacted the builder of the best fence with a positive recommendation from the homeowner. The guy I found does not have a store front, a web site, or a business card. He doesn’t do much e-mail but will call you back if you leave a message on his home phone. He lives in our town. He survives on word-of-mouth recommendations. We found our kitchen designer and kitchen remodeling contractor the same way. Both worked out great. So I think one rule is always check the experiences of other customers.

I know the Internet and supply chain management, etc., is supposed to deliver the goods more efficiently. I think it does when you’re buying high-volume items such as a new desktop computer. But for the custom items, like your blinds, it doesn’t work because one part of the supply chain hands off responsibility to the other. Remember the Management 101 lesson that said you could hand off authority but not responsibility? I think a lot of people missed than lesson.

That’s two paragraphs, probably one more than I deserve. Hope your blinds get fixed, and your vendor makes it right.

Tom

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“This speech and other comments appear weak to our adversaries. … The world press from Moscow to Tehran is celebrating the weak president.”

Can you explain this, please? Specifically, can you identify what within this speech and “other comments” appears weak, and also give a few examples of the world press celebrating? (given that the state-owned press of Iran or other adversarial governments was going to hammer him no matter what he said)

I saw an attempt to find common ground and to peel off moderate Muslims from their more extremist fundamentalists. You seem to see the “Mid East mind-set” as a) homogeneous, and b) unable to receive diplomacy as anything other than weakness, neither of which I think are true.

Let’s see more of this balanced communication approach in company boardrooms, particularly using the ’softer’ skills like empathy with staff and customers. Softer skills can create extraordinary ‘value’ and personal commitment within a company if used well.

I look forward to President Obama’s follow-up!

The president is a wonderful speaker, no doubt. After several years with a leader that couldn’t string two sentences together, it’s a relief.

However, his comments show extreme naivety about the mid East mind-set. This speech and other comments appear weak to our adversaries. They will always test weakness. The world press from Moscow to Tehran is celebrating the weak president.

CEOs probably have a parallel lesson to learn. Being empathetic and congenial is a good thing, but too much of these ingredients can spell weakness to the wrong audience.

The lesson….sometimes you can’t have it both ways.

Steve Bowman

This is how I’d characterise marketing, and this is usually the missing strategic viewpoint that makes marketing and marketers fail.

In other words, it ain’t about advertising and PR.