Innovation to bridge stem cell ethics

Isn't it just amazing what innovation and research can accomplish? I would suggest that due to President Bush holding the line on the ethical debate with regards to stem cell research, these doctors were forced to innovate. And in doing so, read for yourself, it looks like we can create stem cells without aborting babies to get them.

Greenspans Buddy says Bubble's Popping

I guess the story goes this way. An economist tells Greenspan that the stock market is too high and our revered Fed Chairman repeats his thoughts and crashes the stock market.

So that same guy is now saying that housing will drop 40%

Is he saying that to make it happen? Doesn't negative talk create negative reactions.?

Isn't perception the real market maker? What's his goal?

Purpose Driven Nation

Oh I can hear the anti-fundamentalists scream now. Rick Warren is over in Rwanda trying to make himself some publicity for his book, right? I don't think so, I think he may be trying to teach his church the real reason to do church.

Read up and let me know your thoughts.

It's all about perspective

It’s all about perspective

Was reading yesterday a little article by Tom Peters, customer service guru, about his experience with a small remodeling project at his own house. My first thought was that the remodeler must have been crazy to take on this guy’s project. He had to know that the experience would be documented in some book or magazine article. If you want to read Tom’s blog go to http://www.tompeters.com/entries.php?note=008037.php He could have done the best remodel in his company’s history, but doing it for a customer service consultant, what’s he thinking?

So, I began asking myself the question, what if we built a home for someone as gifted in writing as Tom Peters? What if our buyer was a “customer service” nut, would we be happy with the articles and comments? Or, better yet, doesn’t every customer deserve the care that Tom Peter’s gets because he can write articles about the process?

Ouch. In today’s world of internet and business technology, our customers legitimately have high expectations for the not only a great product, but a very exhilarating process. Have you ever heard someone say: “Don’t build a new home, it will be the most stressful thing you ever did”? Well in some cases with some builders that myth is a truism. So, how do you go about choosing a builder who will not only build a great place for you and your family, but will also do so with a process that is exhilarating?

Some leading questions that may help in your search for that perfect relationship with a new home builder:

Can I talk to your subcontractors? If they say no, why? If they say, we change subs every house, why? Those subs are the greatest asset of a home builder. They do the work, they make the experience.
Can I get a list of all your homebuyers, so I can call them randomly? If they only give you a couple names, aren’t they keeping you away from the ones that weren’t happy?
Do you mind if we stop and talk to homeowners this weekend? It just so happens that homeowners out watering the yard will be pretty darn open face to face, but not over the phone.
Which REALTORs do you do business with? If the answer is only one name, do they really have a good reputation with the rest of the agents in the community. If the answer is, we’ll work with any agent, do they pay agents or have they made a habit of not paying real estate agents?

Now truthfully I may be crazy for writing this article. Does my own company answer these questions fully and are we confident enough in our successful relationships with customers? No. But, we’ve decided to embrace the difficulty, or impossibility, of exhilarating customer experiences and move mountains if we have to get there. And then raise the bar and go further. Oh we make mistakes, the challenge is, how do we grow and change our processes and relationships to encourage customer exhilaration? Making a mistake, that’s normal. Making the same one over and over, or worse, lowering the bar to an expectation that a mistake is just common, that’s the thing that makes people crazy about construction. We complain a lot in our industry about the “predator” customer. The one that enters into a contract just so they can get “free” stuff or get cash to close, or sues after closing so they can get more “free” stuff. If you’re one of these types, please buy an existing house. But, for all the honest homebuyers out there, we may have lowered the bar too far, it’s time to raise it back up.

Tom Peters goes on to suggest that we’ll never take on the world’s best manufacturers with a philosophy that construction just isn’t a place for predictable outcomes and processes. No, we’ll get run over by solid technology and predictable outcomes. Now that’s a lot of philosophical talk for me, here’s where we see the application.

When a roofer says Wednesday, does it actually mean the work will get done Wednesday? Does the builder tell the customer Thursday, thus lowering the bar? Does the builder say Wednesday and then find out from the homebuyer that no one showed up? Does the roofer wait till Thursday to say “oh I drove by and didn’t have the right materials”? Does the customer have to check out the finished product to find out the wrong color was delivered? Does the builder have to send out employees because the subcontractor got mad and left the site?

Or, does the roof get completed Wednesday with the right color, with the right timing, with the right quality of construction, professionally? Every time?

Steve Dalton

Synergies

We learn to put emphasis on pragmatic results here in the United States. Our businesses and our homes are all defined and measured by the results we garner. But we know down deep that there is more to life than results, profits, or statistics. There are relationships. There are emotions. There is passion and the components of success that aren't quite so easy to define.

What then does a leader do?

Some have suggested that a leader is one who helps define and measure success. While conversing with a friend yesterday it was suggested that this description more aptly describes a manager, but not necessarily a leader.

A leader has to be more. A leader has to have that special edge, to see emotive success. A leader has to be able to read more than financial statitics to arbitrate success or failure. A leader projects a vision and then challenges everytone around him/herself to drive to that vision, but statistics may not even enter into that vision, at least not in the big picture.

What is a leader?