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PTSD: The Slow Leak in Funeral Service’ Tire
As we enter our 3rd month following the Newtown disaster our nation has long since settled back into its routine fighting over symptoms and ignoring causes. I find myself reflecting on a hidden issue....
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“If You Find You Are Riding A Dead Horse The Best Strategy is…
to dismount.” Archimedes once said, “Give me a lever long enough and I will move the world” For the last 30 years we have been pushing harder and harder on one and only one lever with diminishing...
View ArticleIs this REALLY a Hill Worth Dying on?
I think I can make a very strong case that funeral service as a profession makes a vital social contribution to society. For me that makes it a noble profession. Unfortunately, the profession doesn’t...
View ArticleHe Is Risen
Here is a short video for Good Friday to remind us that Jesus lives. Watch it, you might be surprised where He lives. Have a wonderful Easter
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Alan Creedy and The Arrangers Academy Announce Joint Initiative Aimed at...
Alan Creedy and The Arrangers Academy announced today that they have launched The 2020 Project, a joint initiative focused on reversing the declines that have negatively impacted the funeral industry...
View Article4 Early Signs You May Be Losing Control of Your Business
Recently I read something that triggered an insight. In my Funeral Home Consulting practice it is clear that businesses don’t just suddenly spin out of control. Except in the rare case of disruptive...
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Are You Too Necessary?
Saturday morning, January 7, 2012 my phone rings at home. “Al, this is Bob. Guess where I am?.” Bob Neiman is a successful internet entrepreneur who flies his own plane and dominates a narrow niche in...
View ArticleOn Becoming Unnecessary
Funeral Service is simultaneously over managed and under led. The key to overcoming the “Being Necessary” complex is to recognize the difference between management and leadership. It is the...
View ArticleI Wish I Had Said That:
Sometimes you read stuff and it fits so perfectly all you are left with is: “I wish I had said that.” Just as I was preparing my next followup article on how to make yourself unnecessary Linked-In...
View ArticleYou May Not Believe What You See
Take a look at the finalists in the first phase of the Design For Death Contest. You may have a non-positive reaction but take some time. These designs come from some of the world’s top designers. Many...
View ArticleOn Motivation – Money Is Not The Answer
Did you know that money is not a motivator. It is only a hygiene factor. Paying too little creates dissatisfaction…paying fairly only takes away the bone of contention…paying too much does not create...
View ArticleOur Industry’s Self Talk: The Bad and the Great.
Alternative Title: It’s Time To Get Over Yourself! Not long ago I was part of a group studying the challenges of recruitment in the funeral profession. I was stunned to hear the “table talk” of...
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FUNERAL SERVICE : YOUR FLY IS UNZIPPED
OR WHY FUNERAL DIRECTORS ARE NEUROTIC A pastor friend once told me: “The test of love is whether or not you are willing to tell someone their fly is unzipped.” Funeral service I love what you do and I...
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What DeathCare Can Learn From The Way Women Dress…An Epiphany
Insights come from the strangest places. This time from why women dress the way they do. My wife has bad feet. Most women do. Why? Because women’s shoes are not designed for practicality. They are...
View ArticleNow For Something Completely New
As I travel about the country I encounter a lot of good ideas and some bad. It seems to me that my readers might enjoy learning about some of these first hand. Not long ago I encountered a young...
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PP*2 ≠ FF
Protecting the Past and Perfecting the Present Does Not Equal Finding a Future. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic is a behavior often seen in organizations responding to massive change. Why...
View ArticleMaking Myself Unnecessary
I am a little annoyed with myself. As I address this topic of Leadership i find that I have fallen into the same trap as most others. I have succeeded in treating the difference between managers and...
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Caregiver or Martyr? Beware the Rescuer Trap
Are you addicted to helping others or are your customer relationships creating unhealthy responses? Perhaps you’ve fallen victim to the Rescuer Syndrome. One of the common threads I am discovering as I...
View ArticleSharks and People
One man sat at a stop light. The woman in front of him was going through papers on the seat of her car, and when the light changed to green she didn’t go. A green light is not a suggestion, you know,...
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The Excellence Trap: How We Confuse Efficiency With Effectiveness
Are you a shop foreman or a leader? In recent years a new focus has crept in to the profession. We are trending toward becoming shop foremen instead of leaders. The belief being that we must measure...
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