What would you do?

Good day, all!

Here's a bit of grist for the ol' mental mill. A real-life dilemma facing a real funeral home, and the real decisions made by the funeral home. A post in two parts.

Picture yourself as the owner of a funeral home who took the call that a professional athlete was killed while driving drunk and the family wants him shipped back home.

You also receive a call about a Hurricane Katrina evacuee that died in your area and her family wants her shipped back home.

Who do you ask to pay for your services?

What would YOU do and why?

Do we have a moral obligation to serve that overrules our business instincts?

Hmmmm...I just don't know. But I bet you do.

Fire away!

There's PR value for both, but which is the better choice? Which is the "RIGHT" choice?

Quite the quandary...I'll sit here and ponder that a while and wait to see what you say.

Regards,

Dan

PS- Best regards to Lenette and my old buddy in Ohio!

Is this thing on?

(Sounds of crickets chirping...footfalls coming closer...closer)

Hello?

Anyone there?

Still a bunch of cold, timid souls out there? Not a single taker on the leadership challenge?

Wow. Okay. How about a little boost from the ol' Rough Rider himself:

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

Anyone care enough to take a guess at the author? And why I might have selected this quote?

I'll just sit down here and wait...

(sounds of crickets and cicadas in the summer evening's heat, growing louder)

How the mighty fall....

Cool tidings, all!

I've been watching (with an slightly amused smile) the saga of the Cassitys and National Prearranged Services/Forever Enterprises....

Tee hee.

But before I rant too much, to be totally upfront I must say that I admire their amazing command of media manipulation...they knew who to spread the dollars to and when.

Disagree with me? Approach HBO and see how much it might cost you to have a documentary done about your firm, and then come talk to me.

And some of the less astute experts of our field who extolled the merits of these particular businessmen, well, they didn't examine the Forever Group much beyond the surface, did they?

Anyone who dealt with them as competitors or even just as interested outside observers could have told you their days were numbered.

Their business practices just didn't add up for a long term presence. They were quick buck artists that were robbing Peter to pay Paul. And I pity anyone who fell for the spiel from one of the tarts they sent around to prey on the embattled funeral home owner with promises of God only knows what...

Another black eye on our industry, courtesy of the Cassity family.

When are we gonna learn?

Dan

Yawp

The Consuming Passion...

YAWP!

Remember from the film "Dead Poets Society" the barbaric YAWP scene?

The past few times I've sat down to slap around the English language and make a post, I've found myself returning to one common theme...

Leadership.

One powerful word three syllables long.

Leadership.

The one crucial and irreplaceable necessity for business success.

Leadership.

Many of you who read this blogs are leaders...or want to be.

I like writing this blog, because those of you who respond give me the gas to keep going, but I want to spend my energy wisely. I've go too many things pulling me in too many different directions. I want to make sure that this is a worthy effort. It stirs passion in my soul to write, but if it's not being read, it is a massive waste of energy.

I call upon you leaders out there, with my barbaric YAWP!!

Make yourselves known....show your solidarity with the ol' Guerrilla and post your thoughts on leadership...what it means to you...the power of passion in a leader.

Sound your barbaric YAWP to the world!

Let the world know that what you are doing is indeed a mountain worth dying on!

Like my previous video posts...Hoist the Colours and A lesson on leadership...

Show the readers of this blog what stirs your soul...anonymously if you must, but do it now!

You'll walk into work a different person tomorrow! I guarantee it.

A lesson on leadership

If what you are doing stirs no passion in your soul...then what you are pursuing is unworthy of your time, energy and efforts.

Gorillas in the Mist

The first funeral home I worked at was a 135+ year old firm with multiple locations and a good reputation. Not great...just good. Out of town ownership and asinine management behaviors had allowed competitiors carte blanche to come in and take over the market. Call volume had fallen 50% in less than 10 years.

The ownership had sent in gorilla management and expected a miracle turnaround while basically tying the manager's hands and giving them nothing to accomplish said turnaround. Then, when no miracles appeared...a new gorilla charged in from the brush to take over the pack. Can't you almost hear Sir Elton singing "The Circle of Life"...

True guerrillas are leaders, regardless of their position in the company.

Most firms have a guerrilla or two in their ranks.

Most funeral homes are NOT managed by guerrillas. They are managed by GORILLAS. Sounds the same...but it ain't.

Gorillas will beat their chest, hoot, scream and do everything but offer a solution when problems come up.

They fling their offal at their employees to save themselves.

When in distress...they develop diarrhea and pungent body odor. But I digress.

Guerrillas are leaders first by nature...everything else can be taught to them.

Guerrillas are eager to learn, adapt, improve.

Gorillas fling poo.

Identify and nurture the guerrillas in your midst. Shake a tree branch and hoot at the gorillas in your mist. One will build your business. The other won't do a damned thing.

Hoot, hoot!

To your successful week!

Dan