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
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
I hope you enjoyed my guest blogger....
Greetings, good and gentle readers!
Please accept my apologies for my long, unexcused absence from this blog. I would to thank Mr. Marcel Marceau for his willingness to fill in as guest blogger during my hiatus.
Gently put, I ran out of gas. Some more health problems in the family and a breakneck pace at work, very little sleep AND a serious jones to do some fiction writing all culminated in a perfect storm where it was all I could do to finish my entry for the Writer's Digest Writing Competition on deadline and send a few articles in to Funeral Business Advisor all at the expense of my blog and its band of happy readers.
So with that being said, I'd like to let you know that I've completed the tasks I set out to do (including a racy entry into the aforementioned writing competition, which is something I spoke of doing for years but never did until now) and my family is healing (so I'm out of the running for SOB of the Year, just ask my wife.)
My question to you is...what have you been putting off doing for your business?
And what's stopping you?
In the spirit of the Guerrilla Director you know it's time to take action!
Hoist the Colours!
Dan
Please accept my apologies for my long, unexcused absence from this blog. I would to thank Mr. Marcel Marceau for his willingness to fill in as guest blogger during my hiatus.
Gently put, I ran out of gas. Some more health problems in the family and a breakneck pace at work, very little sleep AND a serious jones to do some fiction writing all culminated in a perfect storm where it was all I could do to finish my entry for the Writer's Digest Writing Competition on deadline and send a few articles in to Funeral Business Advisor all at the expense of my blog and its band of happy readers.
So with that being said, I'd like to let you know that I've completed the tasks I set out to do (including a racy entry into the aforementioned writing competition, which is something I spoke of doing for years but never did until now) and my family is healing (so I'm out of the running for SOB of the Year, just ask my wife.)
My question to you is...what have you been putting off doing for your business?
And what's stopping you?
In the spirit of the Guerrilla Director you know it's time to take action!
Hoist the Colours!
Dan
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