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
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
As Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story is" what happened at named firm?
Apologies...I left you hanging...
I took over the marketing and stabilized the call volume...held the line until I accepted another position and left. Nobody carried the torch and volume has receded into the 300 neighborhood...1/3 of it's apogee in the late '80s!
A funeral business tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. 150 years of business history and excellence shot down the tubes in the last two decades...
Post a Comment