Customer service usually sucks. That’s not news. So I reserve my commentary for companies that manage to screw up in more interesting ways. That’s what Lowe’s just did. It not only failed, it failed 13 different times in one transaction. And it’s worth reviewing, since nearly all of those failures are due to the same…
I love my Tesla cars. But Telsa CEO Elon Musk has become increasingly unhinged of late, and I have serious problems with him. What to do? Maybe some “I love Tesla, I hate Elon” swag would make us Tesla owners feel better. How did this happen? Here’s the story. Teslas are terrific cars I bought…
For the first time since February of 2020, a potential client asked me for a workshop delivered in-person, rather than through a videoconference. I’m going to have to charge more. But it’s an interesting question if the client is actually getting more value from the in-person session. Some quick history Before 2020, I delivered my…
Nearly every financial asset is dropping in value. But they are not all the same. Here is a chart of the S&P 500 for the last 12 months. Any other index of stocks has a similar chart. A year ago, the S&P 500 index was at 4255. As I write this it is at 3750….
I’ve recently had to ask some people I like to get their asses in gear. It’s an interesting question how to be firm with people who are disappointing you, even though you want to maintain a good relationship with them. Here are two tales about this. Consider what you would write to these folks, and…
AI robots are now assembling cars, writing news articles, detecting fraud, checking you out as you leave retail stores, and replying to customer service inquiries. In the future they may be driving trucks or writing code. Will your job be replaced by a robot? Almost certainly it will. I don’t care what you are doing…
Once again, let’s take a look at an Elon Musk missive. This time he’s laying off 10% of Tesla’s salaried workers. Here’s the internal email, according to CNBC: To: EverybodySubject: Headcount ReductionDate: Friday, June 3, 2022 Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10% as we have become overstaffed in many areas. Note this does…
There’s an old riddle that goes like this: In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, what’s the difference in the roles of the chicken and the pig? Answer: The chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. Poor pig. It’s a freakin’ job It used to be that managers — especially startup managers — wanted to be sure…
Elon Musk sent his staff two blunt emails requiring them to work in the office, not remotely. His tone was bold. His meaning was clear. But his policies aren’t going to get him what he wants — especially if he ends up applying them to his next acquisition, Twitter. What Musk Wrote Musk sent his…