Is it about Trust or Utility

I belong to a number of groups on LinkedIn. It is a useful way to stay connected with some of the conversations in the marketplace and my areas of interest. Today I took a survey sponsored by
Business Roundtable, Institute for Corporate Ethics conducted by the Catholic University of America. Here is a link to the survey tinyurl.com/3knmr5e 

I had my awareness raised in how I make decisions about trust and economics through the process of taking the survey. What I found was that Integrity mattered a lot to me. …

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Capitalism with a Higher Purpose – Can it Survive?

In my LinkedIn Group Trust Across America, an Article from Fortune magazine was posted
with the Headline, “Can compassionate capitalists really win? To which I
say absolutely!

Raj Sisodia, the head of the Conscious capitalism Institute, was interviewed by David Whitford from Fortune Magazine. He shared the Four Pillars of Conscious Capitalism:

–    There is a higher Purpose to our work, it is NOT just about the money, (For most Entrepreneurs it …

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Are Our FaceBook Friends Real?

Recently, I have seen a lot of commentary on the web and in print on the power of our “Social Peers” to influence us. In a Business Week article about the story surrounding “Social Network the Movie”, the authors proclaim that the knowledge
that your friends like Coca Cola is way more influential than traditional advertising. Maybe.

I also follow the writer Charles H. Green who, as co-author of the book The Trusted Advisor, is something of a thought leader …

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You achieve by being, not by doing ~ Guest Post by Tom LaRotonda

To be, or not to be, that is the question. How many times have we heard this famous Shakespearean quote since we’ve were children? Well, I have finally answered this question in my life. As
long as I have a breath left inside me…I will choose to be. Why am I so clear about this? For one simple reason. When I focus on who I am being in world versus what I’m doing, my peace, joy, and
inner power increase dramatically. When those things increase so does my success rate in life. It has been so dramatic that …

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What Is The Value Of A Pre-Plan

I just finished up a week of productive sales calls. By productive I mean they all moved forward to next steps in the selling process.

These were big meetings. Each has million dollar potential so I invested more time in developing my pre-plans. I considered questions to ask, their likely questions and objections, how to address
those and how to move to next steps.

 So this got me to thinking. If my meetings don’t go as planned why bother planning?

For me the …

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Bell Plumbing and Heating A Great Example

Close your eyes and imagine a plumber…what do you see?

I recently had to call Bell Plumbing and Heating over a furnace issue. The experience is one that many small businesses can learn from. They showed up early, they were wearing a clean uniform
and were very polite and articulate. More importantly perhaps was the genuine interest in delivering value.

Now for the back-story, a few months ago my furnace would not fire up. So out came the Bell technician. He looked around and it started up fine. He …

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