May 20 2018
YOUR BUSINESS VS. SNAILMAIL: WHO WINS?
Economy Surge Boosts Business
(but not yours or the Post Office?)
YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT DELIVERING ALL
THAT YOU WANT OR NEED FOR IT TO BE?
Are you seeking some magic to re-ignite your business to take advantage of the booming US economy… or are you standing there, totally befuddled, sucking your thumb and wondering how YOU MISSED THE BOAT??… this post is for you!
DELIVERING
BASED ON CAPABILITY ALONE
IS DIFFICULT AT BEST
… EVEN FOR THE BEST.
The United States Postal Service has had a zillion opportunities to succeed over a zillion years of big-time budgets and noteworthy big-time leadership of politically-based government organization people, who appear to have never earnestly sought real-world business input.
USPS has failed to act on endless business growth opportunities Priority-Mailed to itself on a golden platter because those in charge thought they had and continue to think they have all the answers. (When was the last USPS Customer Survey you received?)
That belief alone spells disaster for any business or organization, or even professional practice. The lifetime of failure spawned (and actually nurtured) smarter competition.
How do I know all this?
First, because I grew up with my father being (for 25 years) a USPS Special Delivery Messenger –the first 7-days a week version of overnight delivery service– and watched Special Delivery Mail dissolve away to open a floodgate of business for FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and a long list of others.
Second, because I’ve had the good fortune to have had many proven and experienced business teachers and trainers in my life share many business development basics, like: No one ever has all the answers. Open Minds Open Doors. Leadership is about listening first and acting second.
And I have been able to apply successfully what I’ve learned to teach others— as a professor, business and healthcare practice coach/consultant, published author, management trainer, and now as a “business how-to” podcast and radio host.
With that as background, I attempted numerous times over the years to communicate with USPS executives in some of the same ways I succeeded at communicating with private business enterprise owners and managers… with ideas and proposals… but they were never responded to except by form letter thank-you-but-no-thank-you notes.
IF YOU ARE TRYING TO
RUN YOUR BUSINESS WITH
A CLOSED-DOOR USPS MINDSET,
NOTHING — not even a booming economy — can save you!
STOP HERE. Take a deep breath.
Has your business run away from you? Are you trying too hard to force it into a direction that simply doesn’t fit?
Do you shut down whenever someone floats a business-growth idea past you because you think they couldn’t possibly understand what you’re facing or what you’ve done to get where you are?
Or maybe just because you don’t trust that person’s face or age or lack of hard-nosed experience, or what you imagine to be her/his sense of reality?
HOW RECEPTIVE ARE YOU, REALLY?
If your answer is “VERY,” Congratulations! Now open your eyes, your arms and your mind and get ready to turn things around. You’ve just taken the first step to put yourself on track to being the business winner you’ve always been capable of being. Reach out for input from other business owners, from employees, from customers. Consider and sort out and weigh the options… THEN (without betting the farm), Take Action!
P.S. In case you haven’t heard, President Trump is “taking action” with the formation of a USPS Task Force to address some of the kinds of issues raised here, as well as how to get a better deal with other delivery services. Hoping for the best for USPS… and, of course, for YOU!
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