It’s Okay to Say “No” to the Wrong Customer

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I was at an event recently where one business speaker asserted that there were four words you should never tell a customer: “I can’t do that.” And he had some very good reasons for this assertion:

Your competitors love it when you tell a customer, “I can’t do that.”

It’s music to their ears.

When you tell a customer, “I can’t do that,” you’re giving them an excuse to look elsewhere, and you’re opening a window of ...

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An Award-Winning Performance…Every Time

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award winning performanceSome of you know that I used to produce a sketch comedy TV show in Seattle called Almost Live! It was on the air for fifteen years, and number one in its time slot for ten straight years. During those fifteen years, my team and I won more than 100 Emmy Awards. At the risk of sounding immodest, we were really, really good at what we did. Our ...

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The Joy of Checklists

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It was 4:00am yesterday morning, and I was driving to the airport for a speaking engagement in Pittsburgh. This is a pretty common occurrence for me (not necessarily the Pittsburgh part, but the rest of it). All of a sudden I had one of those, “Oh no, did I leave the iron on?” moments. I forget what it was that I was actually worried about—it wasn’t the iron. Probably, “Did I lock the door?” or “Did I water the plants?” ...

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Do Your Customers Trust You?

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I’m getting ready to board a plane, something I do several times a week. Each time, I’m putting my trust—and my life—in the hands of the pilot. This is, in all likelihood, a person I’ve never met, and never will meet. But I rarely, if ever, think about it, and I’ll bet you don’t either. The trust is so ...

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Who’s in Charge–You, or the Rain?

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award winning performanceIt’s a cold, gray, rainy day here in Seattle, and I noticed fewer people at the gym this morning. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I don’t think so.

See, I almost didn’t go to the gym myself. Who wants to go to the gym on a miserable day like this?

For that matter, who wants to go to work? It’s a dreary, depressing day—a ...

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It’s Not Enough to “Want It More”

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Last night I heard a television commentator say that the Republican nomination is going to come down to “who wants it more.”

I sincerely hope that this is not the case.

Republican or Democrat, I sincerely hope that we’re not going to choose our leaders on the basis of who wants it more. I mean, really, would you make any other choice ...

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