Crunching the numbers

Mixing vacation with high-level financial analysis and review creates a rather unique business/life mix. Right now, I'm sitting in a Starbucks near my mother's place in rainy Vancouver, B.C. I've just reviewed extensive financial reports and prepared materials for a special teleconference planning meeting this afternoon, as we pull things together to ensure our business's ongoing viability.

In a few minutes, I'll close the laptop, and return to vacation -- for a few hours.

The most important thing in preparing for today's meeting is to respect the values that define our business: To acknowledge the importance and contribution of every employee, and to treat everyone with respect and recognition for their contributions to the organization. I've seen too much corporate mismanagement, where senior managers take care of their own needs, at the expense of owners (shareholders), employees, and clients. This type of corruption tears at the soul of the business and ultimately destroys its brand and marketing effectiveness.

Consider how your own business and professional practice handles its internal relations and operations in thinking about your marketing strategies. You cannot really separate the two perspectives, as the external marketing manifestation will reflect either directly or indirectly your internal business realities.

Sure, it's raining in Vancouver, but the Starbucks coffee is warm (as are the hours with my family) and in a few days we are heading to the Los Angeles and Palm Springs areas, where things will be much brighter.