Most agree there is no New Normal, and now is actually the time to move on from past mistakes.  In fact, I was asked to dust this off, update and resend.

It is hard to be willing to acknowledge seeing sacred cows and correcting the underlying issues when the business is making lots of money. However, you and your people all know those sacred cows are clearly visible. So, why not be one of those leaders willing to reconsider everything to optimize the vast number of opportunities everyone is seeing.

Remember how long both Kodak and Polaroid took before critically reviewing their business models. Their sacred cow had become a herd. With great salaries and bonuses, happy customers and generous expense accounts, it is easy to overlook or wink at one or more-million-dollar blind spots.

Small and medium sized business are just as likely to have their own version of protected sacred cows. When speaking on growing profits and profitability, I call this the "Uncle Dave's Warehouse" syndrome.

Uncle Dave started the company in that warehouse and the company has done extremely well. But a rapid world now has Uncle Dave Company bleeding money on that location (or product) for years.

In fact, if it were not for nostalgia, politics and the sacred bonus system, the CEO would have closed that warehouse long ago. That warehouse loses at least $250,000 every year. However, to close it would cost $500,000 and dramatically slash this year's bonus.

Guess what occurs. They waited for the expert, from out of town (me), to don the black hat and point out what everyone dreaded to acknowledge internally, BUT willingly revealed to me.

Before you laugh or smile too much, where is your sacred cow wasting scarce people resources and money needed elsewhere for longer term corporate success? Who wants to work on something like that? No one, at any level. Talk about a morale downer.

Feel free to forward this to a friend or former colleague. Or do you need me to search in my fiscal closet to don the black hat? Then you or a friend could save a lot of political capital.

After all the job or business, you save may be your own or that of a friend.

Thank you for considering these comments. 

Let me  know where you agree, disagree, and how could I add better value to you in upcoming notes you receive. Email me at gary@FiscalDoctor.com or call me direct at 678-319-4739.

Thanking you in advance, Gary

Gary Patterson

FiscalDoctor, Inc.

678-319-4739    www.FiscalDoctor.com