Though I do feel the need to clarify. I believe gone are the days of “I deserve to have this, I’ll figure out how to pay for it later…” The world economy is adjusting to reality as the consumer adjusts. As such, businesses must take a hard look at themselves and decide who they are, and what business they are really in.

The keys for business success is to understand who you are and where you are going. Creating a plan for the future that is both realistic and executable. Businesses need to know “What business are they really in?” There’s a great book “The Discipline of Market Leaders” that breaks strategy into value propositions:

Most businesses focus on Operational Efficiency, Customer Service, and/or Innovation. While all businesses usually have a degree of all 3, they tend to dominant in one successfully.

Operationally Excellent Companies will focus on taking costs out of the supply chain, to ultimately pass the cost savings onto the consumer.

Innovation/Product leadership focused businesses have an insatiable desire to always deliver the “best product, period.”

Businesses with a thriving company culture built around customer intimacy initiatives sell “the customer a total solution, not just a product or service.”

If you are a Salon owner – which are you? If you are a chain like Fantastic Sam’s, the answer is probably Operational Efficiency. If you are a high Salon and Spa – you are probably Customer Service/Intimacy.

LG- Where do you feel TNG Worldwide falls? I could see the operations group falling into Operational Efficiency (as all ops groups should) and the training group falling under Innovative. But is the corporation overall Customer Service?

We Americans are a hardy bunch and will weather this economy. We have before and will again.