Childhood Obesity in America: A Moral Issue

What do people around the world see?  Believe?

Poor people in third world nations and in emerging nations do not analyze graphs and data.  They know what they see around them and what they hear from their leaders; and from the opposition.

If leaders say the US feeds poor starving children around the world, will they believe it if they are surrounded by poor starving children?  Will they believe the opposition leaders who tell them that the US does not feed poor starving children?

On to emerging nations: those nations with Internet access.  What do they hear, what do they see?  America suffers [suffers?] from an epidemic of childhood obesity.

To the rest of the world, childhood obesity in America is a moral issue.

What makes this a moral issue is that they also hear that 40% of American children go to be hungry.  Why?  Because they have no food.   

Elsewhere, being fat is a sign of prosperity.  They hear that in America, obesity is a sign of poverty.

It is about time that we rethink the way we see ourselves.

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion! -- Robert Burns

Translation:

And would some Power the small gift give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse

Regards, 

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Slim Fairview

Sam Walton's Claim! Valid?

I am certain it has been discussed.  

The change in Walmart's business model:

From:  "Always low prices, always."

To:      "Spend less. Live better."

Is it valid?

Be a regular consumer for a moment.  This is a slice of life with the pennies rounded off the way real people do when they talk to each other. [sic]

100% Colombian Coffee.

Walmart?          $  8.00

Supermarket?   $12.00

Savings?          $   4.00

Jif Peanut butter?

Walmart?          $ 4.00

Supermarket?   $ 5.00

Savings?          $ 1.00

Total savings?  $ 5.00

Saturday night?

Hamburgers?    $ 4.00

Steak?              $ 8.00

Savings?         -$ 4.00

Offset?             $ 5.00

Saving?           $ 1.00

Saturday night, steak instead of hamburger + one dollar in savings.

Sam Walton's Claim:  "Spend Less. Live Better."  Validated!

Regards,

Slim

Slimfairview@yahoo.com

Other articles by Slim Fairview

Your Logo  http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2012/09/your-logo.html 

Doing a Store Remodel  http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2012/10/doing-store-remodel.html

Copyright (c) 2012 by Slim Fairview

All Rights Reserved.

       

Doing a Store Remodel

1. The Walk Through.

Walk through the store.  

• Using a marker, mark all the shelves that must be replaced.
• Make a list indicating location and size of shelves.
• Order the number of shelves.

2. Storage Containers

• Determine the number of containers you need.
• Allocate the necessary space and draw up a layout of what goes where.
• If you delegate authority to a subordinate to transfer material from delivery to containers, give that subordinate the layout drawing.
• Store shelves by size in one container leaving room for workers to move shelves in and out.

3. Shelf Change Procedures

• Using two pallet jacks, have workers load 9 shelves on the first leaving the second jack empty.
• Have workers proceed to the start location.
• Remove 1st new shelf.  Place it on second jack.
• Remove stock, placing it on stack of new shelves.
• Remove old shelf.
• Replace with new shelf
• Place old shelf on second jack.
• Replace stock.

• Proceed to second location.
• Remove new shelf from stack. 
• Place new shelf on second jack.
• Move stock to new shelf on second jack.
• Take old shelf out, place new shelf (from first jack) in location.
• Replace stock.
• Put new shelf back on first jack, place old shelf on second jack.
• Repeat until all shelves on the first size to be replaced have been replaced.

Begin process with second size shelf.

NB  When all nine (9) shelves have been changed, return to container to load nine new shelves on first jack and place old shelves in designated location in container.


3. Displays Cleaning

When cleaning, organising, zoning the displays, do not be tempted to place one worker in each aisle.  Rather, place four workers in each aisle.  Have one supervisor present for each of two aisles.


4. Supplies

While this may seem intuitively obvious to the casual observer, have supplies on hand for the workers to use in cleaning the displays.

• Scrapers
• Spray Bottles
• Rags
• Paper Towels
• Screw Drivers
• Ladders
• Carts

Scrapers should be obvious as is the case with the rest.  However, the difficulty arises with ladders and carts.  (This includes pallet jacks.)

Ladders are needed for top shelves.  This is why we have four people per aisle.

While "Corporate" Policy can create difficulties with "canned patter": We don't use shopping carts. Shopping carts are for customers, we will try to work around that impediment despite the fact that shopping carts are used by staff and associates throughout the store throughout the day.

L-Carts should be assigned and organised.  Just as with storage containers, carts should have designated supplies in designated places.  Leads should be responsible for conveying this to their staff.   Other matter: paint cans, paint brushes, rolls of labels, fixtures, and other material should have a designated destination--period!

Product.  What do you do with the product when you remove it from the shelf to clean the shelf?  That is the test question.  Common sense would dictate that a portion of the L-Cart have that purpose.  However, the L-Cart is too small.  Answer?  Rethink the corporate impediment to common sense, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and other desirable ends.

5. Mentor

Have someone with experience in dealing with people not unlike contractors to tip off new project managers.  If a door does not close properly, don't let your corporate project manager listen to excuses not unlike:

• The wind keeps the door from closing
• We had our best carpenters install the door
• We adjusted the bracket as far as it will go
• Blah, blah, blah.

6.  Leadership


"You can't lead if you can't manage."  Slim Fairview: From The Quotations of Slim Fairview

There has been too much said about leadership training.  So many people lack basic management skills:

• Organisation
• Process Management
• Referent Authority
• Formal Authority
• Confident
• The confidence of superiours
• The support of superiours.

Therefore, I have posted links to three articles on the matter.

• You Can't Lead if You Can't Manage

• You Can't Lead if You Can't Manage 2.0

• Impediments to Executing Strategy

Best Wishes 
Best of Luck

Warmest regards,

Slim Fairview--Creative Consultant

If anything herein was helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked out Mac and don't hesitate to tuck more than a few dollars into the envelope with the thank you note.

Regards, 

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com 

Copyright (c) 2012 Slim Fairview
All Rights Reserved
 

Your Logo

Logos

What does your logo look like?
 

Wrong!

I could ask, "What does your logo look like to your customer", but that would be misleading.  A better question would be, "What does your customer see when he looks at your logo?"

The problem arises from the fact that you are confusing your logo with a graphic.

Graphics 

Graphics are the little pictures on your letterhead, in your print ads, on the packages your product is sold in.  Your logo exists only in the head of your customer.

I thought about logos when I was watching an old episode of Real Housewives of NYC.  Bethenny's "Skinny Girl" Cocktails. The stylish letters, the silhouette of a skinny girl.  Do you believe anyone expects to lose weight drinking Skinny Girl" cocktails?  Do you know anyone who learned how to pick up Bunnies by reading Playboy?

What prompted me to write the article, however, is the renewed interest in J. C.Penney; or Penney, or JCP.  Also, the fact that only a very few short years ago, my wife told me that Macy's always had that red star. (They did?!!!)

While Mayor Ed Koch may have brought umbrage down upon himself while running for Governor of New York by disparaging Sears Roebuck suits, when I think of a suit from JCP the only thing that comes to mind is "I didn't buy this suit at Sears I bought it at J C Penney."

I did buy a Harris Tweed sports coat at Macy's though.  The Logo?  A snifter of single-malt scotch.  What snifter of single-malt scotch?  The snifter of single-malt scotch I am sipping in front of a fire while wearing that Harris Tweed sports coat. (Okay, maybe Macy's is piggy-backing on the Harris Tweed Logo, still...)

Halo Effect 

The halo effect is the warm and fuzzy feeling I get when i buy at Macy's. But there is a flip side to that coin.

Remember when JCP told us there  would be low prices every day?  (If that is not what they said, it is certainly what I remember.)  Here is the opposite of the halo effect.  

Remember when gas stations were competitive?  Remember the sign, "Save 5¢ for Cash"?
Remember the stations across the street?  Cash or Credit, Same Low Price !!!  Did you believe it?

Is JCP an upscale Sears?  Competing with Macy's? Target? Kohl's?  Do you know?  Do they?

Rethink your logo.  Forget what your customer thinks of your logo.  Find out what your customer is thinking about when he thinks of your store, product, or service.

Regards, 

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Slim Fairview
All rights reserved.

Draghi: Merkel's New Sarkozy

Yet again!

Colloquial:

Countries borrow money.
They invest the money in economic development.
The economy grows.
Revenues increase.
They repay the bonds with the increased revenues.

Merkelomics

Country borrow money with strict conditions.
They pay their bills.
They fire people, cut wages, raise taxes.
The economy contracts.
Revenues decline.
The loans come due.
They borrow more money with strict conditions to pay the bills.

Draghi's plan has the markets moving upward.  This does not help the Greek bus driver.  If the Greek bus driver owned stock in the Athens Bus Company, the argument could be made that he benefits from the strong market.  He doesn't own stock in the Athens Bus Company.

For well over a year I've blogged about the need for capital investment, economic development and growth.  Only recently have leaders started talking about it.

Tim Geithner, no country ever cut its way to prosperity.  Madame Lagarde to Marie Bartiromo, "...and then there's the multiplier effect."

In short, let's call this 

Merkel's Last Stand  The top "hit getter" on my blog.

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/12/merkels-last-stand.html




 
The illustration that will illuminate the problem for those who enjoy metaphors is 

Merkel and the Salesman

 This is not a dirty joke.  This explains why the Merkelomics isn't working, doesn't work, won't work, and can't work.

http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2012/05/merkel-and-salesman.html

You might say, Merkel, can't fool the lion.

You Can't Fool the Lion

http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2011/12/you-cant-fool-lion.html


Regards,

Slim

Slimviews is an unfunded, unsupported (sometimes unsupportable), non-profit, and --alas--unprofitable web log by Slim Fairview.  Read my blog today or hear it from experts in a month or two.



slimfairview@yahoo.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Slim Fairview

All rights reserved.