This table has been assembled from my experiences over recent years with various customers. I post it here for other business owners, in the hope that they may avoid what these people did not. I made this because I realised I needed a strategy to cope with the various types of people described below: these people are my customers and I want their businesses to flourish, at least so they spend more with me.
| type |
behaviours |
likely outcomes |
early warning signs |
responses |
| Mr Burns
| fails to invest appropriately in employees
| high staff absenteeism, sabotage, and turnover; inefficient business operation
| a continuous stream of new faces; miserly behaviour
| explain how happy staff make the best employees
|
| Rough and Loose
| fails to invest appropriately in infrastructure
| high levels of downtime and servicing expenditure; legacy issues
| constant problems; legacy systems; miserly behaviour
| explain how quality systems provide optimal efficiency
|
| All Bucks Stop Here
| fails to delegate appropriately
| one area of the business is overmanaged, while everything else is neglected
| the manager is constantly busy
| explain how the business could benefit if it was evenly managed
|
| All Eggs In One Basket
| becomes over-exposed to a single customer
| insolvency (when this customer takes their business elsewhere, there may not be enough additional income to keep the business afloat)
| the business spends all its time servicing one customer
| explain how the business could fail if the key customer walks; suggest sales staff
|
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