Senior management had collected a lot of operations data but did not know what to do with it.

They knew they needed a numbers person and decided to interview an accountant, an engineer and an economist. During the interview they assessed their math skills.

First was the accountant.
Interview: What is 1+1?
Accountant: 1+1 = 2.
Interview: Are you sure?
Accountant: Absolutely. 1+1 equals 2 and only 2.

Next the engineer.
Interview: What is 1+1?
Engineer: 1+1 = 2.
Interview: Are you sure?
Engineer: Well, within acceptable tolerance levels yes, 1+1 is 2.

Last the economist.
Interview: What is 1+1?
The economist got up, closed the door, drew the blinds, leaned across the table and replied, "What do you want it to equal?"

Is this going to be the winter of your discontent. Or rather, this is the winter of your discontented budget.

Electricity prices are soaring, fuel prices aren’t far behind, and you weep every time you get to reconcile accounts and financials and have to fork out hundreds of dollars and watch the shrinking bottom line of profitability - How will we make it to May? 

There’s no denying that North Americans are under financial pressure; from the large USA metropolis regions and small town USA to Canadian Cities, towns and villages. While the global economy seems to be recovering, we have our own local pressures to contend with. Cost saving is the name of the game, but if you see another blog about how you should stay home, drink yourself into a deep sleep and play solitaire…with the lights out… and no heaters…you will, well, might as well - weep.

But don’t despair. We have done the research and there are lots of other ways to save money that you could try out – and some of them are even fun. There are days the consumer just won't have the money to put into your register, so you need to be ready - at the end of the day, we are all in the same boat, just different parts of the boat. Here’s the Panther Consultant guide to surviving winter with your budget on track and your sense of fun intact.

Get those sales at any cost - Whoa Nelly!!! Even Santa makes Goals first before circling the globe with a sleigh the size of Manhattan

Successful selling begins with setting SMART goals. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Time-bound. Without goals, your plan and strategy will lack the fuel and focus to succeed.

If you just take a moment and think about it. You could step into your sales office and demand sales growth!!! Or, you could present to the sales team this:

Good Monday Morning Sale Team. We are adding a delivery truck to our city route and we need an additional 1000 Widgets sold, over what you sold last week. Last week we sold 10,000 widgets so we need to sell 11,000 by Friday at 5pm.