Humankind has two basic and equally strong needs: stability and change. The issue is not either-or; it’s creating a context in which pursuing the novel is cherished, not scorned.16) ‘They can’t handle change.’ Of course they can. How about must-not?’The customer is a rear view mirror,’ says George Colony of Forrester Research, ‘not a guide to the future.’The age of market research has coincided with an onslaught of look-alike products.15) People don’t want change. ‘Lighten up for profits’ – how about that for a corporate slogan?13) Total quality management should be the umbrella for all improvement efforts. I’m all for things that work, but how about ‘nifty’ things that work? If there’s a single ‘it’ in business, it’s innovation, not TQM.14) Market research is a must.

You don’t do anything new or interesting right the first time.11) Don’t make the same mistake twice. Perhaps the second dumbest statement.In pursuit of significant improvement, we make the same mistakes over and over. ‘If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.’ – Ludwig Wittgenstein Now that’s more like it.12) Business is serious stuff Hogwash Business is a part of the human circus It’s about reckless tries and unbridled passion. But there’s no way I would trade 1994 for 1954.9) Bosses should be paid more than those who report to them Oprah makes more than her producers. Star performers in general should draw star salaries – in information systems, personnel, marketing, research Obvious, eh?10) Do it right the first time This is a candidate for dumbest statement ever uttered. What good old days? The ‘coloured’ and ‘white’ toilets that I grew up with?Autocratic front-line supervisors? Yes Today’s economic conditions set one’s head spinning.

The new marketplace will not tolerate atrophied skills.7) ‘Train them and they’ll leave.’ Sick] It’s like saying, ‘Treat people decently and they will screw you.’Treat people with respect, responsibility, big-time training, independence – and you will have a superior workforce.8) Bring back the good old days. Rubbish] In a market full of contenders, hardball hustling is a must.5) Great advertising can save mediocre products Rubbish redux. Pour money into support of great products, says legendary ad man David Ogilvy, but don’t waste a dime trying to advertise a ho-hum product into prominence.6) ‘My employer is stupid not to train me.’ Well, that is true But in the end it’s up to you to train yourself. You don’t know where you’re headed until you begin to march.4) Great products will sell themselves. ‘It has no effect on the weather’ and ‘much of the advice related to corporate planning is directed at improving the dancing – not the weather.’ The best companies let 100 flowers bloom, then pick the winners from among the hardiest sprouts.3) The more time spent planning, the less time you need to spend on implementation Almost never the case] Ready Fire Aim That’s the approach taken by the businesses I most respect. Most are lame excuses for a failure to create genuinely new products, services and markets.
2) Belief in strategic plans ‘A good deal of corporate planning.

is like a ritual rain dance,’ says Brian Quinn of Dartmouth University. The proposed Martin Marietta-Lockheed merger? ‘A tribute to the absence of imagination on the part of the leaders of the two companies,’ a defense industry chief executive told me

Ditto for media mergers, healthcare mergers. BUSINESSES do a lot of dumb things Here are 20: 1) The pursuit of synergy It rarely works. They reprepresent the fourth generation of Baxters.They are too young to remember the porridge episode but I have related the tale to them so they can avoid similar mistakes.(Photograph omitted). Not only does he have great retail experience but he loves Scotland and is a fine salmon fisherman.His role is to build on the strengths of the company and to provide guidance and development opportunities to the younger members of the family so that the chair will, in a few years, be filled once again by a family member.My son Andrew Baxter is deputy chairman, and my daughter Audrey is group managing director.

I will also advise on new business programmes and continue to be repsonsible for the highly successful visitor’s centre we have on the banks of the River Spey.Joe Barnes, formerly joint managing director of Sainsbury, succeeds me as chairman. After leading Baxters for 48 years I now plan to play a public relations role and spend a bit more time fishing. Everything is well tested, and not just on our friends.The old favourites, such as Royal Game soup, invented by my mother in 1929, still sell well. In recent years we have added succesful new recipes to the range, including our vegetarian and Healthy Choice high-fibre soups and Pour Over sauces.Earlier this month I decided to step down as chairman of Baxters and become president of the company.