We decided to create a new joint venture.

Individually, we have pioneered the latest advances in wood preservation technology. Together we will usher in a new era of advanced technology to position our industry for future growth by providing enhanced wood performance along with environmental sustainability and responsibility.

Combining the polymer and biocide technology of Rohm and Haas with the wood preservation expertise of CSl... Viance, the new source for Preservation Innovation.

Therets never a one-stop, fix-all answer

So did you make that New Year resolution that lasted all of 24 hours? Have you, like me, tried to lose weight by looking for every easy way out except doing the things that would actually help you lose weight? Did you order any of those fad diet plans and found they did not work? Running and managing a business can be much the same as trying to lose poundsthere is never an easy, one-stop, quick-fix answer.

I am often asked by some of my contacts, as we discuss their business, for advice about whether they should go out and hire a consulting firm to help them go forward or perhaps invest in staff training in various aspects of their business. My experience is that I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Coming from the training education business and having worked as a consultant, I watched as executives were convinced to buy into the latest fads in management practices without any real understanding of what the deliverables, benefits and expectations should be and, more importantly, how they could and would continue to invest and implement long after the initial roll-out.

First, the reality is that there are rarely any breakthroughs in ways of doing business. But consulting and training companies often make a living repackaging old ideas and selling them as new solutions to today's economy. The problem is that ours is a highly commoditized economy where everything looks the same, but the reality is that the business answer for each of us is different.

The training and consulting industry throws us the "fear and greed" bone that you are missing out on something that other companies are doing and that somehow you must be underperforming. I, probably like you, have read management books, attended expensive seminars, invested in or attended full-blown corporate training programs, only to learn absolutely nothing at all or see the money go down the drain six months or a year later. I have read that about 807o of all training and consulting dollars are wasted because individuals or companies do nothing or fail to implement correctly.

Maybe the efforts fail because every individual and company is unique and the same plan cannot work as a blueprint for everyone in the universe. All of us have different business models, differing quality of management and employees, a unique balance sheet, a different set of competitors, and many other factors, including the industry we work in and different tolerances to risk.

Yet we cling to the idea that there must be something better. We resign ourselves to the herd mentality rather than develop individualistic answers to the problems we face on a day-byday basis. Rather than following what everyone else is doing (like elephants going over the cliff), one needs to systematically analyze not what is only wrong, but what is also right. It is too easy to throw the baby out with the bath water. The answer often can be found internally, when the right lines of communication are put in place. Too many in the organization are frightened to speak up with real innovative ideas.

Too many new executives or those in new positions feel they have to do something different. So in comes the flavor of the month, especially around now as the New Year gets underway. Consultants come flying in, and I guarantee you, they will always be able to tell you all that is wrong and every reason why you should invest in those new, innovative programs. Yet most of them do not have any realworld experience. They will tell you that you need 50 fewer people to do that specific job or that you need to get closer to the customer, which as most of us who have been around long enough knows that means layoff's and cutting costs. They often do not know the industry or the parameters in which you work day in, day out-yet glib answers and elegant bar charts come spewing out of their expensive pin-stripe suits.

I have found in over 30 years of management that the answer normally lies within, with the people who daily do the job and fully understand how the company really works. If only they would be listened to. This is where the good consultants score. When they come in and act as part of your team, and really get to know your business-inside and out-their outside perspective without any prejudice can help you come to the right answers. At the end of the day, though, no cute words, guru double-speak, or single management theory can be the right answer. You have to find the suit that looks best on you and tailor it so it fits you perfectly. Oh well, back to the chocolate!

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