Don’t Forget the Lettuce

How the lettuce got on the plate in the first place isn’t important right now, but why the lettuce didn’t come off sooner is.

The word ‘lettuce’ doesn’t appear on the company’s balance sheet or income statement. I checked. And wasn’t discussed in any quarterly or annual reports either. I looked there, too. So lettuce, a $1 million expense, was invisible to corporate eyes.

And I’ll bet when company executives traveled on their own planes flying to different offices trying to find ways to reduce costs, they didn’t even see the lettuce on their plates. It had become an accepted part of the company picture after so many years. Again, invisible to corporate eyes.

Only the flight attendants, the people on the operations’ front lines, saw the lettuce for what it really was. Wasted money. Cleaning the cabin flight after flight after flight, they saw plate after plate after plate of lettuce going into the garbage.

Do you have a plan to quickly and efficiently find “the lettuce” in your company operations? Because finding it can be tricky business. While there’s a lot of it around, it’s only visible to the right people looking at things in the right way. And, sadly, these are usually the very people we lay off first when times get tough.

Want more ideas on how your company can find the lettuce? Give us a call at 303.819.6662 or email me at todd@maverickinstitute.com. We've got a whole salad bowl of ways to help your operations save money and be more efficient as well.

Take the Maverick Lettuce Quiz and win* a free iPod shuffle 2GB...Next time you’re at a Starbucks, check out the parking lot. What are all those stains on the left side of every parking space? And how could knowing how they got there save this company a lot of money? Email me the correct answer and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win a lettuce green iPod shuffle 2GB. The deadline for answers is midnight April 20th. The winner, chosen at random from all the correct answers, will be announced in our April Stampede!

*NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY
    TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST.

  OFFICIAL RULES/CONSUMER DISCLOSURES

1. To win you must send an email to todd@maverickinstitute.com. The email must contain the correct answer to the question: “ Next time you’re at a Starbucks, check out the parking lot. What are all those stains on the left side of every parking space? And how could knowing how they got there save this company a lot of money?”
2. Entries must be received by midnight April 20, 2008. On April 22, 2008, the names of all individuals who submit correct answers will be placed in a numbered list in alphabetical order by last name. A random number generator will be used to select one number. The name on the numbered list that corresponds to that randomly-generated number will be declared the winner. The prize is an iPod shuffle 2GB. Retail value is $69.
3. Employees, contractors and vendors of the Maverick Institute are not eligible to win. You must be at least 18 years old to win.
4. One winner will be chosen out of 325 prize notices distributed. The estimated odds of winning are 1 in 325.
5. Winner will be notified via email and/or phone call on April 22, 2008. Winner also will be announced in the April 2008 issue of the Maverick Stampede, estimated publish date April 24, 2008. Prize will be shipped for arrival by May 22, 2008 or sooner.
6. Sponsor is Maverick Institute, LLC, 1066 Berea Drive, Boulder, CO 80305. Phone: 303.565.6161. www.maverickinstitute.com. info@maverickinstitute.com.