When compromise is bad

Peter Gabriel. Colonel Sanders. Two success stories that show that some things should not be compromised.

Recently Peter Gabriel (recording artist) refused to perform at the Oscars because they were going to drastically shorten the length and lose the integrity of a song of his. He politely refused to perform it that way.

Colonel Sanders (founder of KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken) used to visit KFC restaurants all over the nation to see if they were following his recipe. A friend of mine, Elliot Neubauer, told me he would tour with the Colonel and it was quite common to hear pots and pans being thrown about the restaurant when the Colonel's standards weren't being met.

Both Gabriel and Sanders wanted it "right." They saw no reason to compromise their product.

It's one thing to find common ground on issues or to play peacemaker, which can be good. It's another to reduce the quality or meaning of your life's work.

Neither Gabriel or Sanders did that and their work lives on.

Thank the Big Three for Destroying the image of Biz Jets: Part Three

With all the bad press about private jets, I believe we need to think rationally before deciding that a business jet is evil.

My company, like thousands of others, uses a business jet. Why?

• The business jet can be a money maker, a business grower, a business saver. We use it to visit prospects as well as serve clients. It builds business.
  

• The business jet can allow a business to be located in a small city and still do business nationwide. My company is located in the 85th largest metro area in the country, Fort Wayne, Indiana. How in the world are we going to be able to work for great clients like VW, Audi, Ferrari, Freightliner, Suzuki, Schwab, and U.S. Trust without being able to serve them ASAP or whenever needed? We use our jet to help.

• We use our business jet to help protect our employees' family lives. If we used commercial flights, my employees would spend hundreds of days and nights away from their families a year. Instead they hop in the jet, spend a day with the clients and are home for dinner with family. Families are happy, employees are happy, clients are happy - and all of that makes me happy.

The current bad press press won't dissuade us from flying our business jet. There is only one thing that has changed in the six months that affects our business jet: Jet fuel is cheaper. That makes me happy, too.

For those of you who may have missed these yesterday, below are a couple of ads we felt inspired to create to help people better understand how our business jet plays a crucial role in our business operations. It's not an extravagance; it's a necessity. I'd love for you to view the ads and offer any thoughts you may have on them.

Barry LaBov, CEO
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com

Thank the Big Three for Destroying the image of Biz Jets: Part Two

In my previous post, I focused on the current private jet "feeding frenzy." This is part two.

Thanks to the Big Three, Congress now has a rallying cry against corporate greed - "Down with the Private Jet."

First of all: For most, it's not a private jet. It's a business jet. Here are some facts:

• Most fliers on business jets are non-executives (85%)
• Most owners of business jets (over 80%) are small- to medium- size businesses
• Most business jet flights utilize smaller airports, not the main, commercial ones - they reduce congestion and give companies out of small towns an option to fly direct to clients
  

It's an American success story - the US makes the bulk of aircraft and is the worldwide leader.
There are millions of miles flown on business jets yearly for charitable causes ranging from "Make a Wish" to the Special Olympics.

In my next post, I'll share the reasons why my company invested in a business jet and view it as a smart investment.

Please review the ads that my company created from the standpoint of a business jet owner, I'd love your feedback on them - they are shown below.