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... win/win/win operation) Manage and perpetuate the process. When I worked summers for my Uncle Claude's Wholesale Grocery, I delivered to Mr. Lucien. He was a Cajun, old (in my mind's eye) and mean (at least to delivery boys) . I'd walk in with his order and he'd say, "Put it in the corner, BOY!" I was 15 and like every other 15-year old, I was struggling with myself: My image and how I fit into society. I was ... a price we are willing to pay, with no hassle. We want to feel important. We want to deal with people we can trust. We want a positive buying experience. We want what I was: Polite, efficient, and effective delivery boys and girls. Because tomorrow's world will be politically correct, we won't use the term. But the functions will be the same. If you don't believe me, look at two success stories. Sam Walton and Bill Gates succeeded by knowing who their customers are, understanding ... I've watched Arthur Andersen and Enron crash and burn. I've observed smart people who run successful companies spending literally hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on consulting firms to help them create a strategic plan, marketing innovation, or value-added proposition. These experts from out of town talk in a language that we don't speak or hear. All of this in the name of a customer they've never met to be implemented by a front-line employee (often a trainee) who can't understand the language they're speaking and certainly doesn't have the education or ...