orders being processed in your industry”, no one seems to know. And when I ask, “How much training does average receiver receive, and can I see a progressive flow chart through warehouse”, that is when laughter starts.

Think about this, how can someone legitimately evaluate new software, improvements to a process, or “RIGHT-SIZE” without some knowledge of what is reality? Do we have a gut feeling about how many lives should be disrupted this downturn? Not just with layoffs but with so called, “Fortunate” people who remained employed as well. They are now tasked to complete same amount of work, they were not completing before, with less people and minimal overtime. How stressful is that? Isn’t that why we seem to lose people in a down economy? With all of companies that have layoffs why do we still lose

people when everyone is affected by economic downturn and laying people off? It seems ironic that individuals find jobs elsewhere.

So, what do we do? How do we know whether ROI when being discussed with a training company, a 3PL or a WMS (Barcode) vendor is “Real or Imagined”. You must begin by analyzing your current processes and creating realistic goals for your warehouse. Your sales personnel have them; your accounting department has them, why shouldn’t your warehouse have goals too? This is key; they have to be achievable even if it takes a lot work and some heartache. As one Warehouse Supervisor told me, “It is not realistic to expect returns to decrease by 50%”. He felt they always had same number of returns even before he was hired so why should anyone expect them to decrease now. Do you

think he would have said that during his interview for position? No, but that is also part of problem! We hire people to maintain status quo. Then we are amazed when they do just that. Therefore, your true path towards goal setting and attaining a return on your investment must begin at top. If there is no commitment there, how can people below be expected to do anything except what they are currently doing. I don’t not know who said it but it is true, “Insanity is doing same thing over and over, but expecting a different result”. I am not going to tell you that your warehouse is important to your Supply Chain because if you do not already know that then you are probably asking, “What is a Supply Chain?” But I am going to tell you next time you are discussing ROI with a vendor, ask yourself and them. “Is that REAL OR IMAGINED?”

Or, if you're selling, aim to be more concrete than abstract. For example, I've been writing short ads for my book about newsletters. In writing them, I've found that "Communicating for Results" isn't enough by itself -- I need to spell out what those results might be (such as more sales, greater employee retention, and better membership renewal ratios).

On other hand, if you want to provide context, you might find it more productive to move more toward abstract end of abstract-concrete continuum. For example, if you're trying to explain a new strategic direction for your organization, you might refer to conceptual issues like positioning and competitive advantage. This, you'll find, is where Why? -- fifth W -- fits rather nicely.

In a sales situation, you may want to get a prospect to envision a new and better future. In that case, too, you would emphasize abstract, rather than concrete. For example, if you're selling a retirement fund, you would likely emphasize idea of spending more time on tropical islands or with family, rather than going into actuarial details.

Finally, remember that abstract and concrete represent two ends of a continuum, and you can choose any point between them.