Our sister-in-law, our friend, and an uncle, are all very experienced cooks, yet each have a mandolin story to tell, complete with small scars on their fingers, because they forgot an important element when using this extremely sharp tool. They did not use a guard when using the mandolin, either they did not have one, or decided that they did not want to waste time to get it out for such a small job. Save a second, lose a few hours. 

Unfortunately, not using a guard for the mandolin resulted in each of them cutting their fingers on the blade requiring a trip to the emergency room, stitches, and paying a hefty invoice from the hospital. It was also the end of their cooking for the night, and in two of the cases, their days of using a mandolin were over, the mandolin was thrown out, never to be used again. It was not that the mandolin was bad, faulty, or damaged, it was that the cooks got careless, like we all tend to do at times, and threw caution to the wind. 

A business tool, much like a mandolin, is also about how you use it. In the past, marketing was all about mass marketing, now it is about the masses marketing you. You cannot go into a new marketing opportunity with your guard down [your fingers or brand exposed] while trying to cut corners to save time or dollars. In the end, the result is usually similar to the mandolin story, where you abandon the tool, as though the tool was at fault, and lose out on an opportunity to connect with your customer. 

Business tools like cooking tools have to be used correctly and timely to be affective. In these very competitive times, it is not about tying to do more, and more, and more online. Yes, you need a solid website and you need to maintain social status [Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, etc.] so that you can establish a competitive position. However, are you executing a marketing plan to engage your customers, or are you hiding behind the curtain of being on-line and just checking off the list of tools and solutions where you have participation. 

No one has unlimited time, thus concerning business tools, you have to select the tools that meet your needs and that you have time to expend to ensure that you are using it correctly, and that you are experiencing a positive return on your investment. The focus of many of the online business tools is to expand your brand's presence, retain existing customers, and to connect with prospective customers. Therefore, you do not want to ‘slice' the value of your brand's presence because you went in half-baked and did not expend the right amount of time to give the tool a better than even chance of succeeding. 

Therefore, do not abandon business tools because you used them incorrectly, and do not save a second while losing a precious customer. Make sure that you do a full review of what you expect from the tool, how the tools fit into your overall strategy, and make sure you have a method in place to evaluate the results to make a solid business decision as to its return-on-investment. 

For those still wondering about the mandolin, besides the guard that should be attached, they make metal mesh gloves that can be worn that are both flexible and impenetrable if they encounter the mandolin blade. 

Happy cooking in the kitchen and at work using the right tools the right way. 

To that, we ask, how are you approaching the small challenges, details, and using all of the right tools in your business toolbox? 

If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact Luxury Experience Company (www.L-E-Company.com) on how we can make a marketing difference for your company. 

We thank you for your continued support of Luxury Experience, and as always, your comments are welcome, so please send comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

© May 2012. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.