This is the 29th issue of The Better Mousetrap. Many of you have joined our mailing list after the first issue. So we have archived all the 28 previous issues on our web site. It is easy to review all of them. Just click here for the list or go to the Cheshire Group web site and click on the link that says The Better Mousetrap E-Mail Newsletters.

    We hope that you are continuing to enjoy The Better Mousetrap Online Newsletter. We have just published the 2nd edition of our book, MORSELS from THE BETTER MOUSETRAP. It is aptly named MORE from THE BETTER MOUSETRAP and it is available in both soft cover and hardcover editions. Just click here to order your copy. Or visit our web site at www.cheshiregroup.com so that you can learn more about The Cheshire Group and see samples of our work

UNSTOPPING THE BOTTLENECK
and why it is that the clog is always at the top

The Project is stuck. One day it's churning along very nicely, rounding all the buoys, so to speak, and negotiating the channels in flawless rhythm, then...wham! the project seems to sink. It disappears. Who's the guilty party holding it up?
    When you're looking for the cork that has caused the project bottleneck, you often don't have to look farther than the corner office.
    Why is the clog always at the top of the bottle?
    Simple answer: because subordinates can't get away with that stuff. Or not for long anyway. If they continually impede the progress of projects, they'll be out the door.
    The blockage is rarely the fault of an outside supplier either. Simple reason. The supplier's paycheck is dependent upon the project's completion. So the faster the project get's off the skids, the sooner he can send his invoice.
    The reasons for bottlenecks are various and rarely understood. We once knew an executive who'd pull stalling tactics when his budget couldn't float the project. When cash flow dried up, the project—coincidently—went aground.
    Then there was the CEO who couldn't delegate responsibility. Convinced that no one could do the work as well as he could he overburdened himself with mounds of projects that rapidly backlogged. Many simply died of starvation.
    It seemed to be fear of failure that prevented T.J. Timmons, the project manager, from acting in a timely manner on the tasks before his group. He made the mistake of thinking that the decision not to act would keep him from making the wrong decision. He created his bottleneck through inaction.

Risky Business
     This is risky business, this writing about bottlenecks, for few, including the writers, are completely exempt from causing the clog. Still, it takes a well adjusted and honest soul to put on the goggles of self-recognition, so if you're willing to do so, here's an exercise to try.
    Purchase a bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup (the thick, slow-moving kind). Cut a piece of paper about the size of the Heinz label and print the following slogan on a piece of paper about the size of the Heinz label and glue this slogan over the label: THE BOTTLENECK IS ALWAYS AT THE TOP OF THE BOTTLE.
    Now put the bottle off to the side of your desk, Glance at it from time to time. Let it inspire you to make the time in your busy schedule to sort through projects that have collected in your office. Now give your project backlog a few whacks on the bottom to jar those stalled projects loose. Get'em moving along agin.

Caught in a Bottleneck?
    But suppose you're caught in a bottleneck, not the cause of one—what can you do?
    Frustrating situations call for drastic measures. Arnold the Ad Manager, having experienced a bottleneck or two that made his professional life very tough, learned to circumvent them by excluding the probable cause from the creative process.
    One day Probable Cause appeared in Arnold's office.
    "How come I never get to see the ads before they appear in the magazines?" the CEO wanted to know.
    "Well, do you like the ads, George?" Arnold asked.
    The CEO thought. "Yes I do," he said finally.
    "If I showed you the ads, George, you would change them, wouldn't you?"
    The CEO was a fair man and this was a fair question. He considered it.
    "Yes, I probably would."
    "Well, that's why I don't show you the ads, George. You'd change them and we'd have to do them over and we'd never get anywhere."
    Admiral Grace Hopper once advised, "Go ahead and do it. It's easier to apologize than ask permission."
    She must have had some experience with bottlenecks.
 

INTRODUCING THE CHESHIRE PRESS

On-demand publishing is one of the fastest growing businesses in today's economy and The Cheshire Group has been enjoying rapid growth in this field. That's why we established a new division The Cheshire Press. Our charter is be an economical, professional publishing source for small-run and privately printed books. And to that end we have created a new web site to show off some of the work we have done in the past year. Come visit: www.cheshirepress.com
    If you have a book idea or manuscript that you haven't pursued to its conclusion because of lack of a publishing source, or if you thought that you could not afford to professionally publish, we can help. Whether you want to publish just 4 or 5 books for a grandchild or promote as many books as you can on Amazon.com, we can help. If you need a web site tailored towards on-line selling, we can help. And if you need assistance in writing the books, we can help.
    We are presently producing a children's book, with original illustrations, which should go to press in the next 30 days. And we are ready to start a book from a member of the Greatest Generation who will tell the story of his US Army experience in Italy during WWII and his subsequent imprisonment in a Stalag in eastern Germany.
   Take an online tour of the books we've helped bring to print. www.cheshirepress.com
    We are ready to answer your questions. Call or click today.       

@ SYMBOL
forever immortalized

DidYouKnow?
Courtesy of Hoffman & Kelley Plumbing and Heating-Andover MA
978 475-3424.

1. While 7 men in 100 have some form of color blindness, only 1 woman in 1,000 suffers from it..  
2. February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon. 
3. U-Haul is the world's largest advertiser in the Yellow Pages.  
4. No matter how cold it gets, gasoline will not freeze.  
5. Sound at the right vibration can bore holes through a solid object.  
6. Warner Chappel Music owns the copyright to the song 'Happy Birthday.' They make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song. 
7. The last time American Green cards were actually green was 1964.
8. There is a city called Rome on every continent.