Irrevocable Choices

        In business and in politics there are some decisions that are irrevocable and may have catastrophic consequences.   It may be as simple as a career choice or corporate politics.  One simple choice may have long-term consequences. 

        As kids we are told that “Everything will be okay,” or “Anything can be fixed.”  Unfortunately, that is not true.  Choosing to cheat, lie, use drugs, or break the law will change lives, and maybe forever. 

        In business, some changes are often irrevocable.  I think J.C. Penney is a good example.   The first store was started by James Cash Penney in Kemmerer, Wyoming in 1902 and was called the Golden Rule.  The original Golden Rule buildings were declared a National Historic District in 1978.

The philosophy was simply, “Treat the customer as you would like to be treated.”  J.C. Penney offered quality merchandise with general demand, and avoided stores with expensive locations and fixtures.  Stores were generally located in smaller communities.  The name was changed to the J.C. Penney Company in 1913.  J.C. Penney department stores thrived and became the first nationwide department store chain. 

As a young man on the farm or working highway construction, I remember we usually bought our work clothes and underwear from J.C. Penney.  They had a good selection of durable merchandise at a fair price. 

In more recent years, J.C. Penney started to make changes that ignored their primary target market and customer.  Were they trying to be everything to everybody?  That does not work, as I talk about in Business Fits.  

The most recent changes were name and marketing.  The name was changed from J.C. Penney to JCP.  I hate acronyms and recommend not using them in my book, Business Fits.  I hope Business Fits will be available later this month. 

The second marketing change was to stop the use of sales and offer one low price.  Store inventories were also changed and cut dramatically.  Both changes were a disaster, and the President was fired.  They are trying to correct the mistakes, which they admit in their current advertising.  I have fond feelings for J.C. Penney and wish them the best of luck.  It will be interesting to see if they can recover, or if it was irrevocable errors.  

I also see decisions made in politics, like our government debt, which may have irrevocable devastating consequences.  We want our children and grandchildren to get a good education, but ignore political decisions that may have even greater consequences for them.  I think we all need to be more involved in politics to guarantee the same opportunities for our children and grandchildren that we enjoyed.