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Do you want to make sense of all the recent turmoil in the financial markets? Check out Burton Malkiel’s A Random Walk Down Wall Street, my favorite book on investing, hands down.

Now in it’s 9th edition, Malkiel does a thorough job explaining past events in the stock market along with some of the behavioral issues that have impacted financial markets throughout history. One of my favorite chapters is on speculative bubbles, ranging from the Dutch Tulip Mania of the 1500’s to the dot-com, dot-bomb of the late 90’s.

Read this book and you’ll gain a stronger understanding and perspective on the stock market than 95% of the so-called “experts” expounding their predictions and commentary in the media.

While normally I’m a half-glass-full kind of guy, I thought with the end of the economy as we know it, I’d mix things up just a bit with 9 things that need to change.

1. Order taking employees asking “is THAT it?”
Try “does that complete your order?” or “what else can I get for you today?”

2. Overhearing inappropriate conversations between employees. I don’t need to hear about somebody’s boyfriend being arrested last night or you trash-talking a previous customer.

3. Outdated notices on the front door of retail establishments. I recently saw a notice on the front door of a well-known restaurant chain that expired two weeks earlier. No employees were awake enough to see it and take it down?

4. Employees telling customers they care when their body language and tone of voice clearly state otherwise (flight attendants on some of the legacy airlines are classic for this one).
If your company is having this problem, solve it. At the very least, stop requiring employees to say scripted lines such as “we really appreciate your business” when they clearly don’t.

5. The multitasking customer talking on his/her cell phone at the checkout line. Would it be asking too much for you to put your phone down for just a minute to politely converse with the checkout clerk?

6. The “Legend-In-His-Own-Mind” guy in row 14 of your flight. As soon as the landing gear touches down, he shouts into his phone to tell the person on the line (and the rest of the plane) that he’s landed.

7. Jim Cramer. He’s entertaining and knowledgeable, no doubt, but his circus-show won’t make you “mad money” as proven earlier this year by the Wall Street Journal. If you want to become an expert investor, check out this month’s Random Review.

8. Economic statistics and the economists behind them. Now, you’re telling us we’re finally in a recession? I’ve got news for you. We’ve been in a recession for the last 9-12 months. I’ll prove it in a future commentary.

9. “Fresh” donuts made 8 hours ago in a central commissary 30 miles away are anything but fresh.

When I was building my home a few years ago, I would frequent local building supply stores. At one location, one thing that always struck me as odd was the “Parking Reserved for the President” sign conspicuously located right in the middle of customer parking (usually with the owner’s shiny white new Cadillac occupying the space).

So what’s wrong with this picture, you ask? Besides limiting space for customers during busy times, consider that it:

• Reeks of arrogance that the owner is far more important than customers and employees.
• Builds employee resentment to the owner’s success, which manifests itself in poor employee/customer interaction (experienced firsthand).
• Gives an impression that the company is making too much money off their customers (next time, maybe I should shop at the big-box home improvement warehouse down the street to save money).
• Reduces buy-in from employees, which could prove critical when asking for greater effort or sacrifice during lean times (which the company is probably facing right now).

Now, contrasts this experience with a client who has headed an organization for the past few years. Every day, he parks his car farthest from the company’s building. The implied message: I’m no better than anyone else here. The result: a 20% decrease in employee turnover and 15% increase in revenue. Qualitatively, he’s gained buy-in from employees to put through needed change into the organization.

Competition is tougher than ever. Don’t give your customers or employees an easy excuse to defect to your competitors.