The worry on Janice’s face was telling — it was something Bill wasn’t used to seeing. “But you told me you were sure all this extra effort and investment would work — ,” he said. “That’s what I thought. But look at the 昀椀gures — our sales are 昀氀at and our pro昀椀ts are down.” Bill frowned. “Where did the pro昀椀ts go?” “Well, we added extra store hours, remodeled the store, lowered prices and had a huge advertising campaign — all that cost us. I’m worried about our business — it’s getting tough, real tough.” Bill listened, 昀椀ghting the temptation to panic. He confessed to Janice, “I’ve been worried about this myself. The customers are more demanding, the competition more 昀椀erce than ever. I wake up every morning anxious — feeling like we’re starting with no sales and having to build the business from nothing. We have no momentum! I know the employees feel the stress. We’ve had more turnover than ever.” 6