Badly done.(Editor's Note)

MY ORIGINAL INTENTION WAS TO DEVOTE THIS column to leadership and how the old rules no longer apply. Then again, neither do the new ones (circa late '90s). So what's an entrepreneur to do? Well, I got sidetracked (I'll get there in a moment), so if you want to find out how to lead your business to increased success, turn to page 48 and read "Lead the Way."

Now for what distracted me. I have often heard entrepreneurs decrying their larger (much larger) competitors for stealing their business. We have long advocated that one way to fight back is to provide what the big guys don't. That can be more convenient hours, personalized services, customer communication or a generous return policy. Or it could be as simple as good, old-fashioned customer service.

The other day, I read an article about Home Depot having a disappointing year. The article suggested that service at the stores was suffering. I can attest to that. Last year, executive editor Maria Anton and I went to a Home Depot with her three daughters (at the time, 5 years, 2 1/2 years and 1 month old) looking for samples of crown molding. When we finally located the department, it took forever to find someone to "help" us. Help is in quotes, because this employee, when asked for assistance, merely pointed to the wood pieces and told Maria (who had her newborn in her arms) to "cut it yourself." We subsequently went to a local lumberyard, Ganahl Lumber, which not only offered free, precut samples, but where we found an employee who was more than happy to assist us.

Or how about this one? Last week, it took executive editor Karen Axelton seven conversations and several visits to Lowe's to buy doorknobs. Phone calls were not returned, information that should have been in the computer wasn't, and a process that should have taken minutes instead took many hours spread over six days to complete.

But the capper of my rant on poor customer service happened in late January. One of our contributing writers was researching an upcoming piece about Martha Stewart wannabes. She called the E! network in New York looking for a PR contact for Katie Brown (have you heard of ...