Are You 'Hot' or 'Not'?

MSN.com reminded me yesterday that it's that time of year again and I'm not talking about the beginning of the holiday season or the dropping of the temperatures outside. What I'm referring to is that time of the year when People magazine indulges its female readers with its "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, which hits newsstands tomorrow. Invariably, this led to lots of talk of the cover guy -- Hugh Jackman won the honors this year -- as well as speculation of who else made the list. That was yesterday.

Today's MSN headline reads "From Hot to Not." Of course, now comes talk about those former sexy men that have let themselves go. Most weren't a big surprise -- Nick Nolte, Mickey Rourke, and Val Kilmer to name a few. What was a surprise was how quickly some of these guys had fallen from dreamboat status, including Wesley Snipes, who just 3 years ago was a featured Sexy Man but is now facing a 3-year prison sentence.

That just goes to show how quickly things can fall out of favor. This phenomenon isn't limited to celebrities either. It happens to businesses all the time, but the good news is that we can all avoid the "Hot to Not" decline with a little effort. People can exercise, dye their hair, get face lifts. Business, in a way, can do the same.

The key is to constantly reevaluate your business. Noticing a decline in customer satisfaction, market share, sales? You can either ignore the problem and become a "Not" or you can address it. Maybe people find you to be outdated. A store remodel, new product packaging, or a product line revamp might be just what you need to get back to being "Sexy."