I live with the ups, the downs, the peaks, the valleys, the rewards and the occasional nightmares that impact scores of business owners. It is my passion. Some folks say it is my obsession. This is where I provide my personal thoughts and opinions on anything that might effect business owners.
Branch Mentality and Sanctuary Cities Every multi-unit company suffers from branch mentality. I’ve worked with many, and no matter how much they promote a corporate culture and team spirit, branch mentality creeps in sometimes. It comes in two versions; the outposts’ attitude and the headquarter’s … Read More » The Entrepreneurship Meritocracy For those of us who compete in the entrepreneurship meritocracy, listening to the complaints of those who are employed can sometimes be irksome. I recently sat at an open table for an event. One of the other guests there was … Read More » Employee Experience: Is Bigger Better? Small businesses provide much of the initial employee experience. We take younger folks and teach them decent work habits like showing up every day, being on time, and working to deadlines. As owners, our personal skills may not be sufficient. We … Read More » Choosing Not to Maximize Profits The other day, a client asked me to review some questions from an MBA student studying business ownership. One of the questions was “Are you doing everything possible to maximize profits?” I’ve seen the same question asked in a number … Read More » Extreme Democracy Last week the British government announced that it was naming their new scientific research ship the RSS Sir David Attenborough, acting counter to the people’s selection of “Boaty McBoatface,” despite that name being an overwhelming 3:1 favorite over the next closest choice. … Read More » Time to Grow Up Young industries no longer have the time to grow up. The cycle of maturation has long been accepted as a fact of life when a new concept becomes a business. There are a few pioneers (defined here in Texas as … Read More » The 7 Deadly Sins of an Entrepreneur -- Reprise I make no claim that using the Seven Deadly Sins as a metaphor for business behavior is original. Of course, the original concept is a codifying of “undesirable” human behaviors, or sins. The work probably comes from the Latin word … Read More » Will Small Business Win in the End? A few weeks ago Schumpeter, the nom de plume for each current author of the business op-ed column in The Economist, postulated the decline and fall of the Western Corporation. Could small business be the little furry mammals of the 21st … Read More » Boomers and the Lost Generation Those who read this column regularly are well aware of the huge shifts underway as a result of the Baby Boomers’ coming exodus from the workplace. Those who aren’t familiar with the issue are invited to download my free, 45-page … Read More » Is There Anything CEOish for Me to Do? The line is from one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons. It’s being asked by an executive of his secretary. It is also a common question of business owners who have built successful organizations. The need for a CEO is present … Read More » Ageing Boomer Entrepreneurs: Fearful or Smart? Do we become more cautious with age? Startups are usually associated with younger entrepreneurs. By the time they reach their 50s or 60s business owners tend to tackle fewer big new ideas. Those that do tend to be successful enough that they … Read More » Structural Tension: Is It Good or Bad for Your Business? Logically, no one would enter into a business relationship where anything that is better for one party is worse for the other. Such a zero-sum arrangement would quickly grow tiresome. Either one party is consistently losing in every transaction, or … Read More » Selling Your Business in a Buyer's Market For almost ten years I’ve been writing and speaking about the issues facing Baby Boomer business owners as they begin a flood of small business sales. This recent article was syndicated in 16 trade and professional magazines. I reprint it … Read More » A Machine is Coming to Steal Your Business We accept, almost without question, the idea that technology can make us more efficient. No small business owner would dream of replacing his or her PC, email and copier with a room full of typists. How enthusiastic will we be when a machine can … Read More » Effective vs. Efficient: A Tale of Two Cities Some organizations are effective. Some are efficient. From the customer’s perspective the two may look very much the same, but the difference to your bottom line can be substantial. A few years ago my wife and I toured Vienna, and … Read More » |