Category Archives: Thoughts and Opinions

Health Care Costs: Is Medicine a Market?

There is an excellent article in The New Yorker comparing the production and quality control methods of the Cheesecake Factory to certain advances in “Big Medicine.”  It focuses on the savings available from large health systems through standardization and quantity purchasing. In reality, … Continue reading

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Employee Motivation: The Effect of the Economy

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his “Crisis of Confidence” speech, commonly referred to as his “Malaise Speech” although he never actually used that word. To a country reeling from stagflation and an oil crisis, it was an additional blow to … Continue reading

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Computer Technology: Curse You, Bill Gates!

Every business is held in thrall to its computer technology. In most white-collar environments a computer crash comes with the added expense of employees sitting dumbly at their stations, unable to function. When a function of our business becomes a core … Continue reading

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Lords of Chaos

Every business owner must be adept at dealing with chaos. Entrepreneurship demands the ability to choose a course of action when everyone else is staring into the headlights. It requires a willingness to make a decision with inadequate information, and to make new decisions … Continue reading

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When Independence isn’t Freedom

I owe the idea for this column to my friend Tom Morton, whose Harrowgate blog  lends a considerable dose of dry Brit humor and keen business perspective to the issues of small business ownership. Give him a read. Sometimes the … Continue reading

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