Tag Archives: small business

Black Swans and Small Business Plans

The term “Black Swan” has become immensely popular on Wall Street and in the media to designate a rare occurrence. Google “Black Swan Japan earthquake” (which is popular enough that Google will fill in the last 11 or 12 letters … Continue reading →

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What are We Afraid Of?

Last weekend I took my sons to see “Battle for LA.” It’s a WWII infantry movie. All the great lines. “Go on without me.” “Mickey can hot wire that; he’s from Jersey.” “Your father was a very brave man.” Nowadays … Continue reading →

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Lifestyle or Legacy – Part 4

Last week a client told me “You are wrong. I have a lifestyle business that is ALSO a legacy business.” Sorry, but that doesn’t fly. He has built a good company, and continues to improve it. Be he is not driving … Continue reading →

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The Psychology of Fresh Paint

A bit more remains to be said about business owners who are gun shy about doing things in anticipation of an economic recovery. An owner mentioned to me the other day that he wanted to redecorate his conference room and purchase … Continue reading →

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One Response to The Psychology of Fresh Paint

  1. aisxray says:

    Even with the threat of 25-30% Medicare cuts this year, I stayed on plan with new and replacement equipment, some technology was costly. While competitors put money in their pockets and did no capital improvements and investments in leading edge technology awaiting Congress's yes or no on Medicare reimbursements,we once again took the leadership position and have won a significant amount of business this year with this new technology, more than enough to absorb any future cuts. Competitors? they're just figuring out what is happening and scrambling to upgrade with fewer accounts on their side.

    Sometimes when the market says hold up, that's when you charge.

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Hunters and Farmers

Several times monthly, I interview entrepreneurs who are considering membership in The Alternative Board® as a means to improve their business. Part of the process is asking each one what his or her core skills are – the things that … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life After | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

One Response to Hunters and Farmers

  1. Lara August says:

    Wow. This is refreshing. I feel like we're hounded over and over again to fight our entrepreneurial nature and make up for our "shortcomings" – it's great to be encouraged to embrace who we are instead. I think I'll go have another cup of coffee and encourage some out there thinking for a half an hour before I sit down to review our financial reports. Thanks, John!

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