Tag Archives: employee performance

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. … Continue Reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What Does HR Do?

What are the roles of a Human Resources professional in your organization? A common rule of thumb is that a company should have a dedicated HR function once it reaches 80 employees or so. This post comes from a recent meeting of … Continue Reading

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Small Businesses Fantasies: Service

As an evangelist for small business, I am the consumer equivalent of the locally-grown food movement. I spend as much of my discretionary income as possible with the owned-and-operated businesses in my area. As a consultant and coach to owners, I also … Continue Reading

Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 … Continue Reading

Posted in Business Perspectives, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Talk to Your Competitors

In my two decades of managing over a dozen peer groups, I frequently had the opportunity to sit in meetings with a business owner who competed with a member of another Board. I occasionally had to bite my tongue as someone vilified … Continue Reading

Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, John's Opinions, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Seventh Entrepreneurial Sin — Pride

Every business owner should be proud of his or her business. If you are the founder, you built every system, and probably landed the biggest customers. If you bought the business, you took what was in place and made it … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sixth Entrepreneurial Sin — Envy

This week we start on the two remaining deadly sins of an entrepreneur. Envy and Pride are the strategic sins. The first two (Lust and Gluttony) are operational; they interfere with how you function as an owner and leader. The … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fifth Entrepreneurial Sin — Greed

Few small business owners identify with the bloated income of Wall Street Tycoons. To accuse an entrepreneur of Greed brings up memories of the Gordon Gekko 1980’s, when “Greed is Good” seemed to be the motto of 30-something Boomers focused … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Copreneurs: Who’s on Top?

I decided to take a mid-series break from the Seven Deadly Sins of an Entrepreneur because  its Valentine’s Day, and I have a topic I’ve been saving for the holiday. In a privately held business, we frequently see husband and wife working … Continue Reading

Posted in Entrepreneurship, John's Opinions, Leadership, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Fourth Entrepreneurial Sin — Wrath

We continue the Seven Deadly Entrepreneurial Sins series that we started here. We’ve covered the two Operational Sins (Lust and Gluttony) that make you less effective as an owner. Sloth is the first of the Tactical sins; those that make … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Second Entrepreneurial Sin – Gluttony

This is the third in our series about The Seven Deadly Entrepreneurial Sins. You can start from the beginning here. Gluttony is the second of the Operational Sins; those that reduce your personal effectiveness as an owner and the leader of your … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments