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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Tag Archives: health care costs
Generational Differences and Identity Politics
Generational differences are a hot topic for organizational behaviorists. Is this a real issue, or is it just the current management fad? “Never in history have we seen four generations together in the workplace.” That line starts thousands of articles … Continue Reading
Posted in Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, health care costs, health care reform, hiring, management, medicare, politics, small business, small business advice, social security
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What Should A Small Business Insure?
Every business carries insurance. Some is required by law, such as unemployment insurance or coverage on vehicles. Most is optional, but there is “common sense” coverage and more esoteric policies intended to help you recover from company-threatening events. I’ll spend the … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, financial, health care costs, leadership, management, selling a business, small business, small business advice
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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 Baby Boomers, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, hiring, leadership, management, promotion, public relations, small business, small business advice
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Let the Business Owners Pay for It
When it comes to “No taxation without representation,” the rallying cry of our founding fathers, few identifiable population segments are as abused as business owners. One of my long-time clients is a franchisor, and until very recently I was a … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning
Tagged banks, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, credit cards, economy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, leadership, management, new business, politics, small business advice, startups, trade
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Employees and Bosses: What’s in a Pronoun?
Credit for this post goes to Van Palmer, the owner of Palmer Technology Solutions. I’ll paraphrase and elaborate, of course. but that’s the power of the pen. In a recent peer board meeting we were discussing our relationships with employees. … Continue Reading
Why Health Insurance Isn’t
Last week I wrote about the success of Obamacare in driving people from the private insurance market towards a national healthcare system. Clearly, I touched a nerve when I look at the tone of the responses received. Although I don’t … Continue Reading
Posted in Economic Trends, John's Opinions, Leadership, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, health, health care costs, health care reform, management, medicare, politics, small business advice, social security
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Obamacare is Working, or it Isn’t
A few weeks ago I received notice of our annual health insurance increase. This year it was 38% more to keep the same coverage. Last year the proposed increase was 22%. The year before 12%. The year before that, 18%. The next … Continue Reading
Minimum Wage and the Middle Class
“Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions.” – Alexis De Tocqueville (Democracy in America, 1831) Americans have always considered themselves “middle … Continue Reading
Posted in Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Managing Employees, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning, Technology
Tagged Ayn Rand, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, health care reform, hiring, management, media, new business, politics, small business, small business advice, startups, trade
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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 … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, John's Opinions, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning, Technology
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, health care costs, health care reform, management, sales, small business, small business advice
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Regulation: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
True story: A fortune 500 company implements a new wellness plan for employees. It’s designed by consultants who use the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) as a template. Workers are incentivized to get regular exercise, quit smoking and lose weight; with … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, John's Opinions, Managing Employees, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurship, health care costs, health care reform, hiring, management, politics, sales, small business, small business advice
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Ode to a Hunter
I’m sure you would all be disappointed if I didn’t return with some sort of business allegory related to my absence. Of course, I hate to disappoint… My book Hunting in a Farmer’s World focuses on the challenges of being … Continue Reading
Iron Rice Bowls and the Impact of Government Funding
There was an interesting editorial item in The Economist that unintentionally says a lot about the impact of government intervention on industry. In the last generation, the average number of working hours needed to purchase an automobile, clothing or other … Continue Reading
Posted in Economic Trends, John's Opinions, Politics and Regulation
Tagged business ownership, business strategy, economy, entrepreneurship, financial, health care costs, health care reform, leadership, medicare, politics, recession, small business, small business advice, social security
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