Tag Archives: small business

Accountability vs. Guilt

While discussing oil rig disaster in the Golf Of Mexico the other day a friend exclaimed “Someone needs to go to jail for this!” While I understand his anger about the massive economic and environmental damage involved, his comment illustrates … Continue Reading

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Penny wise

A client who provides Information Technology services to small and midi-sized clients was expressing frustration the other day. His company has a relationship with a business to support their employees’ technology needs. They were constantly delayed, however, by the network … Continue Reading

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Do you understand where this is going? Four

I ran into a friend in the gym the other day. he is the President of a tech company providing IT services to the government. What they do is highly skilled and highly sensitive.I asked him how his business was … Continue Reading

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Do you understand where this is going? Three

We worked on an interesting hypothesis with a client the other day. He has 100 employees (or close enough to make the math easy.) The company pays for 75% of each employee’s health insurance. Additional coverage for the family is at … Continue Reading

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Do you understand where this is going? Two

Between 1997 and 2009 I had one client audited by the Department of Labor for Wage and Hour compliance. In the last 90 days I’ve had two. The first had an auditor who brought along a trainee. The second brought … Continue Reading

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The 7 Sins of Entrepreneurs on TV

My interview with Eyewitness News in San Antonio about “The 7 Sins of Entrepreneurs” is up on You Tube. Take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8knGXIRXUE

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They bite the hand that feeds them

On Friday a local columnist in the San Antonio Express News, Rhonda Templeton, wrote about a recent survey of employees lying on the job. I quote: ” Bending the truth is a long time tradition in U.S. workplaces- as the … Continue Reading

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Technology- Investment or Expense?

I regularly hear one of my small business owner clients saying something like this. “Dammit! I have to buy another computer. I just spent (fill in) on this one just (fill in) years ago.” Why are we so offended at … Continue Reading

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Another small business owner defrauded

I’ll be in Denver, sharpening my saw all weekend at the semi-annual conference of The Alternative Board®, so I’m posting early this week. I had an evening call from a client last night. He recently discovered fraud in a small … Continue Reading

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Stoplight 360

I recently saw a fast and easy way to rate your employees that makes the high performers and low performers stand out in a way that can’t be ignored. It uses Stop light Methodology: a red-yellow-green marking system. The advantage … Continue Reading

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A different way of thinking

I’ve just returned from a much needed quiet period in Merida, Mexico. Actually, the locals call it by the state’s name, Yucatan, and usually refer to Mexico the way Hawaiians refer to the mainland. The highlight of an otherwise uneventful … Continue Reading

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The Ghost of Ebenezer

Last week three of my clients implemented staff reductions. All three are financially healthy service companies, but they had far more capacity than they had work to fill it. In a service company, of course, capacity means people. Naturally there … Continue Reading

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