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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Category Archives: John’s Opinions
Are You Proudly Out of Control?
I have a favorite New Yorker cartoon. A fellow in a suit is standing behind a desk, one hand holding a phone to his ear, and the other with a finger on his calendar. The caption is “How about never? Is never … Continue Reading
Where are All Those Jobseekers?
Workers: There are currently 5.1 million job openings in the US; an all time high. While the official unemployment stands at 5.5%, the U-6 unemployment rate, which includes people working as little as one hour a week for “economic reasons” … Continue Reading
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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We Can’t Legislate Job Skills
“Why can’t we find enough good people to hire?” As a consultant to business leaders, I hear this complaint with increasing frequency. From tradesmen to programmers, and from executives to scientists, we seem to be lacking a workforce with the … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Economic Trends, John's Opinions, Managing Employees, Politics and Regulation, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, employees, leadership, management, politics, recession, small business, small business advice
5 Comments
Holiday Terminations: It’s Not “Just Business.”
Yesterday, I received a comment from a woman on my column from 2012, “Holiday Terminations: Scrooge or Chicken?”. She had been unexpectedly terminated from her position, and said in part “Employee termination during the holidays is an act of spiritual … Continue Reading
My Interview with Bob Morris: Part II
Robert Morris is the number one reviewer of business books for Amazon.com. A few weeks ago he posted a great review of Hunting in a Farmer’s World, and asked if he could interview me. Bob’s questions were really fun, and the interview … Continue Reading
My Interview with Robert Morris: Part I
Robert Morris is the number one reviewer of business books for Amazon.com. A few weeks ago he posted a great review of Hunting in a Farmer’s World, and asked if he could interview me. Bob’s questions were really fun, and the interview … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Incentives, John's Opinions, Leadership, Managing Employees, Sales, Strategy and Planning, Top Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Tagged Ayn Rand, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, international relations, leadership, management, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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The Value of a Cleared Mind
Last weekend I missed my first weekly post in about two years. I was in Los Angeles, attending an intensive workshop for professional speakers. It was a life-resetting experience. Apologies in advance for the zillion hyperlinks, but they are all richly … Continue Reading
Would You Like that With or Without Service?
In the 1980’s, when Boomers dug into their career paths and started hiring other Boomers to do things for them, the United States became a service economy. Driven by their ambition for material success, Boomers opened millions of new businesses to provide … Continue Reading
Tell Me What I Want to Hear
Those of us who are Hunters tend to be in a hurry. Hunters are linear; we move from objective to objective in as close to a straight line (allowing for our ADD “squirrels”) as we can. The completion of any … Continue Reading