Family businesses Forever 21 & Nordstrom offer a contrast in management styles. Within this contrast is a Lesson Found for other family businesses.
Founded in 1984 by the Chang family, the fast-fashion innovator Forever 21 expanded rapidly in the early 2000s only to file for bankruptcy last month. The cause of this change in fortunes can be traced to the Chang family’s management style. (more…)
Over a 48-hour period last month, CEO’s were falling like mayflies at dusk. There are Lesson Found for owners to glean from these resignations.
The carnage began on September 24th (more…)
It’s only week 5 of the football season and already the NFL offers an abundance of Lessons Found for owners. But let’s limit our focus to employee relations.
As of this writing, Jalen Ramsey is still on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster. If you’ve followed recent events, you’ll understand the need for the word “still” in the previous sentence. It began two weeks ago when Ramsey and head coach Doug Marrone, openly argued during a game. The next day, Ramsey asked to be traded. Should the Jaguars acquiesce? Ramsey’s “employment” history provides perspective. (more…)
Remember 25-years ago when hotel reservations were made by calling an 800-number? I recently reverted back, making a phone call to book my hotel reservation and, in the process, gained a Lesson Found. (more…)
Lessons Found for businesses can truly materialize from unexpected sources. For instance, a valuable Lesson Found on business goals can be gleaned from a podcast contrasting two approaches to teaching (more…)
A recent article highlighted 94-year-old Martin Gerstell’s regular use of Uber. Uber’s and Lyft’s efforts to market to Mr. Gerstell and his peers are the inspiration for this week’s Lesson Found.
It seems counterintuitive for Uber and Lyft to be directing marketing toward seniors. But a closer look reveals the opportunity. (more…)
I recently was privileged to sit in on a board meeting for a family business. How the board came to a decision on a contentious issue is a Lesson Found for all of us.
The business’s only remaining founding member* started the debate with an impassioned plea (more…)
In January, headlines reported the dramatic collapse of QuadrigaCX, Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The source of QuadrigaCX’s problems provides a vital Lesson Found for owners.
Initial reports tied the cause of QuadrigaCX’s collapse to the death of its founder, Gerald Cotten, since he was the sole person who knew the passwords to access cryptocurrencies valued at $136 million. A subsequent audit revealed that a large portion of those funds had been redirected (more…)
I was reminded of the alternative definition of “assume” during a recent visit to the hospital with my mother. That definition offers us a Lesson Found on the importance to business owners of looking beyond their assumptions. (more…)
Speech scientist Rapul Patel remembers watching a little girl and a grown man conversing but only hearing one voice, no matter who was talking. That is where our Lesson Found begins.
The little girl and grown man were both using synthetic voice devices that generated the exact same adult-male voice. Clearly, that voice did not accurately represent the individuality of at least one of the speakers. Situations like this spurred Dr. Patel to found VOCALiD, (more…)