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  • Do your employees act like spoiled NFL players? Do your employees act like spoiled NFL players?

    Do your employees act like spoiled NFL players?

Do your employees act like spoiled NFL players?

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…)

By |September 30th, 2019|Business Communication, Lessons Found, Management|0 Comments
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  • Is your company in shape for a long or fast ride? Is your company in shape for a long or fast ride?

    Is your company in shape for a long or fast ride?

Is your company in shape for a long or fast ride?

I was on a bicycle ride recently when another cyclist sprinted past me.  I immediately picked up my speed to catchup. That effort is where this week’s Lesson Found begins.

My instinct was to use this cyclist as a pacer to increase my own speed. (more…)

By |June 30th, 2019|Lessons Found, Management, Marketing|0 Comments
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  • Increasing cash flow through innovative packaging Increasing cash flow through innovative packaging

    Increasing cash flow through innovative packaging

Increasing cash flow through innovative packaging

Which would you prefer:  A guaranteed $750,000 now or a possible $1,000,000 that you only get if everything goes according to plan?  This was likely the question Burger King marketers had in mind when deciding to offer a subscription for a daily cup of BK Café. BK’s decision is the catalyst for this week’s Lesson Found: Packaging products and services to increase cash flow and boost sales. (more…)

By |May 20th, 2019|Lessons Found, Marketing|0 Comments
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  • Business Planning vs. The Alternative Business Planning vs. The Alternative

    Business Planning vs. The Alternative

Business Planning vs. The Alternative

When I think of the need for planning, I’m reminded of the husband who volunteered to plan and prepare Thanksgiving dinner for his wife’s extended family.  Following his well-meaning plan, he started preparations the evening before including taking the turkey out of the freezer.  It was still frozen the next morning when he went to start cooking it.  Needless to say, his wife was not happy.  But at least his plan included ample appetizers, side dishes and desserts.  Imagine what it would have been like had there been no plan!

Businesses are a lot like Thanksgiving dinner.  A poorly thought out plan will result in crisis.  Having no plan leads to (more…)

By |November 16th, 2016|Family Business, Management, Marketing|0 Comments
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Management 101: Overcoming Frustrations to Reach Goals

Frustration is a common sentiment I hear from owners first seeking my advice. Their frustration stems from not having been able to achieve goals despite their unwavering efforts. Sometimes the owner had a plan but was not able to deploy it effectively. Or, the owner was always finding “great ideas” but ended up barraging his staff with a never ending list of “great ideas” not understanding why nothing got done. The other end of the extreme is the replication trap of being stuck in an endless do-loop, too busy to even consider alternative plans. These owners come to me for a fresh perspective; a different way of looking at their operations.

I was reminded of the benefits offered by a fresh perspective from an unexpected source: A public school district. (more…)

By |September 13th, 2016|Business Communication, Family Business, Management|1 Comment
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The Small Business Forum: Owners Supporting Owners

In doing research for The Small Business Forum, I found two authors who succinctly describe a major source of frustration for business owners.  The first states: “One of the toughest things about starting a business is the feeling of loneliness and isolation…. The leadership position alone can cause loneliness and disconnectedness, and that sometimes results in self-defeating behaviors.”  I’m sure many owners can relate to this sense of “isolation” as well as the “self-defeating behaviors” listed by both authors:  Conflict avoidance, Procrastination, Intimidation or Subpar feedback to employees.

How can owners overcome this? Both authors point to building and regularly consulting with a trusted team of advisors.  This is perfectly describes the purpose of The Small Business Forum. (more…)

By |January 6th, 2016|Business Communication, Management, Marketing|1 Comment
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Topics for Year-End Conversations

I recently broke a promise I made to my wife.  I promised I would not bring up politics at our family’s Thanksgiving Day table.  Well the conversation turned to college football and started to get heated. I quickly changed the topic and asked what everyone thought of our presidential candidate choices.  The tone of the conversation immediately calmed down.

It is amazing which conversation topics turn heated and which are seemingly too uncomfortable to bring up. But some conversations need to be had (more…)

By |December 14th, 2015|Business Communication, Family Business, Management|2 Comments
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  • The Story in Your Company’s Numbers The Story in Your Company’s Numbers

    The Story in Your Company’s Numbers

The Story in Your Company’s Numbers

A large portion of my career has been spent analyzing numbers.  I have been blessed (or, some would say, cursed) with an ability to see stories in numbers.  Once, an intern handed me an incredibly dry report which only reported the numbers from a market research study.  I told her to go back and find the story in those numbers.  The report she came back with (and with a little guidance) laid out a road map product management needed to create a successful marketing campaign.

Owners need to know their numbers and be able to find the story in those numbers. (more…)

By |November 17th, 2015|Family Business, Management|1 Comment
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