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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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  • Family Business: Preparing for the 21st Century Family Business: Preparing for the 21st Century

    Family Business: Preparing for the 21st Century

Family Business: Preparing for the 21st Century

“Family businesses that manage these five innate advantages are well placed to make the 21st century a family business century.”  This assertion is the conclusion of a Harvard Business Review* article I recently discovered.  So, what are these advantages and is your business prepared to fully benefit from them?  Here’s a brief summary of each along with the questions businesses and families need to ask themselves. (more…)

By |November 11th, 2017|Business Communication, Family Business, Management|0 Comments
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  • Think out loud – Carefully Think out loud – Carefully

    Think out loud – Carefully

Think out loud – Carefully

You will find that anything you say has enormous impact on the people around you.  You may make an offhand comment and find that people have scurried around to do what they thought you sent them a signal to do, even though you were merely thinking out loud.  If you do think out loud, you may be viewed as indecisive because people feel that you change your mind too often.  Similarly, a hint of a negative comment about one of your employees is likely to echo through the grapevine and reverberate to a much greater extent than you ever intended or believed possible.  Consequently, you may not have anyone to talk about your own problems in the organization.  You may not be able to think out loud.  Many CEOs take on confidential advisers for this reason.  Doing so is not a sign of weakness or an indication that you can’t perform your job; it is simply a functional necessity.  You will probably find that you do need to talk things out, and it helps to have someone you trust serving as a sounding board.

(more…)

By |November 11th, 2017|Business Communication, Management|0 Comments
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  • Recognizing & Regaining Perspective Recognizing & Regaining Perspective

    Recognizing & Regaining Perspective

Recognizing & Regaining Perspective

Is the glass half full or half empty?  How you answer depends on your perspective.  For someone who has always received a full glass and now is being told this is all the water available, this picture can be a perilous omen.  On the other hand, someone lost in the desert might describe it as salvation.

Perspective is critical when making decisions within your company.  A distorted perspective can lead to the wrong decision, sometimes with disastrous consequences.  (more…)

By |June 26th, 2017|Business Communication, Family Business, Management|0 Comments
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  • Overcoming Decision Fatigue Overcoming Decision Fatigue

    Overcoming Decision Fatigue

Overcoming Decision Fatigue

I was perplexed at the outcome of a recent meeting with a prospective client.  It was with a business owner referred to me from a current client.  This owner clearly was motivated to grow his business but was “stuck in a rut”.  In discussing the terms of engagement, he recognized the value and cost-benefit of my services.  It was a positive meeting resulting in scheduling our first regular client meeting.

Two days later the owner emailed to cancel this next meeting stating he was “just too busy to take the time.”  Needless to say, I was surprised.  Could he have found and hired another consultant?  Or was my fee to steep? My current client who referred this person assured me the owner could afford the fee and had not hired someone else.  My client said this had become a pattern for this owner; identifying potential solutions but never carrying through on them.

This got me thinking (more…)

By |June 5th, 2017|Business Communication, Family Business, Management|1 Comment
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