This CNNMoney.com article is fascinating, at least to me. A doctor opens up about his clinic/practice in terms of the financials of it. As a small business owner, I have a complete appreciation for the decisions he has to make in terms of his business. At the end of the day, it is a business. If you think your business has to fund some extraordinary insurance policies, wrap your mind around this information: Fixed costs for a private practice also include malpractice insurance. He pays about $7,000 a year for himself and $2,000 each for his two nurse practitioners. Schreiber admits that his cost for malpractice insurance is relatively low,… Read More
Continue ReadingInfinite Pay
I had this thought when talking to a customer – he has an employee to whom he pays a set wage (hourly pay, but same number of hours every pay period). Week in and week out, there is no discernable, tangible output of work from this employee. Does this fact make this employee’s pay infinite per hour? Just a thought.
Continue ReadingBattle Lines
I’ve been busy over the past week or two handling a myriad of business topics and tasks which has decreased my blogging time dramatically. One item has come up during this time at one of our customers – a battle of wills amongst managers. This is no small battle, it has turned into an ongoing war for which I am now in the midst of the battlefield. Without going into specifics, I can tell you where we start in these situations – motivations. The first place to look when there is interpersonal conflict within an office team is the motivation pattern for each individual. In the instance with our customer,… Read More
Continue ReadingLoan Out Your Employees
Now this is something I have not seen yet – loaning out your employees during slow periods. Inc.com provides the article: How it works: On the StaffShare website the “seller” company lists the employee’s skills, daily rate, and availability. The cost is £50 (roughly $81.70) a year per candidate. The “buyer” company searches the database, uses the website’s message system to vet candidates and iron out details with the seller, and then a contract is sent electronically. The background behind the idea: “The companies had these redeployment pools of 1,000 people who needed to find other work within the company,” Flaxton says. “So we thought, ‘What if there was a… Read More
Continue Reading2010 Predictions
This is from the Herman Group as they make their predictions each year. I can attest to the first point being valid – I have talked to a handful of salespeople who are waiting out the economy to jump from their current position. These guys have a wonderful grasp of new words and phrases. I always learn about some relatively new word from them. I have taken the liberty of bolding some of them in the pull quote below. 1. Cutbacks and Re-Engineering will continue into 2010 Expect ongoing reductions in force as some employers continue to optimize their workforces and eliminate “redundancy”. We caution these employers to be very… Read More
Continue ReadingA Fantasy Football Firing
As a long-time fantasy football player, I am terrified by this story of a termination that occurred in Texas (one of the football capitals of this country). The quick details: Pettigrew and three other Fidelity employees were fired for playing fantasy football. “Firing a guy for being in a $20 fantasy league? Let’s be honest; that’s a complete overreaction,” said Pettigrew, who lives in Grapevine and has an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. “In this economic time, especially. To fire people over something like this, it’s just cold.” Said Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio: “We have clear policies that relate to gambling. Participation in any form of gambling… Read More
Continue ReadingFacebook Faux Pas
This story will do down in the annals of management malfeasance. A good friend of mine works for a small company that had an atrocious employee. This employee couldn’t show up on time (if at all), didn’t seem to know what she was doing and created great dissent within the team. Unfortunately, the owner made the emotional hire and didn’t want to admit his error, at least not in a timely manner. So this employee continued her employment with my friend’s company for almost 6 mos. and the stories that surrounded her were almost unbelievable. She missed work all together and offered these excuses: overslept reaction to medication robbed while… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Leadership Paradox
Good leaders must be good followers. That is paradoxical, isn’t it? This article from CNNMoney.com chronicles an M.B.A. students journeys from grad school to the Marines to a tour of duty in Iraq and back to grad school. It is a fascinating first-hand account (h/t to JustSell.com). This is profound (emphasis mine): In many ways there’s probably no better preparation I could have had for the business world than joining the Marine Corps. The Marines teach you how to be both a leader and a follower. I don’t have to lead in every situation – but I’ve come to enjoy stepping up in a time of chaos. When I’m working… Read More
Continue ReadingFailing To Succeed
This is an 8 minute video on failure from Honda via JustSell.com. The 8 min. may change your perspective:
Continue ReadingDo Values Change In A Recession?
That is a tough question since I think values are primarily hardwired into each of us. We assess this trait in sales candidates – call them motivations. Each person tends to have two of these motivators that drives their behaviors (some people have 3 primary motivators). We have assessed salespeople who were in slumps, who were unemployed and who were candidates. These are stressful situations that should impact their values. When we had the opportunity to assess the same people at a later date (years later), we did not see an appreciable change in their values/motivations. Granted, this was no scientific study, but rather a consistent observation. BusinessWeek.com provides this… Read More
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