The holidays are here and we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to get it all done. So, instead of asking you to work at something – anything – I’ve decided to give you a gift of holiday music. Elmo did it, so did Ren & Stimpy, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, the Muppets … so with animated competition like this, what can go wrong with my first effort at song-writing?
Yeah, I know, don’t quit your day job. So, feel free to sing along to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. Key of D Sharp, please.
All together now:
The first thing in business that’s such a pain to me… is the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The second thing in business that’s such a pain to me … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The third thing in business that’s such a pain to me … meetings, meetings, meetings … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The fourth thing in business that’s such a pain to me …
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For years, I have used Facebook simply to replicate the articles I’ve published on Sword Tips, the Exkalibur blog.
I rarely provided anything else on the Facebook platform to help you and other business leaders solve their everyday problems … even though that’s what I do every day everywhere else.
That’s not really what I intended, but it was early in the Facebook lifecycle and I wasn’t sure what I should be doing differently on the Exkalibur Facebook page.
Maybe you’ve faced the same questions as you’ve surfed the Internet waters, uncertain about what you may find where and what you can do to more efficiently to find just that exact piece of information to help you with a particular issue?
Don’t you think we’re both trying to figure out how to manage the information tsunami flowing fromblogs, RSS feeds, Facebook pages, twitter feeds and a host of other sources?
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“Financial Adrenaline” is a term we love around here because it reflects our commitment to help you turbocharge your business with practical tips and techniques to improve free cash flow, the lifeblood of business. As a further extension of our Financial Adrenaline program, we’re going to share a new Business Finance Tidbit every Wednesday specifically for those business executives who don’t have a finance background. Our current Big River series started with We’re Making Money. Why are we broke? … and continued last week with No Cash? Can we borrow what we need?
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“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”
Oscar Wilde
Tom Sampson, the controller for Ace Business Stuff, was in his office considering how to explain to John Wilson, the Company’s CEO, the issues related to the Company’s borrowing capacity and the weaknesses in the Company’s Balance Sheet.
Tom pulled together several schedules for his meeting with his CEO that afternoon, but was still struggling with how to get across some of the subtleties that he knew John would want to understand. Tom knew that his CEO was absolutely committed to the Company’s success, yet became very frustrated when his convictions about future performance collided with the bank’s concerns about current performance.
Tom knew that the bank considered many factors when judging an asset-based loan. Having enough collateral to support the Company’s borrowing request was only part of it.
One key ingredient is the quality of the collateral.
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The holidays are just around the corner, and we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to get it all done. So, instead of asking you to work at something – anything – I’ve decided to give you a gift of holiday music. Elmo did it, so did Ren & Stimpy, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, the Muppets … so with animated competition like this, what can go wrong with my first effort at song-writing?
Yeah, I know, don’t quit your day job. So, feel free to sing along to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. Key of D Sharp, please.
All together now:
The first thing in business that’s such a pain to me… is the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The second thing in business that’s such a pain to me … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The third thing in business that’s such a pain to me … meetings, meetings, meetings … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.
The fourth thing in business that’s such a pain to me …
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“Some regard private enterprise as if it were a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look upon it as a cow that they can milk. Only a handful see it for what it really is – the strong horse that pulls the whole cart.”Today, November 30, is the birthday of Winston Churchill. He was born 136 years ago in 1874 … and died almost 45 years ago … yet his talent and prodigious output remains striking to this day.
He has always been one of my favorite historical characters … and for many reasons. His oratorical wit, style and passion was without peer. He had a spine of steel … with discipline and resilience to match,
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With thanks to Carmine Gallo, his recent post, The Three Elements of an Inspiring Pitch, reminds us of the power of emotion in telling our story to an interested community. The three critical elements of a pitch that he identifies – Understandable, Memorable and Emotional – are valuable in all forms of communication … and as we know, Communication IS Leadership.
In the Exkalibur Leadership Forum, we’re currently discussing Carmine’s book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, which is an excellent primer that extracts, in clear, practical terms, the essence of how Steve Job’s creates his powerful presentations. If you want to improve your presentation and communication skills in every aspect of your professional life, this is a great place to start.
“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.– Lee Iacocca
When I visit the websites of many of my Bay Area clients, I often find broad product offerings and detailed product specifications, accompanied by routine background and contact information … but rarely do I find a blog with which the company communicates with its customers.
Social media has exploded
The world of social media has blown the doors off traditional means of communicating with customers and employees. YouTube is now receiving more than one hour of recorded video for each minute on the clock – with over 2 billion page views – and it just celebrated only its fifth anniversary. In just over six years, Facebook has garnered more than 400 million subscribers and continues to grow.
With powerful social media tools like these, as well as LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Digg, del.icio.us, Buzz, etc., most middle-market companies are overwhelmed by the choices. But most of them are not moving fast enough because – be dead sure of this – these tools, advancing at an increasingly faster pace every day, are here to stay and flourish. If you’re not part of that conversation,
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Today is usually a day for hot dogs, parades and festive celebrations of the birth of this wonderful nation we inhabit.
In that spirit, I’d like to dedicate this holiday to a dear family friend, Cpt. Kevin Mott, an Army Ranger who was badly wounded in Afghanistan this week and is returning to the U.S. for treatment. Our hearts and prayers are with him and his family for a rapid and full recovery.
Another day, we can debate the wisdom of our foreign policy and the wars in which we’re currently engaged … but today, I’d like to pay tribute to Kevin and the men and women with whom he serves. We stand straighter because of their bravery and commitment and shed tears for their innocence and selflessness as they put themselves in harms way for the country to which they give so much and from which they ask so little.
They aren’t encamped on a comfortable bar stool celebrating Independence Day. They’re carrying out their mission in the unforgiving terrain of the Korengal Valley and Kunar Province of Afghanistan, without electricity, plumbing or running water,
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“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. ”
– Oscar Wilde
These days, when you ask a business executive “what’s on your mind,” pricing is on the short list. Is this the right price for this item? Am I getting the markup I need to be profitable? How much will the price affect the buying decision? Does the economic environment require that I drop my prices? Are they too high? If I lower some, won’t I need to raise others? What if the mix changes and the higher priced items don’t sell and the lower ones do? What’s my competitor doing? Why do people shop here in the first place? Ad infinitum.
Pricing is both omnipresent and eternally vexing. It’s at the core of a profitable business, the management of the supply chain and the strength of your brand. In its most pernicious form, however,
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Welcome to Exkalibur. I’m Lary Kirchenbauer, President of Exkalibur Advisors, Inc. Please take advantage of our resources to help you build your business ... and let me know what more we can do to serve you.
Read my latest column from the NY Times affiliate, the North Bay Business Journal.
We have a great management team that has built a very successful company. At an important crossroads, we needed more expertise on an expanded list of financial issues than we could provide ourselves. Lary brought that expertise, providing the depth of knowledge and experience that helped us develop and implement a practical solution.
Gary Imm, CEO (retired).
