Vol 57: Think Strategically!

Building a Business: Thinking strategically more than just tactical details

“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions.”– Peter Drucker

I have been working recently with a young CEO-in-waiting who is eager to move into the top spot. He recognizes, however, [...]

Lessons from a Lemonade Stand!

Seth Godin recently wrote about two lemonade stands and how simple things in the approach made such a big difference. My colleague, Jonathan Fields, also commented on this post, expanding upon some of the key differentiators that apply to all of our businesses.
Simple concept, Provocative Ideas. Free lemonade, anyone?
 

Get to work … and thanks for working

Getting the impression that I may have caught up on a little HBR reading over the holidays? What makes you think so?
I did read The Power of Unwitting Workers recently, though, and thanks to so many of you for contributing … unwittingly … to energy conservation and other worthy, albeit clandestine, activities. Like the other [...]

Vol. 55: The 4 Pillars of Long Term Success

The North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, is a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.
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Article published – December 14 2009: The electronic version of the article, as published, [...]

Questions you should never stop asking!

Yeah, I know, just what we need … another checklist of the 10 Stupid Things I can’t stop doing ..or the Top 5 things I need to do before I brush my teeth (really, nothing, do that first … please).
Nonetheless, this is a good time of year to consider The 10 Questions You Should Never [...]

Update: Small Business Stimulus

The other day we learned of renewed efforts promised by the Obama Administration to stimulate small business.
This week, they announced some plans to sweeten guaranteed loan programs. The administration is allowing a few weeks for comments before finalizing these details.

The SBA will raise loan limits from $2m to $5M
Local banks can get 3% interest rates [...]

Death … Taxes … AND Succession Planning!

The sudden resignation of Ken Lewis from Bank of America highlights, yet again, the risks that family and other businesses take in failing to prepare for the inevitable succession of leadership.
A succession plan doesn’t mean you have all the work done and the perfect successor is comfortably waiting in the wings, although that would be [...]

Jobs Credit: White Elephant? Red Herring?

How do you create jobs? Finally, this question is finally getting some attention in Washington …  sadly, it took increasing painful unemployment reports to get this front and center … but from the ground floor where we live, I don’t see the efficacy of some of the programs being considered.
The NY Times summarized some of [...]

SBA Loan Program disappoints again

Despite all the recent publicity about the SBA’s “helping hand” to small business, recent reports tell another story. Loan volume in dollars is down $3.6 billion, around 27%, and 25,000 fewer businesses have been served this year. Pretty woeful record when programs to support Wall St. and the banking industry got delivered virtually overnight … [...]