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Vol. 56: The Power of Personal Accountability

The Power of One concept is not new — it’s the bedrock of everything from motivational speeches to Army One.

There’s an entire industry devoted to the power we have over our destiny.

In the context of Building a Business, we can view the Power of One as a series of concentric circles that ripple outward from the center … from where we stand as business leaders.

[pullquote]“God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I can’t and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Nieburh[/pullquote]

With a stagnant economy that has brought many businesses to their knees, we’ve been inundated with economic data, shards of doubt and glimmers of hope. While we can’t ignore these external forces, we can’t allow them to deter our commitment to reclaiming control of our agenda.

As a result, there’s no better topic with which to start than personal accountability, the singular touchstone of professional success over which we have the greatest control. (more…)

Vol. 54: The road to cost control

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.
This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.
Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:
The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published -November 30 2009

Is fear or kindness the road to cost control? You decide

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

– Albert Einstein

Last time I presented the dichotomy of two opposing cultures and posed the question: If measured by financial performance, how can dramatically different organizations be equally successful? In this continuing series, we’ll explore some of the combinations and permutations of sound business principles and cultural patterns that often collide within an organization’s walls.
In many ways, it doesn’t seem fair that both charitable and churlish cultures can thrive. It’s easy to embrace the benevolent culture created by Sid Rich (we’ll call it Company South, “S” for Sid) as profiled in my last column.
That company deserves to be successful. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the company I worked for? Contrarily, when you look across the aisle at the rough and tumble world of Company North (“N” for Nasty), highlighted by temper tantrums, public floggings and a petulant devotion to spending a dime on anything, we’re either glad we’re not working there … or wishing we didn’t.
Some powerful lessons are evident as we compare and contrast these companies, their styles and culture, although some lessons are not very inviting. (more…)

Vol 52 – Building a Business: Health Costs

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.

This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.

Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:

The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published – November 2, 2009

Building a Business: Can small companies lead in “consumer-directed” health care?

Disconnect between consumers, providers needs to be solved

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like and do what you’d rather not.” – Mark Twain

Health care reform has become a cause célèbre with potential costs that will threaten many small businesses. That’s one of the reasons I’m attracted to the growing use of “consumer-directed” plans that require each of us to take a more active role in managing the financial side of our own health care.

The New York Times looks at some of these alternatives in “Making Sense of High Deductible Plans“. You should also consider the comments by John Mackey, president of Whole Foods, in his controversial op-ed piece explaining Whole Foods’ approach to health care coverage, a piece that caught the attention of the Obama administration.

Over the years, I’ve repeated ad nauseam my belief that the principal flaw in the health care industry is our lack of individual financial accountability. (more…)

Vol. 51 – Never Give Up! Never, Never, Never!

At first, I figured it was too late to talk about surviving the economic storm we’re in … and then, I thought, hey, this isn’t over.

What does this recession really look like?

Maybe the sense of impending doom has dissipated but the reduced level of business activity and an increasing sense of frugality in a buyer-dominated market are going to be our unbidden passengers for quite a few more miles.
“Let us go into the storm … and through the storm,” said Winston Churchill as he prepared England to confront the Nazi regime in World War II.
As it applies to our current business climate, I thought this might be a touch of hyperbole, but then I recalled that Churchill’s odyssey raged for five years, not just the single year we’ve navigated since September 2008.
[pullquote]“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” ~ Winston Churchill[/pullquote]
Imagine Churchill, FDR and others slogging for five dreadful years through the greatest threat to civilization we have known.

How do we carry on the fight over a longer period?

So, how do we get through four more years of this business cycle, a time frame proclaimed by many before employment gets back to 6 percent and more customary growth trends resume?
Consider these few concepts inspired by the triumph and tragedy of those years: (more…)

Vol. 50- Why punt? Go for it on 4th Down!

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.

This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.

Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:

The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published -October 5, 2009

Building a Business: Do you punt on fourth down because you always do?

Sure it’s normal, but what’s normal about his economy?

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I … I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

– Robert Frost

Several years ago when my father was in his final days, his bonhomie in full bloom, I sat in the room while the doctors administered a few basic tests to assess his cognition.

“What country do you live in,” they asked and Dad answered correctly.

“What city do you live in,” they asked. Dad answered “Grand Rapids,” correct again.

“What state do you live in,” they continued. Dad, ever alert, laughed and responded … “Discombobulation.”

I think my father would agree that the “state of discombobulation” is still a pretty good word choice today. So, maybe it’s also a good time for some fresh thinking … to shake things up, tip them upside down, to innovate … in other words, take a few calculated risks to see if we can generate some new ideas.

I read recently about Kevin Kelly, a high school football coach in Arkansas, who has developed a few football rules that most of us would find ludicrous, to wit:

1. His team hasn’t punted since 2007, when it did so as a sportsmanlike gesture in a very one-sided game.

2. They don’t kick field goals. (more…)

Vol. 49-Sinful Excess – Greed, Gluttony, Lust

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.

This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.

Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:

The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published -September 14, 2009

Gluttony, greed, lust not the ingredients for principled organization

“Temperance and labor are the two best physicians of man; labor sharpens the appetite, and temperance prevents from indulging to excess.”

– Jean-Jaques Rosseau

You’ll recall that last time, we catalogued the perils of pride and envy in the pursuit of business success, but alas, we’ve barely dented the list of Seven Deadly Sins.

During this economic tumult, we’ve seen excesses like never before in our lifetimes … excessive credit card and mortgage debt, inflated housing prices, financial malfeasance, Ponzi schemes, egregious compensation plans and much more. It’s no surprise, then, that three of these seven misdeeds are offenses of excess in various incarnations.

Gluttony appears on the list and is defined as the “inordinate desire to consume more than you require,” which originated with concerns for wasting food in the midst of poverty. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval religious thinker, even identified six ways to commit gluttony, including consuming too much, too soon, too eagerly or too expressively – maybe the perfect expression of the runaway consumer spending that brought our economy to its knees.

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” famously translated as “Let them eat cake,” is arguably attributed to Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution, hailing the ignominious end to another age of excess. (more…)

Vol. 47: Building a Business: Hey, I’m profitable; so why don’t I have cash?

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.

This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.

Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:

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Article published -Monday, August 3, 2009

Building a Business: Hey, I’m profitable; so why don’t I have cash?

By Lary Kirchenbauer

Businesses must focus on inventory, accounts receivables to get answer

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” — Warren Buffett

Victory … Defeat. Won … Lost. Revenues … Expenses. These are well-understood concepts among business executives. Profits … Cash? Oops, sorry. That may be the biggest conundrum among business leaders: If I’m making all these profits, why don’t I have more cash? My company generated $500,000 in profits this year, and we have only $10,000 in cash. We can’t pay bonuses or contribute to benefit plans without cash – where did it all go? (more…)

Fuel. Ignition. Oxygen. What it takes to set your business on fire and and keep it burning! (In a good way ;>))

Leadership | The Fires You Want Are The Ones You Set

Create your own firesFire has been around since before Prometheus stole it from Zeus and shared it with us mere mortals.We won’t revisit the penalty that Zeus bestowed but suffice it to say, Prometheus probably regretted his thievery.Are you spending your day putting out fires?It seems that most executives today…

Do you find yourself always asking, “Where Are We?”

“Where are we” is a question I hear all the time.

Usually, the questioner is looking for some answers about the business landscape and where we might be in the trough between recession and recovery.

A challenging question but one that usually prompts a series of my questions:

Where are you, and how well are you and your company prepared for the rest of this journey?

Is Your System Foolproof?

Make sure that you have a foolproof system that holds your team accountable so that they know … that you know … what they need to get done, and that you’re measuring and tracking those initiatives to make sure they don’t slip through the cracks.
How have you gotten this far? (more…)