Skewed Priorities
By If you don’t manage your company, it will manage you.
The ability to understand and increase business value represents a competitive advantage and opportunity for construction company owners. Savvy business owners treat their companies as assets and appreciate their worth rather than merely working in the business as an employee, and not on the business for the benefit of the shareholders. When this happens, it is likely that the business runs the owner instead of the owner running the business.
In the 1980s, business value was computed with the financial and income statements along with the balance sheets. Today, more …
Leadership: Is There A Void?
To determine if a void exists within the many forms of leadership, we must first define what exactly leadership is. Only at that point can it be determined if a void exists and how prevalent that void may be. Once a reasonable conclusion is reached, we can apply this theory to several sectors and come to an understanding of where leadership exists or where it lacks.
There is no reason to go through these exercises, or read further, if a void is uncovered and nothing will be done to fix it. If you define yourself as a leader, or as …
It Sounded Like A Good Idea
Ignoring employment laws and regulations can be costly, don’t make mistakes.
Lee and his wife Verna learned the hard way how costly ignoring employment laws and regulations can be. Don’t make the same mistake.
As a business owner, you must operate within the confines of an increasingly regulated employee environment. This includes dealing with myriad complex laws and regulations, including unemployment, age discrimination, sexual harassment, immigration reform and control, EEOC, OSHA, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, Title VII, I-9 regulations, right to privacy and worker’s compensation, just to name a few.
In the latest Litigation Trends Survey, labor and employment matters are …
Corporate Philanthropy
Does corporate philanthropy make a difference?
Can a small business owner with limited discretionary charitable dollars provide benefit to their community? Is there any difference between large corporate philanthropy and small company giving?
While there is no doubt that the largest companies have the wherewithal to donate millions of dollars, both in money and goods and services, there is also no doubt that the small local entrepreneurial company can also have significant impact in the community.
Large company names are often associated with major charities as their benefactors and key contributors. These are the companies that grab the headlines regarding …
Do’s & Don’ts Of Taking Your Offline Business Online
What’s your online strategy as a small and medium-size business? You have one in place, right? If not, you’re missing out on what can still be called the modern version of ‘the gold rush.’ There’s still time, don’t worry.
Everyone tells you that the Internet is the next great opportunity to take your business to the next level, but what they aren’t telling you is exactly how to do it, or more importantly, where to spend your limited budget to get the maximum return-on-investment.
Here are some “do’s and don’ts” on how to successfully navigate your online spending, plus some …
The Quest For The Universal Salesperson
It goes without saying, every professional baseball player knows how to hit, run, throw and catch. However, the skill sets of a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher and a Silver Slugger Award-winning hitter are distinctively different.
This is not all that surprising when you stop to think about it. Yet all too often, members of a profession are viewed as all being the same with no thought given to the unique skills required to perform specific job functions within their profession.
For example, some employers are prone to believing ‘a salesperson is a salesperson’ – they’re all the same. These employers …
Build Long Term Relationships With Your Employees
“Survival of the fittest” best describes the competitive marketplace in which today’s business attempts to not merely survive, but thrive. A business owner must identify and solve issues regarding the competition for customers and clients on a daily basis. As a business owner, are you overlooking the competition for one of your top resources – your own employees?
Today’s workers have a mindset that is much different from those of previous generations. Simply put, they expect more from their employers–especially when it comes to compensation and work culture. Employers who want to find and keep qualified, motivated, top-performing employees need …
When Libel Makes You Liable
Forty years later, major players in the Supreme Court case that redefined libel law are still at odds over whether New York Times v. Sullivan has helped or hurt the relationship between journalists and politicians.
One of our country’s most well known constitutional protections is the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech. While the freedom of speech is one of our most cherished constitutional rights, it does not come without qualifications and one area that falls outside the First Amendment’s protection is defamation.
Defamation is the publication of a false statement that tends to injure another’s reputation or good …
Get The Green Light
“Second Place is just the first place loser,” is a quote attributed to Dale Earnhart, the famous NASCAR race driver, and it aptly describes the result of any competition in life, including an unsuccessful meeting between a salesperson and a prospect.
Oftentimes the difference between first and second place is not large at all. In fact, it can be insignificantly small. For instance, the 2006 PGA Tour statistics are indicative of just how small it can be.
Although the difference between first and second place may be small, the rewards are huge. Sales is an all or nothing game with …
Business Athleticism
There are many similarities between the dynamic of the business world and the dynamic of the sports world. In actuality, these similarities legitimize business as cognitive athleticism. It’s not coincidental that most entrepreneurs along with their employees follow sports with indiscernible passion.
We know who the first and second string performers at our organizations are. We see the coaches within our organizations evaluate promising future superstars while developing the farm team. Industry scouts survey and draft talent from colleagues while concurrently attracting and procuring talent away from companies they’re in competition with. There is an obvious commonality to athleticism.
Sports …