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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Search Results for: disagree
Wrestling with Ethics
The head of a rep firm approaches the owner of a small manufacturing company for whom they sell. One of his salespeople has an opportunity for a huge order with a multinational company, but the purchasing manager has indicated that the … Continue reading
2 Responses to Wrestling with Ethics
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Sales: Do You Have Customers or Clients?
Whether you have customers or clients is more than a matter of semantics. Some businesses use the term “clients” in an attempt to class up their image. Attorneys usually have clients. Kentucky Fried Chicken doesn’t, regardless of what they might say. Nordstrom? … Continue reading
2 Responses to Sales: Do You Have Customers or Clients?
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Ha! Love the Shaw comment…
Thanks John.
This is one that I’ve always wondered about as well…I never liked the word “client”, felt like those using it were trying to sound important…I’ll never be a lawyer so they’ll always be customers (buying something)…
Clint. -
John, thanks for your article. I agree with your distinction between the two. Perhaps, though, it does not go far enough.
It seems to me that “customers” purchase goods and services which have been commoditized; that is, items for which little value derives from an ongoing relationship with the supplier or intermediary providing the commoditized goods or services.
“Clients,” on the other hand, purchase some goods, and more often services from people or businesses whose approach, advice and supplementary services they trust and value. Therefore, the elements of “trust” and “value” figure into the distinction between the two.
Finally, those of us who have clients need to recall that the meaning of “trust” and “value” must be based on the buyer’s personal perception … not our own. Too often, we focus on what we believe is valuable rather than focusing on “value” as defined by the client/buyer.
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Management and Teachers: Accountability Requires Authority
In Chicago, the city and the teachers’ union are approaching an agreement. Interestingly, neither side said that the strike was over wages. (According to NPR, the average teacher makes just over $76,000 a year, and will receive a raise of … Continue reading
One Response to Management and Teachers: Accountability Requires Authority
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The grievance is whether 40% or less of theteacher’s performance review is based on student performance. If your job is to teach, then it seems to me ridiculous to think there is a method of evaluation that doesn’t include student performance! You make good points here, but there must be some accountability to educate your students. In your private school example, I assume these teachers must still educate their students and performance is a measure of their success. Just because the students behave, it doesn’t mean the teachers are effective.
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Should You Sue?
This column appeared as an op-ed piece in this week’s San Antonio Business Journal titled “Most Legal Battles Played by Risk Rules.” If you are in business for any length of time, eventually you will face a situation where the only … Continue reading
2 Responses to Should You Sue?
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I am a lawyer and an investment advisor. I have never sued anyone or been sued, but I have negotiated many settlements for clients. Those that did not settle and chose to sue have largely been sorry. The emotional cost, the time involved and the many sleepless nights generally make you a loser even if you win.
Most of the time, it is better to be wronged and trust that the good Lord will make it all right in the end.
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I have been fortunate that in all my years in business I have never sued or been sued. I have always tried to treat everyone fairly and do business with reputable people and so far it has paid off. Reasonable people can come up with equitable settlements if there are disagreements.
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Is It All About the Money?
If you have more than ten employees, and an outside observer (like me) asks them confidentially to say in one word what their boss cares about the most, what do you think they will answer? We’d like to think that answer … Continue reading
I own my company so I am in a position to decide better than some other may be , however my standard in life has always been honesty, expected of myself , my kids and my employees. It has worked for me , yes it has been a difficult choice at times but I sleep well and have never had to be looking over my shoulder. Its choice I do not regret and the great kids I have and long term employees, some for over 20 years , I think is a tribute to that as I am now appraching retirement. Integrity is everything as trust is wjhat business is and should be built on.
I am a recently promoted SVP at a company that still does business with a handshake. Of course we do the requisite paperwork but if we say we have a deal and shake we won’t later accept a “better deal” because no paperwork was done upfront. I also served 26 years in the military and the one phrase that sticks in mind from day one until my retirement is ” Do the right thing even if no one is looking.” Being ethical in today’s business climate can be challenging but the cost of losing your integrity can be very high.