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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.
Tag Archives: small business
Trust in Business and the Law
Every day, in almost every transaction, we rely on trust in business. We believe that a customer will pay us according to the terms of a sale. Our employees have access to money, goods and confidential information because we trust them. … Continue reading
4 Responses to Trust in Business and the Law
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Generational Differences and Identity Politics
Generational differences are a hot topic for organizational behaviorists. Is this a real issue, or is it just the current management fad? “Never in history have we seen four generations together in the workplace.” That line starts thousands of articles … Continue reading
3 Responses to Generational Differences and Identity Politics
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The boomers and the millennials should appreciate the strength, knowledge and understanding of each generation, by so doing an effective structure can emerge which could yield high valuable growth and benefits for both generation.
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I believe it all comes down to empathetic listening on each generational level. This takes active listening to another level where you connect with another’s core emotional being, in addition to understanding the message. Seek first to understand and apply the platinum rule (treat others the way they want to be treated). Working with multiple generations also requires informed leadership styles: not the leadership based on the “seat of your pants”, but leadership that is adapted based on the study and application of leadership principles. Yes, different generations are products of their political, economic, and cultural environments; but this isn’t a bad thing. It has been established through many studies that the more diverse a team is, the stronger it is!
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I’m adding my two cents to elaborate on this in your article: “The “Generational Differences” seminars that business owners need aren’t just about how to deal with employees who think differently and hold different values. We need some idea of how to deal with workers who . . . are being told that the blame rests squarely on the boss.”
Okay, first a warning: Millennials probably should not read my comment or listen to my podcast: Some millennials are among the kinds of employees increasingly destroying small businesses. (And undermining larger employers.) Not all of them, but a certain kind. At the risk of offending some people, but with the intent of helping employers, my brief podcast may be enlightening (it’s on my website): http://partneroncall.com/kinds-of-employees-increasingly-destroying-small-businesses/
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Employee Gratitude isn’t Loyalty
Most of us have heard something like this expression of employee gratitude. “I’ve enjoyed working here. You taught me so much, and you’ve always treated me well. But the company down the road is paying a lot more for people with my … Continue reading
One Response to Employee Gratitude isn’t Loyalty
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Spot On. If you want loyalty get a dog. If you want a good performing business hire people who are ambitious, responsible, hard working and learn new things fast. Have a process to get them productive as soon as possible. Then try to keep them engaged and challenged as long as you can. Keep making them as valuable to the company as possible and pay them proportionally. When they leave, you will feel the impact, but the ability to repeat these steps can be a very valuable CSF for a highly successful organization.
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Is Your Business Built on Individual Heroics?
Great employees are a wonderful gift, but individual heroics aren’t healthy for your business. Someday, you will start thinking about leaving the business. Perhaps you already do. When you begin planning for your transition, what will your company systems sound like … Continue reading
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Maximize Resources – Use What You Have
Every owner wants to maximize resources. The whole concept of profitability is based on doing the most with the least, but we often are trapped in the prevailing thought pattern about how things “should” be done. When taking a car … Continue reading
Don’t forget the cost of hiring CPAs and attorneys to help comply with the law.
Almost everyone knows the axiom “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” but have you considered this when writing a politically biased and provocative article?
Point #1- when in our lives have we ever had a body of Congressman that we actually trusted? And recent changes to the campaign laws they enacted only serve to promote their ability to retain office and the agendas of a select few with deep pockets to donate.
Point #2- Why are laws enacted in the first place? Are you so naive as to believe there is an anti-small business cabal operating within the government? All you have to do is look at the recent Wells Fargo fiasco to see why government regulations are necessary. Greed and ego are almost usually at the heart of a scandal and when left unbridled there is an ugly side to capitalism.
Government exists to protect its citizenry. Yes, it is easy to cite examples of overreach, and yes, it is often burdensome to small business owners. But imagine what our society would resemble with little to no oversight?
Yes, I have become more reliant on laws, because trust is hard to find in corporate and political culture today.
Well John, I don’t see how you could say I’m biased unless you believe everything about one candidate and nothing about the other. And sorry, but I don’t agree that “They are all like that” is an acceptable justification. My “majority don’t trust” comment is the result of dozens of reputable polls. It is a fact, not an opinion. I have little respect for either “right wing attack journalism” or “the liberal media.”
As to part 2- you are treading close to trolling territory. Who said anything remotely about a conspiracy, and why would I be naïve? Of course the government has a role in protecting it’s citizens. Another fact. Since the 1970s we’ve seen an explosion of new laws. My point is that they take the least common denominator and apply it to everyone. (How many of us really need a warning that hot coffee is hot?)
I don’t often take on political issues in my column, but I also find it tough to ignore a topic that is brought up daily in my conversations with owners, which is a broad lack of enthusiasm for either one of the people who will be the next President. Last fact: a total of 9% of eligible voters cast their ballot for either Clinton or Trump in the primaries. A democracy gets the government it deserves.
The stated purpose of Government is “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,…” I don’t see that the points made are politically biased. I believe we should ask of all politicians, whether their actions are honestly motivated by this purpose or for their own personal interests. It is strongly held that the foundation of our uniquely American form of capitalistic system was made possible by trust that sprung from religious beliefs of our founders. We have moved away from spirituality, but it cannot move away from morality and its stated purpose. How can politician revise morality and redefine life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness every two, four or six years based upon the convenience of a simple majority of less that 70% of the people.
As a business person with some financial understanding, it seems that every new citizen of the US (born or immigrating) is now assuming a debt of $ 60,000. This is to pay what our government has spent and continues to spend to insure they are reelected. My limited understanding is that this can only be paid back through business activity or spoils of war. The later is not currently palatable.
Under the current political leadership our Gross National Product is not sufficient to sustain this in the future. I haven’t heard anything during this campaign that causes me to trust that the candidates can understand let alone solve the problems. How can we trust that the laws and regulations that they create will correct them. I want to trust! I want something better for my grandchildren and yours! We seem to be going further in the wrong direction!