Let Me Tell You a Story about Corporate Ethics
I was low-bidder on a very large contract for work on a project for the Marriott Corporation near O’Hare Airport in Chicago. This was decades ago, but it taught,me a lesson I’ve never forgotten about corporate ethics. You may be surprised by my experience I got the...
The Bravest Story Ever Told: Giving Up Control
There are reasons why the brilliance of startups often fail to hold off the ravages of time. I am not only a witness to what goes haywire, but a victim as well. That gives my opinions a flavor I’d just as soon not admit, but honesty is a better policy than most. The...
Who Does the CEO or Owner Talk to When They Need Assurance?
Good question. It's certainly not a wife or partner, because they live directly under the umbrella of protection from rainy days, and it's a mistake to share any clouds on that horizon. Not a member of the Board either, for an almost identical reason. Surely not a VP...
Imprisonment by IPO, the Riches Come with Loss of Control
Ah, the much sought-after initial public offering, where all those who sweat out the labored birth of a great idea get rich. Party time. Pop the champaign corks and settle into the life of a millionaire and sometimes billionaire. And then the fun begins,...
Drive the Results or Be Empathetic
That's today’s lead question in the head office, and a lot depends on whether you’re a long-game or short-game company. I define short-gamers as those companies that are set up to be sold off for a quick profit. Nothing wrong with that, but it means squeezing...
At the Office, Dress for the Job You Hope to Get
We have Steve Jobs to thank for the fact that office dress, even at the highest levels (which he came to define) has slowly deteriorated from casual Fridays to jeans and sloppy T-shirts in the lower ranks. And I guess that’s okay, certainly more than okay as the...
Why I Only Work with Owners or CEOs
Why I Only Work with Owners or CEOs It’s not an ego thing, although most people might see it as one. I can advise and relate to workers on the line and enjoy that as well. But there’s a crucial difference. Those below the top seldom have the permissions for actual...
Office Lighting Isn’t Just an Amenity, It Can Be a Profit Killer
We’ve known for thirty years that fluorescent lighting in the office leads to headaches, loss of attention, and tiredness, but it remains an office standard. Now what other commonplace standard would you allow in your company that had so many negative aspects?...
What’s Your Corporate Culture?
Have you thought about it lately? It’s not weekend PaintBall and year-end bonuses. The thing about company culture is that it doesn’t happen by stating you have one. The culture we belong to has to do with our tribe, and by that I mean our close friends, people we...
Bain Capital and McKenzie—Looks to Me like Two Vultures Sitting on a Wire
Ah yes, the business consultants, the guys you go to when there are no practical alternatives and the shadow of bankruptcy hovers. Or, although their price is high, the dudes you call in to cook the books and maximize share-price so you can dump the loser-business at...
2023 the Year of Too Much
The year just past had its own special challenges for business. Among them we might include an inexorable move toward employees choosing to opt for offsite work that made homelife a tad more agreeable, as well as eliminating the unpaid nuisance of commuting. From the...
It’s Not That There Aren’t Enough Indians, but There Are Too Many Chiefs
You know who the Indians are in your organization, they’re the employees, from secretaries to team members, who actually get stuff done. They’re also the most likely to be working under more stress and less compensation that those who manage them, the chiefs we have...
There’s a Saying among Motorcyclists That “Chrome Won’t Get You Home”
And it’s relevant in the business community as well. A flashy website may be nice, but your business is only as good as what it did last week. ‘Beauty is as beauty does,’ with trophy wives, Harley Davidsons or any kind of business venture you can name. Let me share a...
Sometimes a Bit of Pain Is a Good Thing
The bloody-nose on a schoolyard is a good example. My father taught me early-on that, if a fight comes to you, hit your opponent squarely in the nose. He’ll no doubt beat the hell out of you, but after that the bullies will leave you alone. I’ve not had much occasion...
We’re Not So Much Afraid of Failing, As We Are of Being Embarrassed
What makes us look out over an audience of two or three thousand people and feel sweat trickling down our side? We know the presentation cold. The cue cards are before us so we can be extemporaneous, as a good presentation should always be. But what if we stumble?...
Elon Musk, on “Lords and Peasants”
We’re talking about unions here, and the right to organize. Musk has been quoted as saying, “I just don’t like anything which creates a lords and peasants sort of thing. I think the unions naturally try to create negativity in a company.” Which is a really strange...
The Latest Fad—Data Driven Business Decisions
It’s unfair to call out a trend as a ‘fad,’ so let’s define it. ‘An intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities.’ Okay, that’ll do until proven otherwise. And understand, at the...
CREATIVITY IN THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT—NOT SO SCARY AS IT SOUNDS
The future belongs to the creative, and business depends upon a constant flow; an attitude of “how about this?” The small cost of failure is dwarfed by the huge cost of not trying. Trust is the motivator. Many businesses today remain stuck in the top-down, do what I...
The Management Conundrum
I was looking back to see, if you were looking back to see, if I was looking back to see, if you were looking back at me. That’s the management syndrome in a nutshell Any business, whether ultimately big or small, begins with two nails on the wall—one for income and...
Thinkers I admire: Seth Godin
The low-stakes argument “It’s tempting,” he writes, “and fun to argue about the logo. About the way the toilet paper is hung. About how to load the trunk of the car. “These sorts of arguments work precisely because they don’t matter. At all. “And they distract us from...
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