Entrepreneurs are heralded by the business community as key contributors to the success of the US Economy; probably one of the most resilient economies in the world (even in a recession). New products, technologies and business ideas are the objectives of millions of aspiring Entrepreneurs throughout the world. Yet, there is an 80% failure rate…
Tag Archive: Operations
Marketing and Sales Differences
Marketing and sales are often used in the same sentence as though they were synonymous. This happens frequently enough that many organizations structure these functions into the same department and cost centers. Being combined in this manner is not a major issue for most organizations, as long as they understand the true functional differences between…
“You Get What You Pay For”-Rewarding Incorrectly Will Hurt You!
Most organizations will say they reward “results”, yet that is not necessarily true. Organizations establish a formal or informal process to incentivize their workforce to achieve a desired level of performance. Depending on the size and culture of the enterprise, this compensation plan may include all employees, just management or something in between. All such…
Shifting From Accountability to Entitlement-Whose fault is it?
I recently read an article about the shift within corporate America from a workforce that expects to be held accountable, to a workforce that looks for entitlement. Why should we even be concerned with this shift? We should be concerned since a growing level of entitlement within our population is having an impact on the…
Seven Ways a CEO Can Hurt Your Organization
There are organizational leaders that are what I call “empty suits”. They look the part, they sound like they know what they are doing, they have impressive resumes, and yet their track records for organizational results are mediocre at best. Years ago, there was an article (author unknown) that outlined the characteristics of Chief Executive…
Full Service Professional Organization Failures: Why?
Full Service Providers are not always the best route for clients since many do not have the commitment to all skills that they do their core competency- Why?
Organizations-Playing Offense or Defense
Organizations in today’s economic times are either playing offense or defense, whether they know it or not. What determines which style of play? Cash or operating capital availability. With the credit markets shrinking, cash on hand has become a significant criteria for survival and the opportunity for growth. Those organizations that have lived from month-to-month…
The Importance of Cash Flows to Your Enterprise
It should be obvious, but unfortunately, it is not for many organizations- “Cash is King”. Especially in a downward business cycle or extended cycles called “recessions”. Cash levels will determine if your organization will operate offensively or defensively. Just because you have profits does not mean you have the cash needed for your operating capital…
Layoffs-think before you act
During these times of the recession, most management start cost cutting by laying off employees. This may be a mistake, depending on the knowledge level needed for your product or service. Consider lowering payroll costs through eliminating or deferring bonuses, salary annual increases, reducing contract labor, reducing salaries across the board (management first, then other…
The ROI of Helping Your Competitors
Most organizations believe it is their objective to destroy their competition. Putting the competition out of business means more customers for them. Consider this, there may be a great ROI in helping your competition in time of crisis. I believe the more competition there is actually validates a market. If you’re the only organization in…
