There’s a place at the base of the mountain where I live that has
the best, old-fashioned milkshakes and malts you have ever tasted. 
It’s like being transported back into the ’50’s.  Being a sucker for
good ice cream, I usually try and stop and get one of these heavenly
delights every time I pass through.
Two weeks ago I [...]

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That’s one of those quotes kind of like, “What happens in Vegas
stays in Vegas.”  It works great as long as everyone buys in completely
and conducts themselves accordingly.  It’s helpful to separate
friendship from business on several levels, but especially so when your
business will be competing head to head with that of a friend.  The key
to success [...]

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As the economy turns ever downward, business owners are scrutinizing
each expenditure.  While I’m a big proponent of managing expenses, I
have to ask the obvious question: why haven’t they been watching their
expenses all along?  Sure, a slow down in the economy makes things
tighter, but isn’t a dollar a dollar no matter what the status of the
economy [...]

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With all the talk lately about work needing to be fulfilling and
rewarding, some people have misconstrued that to mean that work HAS to
be fun.  While many parts of work can be — and are — fun (especially
when you’re engaged in a rewarding, fulfilling career,) it’s certainly
not always fun.  That’s why they call it work.  Otherwise, [...]

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Some people will argue with the declaration made in the title of
this post.  But in my experience, if employees don’t respect and trust
you, they’re certainly not going to follow you.  Some managers,
especially young ones, think that if you’re “popular” or funny, or
caring, or everyone’s buddy, that is enough to get everyone around you
to follow.  While [...]

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When I have a bad experience I usually share it.  By the same token,
when I have a good experience I also want to share.  A little over a
week ago I decided to build an island for the kitchen (I build
furniture as therapy in my spare time.)  I wanted big turned legs for
the island and didn’t [...]

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I remember working with a company a few years ago that had old
machines that were constantly breaking down.  The machines needed to be
rebuilt, but production was so busy, there was no time.  They were six
weeks out on delivery at that time. To their way of thinking, taking
time to stop and fix the machines would put [...]

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I’ve been saying for years that ideas are a dime a dozen.  It’s not
great ideas that make great money, it’s great execution.  My son sent
me an excellent link to Signal Vs. Noise Blog entitled “I had that idea years ago!”
The premise of the piece is that we all see “other people getting rich
off an idea” [...]

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I was talking with my son last night about a business he’d worked in
that was, “the best business” he’d ever seen.  What made it the best? 
“People worked together.  Nobody slacked.  The boss didn’t act like the
king.  Everyone was friendly to each other.  Everyone helped the
customers and the company.  There was no negativity — just a [...]

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I spoke with a college student I know well yesterday and came away
with an unsettled feeling.  When I asked what he would be studying, he
informed me he was applying for medical school and hoped to be accepted
next spring.  As we talked further, it appeared he really wasn’t that
interested in medicine (or dealing with sick and [...]

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