LEADERSHIP: Gen. Douglas MacArthur style. Last Saturday opened the 2016 college football season. One point of interest was the post-game approach by two Coaches, who share the national spotlight and their programs are highly ranked. Both Teams played lesser opponents and their Teams won. One Coach suggested his Team had much to improve the other [Continue Reading]
Just Answer a Few Questions
A few weeks back I was at a Family Business, a sporting goods shop, their core business is firearms. This small business is a focused on customer satisfaction. They have a series of key questions for buyers, first time buyers: What is the intended use? Set a budget New or Used Size/type Caliber How does [Continue Reading]
Young Leaders
Young Leaders The Family Business had grown. It grew from one operation to five. The family business had grown from a quick drive from the breakfast table to a plane ride, car rental and overnight in express hotel. The plants away from the breakfast table were all in small rural Middle American towns. We had [Continue Reading]
NEW PERSPECTIVE: Twelve weeks ago we had Family Business
Twelve weeks ago we had Family Business. “When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective.” Twelve weeks ago I had triple by-pass surgery, or a CABG. Coronary artery bypass [Continue Reading]
Family Business — What Starts Here Changes the World
Families plan their summer often is a 4th of July picnic and celebration. Family Business enjoys July as the first days of the second half of the business cycle. Commencements signal the kick-0ff the start for a post academic career. Families treasure commencements, a badge of pride, courage, and honor. The 4th of July marks [Continue Reading]
Focus on the Plan
Family Business facts from Forbes: FACT: Family businesses generate over 50% of the US Gross National Product (GNP) FACT: Less than one-third of family businesses survive the transition from first to second generation ownership. Another 50% don’t survive the transition from second to third generation. From Berkshire Hathaway and Wal-Mart to small stores everyone, about [Continue Reading]
Make the Team Stronger
MAKE THE TEAM STRONGER – Leaders are force multipliers; it’s their focus, their words, their actions that can make the force better, stronger faster and more accurate Family businesses need force multipliers, “Morale is a force multiplier.” Force multiplication, in military usage, refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes which make a given [Continue Reading]
Open Doors and Unintended Consequences
Family owned businesses need to be cautious of unintended consequences. Often a shoot from the hip great idea has many, many ramifications. In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a purposeful action. The term was popularized in the twentieth century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton Unintended consequences can [Continue Reading]