When I was a banker I worked with hundreds of small businesses, most of whom never had a budget for their business. They sometimes pulled together projections to obtain a loan, but they rarely used them for comparison purposes later.  Although a budget is simply a tool to help you compare your original expectations ...

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Someone backed into my wife’s car and left a dent and drove away. When my wife shared with the body shop owner what had happened, he told Kathy that he heard one even worse.  One of his customers returned from a store to find their car damaged and the following note on her car. ...

The post All You Do Is Visible appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

Kathy and I have had a string of unexpected challenges with our home recently. For example, a strong wind blew an entire wall of our deck down. Then our basement flooded.  We were about to build a new deck when our basement flooded again, in a different location. That led to discovering hail damage ...

The post Shifting Priorities appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

In 2022, Texas Children’s Hospital publicly announced that they were discontinuing gender affirming therapies due to legal risks. But subsequently, surgeon Dr. Eithan Haim observed that the therapies and surgeries secretively continued.  Due to Dr. Haim’s strong religious convictions, he felt compelled to disclose the alleged deceptions of Texas Children’s Hospital to the press. ...

The post Standing Firm on Conviction appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

When my wife, Kathy, and I work together on a project we’re a good team. Kathy’s a great catalyst to get a project going, while I make sure all the details and pertinent information is gathered.  When we were receiving bids on a home project, Kathy secured multiple bids. But before the final selection ...

The post Listening Before Answering appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

Justin wanted to join the insurance industry, so he became 50/50 partners with an experienced insurance broker who claimed to also be a follower of Jesus. When Justin’s partner started violating the partner agreement and breaking the law, the situation became tense.   Unfortunately, in business, when there are only two equal partners you are ...

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According to a 2023 American Psychology Association study, 94% of workers state that it’s important for them to feel like they belong at work. Unfortunately, 20% of workers do not feel like they belong.  This is a bigger problem for front-line workers than it is for upper management. 10% of upper management feel like ...

The post Feeling Like You Belong appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

As a leader, there are times when I must referee between two staff members who have a dispute with each other. I remember years ago, I had an employee who voiced a legitimate complaint about another employee.   This person provided a lot of compelling information against their co-worker. Their story was so convincing that ...

The post Both Sides of the Story appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

In the 1990s, I was building a new consulting business during the growing Dot-com bubble. I found a company that seemed knowledgeable about the internet and hired them to develop our website.  One question I should have asked was, “What happens to my website if your company goes out of business?”  When that vendor ...

The post The Coming AI Bubble: Part IV appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

In the mid-1990s, I was building a new consulting business. I learned many lessons leading up to the Dot-com bubble that may help you if there’s a future Artificial Intelligence bubble.   The first lesson I learned was to “Beware of Posers.” In the 1990s, it didn’t take long before almost everyone in the technology ...

The post The Coming AI Bubble: Part III appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.