We label popular athletes as superstars. Ditto using the same expression for entertainers. Yet in every business there are superstar employees, those who drive the growth of the company. For a CEO the question is – how do you manage them? The task for Andy Blankemeyer, CEO of Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, seems to … Continue reading "How Do You Manage Superstar Employees?"

The volume of job openings in the U.S. is high, about 6.2 million. The unemployment rate is low, 4.4% in August. These statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that it’s hard to find unfindable employees. Some companies like McDonald’s are getting creative. They’re tapping their own customers to help them. Tom Johnson of … Continue reading "How to Find Unfindable Employees"

China may be a communist country politically, but capitalism is thriving there. In fact, it is the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods. It’s been the ideal place for Rich Heidrich, President/CEO of Designs Direct and his two partners to manufacture interior home and commercial products. If you’ve never been there, your perception of China, … Continue reading "Why Manufacture in China?"

If you’re like many people, you may have a car that is at least 12 years old. If it’s been that long since you have bought one, you might be surprised that your next car buying experience may be shorter and more pleasurable. That’s because customer relations has changed. Mark Sweeney, President of Mark Sweeney Buick … Continue reading "Turning Customer Relations Into An Advantage"

Here’s a question that crosses the mind of many small business owners. Should I work with an advertising agency for marketing my business? The answer is in your response to these questions. Are my marketing activities working for me or not?                  Am I more comfortable collaborating or … Continue reading "Why Use an Advertising Agency?"

Was there a time in your life when you hated to go to work? The business culture was uncomfortable. Rather than finding your work and association with colleagues engaging, you were looking for the way out. A few years ago the co-founder of Whole Foods, John Mackey and global business professor-founder Raj Sisodia released a … Continue reading "Five Steps to Shape Business Culture"

Admit it, you and your mobile phone are now inseparable. You spend more time surfing the internet with it than you do on a laptop or desktop. You’re using it while watching TV, videos or dabbling in other activities. Your willingness and trust to purchase products from a mobile website by way of your phone … Continue reading "Your Mobile Website May Be Costing You Business"

There are times in the life of every business when bold decisions are required to move forward rather than back. Such was the predicament of GenTherm’s medical division CSZ (Cincinnati Sub Zero). In order to meet the performance expectations of their company parent, they completely changed the personnel and organization of their sales force. Gary … Continue reading "Why Remodel Your Sales Force?"

Since 1995 the number of people working untethered, in a virtual office environment is up four fold. Are you one of them? I recently caught up with Kipp Siedl, franchisee of Intelligent Office about what was happening in the world of virtual offices. While he told me that expectations are different for long time professionals … Continue reading "Can Partnering with a Virtual Office Improve Productivity?"

When you hear the phrase “strategic planning”, does your mind light up or does it give you a headache? There is clearly a right and a wrong way to initiate and carry out the process. In my conversation with John Handelsman, CEO of Present Values, I realized that my previous employers approached this all wrong. … Continue reading "Strategic Planning is Effective When….."