Tag Archives: hiring

Millennial Employees: Why Their Opinion Counts

A couple of months ago I followed Jabez Le Bret‘s presentation about Millennial Employees on a national meeting agenda. He is an entertaining speaker and an excellent story teller. As every speaker hopes, one of his stories stuck with me. When Jabez (a Millennial … Continue Reading

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Business Buyers: The “Buy Now, Pay Later” Generation

If you are preparing to sell your business, your buyers will likely be members of the “buy now, pay later” generation. Generation X is the first demographic group to be raised in a culture that put little emphasis on savings. … Continue Reading

Posted in Economic Trends, Exit Options, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Generational Differences and Identity Politics

Generational differences are a hot topic for organizational behaviorists. Is this a real issue, or is it just the current management fad? “Never in history have we seen four generations together in the workplace.” That line starts thousands of articles … Continue Reading

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Employee Gratitude isn’t Loyalty

Most of us have heard something like this expression of employee gratitude. “I’ve enjoyed working here. You taught me so much, and you’ve always treated me well. But the company down the road is paying a lot more for people with my … Continue Reading

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Leadership, Managing Employees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Employee Experience: Is Bigger Better?

Small businesses provide much of the initial employee experience. We take younger folks and teach them decent work habits like showing up every day, being on time, and working to deadlines. As owners, our personal skills may not be sufficient. We … Continue Reading

Posted in Business Perspectives, John's Opinions, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Two Weeks Fair Notice?

I formerly employed an assistant who held a Masters Degree in Human Resources. On occasion she’d say “I love working here. I’ll never quit.” Of course, as a good employer I felt an urge to reply with equal commitment, but … Continue Reading

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Extreme Democracy

Last week the British government announced that it was naming their new scientific research ship the RSS Sir David Attenborough, acting counter to the  people’s selection of “Boaty McBoatface,” despite that name being an overwhelming 3:1 favorite over the next closest choice. … Continue Reading

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What Does HR Do?

What are the roles of a Human Resources professional in your organization? A common rule of thumb is that a company should have a dedicated HR function once it reaches 80 employees or so. This post comes from a recent meeting of … Continue Reading

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Talk to Your Competitors

In my two decades of managing over a dozen peer groups, I frequently had the opportunity to sit in meetings with a business owner who competed with a member of another Board. I occasionally had to bite my tongue as someone vilified … Continue Reading

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The 7 Deadly Sins of an Entrepreneur — Reprise

I make no claim that using the Seven Deadly Sins as a metaphor for business behavior is original. Of course, the original concept is a codifying of “undesirable” human behaviors, or sins. The work probably comes from the Latin word … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, John's Opinions, Leadership, Managing Employees, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Seventh Entrepreneurial Sin — Pride

Every business owner should be proud of his or her business. If you are the founder, you built every system, and probably landed the biggest customers. If you bought the business, you took what was in place and made it … Continue Reading

Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fifth Entrepreneurial Sin — Greed

Few small business owners identify with the bloated income of Wall Street Tycoons. To accuse an entrepreneur of Greed brings up memories of the Gordon Gekko 1980’s, when “Greed is Good” seemed to be the motto of 30-something Boomers focused … Continue Reading

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