My 89-year-old mother lives in an independent living facility that has several businesses connected to them. They have a bank, a maid service, and even a beauty parlor as my mom calls it. During a recent visit, my mom was telling me about how her hairdresser was let go because she was in such high […]
Are Your Employees Free-Agents? Read More »
One has to ask “Are corporations past their prime?” Corporations came into being to allow multiple investors to invest a portion of their capital across several risky, but potentially highly profitable endeavors. Corporations Come Into Existence When sailing ships were constructed to carry on world trading, it was a highly lucrative proposition but was fraught
Are Large Corporations Past Their Prime? Read More »
In most businesses that employ a Board of Directors, the board consists of key employees of the company like the CEO, presidents, and vice presidents as well as key investors. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the smaller the board the stronger it is. When you have a big board, the power of the CEO increases since
Who Is Stronger, The Board of Directors or CEO? Read More »
When a business advances from stage 3 to stage 4, the business transformation is nearly complete. During stage 4, company decay can often begin to set in as the administration of the business is placed in the hands of a “guardian.” The primary motives of the business guardian are comfort and security. Unity towards a purpose
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For a business to advance from stage 2 to stage 3, the business undergoes a substantial shift from being on the offensive and growth-oriented to becoming more defensive and focused on process improvement through business segmentation. The business segmentation associated with stage 3 sets up the business for shared leadership and management by creating multiple
Stage 3: The Athletes and Performers of Business Read More »
For a business to advance from stage 1 to stage 2, the business requires that the role of the Oracle be supported or replaced by a business development person. I refer to this new leader as the “General.” In our McDonald’s example from a previous post, it was a guy by the name of Ray
Stage 2: The Generals of Business Read More »
Stage 1 encompasses the pre-start-up and early start-up period of a business. A company is started by a founder who is essentially the idea person behind the business. I refer to this person as the “oracle. In classical antiquity, an Oracle is a person who can see and predict the future. The Oracle of a
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Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry. He knew that wealth came from creative thinking and not from hard work. He spent six months a year traveling throughout Europe to have time to learn and reflect. Andrew worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad as a telegraph operator. He
The Power of a Person’s Name and Focus Read More »
The owner, or the person that invests in a new business, gets paid out of the business’ profits. An employee gets a guaranteed wage paid by the owner/investor. Therefore, the employee cares about getting a paycheck, while the owner cares about the ongoing success of the business and profits. We own a few income properties
Owner vs. Employee Mentality Read More »
