How many times have we heard about a failed marriage, scuttled by pride ... greed ... jealousy ... envy ... or other misdeeds flowing from the interminably deep well of human shortcomings? Too many, I'm sure, but those denizens of...

I think that line is attributed to Ronald Reagan's impressive debate performance against Jimmy Carter in 1980 ... but just the same, it applies to the stream of recent articles about business lending in the middle market.The WSJ discusses a...

A recent report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation entitled After Inception - How Enduring is Job Creation by Start-ups?", uncovered several notable findings about the job creation power of start-ups:The number of start-ups that flourish and create jobs balances...

If you don't think social networking is on an intergalactic trajectory, you haven't met my nieces and nephews. Ages 8-11-14. NOT from a technology-driven family ... so for those of you who are, strap in! Facebook - old news! Facebook...

A recent NY Times interview with Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg, a firm that rents textbooks online and by mail, brought some valuable but simple tips about meeting discipline to mind.   1. Leave technology on the other side of the...

In an article entitled Five Ways Pixar Makes Better Decisions, Tom Davenport, a Babson College professor, refers to what I call "after action reviews" as a critical element of the creative decision-making used at Pixar.In my earlier post, Powerful After...

That's the phrase one of my oldest and closest banker friends always used – he became the President of a major division of a major bank before he retired. You may not know that word – and it's at least...

Today there's constant bickering among advocates who claim that the banking community is unwilling to lend to small businesses, and those who say that small businesses won't need loans until their business improves. Since we've finally solved the chicken or...

The flood of public embarrassments and public floggings never seems to end. Two of my most recent columns, Get it Right the First Time and The Keys to an Apology, summarize BPs woeful public gaffes, the transcendence of umpire Jim...

Today is usually a day for hot dogs, parades and festive celebrations of the birth of this wonderful nation we inhabit.In that spirit, I'd like to dedicate this holiday to a dear family friend, Cpt. Kevin Mott, an Army Ranger...

You wouldn't think it would be too hard to sort out whether this is no small business lending because there is no capital ... or because small businesses aren't asking. There's a lot here so keep reading if you want...

I'm a big believer in the Ritz Carlton's program of providing a $2,000 allowance to empower their employees to enhance the "Guest Experience" ... and I think it's noteworthy that the Cadillac division of General Motors is applying this concept...

I've written numerous posts about business plans ... the importance of preparing them, what should be in them, etc. Seth Godin has another, very simplified concept about what's really needed: * Truth * Assertions * Alternatives * People * Money...

Fast Company recently carried a brief piece which described how what appears to be a personal shortcoming may obfuscate a problem situation. In psychology, they call it the Fundamental Attribution Error but the example they used is particularly poignant for...

I'm sure this will be a popular post ... but set aside your emotions for a moment about the BP disaster... and consider the insistence by the federal government that an independent agency take over the claims resulting from the...