Fortune Magazine's most recent issue challenged a wide variety of business and government leaders to share the The Best Advice I Ever Got. I think that's a great challenge and encourage readers to share those that have been meaningful in...
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How to treat customers? Like guests.
Saturday's NY Times carried an interview with Alan J. Fuerstman, CEO of Montage Hotels and Resorts. His view of customer service and the incredible value of staff training and retention, offers several insightful observations about how to serve with "grace...
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The Game Changer
A recent book published by A.G Lafley, the CEO of Proctor & Gamble and Ram Charan, the globe-trotting uber consultant, called The Game Changer is all about the turnaround at consumer giant Proctor & Gamble. Fortune carried an excerpt about...
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Spend a billion. Save a billion. DHL and UPS hook up!
DHL, the international delivery firm with prominent colors of red and yellow, announced they have hired UPS to handle of their U.S. delivery needs. It's an outsourcing choice and approach that seems counter-intuitive between two major competitors. Read the provocative...
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Quit? Never! Well, maybe . . . .
Have you ever thought about quitting? Did you ever think it might be the best choice? The New York Times carried an article summarizing some of the latest theories and scientific studies discussing our obsession with perseverance. There's something to...
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No sauce on my sandwich. 911?
The SF Chron carried a brief notice today summarizing an AP story about a Florida incident. It's quoted below: "The sauce for a spicy Italian sandwich was apparently a must have for one Florida man. The man, Reginald Peterson, called...
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Zimbabwe – where’s the fun now?
Just as we were having a little fun with the Zimbabwe currency quagmire - they were running out of the paper required to print money - and prepared to report on their official 2.2 million percent inflation rate - yes,...
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Another view . . . on the Economy
I don't know about you but I'm pretty tired of the one-sided, "the sky is falling approach of journalists" filling the front pages with dastardly economic news. Since we all know that economists have correctly predicted 13 out of the...
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Boomers? GenX? Generation Y? Huh?
A colleague recently passed along a handy reference chart which summarizes - and generalizes - the generational groups we hear about all the time - the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. It won't fit everyone perfectly but...
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Scalping Free Tickets? Gotta love it!
I've given up. I can no longer resist including a thread entitled "Is this a Great Country or What!" because there is just too much material to pass up. One of my latest faves is the New York scalpers selling...
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Brother, can you spare me a dime?
You mean $5 Billion? Yes, if you live in Zimbabwe, that's about the value of an American dime. You know the old saw about "if you're out of checks, you're out of money" - no, I'm not talking about your...
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The Sales Cycle – what is it?
In my column running today in the July 14 edition of the North Bay Business Journal entitled Sound Cash Management 'cheapest investor you'll ever find, I referred to a graphic that better explains the Sales Cycle or Operating Cash Cycle....
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A Passion for Learning is the Cornerstone of Success
The NY Times recently published an article entitled "If You're Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow", a summary of research completed by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck and published in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Her mission...
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Gas Expense used to be Larger?
The NY Times recently carried an article that defines conventional wisdom - and illustrates how gas, fuel and other energy costs have been much higher as a share of personal consumption expenditures than they are now. Who knew?
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Let Freedom Ring!
In 1886, Keokuk, Iowa celebrated Independence Day with a parade and the usual festivities. Samuel Clemens (better known to most as Mark Twain) was present and was asked to say a few words during the celebration, which he did, mixed...
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Is olive oil used for salad – or a sport?
ESPN the Magazine recently reported on the "oldest ongoing sporting event in the world". It started in 1362 with two simple rules: no water breaks and no timeouts. Short matches? Quite the contrary . . . how about the Championship...
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Who said clerical work is easy?
Sitting in the doctor's office recently, I found a old copy of a Reader's Digest issue (did you think there would be a current issue?) and browsed the humor sections, stopping on the Humor in Uniform section. Here's the Defense...
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I’ll eat lunch with you for half that – maybe less!
That's some kind of lunch, even if it's for 8 people at the venerable NY steakhouse, Smith & Wollensky's. See who paid $2.1 million - no, that's not a misprint - to dine with Warren Buffett.
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The lack of visibility
It's the lack of visibility that's got us tripped up about the economy. Just look at today's SF Chronicle. On one hand, there's an article on page C5 entitled "Fragile Economy improves a bit", which sounds like good news ....
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Do the analysis – and, yes, Cash is still King!
In my column appearing in the North Bay Business Journal June 30 edition, I continue the series exploring the financial challenges of accelerated growth. This particular column illustrates the value of financial analysis, but more broadly, should encourage you to...
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Pricing and Promotion in the Wine Industry
One of my colleagues, Dr. Steven S. Cuellar, Ph. D. and Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Sonoma State University, has recently published an article entitled "Price, Promotion and Profits" in Wine Business Monthly. It's an insightful look...
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Through the CEO’s eyes
Hang in there, CEO's. The world isn't coming to an end quite yet. According to a blurb in the NY Times on Sunday, CEO's don't think the economy is in a tailspin. In fact, while 30% expect their U.S. employment...
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Valuation Concepts: A Diagram
In my recent article in the North Bay Business Journal, I referred to a downloadable copy of a full-color diagram of key Valuation Concepts. You can find it here. You might note the interesting observation in this article about the...
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Leadership Lessons from the Fallen
In our search for the quintessence of leadership, we've quoted many CEO's about the qualities of great leaders. Following the maxim that if failure doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of...
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The Great Escape? The Balloon Won!
Many of you saw the post on Michael Fournier's attempt to parachute to earth from 25 miles up. Unfortunately, as the adjoining picture reveals, it wasn't a good day. In short? The balloon escaped without him - cost $200K -...
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What a great day for a birthday!
What an uplifting day! Okay, so I'm a little exuberant this morning, so what? I'm listening to Michael McDonald rocking out on "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", reading about the first Black American likely to be the...
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Valuation is an Art not a Science.
There have been several recent articles in Conde Nast's new Portfolio magazine in a column entitled "How to Value It" that may provide some valuable insights about the art of valuation. For openers, look at the article entitled "Buy Chanel...
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