Angels invested more than $19 Billion in 2008 according to the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. The NY Times published an article today reporting the resuls ... what many of us have been saying all along: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PREPARATION! Authenticity is more…
There are certainly some who think the tailspin is ending and the flight path is leveling out. The NY Times reported that more than half of the companies surveyed say they do not plan layoffs in the next 12 months. Sixty-seven percent say they do not expect any hiring freezes.…
On Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. PDT and on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. PDT, we are hosting a FREE Live Webcast for CEO's and business leaders in the middle market.I believe middle market businesses need to do 2 things immediately:Evade the distractions of contradictory economic…
I have written frequently about personnel decisions and offered various references on the relative value of furloughs and layoffs. The WSJ today published another article on this subject that compares and contrasts these valuable tools.
I overlooked posting this article earlier, entitled After the Fall. It was written by Michael Lewis of Liar's Poker fame and published in the Dec/Jan 09 issue of Portfolio magazine. It is an fascinating exposé of the sub-prime loan market, the Credit Default Obligation (CDO) securities that embraced it and…
Business Week carries a fresh look at The Peter Principle, the seminal work that coined the phrase about people being promoted to their "level of incompetence". Still a worthy concept for evaluating talent and making sure that your greatest salesman doesn't become a big failure as a sales manager.
The NY Times interviewed Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox on Sunday in their Corner Office segment. She offered several keen observations on a wide range of subjects that are worth considering:
Fortune's February 2 edition carried an article about the remarkable success of Zappos, the online footwear and more retailer. You can find the Ten Commandments outlining the core values of CEO Tony Hsieh.
Impressing your bank less important than being able to hit targetsThe Scavenger’s Daughter? Might be the name of a lost Dickens novel … or an indulgent misnomer for a the infamous rack that not only stretched but crushed its victims during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Thumbscrews, pilliwinks, breaks and the tormento de toca were other methods used to punish those that broke their “covenant” with the King.
Fortunately, those punishments are relegated to history’s ash heap … at least I’m pretty sure that banks aren’t using any of these default provisions.
Compliance with financial covenants, however, has never been more important. Today, banks have an arsenal of covenant choices that are used as an early warning system to alert participants to potential problems that may jeopardize their financial well-being.
It’s important to recall that covenants are based upon (more…)