10 Powerful Ways to Grow More Business

Excerpted from “Helping People Grow” by Jim Cathcart This checklist for growth contains ten powerful ideas, any one of which could revolutionize your business results. As you explore each one, take time to answer the questions in writing and to discuss...

A How-to Guide for Facilitators

The owner of a firm is often expected to “facilitate” things. It could be training for a team member, or conducting a meeting. It could be to lead a discussion group for the purpose of conducting research or mediating in a dispute. The only problem is that...

A Start on Office Ergonomics

Most of us have some general thoughts about ergonomics, but this information can easily be out-of-date. Fortunately for those involved with making decisions about office furniture and setup current ergonomics encourages variety and movement rather than rigid...

An Emergency Plan for Your Business

The workplace is a place of danger. If you think yours is safe, think again! You don’t have to be running a factory to have dangerous situations arise; an office can also be a hazardous place to spend the day. Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes. As an employer...
Beating the Meeting Blues

Beating the Meeting Blues

Meetings are often regarded as a necessary evil. If they are not held, stakeholders complain they were either not informed or not part of the decision making process. But when they are held, they frequently disintegrate into time wasting sessions that leave the...
E-Mail Archiving Essentials

E-Mail Archiving Essentials

The increasing incidence of electronic discovery requests during lawsuits as well as the requirements of legislation such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act means that any company with an e-mail server should consider the acquisition of an email archiving system. There is a...
Haggling Makes Business Sense

Haggling Makes Business Sense

Whether it’s buying or selling, dealing with customers or employees, business owners have to negotiate virtually every day. Yet many may not view it as a separate skill, such as bookkeeping or time-management. Successful negotiating is both a science and an art,...
How Harley-Davidson Got Back Basics

How Harley-Davidson Got Back Basics

If there was ever an American icon of the highways it’s the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. 2003 is the year the company celebrates its 100th anniversary with a series of motorcycling events around the world. The company also announced record revenue and earnings for its...

How to Pick the Good from Bad in Small Business

If you’re running or consulting for a small business, you’ve no doubt heard the oft quoted statistic that something like 50 percent of all small businesses fail within two years of opening. While it’s true that it’s not easy to run or consult for a small business, it...

Make Your First Impression a Good One

We’re getting less formal about business every year. Offices that once had rigid dress codes now tolerate jeans and sports shirts. Thanks to teleworking and teleconferencing it’s possible for executives to attend a business meeting from home wearing a bathrobe. But...