This week’s post comes from our friend Grant Field of MGI South Queensland.  Grant originally posted this on MGI’s web site & was gracious enough to allow us to use it here.  It’s always a relevant topic, but it’s been especially so given what’s happened economically over the past few years.  Thanks Grant!………………………………………………………………….. Three Reasons … Read more

Recently I was involved in a meeting in which the topic of employee performance review came up.  As soon as they were mentioned, the eye-rolling and groaning started.  It’s almost a tradition:  start talking about performance reviews and watch the meeting deteriorate. And it’s not just us.  According to a 2010 Study by Psychology Today, … Read more

There is and has been a lot of talk about the Baby Boomers over the past few years.  How many of them will be leaving the workforce and what that means for the transition of businesses.  We’ve talked about it, thought about it, blogged about it, and it is a big deal.  Today I’m thinking … Read more

I’ve been reminded recently how often are there changes we know ought to be made to our businesses, yet we just don’t do it.  How often do we say something like, “Well, we’re hopeful things will change”, when we really know it’s not going to change until we do something about it?  Maybe we know … Read more

I don’t know if there’s a rule about “you’re not supposed to blog when you’re irritated”, but if there is I’m apparently breaking it today.  The embarrassing part is that I’m mostly irritated with myself. Lately I’ve found myself not getting things done that I’d like to, and I’ve heard myself using the pathetic excuse, … Read more

Today’s article is written by guest blogger, Marisa Gift. Follow Marisa’s blog at: http://matgift.blogspot.com This week I found myself creating a trusty ol’ pro-con list to weigh a decision facing our family.  I’ve always been a fan of these lists when difficult choices come my way and I have a feeling people have been using this method … Read more

Everyone seems to have an opinion about the use of social media in business.  Recent research conducted in Great Britain by MBA candidate Scott Addison revealed that currently social media’s primary use is for intelligence gathering and prospecting, with very little effort to engage in a direct, two-way dialog.  There was limited understanding of the … Read more

As another year comes to a close, business owners will be busy poring through financial statements to determine the extent to which they need to do tax planning.  They may also be busy working up forecasts and budgets for 2013.  Too often a disproportionate amount of attention is given to the tax situation.  Forecasting and … Read more

I had an interesting (an unfortunately, not atypical) conversation with a family business owner this weekend.  Dad owns a very successful construction company, but is in his 70’s and wants to significantly cut back on how much he’s working (he’s putting in 80+ hours a week).  His son (we’ll call him Junior) works in the … Read more

Today’s guest post is written by Mike Boyle – Head Sales Scientist – Banjar Group Lately I have been using a story to help my customers focus on where they are during these indifferent times. The Tour De France. Where do you win the Tour de France I ask? “At the finish line” is often … Read more