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Archives › September 2003
September 30, 2003
Lessons from the NFL
Posted by at 1:02 PM
With a two minutes and change left in the Bills/Eagles this past Sunday, Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, NY, was jumping with the type of intensity rarely found anywhere outside of ball fields. The 73,000-plus fans (70,000 of whom enjoyed adult beverages with breakfast) were screaming their lungs out for the Bills defense. It was 16-13, Philadelphia with the lead and the football. The Bills desperately needed to stop the Eagles and just about everyone within the greater Niagara Falls area vocalized their desires. One play later -- a 62-yard Brian Westbrook touchdown run that secured the game for the Eagles -- the energy vanished from the stadium, except for one raucous section of the end zone peppered with Birds fans.
And I was one of them.
It was a heck of an afternoon: great stadium, great fans, warm-enough weather, and reasonably-priced Labatt Blues. It was a tough, competitive game in a jacked-up stadium, and as I may have mentioned, the Eagles won and righted the ship after an 0-2 start.
I have been a football fan forever, but this season has an extra kick to it after I hung out at training camps and talked to coaches for the coaching story in the October 2003 issue of Inc. We decided to talk management styles with some of the NFL's best coaches because so many entrepreneurs use football metaphors, clichés and jargon as part of their daily lexicon. And there isn't a more oft-quoted leader in the business community than Vince: "If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm" Lombardi. Living vicariously through grown sweaty men every Sunday seems silly on its face value, but count me as one boldly proclaiming that "we needed this game" -- we meaning Donovan McNabb, Troy Vincent, Andy Reid and Patrick Sauer naturally.
I was struck by a couple of things in Buffalo, first and foremost -- the buffalo wingheads will never have the same charm and color as the original Green Bay Packer cheesehead hats, even though a plate of the hot wings at the Anchor Bar offers a much more rewarding meal than a brick of Wisconsin cheddar. (Heed this warning -- skip the suicide, my mouth is still vaguely numb). Second, it was the first game I've attended since writing the story, and it was easy to see why so many business owners have a fantasy life as an NFL coach (often manifested in life as an NFL coach in fantasy football). What other arena offers the devotion and the dedication as a packed house on gameday? Later , we can get into whether or not NFL coaches can teach CEO's a thing or two -- or vice versa -- but from a sheer intensity standpoint, it's obvious. Players, coaches, fans of all stripes, cheerleaders, Rock You Like A Hurricane by the Scorpions, F-14 flyovers and a high-school marching band all add up to an office loaded with passion, the kind of office where everyone show sup for work at 8 a.m. Sunday morning -- except for the overachievers in the RVs. They set up camp in the Ralph Wilson parking lot Friday night.
So I'll be here all week talking football, business, and the business of football and maybe we can even spitball Super Bowl scenarios. Can anyone beat Tampa Bay? Which reminds me, last Friday, Jon Gruden was on NPR here in New York City discussing his new book Do You Love Football?!: Winning with Heart, Passion and Not Much Sleep. It's a good interview on some of the same topics in the article. The NFL on NPR, we really are a football nation, aren't we?
Lastly, the racially-charged topic in this article is too big for this blog, but it's been aggravating me all morning, so I couldn't let it slide completely. I'd like to give Donovan McNabb (or Brian Dawkins if McNabb continues on the high road) two minutes alone in the parking lot with Rush Limbaugh -- just to see what kind of interesting shapes they can arrange his fat dittohead, but that's just me...
Segway Takes a Spill
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:35 AM
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Segway LLC, based in Manchester, N.H., announced a recall of all 6,000 Segways, a New York Times article recently reported. It seems that the high-tech scooter with computerized gyroscopes to keep it from falling over can, in fact, fall over when the battery runs low, or, as President Bush found out, isn't turned on.
The Segway debuted last November and was touted by the makers and the press as a way to ease urban traffic and conserve energy. However, as Rod Kurtz pointed out in a recent Inc. article, Main Street users aren't buying yet, especially at $5,000 a pop. But some businesses have, like an ambulance company in Louisiana, whose medics use Segways to navigate traffic, and retailers using them for promotional purposes.
http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5082886.html
September 29, 2003
Technology
blogging
Posted by Mike Hofman at 5:35 PM
Yes, I realize that there is something post-modern about blogging about blogging. But here goes. Matt Fogel wrote about businesses that use blogging as a marketing technique in the May issue of Inc. But commercial blogging does raise some issues as the Sacremento Bee recently found out. The paper received many complaints from readers after it was disclosed that its blog was actually edited. The point of blogs, readers said, was authentic, unfettered commentary. But ask yourself this, how freely would you let employees sound off on your site?
Today's news
Greed on Trial
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:23 AM
Ex-Tyco chief executive, Dennis Kozlowski, is to appear in a Manhattan court today, accused of stealing $600 million from Tyco and its investors to support his obscenely lavish lifestyle. Kozlowski is the first executive from recent corporate scandals to face accusers in court, the New York Times reports today.
It's a big test, said John J. Fahy, a former federal and New Jersey prosecutor. If Kozlowski wins, then prosecutors might be reluctant to go after other executives accused of corporate malfeasance.
Let's hope the court wins. After doing a quick search on corporate scandals, it's obvious that there certainly wouldn't be a shortage of executives to put on the stand. Here's a list of links to some of the resources I found.
Good links to some of the more notable scandals in the past two years:
Enron:
Houstonchronicle.com's four-part series and "Making Sense of It All" offer a comprehensive look at Enron's wrongdoings.
WorldCom:
CNNmoney.com's "WorldCom's Financial Bomb"
WorldCom's hometown news headlines from the Clarionledger.com
Adelphia:
CorporateLibrary.com's Spotlight Topic: Adelphia Scandal
These resources offer short takes and news on a slew of corporate scandals:
CorporateLibrary.com's Corporate Scandal Quick Sheet offers an up-to-date round-up of the latest news.
Citzenworks.org offers a Corporate Scandal Sheet (though it was last updated in May 2003) and suggestions for how ordinary, law-abiding citizens can Take Action to expose and prevent corporate wrongdoing.
September 26, 2003
Today's news
Do-Not-Call List Hits Another Snag
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:11 AM
The national do-not-call list has come under fire again, the New York Times reports this morning. This time, U.S. District Judge Lee R. West in Oklahoma City has argued that the FTC doesn't have the authority to put the national list into effect. Other arguments against the do-not-call program include whether it violates the First Amendment and whether it discriminates against for-profit businesses, since the program exempts nonprofit solicitors.
September 25, 2003
Sales and Marketing
Creating Buzz
Posted by Carole Matthews at 4:12 PM
Robert Wheatley, CEO of Wheatley & Timmons, a public relations and marketing communications agency, argues that we need to rewrite the marketing communications rulebook to grab elusive customers, in "Have We Lost the Art of Persuasion? on Brandweek.com. The constant barrage of repetitive marketing messages might increase awareness, he contends, but it rarely persuades customers to buy.
What does persuade customers to buy? Wheatley says getting an authentic message out to "mavens" -- information hungry early adopters -- is the real way to create buzz and garner more customers.
September 24, 2003
Today's news
IRS Extends Deadlines for Hurricane Victims
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:40 AM
The IRS has extended filing deadlines for victims of Hurricane Isabel. The extension applies to those individuals who had received an extension to file their 2002 taxes and to businesses, whose owners will get more time to deposit taxes withheld from employees for Medicare and Social Security.
Giving Back
Posted by Carole Matthews at 8:56 AM
Some cynics might think Bill Gates' campaign against AIDS in Africa is just a PR effort on behalf of Microsoft. But, as Nicholas D. Kristof suggests in his Op-Ed column today, Fighting the Fevers, the billionaire's probably doing more for the crusade against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa than the entire Western world. In fact, as Kristof notes, "When Mr. Gates made his first tentative donation to malaria research, he found he'd raised the global budget by 50 percent."
People can certainly criticize Gates' for how he's made his money and they can criticize his products, but his philanthropic efforts are something to be admired.
Kristof's column actually got me thinking about Inc.'s own stories of philanthropic entrepreneurs, like that of John Wheeler. He's the founder of Rockford Construction in Belmont, Mich., who has made giving back to his community part of building his business. And, Inc. writer Donna Fenn's report on a slew of entrepreneurs who are democratizing the philanthropic world by making it easier for ordinary businesspeople to enter.
Whether their contributions are large or small, today's business builders are finding ways to share their good fortune. Do you have any stories of entrepreneurs who are making a difference? Share them here.
September 23, 2003
Small-Business Growth Seminar
Posted by Carole Matthews at 3:43 PM
Thomas Regional and the SBA will conduct a free seminar for industrial small-business owners this Thursday in NYC. The event being held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will feature sessions on getting financing, managing business growth and growing a business using the Web. Visit www.thomasregional.com/sba for more information.
After Isabel
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:05 PM
Michael Barbaro of the Washington Post tells the story of Mushtaq Naqash, a merchant dealing with the aftereffects of Hurricane Isabel. Like other merchants in Old Town Alexandria whose businesses were flooded, Naqash didn't have a flood policy -- even though his business is located about 100 feet from the Potomac River. He is insured, but Naqash fears his policy will be of little help in recouping his losses -- an estimated $400,000 in merchandise.
Rod Kurtz warned Inc. readers of the impending threat of hurricanes in "Severe Storm Watch." In it, he noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 11 to 15 tropical storms this season, with six to nine reaching hurricane force. Clearly, it's near impossible to predict what effects Mother Nature may have on your business, but, as Naqash's and other owners' stories in Kurtz's piece illustrate, being unprepared can be devastating to a small business.
September 22, 2003
Technology
High-Tech Visas to be Cut
Posted by Carole Matthews at 3:48 PM
The number of H1-B visas that can be issued each year could be cut if Congress doesn't act by Oct. 1. The number of high-tech visas, which have been used to bring many Asian high-tech experts to the U.S., would be reduced from 195,000 to 65,000, according to a Reuters' article published today. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Orrin Hatch, cites the number of high-tech workers currently unemployed in the U.S. as one reason for the reduction.
Opponents of the reduction (think big high-tech companies) feel that this will hamper many companies' ability to hire highly skilled engineering talent. Supporters of the reduction, like those noted at H1b.info strongly urge the reduction, if not the abandonment of the entire program, saying that H1-B visas threaten American workers' jobs. What camp are you in?
The Real Grasso Scandal
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:46 AM
Allan Sloan, in his On Wall Street column today, likens the recent Richard Grasso compensation scandal to a game from the old Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Calvinball: "make up your own rules, and then decide whether you've won or lost." According to Sloan, Grasso's less-than-apologetic resignation was just another example of "how powerful people can rationalize anything, bending or rewriting rules to fit the game they want to play..."
The game isn't only Grasso's to play. Sloan writes that many more in corporate America, and even those in George W. Bush's fundraising camp, have spots on the Calvinball team.
(And I couldn't mention Calvin and Hobbes without linking to this website. Here's a an appropriate comic strip for today: May 5, 1990.)
September 19, 2003
May I Have the Envelope, Please?
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 2:52 PM
As part of the Small Business Administration's 50th anniversary, yesterday the agency honored 17 women-owned businesses for excellence in entrepreneurship. Congratulations to all of the winners:
Barbara Baekgaard and Patricia Miller (co-founders)
Vera Bradley Designs, Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Pamela Barefoot
Blue Crab Bay, Onancock, Va.
Donna Asmann
Clark Manufacturing, Wellinton, Kansas
Tina Cordova
Queston Construction, Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Patty DeDominic
The PDQ Careers Group, Los Angeles
Lurita Doan
New Technology Management, Winchester, Va.
Kathryn Freeland
RGII Technologies, Annapolis, Md.
Judy George
Domain Homes, Norwood, Mass.
Heather Howitt (co-founders: Tedde McMillen, Carla Powell, and Lori
Woolfrey)
Oregon Chai, Portland, Oreg.
Rebecca Matthais
Mothers Work, Philadelphia
Marilyn Melkonian
Telesis Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Carolyn Minerich
Carmin Industries, Jacksonville, Ala.
Julie Morgenstern
Julie Morgenstern Professional Organizers, New York
Nikki Olyai
Innovision Technologies, Novi, Mich.
Dr. Taryn Rose
Taryn Rose International, Los Angeles
Maria Welch
Respira Medical, Baltimore
Jeannette Lee White
Sytel, Bethesda, Md.
September 18, 2003
Change Agents
More Than A Feeling?
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 3:19 PM
You can't keep a good entrepreneur down. In fact, they're more optimistic now than they were during the tech boom (or at any time since 1986) leading some economists to forecast an upswing in growth in the third and fourth quarters. The turnaround in opinion is remarkable: back in March when the war began, only 7% of the entrepreneurs surveyed expected the economy to improve in the next six months. The optimism survey is conducted monthly by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
Science and Medicine
Fast-Growing Health Plans
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 11:15 AM
Most CEOs of fast-growing companies think they have good health plans. PricewaterhouseCoopers released a survey of growing companies this week that showed, while 36% of CEOs rate their company health plans as "excellent," and 46% rate it as "good," less than half of the CEOs regularly survey their employees to gain an understanding of their health plan needs, and only 20% used metrics when budgeting health care coverage. For 2003, the CEOs reported spending an average of $4,860 on each full-time employee's health coverage, with service companies allocating more per employee ($5,035) than product companies ($4,660). Ouch.
Of the companies that used metrics to budget health care spending, the most-used were percent of payroll (43%), percent of revenue (23%), and percent of operating budget (20%).
Do you use metrics to budget your health care spending? Why or why not?
Taxes
Voters Say No to Espresso Tax
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:06 AM
Back in August I mentioned an espresso tax that the city of Seattle proposed to help fund day-care and preschool programs. Well, the votes are in, and the proposal was rejected.
Some are saying it was just a "crazy tax." But when communities are suffering and beneficial programs are being cut, it sometimes takes "crazy" proposals like this to wake people up to the fact that something needs to be done.
Technology
Wanted: CEOs of Failed Start-ups
Posted by Carole Matthews at 8:41 AM
CEOs of failed start-ups are finding new lives at the helms of VC-backed businesses, writer Benjamin Pimenel wrote in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. According to Pimenel, VCs are looking to back "management gems among ex-dot-com managers," because they exhibited superior leadership skills and extraordinary perserverence to survive a very turbulent time. As John Taylor, VP for research of the National Venture Capital Association put it, "There are entrepreneurs who have failed, who have become smarter managers and who are ready to take something on."
September 17, 2003
Shopping for Insurance
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:25 AM
According to the recent Kaiser Family Foundation 2003 Employer Health Benefits Survey, 62% of the smaller firms (3-199 workers) surveyed shopped for new health plan types or insurance carriers during the last year, while 33% actually changed plans or carriers. Surprisingly, however, very few small employers had any knowledge of some leading resources online that could help them evaluate and compare health plans.
In fact, as the survey notes: "Despite the continuing efforts to educate firms about health plan quality, private sector efforts to accredit plans and measure quality remain largely unknown among smaller employers."
Clearly, it behooves small-business owners to be educated consumers of health care plans and carriers, especially at a time when skyrocketing premiums are forcing many to shop around. Here are the leading resources the Kaiser Survey notes and how they might help you become a better informed consumer:
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
Independent non-profit organization that supplies information about the quality of the nation’s managed care plans. The site also includes several pay-for publications including Quality Compass 2003, the NCQA's tool for selecting a health plan, conducting competitor analysis, quality improvement, benchmarking and health care research, and
Health Plan Emmployer and Information Data Sheets (HEDIS), which include a standardized survey of consumers' experiences that evaluates plan performance in areas such as customer service, access to care and claims possessing.
URAC
A nonprofit organization that promotes health quality through accreditation and certification. It includes a directory of accredited organizations.
The Leapfrog Group
A coalition of public and private organizations created to reduce preventable medical mistakes by identifying problems and proposing solutions to improve hospital care.
September 16, 2003
Today's news
Senate Votes to Rescind FCC Ruling
Posted by Carole Matthews at 12:12 PM
The U.S. Senate voted to rescind new FCC regulations that would allow large media companies to own more local media outlets. Supporters of the ruling, large companies like Fox and Viacom, contend they need more freedom to purchase local media companies to compete with the growing number of offerings from satellite, cable, and Internet sources. Opponents, however, fear relaxed regulations would cut local coverage and homogenize viewpoints.
Besides the implications of fewer independently owned media outlets on our general news consumption, the ruling would have implications on small business. Rhonda Abrams warned of the effects in a May 2003 column, saying consolidation in the market would result in:
* higher advertising rates
* reduced small-business coverage
* less innovation, making it harder for small businesses to have their products and services covered by the media.
Less diversity, more centralized news coverage, and fewer opportunities for small businesses to promote themselves in their communities. Let's hope the Senate keeps up the good fight.
September 15, 2003
Disruptive Innovations
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:19 PM
In "The Lessons of New-Market Disruption," writer Clark Gilbert recounts Teradyne's and HP's separate attempts to launch new technologies that had "enormous potential to cause new market disruptions." Teradyne accomplished its goal while HP failed.
The difference between their attempts: Teradyne didn't place any large short-term revenue expectations on its project, allowing it to develop an entirely new market for its product, while HP set such high revenue targets, it forced the developers to approach an existing market to reach financial goals -- even though that market was less interested in a new solution and more interested in maximizing the use of the existing one.
The moral of Gilbert's story: Companies interested in developing disruptive innovations need to retain flexibility and be financially realistic to capitalize on new opportunities.
Clayton Christensen discussed the topic of disruptive innovations with Nancy J. Lyons in a February 2002 article, "The Disruptive Start-Up: Clayton Christensen On How To Compete With The Best." In it, he says, "the best run of the large corporations -- those that are well managed, pay attention to their customers, and invest in new technology -- are vulnerable to being outwitted by disruptive innovators."
Why? Because, quite often large companies are less motivated to support new ideas that don't help the established company make more money (case in point, Gilbert's HP example). Christensen goes on to say: "Remember that when a new idea emerges in an established company, it needs to get funded. And the only ideas that get funded are those that help the established company make more money. That process favors the ideas that create improved products for existing customers, and tends to reject more innovative, or disruptive, ideas. That is what creates disruptive entrepreneurial opportunities."
If you take both Gilbert's examples and Christensen's advice, it would seem that taking a piece of the big guys' action isn't so difficult afterall. It just takes realizing that innovative ideas don't always have the most immediate payoff but can still result in success over the long-term.
Small Biz Confidence
Posted by Carole Matthews at 8:55 AM
Small business outscores big business when it comes to confidence and plans for growth, according to the recent quarterly results of the University of Michigan Business School/eePulse Inc. Leadership Pulse survey. A press release sent this morning notes that smaller firms ranked highest in their confidence and plans to grow their resources faster. More specifically, smaller companies that responded to the survey expect to grow their employees, number of customers and sales at a faster rate than larger firms.
More than 50,000 Fortune 1000 senior leaders, NASDAQ company executives, and women businesss owners have received the survey since the study began in June 2003. To participate in the survey, go to www.umbs.leadership.eepulse.com to receive a customized monthly Leadership Pulse Report for your organization. For more commentary on monthly results, see recent headlines at www.bus.umich.edu/NewsRoom/.
September 11, 2003
Post 9-11 Thoughts from Britain
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:47 AM
In a collection of essays from The Independent, a number of writers reflect on our post 9-11 world. The most striking essay, I think, is Paul Vallely's, "Social Fabric," which discusses the emotional effect the attacks have had on society as a whole.
In the essay, Vallely suggests the attacks didn't have a lasting effect on those not personally touched by the event. While during the first days and weeks after 9-11, we all made resolutions to spend more time with our families and act in more kind and humane ways, Vallely says we've "slipped back" to how things were before the terror attacks.
He writes: "For a while a new gentleness was in the air. Our shared shock brought a shared need to think of others." However, later in the essay he writes: "But most of us have slipped back. Just as on an international level, America has reverted to a Wild West view of global politics and environmental issues, so too, our collective psyche has hardened."
Have we "slipped back"? There was much talk about "business as usual" after the attacks, but did we take that too far and forget our resolutions?
Today's news
More 9/11 thoughts
Posted by Mike Hofman at 11:25 AM
The Miami Herald had this interesting take on the ways different industries will be affected by post 9/11 legislation and regulation.
Sept. 11th
Posted by Mike Hofman at 10:53 AM
The New York Times reported this week that the majority of federal support for businesses affected by the terrorist attacks of two years ago went to large financial services companies. This is hardly surprising given the account of small-business support (or lack thereof) provided by Sarah Bartlett in last year's Sept. issue of Inc. Bartlett, who lives not far from the World Trade Center site, is a professor at Baruch College.
September 10, 2003
Laws and regulation
Overtime/Comp time bill snagged in Senate
Posted by Mike Hofman at 3:51 PM
As Inc.'s Jess McCuan reported in June, Congress was poised to pass a bill that would make overtime/comp time swaps legal in the private sector. The Senate voted today to quash the reform, the Washingon Post reports.
Leadership
Outrageous Compensation
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:03 AM
I love this headline in today's New York Times -- "Grasso Giving Up $48 Million in Benefits." Ouch! That's gotta hurt. But to Richard A. Grasso, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, it's a drop in the bucket.
You see, the New York Stock Exchange disclosed its chairman's compensation package last month after a request made by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since Grasso took the position in 1995, he's earned $97 million, not including benefits. And then there are retirement benefits and various bonuses. In all, the Times article notes that Grasso had received $139.5 million in accumulated pay. The $48 million he's forgoing is money he is owed in back benefits.
In a USA Today article, Grasso said he would "forgo that $48 million because the size of his pay was becoming a distraction from his job of running the exchange." Is announcing that he's giving up the $48 million supposed to make us feel better about the fact that he's made $97 million as the as the chairman of the NYSE? Executive compensation and corporate governance have been enormous issues in the past year. Shouldn't the NYSE be a bit more of a role model in the area of corporate governance?
SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson certainly thinks so. As a recent Washington Post article reported, Donaldson wrote the following in a letter to the NYSE's compensation chairman: "As you know, I believe that self-regulatory organizations must be models of good governance…In my view, the approval of Mr. Grasso's pay package raises serious questions regarding the effectiveness of the NYSE's current governance structure."
What do you think?
September 9, 2003
Sales and Marketing
Pampered Pets
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:38 AM
Americans own more pets than ever, and seem to care about them more passionately, too, as a recent article from BrandWeek, "It's Reigning Cats and Dogs (and Fish and Reptiles)," suggests. There are more pet than people in the U.S. today, and the money we spend on pet products has begun to outpace what we spend on toys and candy according to a"2003/2003 National Pet Owners Survey" from The American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn. (APPMA).
Everyone is getting in on the "pet spending spree," and the business's wooing pet crazy customers goes way beyond the food and toy industries.
* Hotels are adopting pet-friendly policies.
* Companies known for human products, such as Paul Mitchell, Omaha Steaks, Origins, Harley-Davidson and Old Navy, now offer lines of pet products.
* Products that recognize that pets are one of the family have hit store shelves, including diapers for puppies and edible greeting cards.
* Luxury products like faux furs for pets and rhinestone tiaras, and services like pet massages and liposuction have emerged for the socialite pet.
* And, new technology and innovation are making it easier to own and care for pets, including automatic feeders, self-cleaning trays and motion sickness aids for those pets on the go.
In all, the APPMA expects pet owners to spend approximately $31 billion in 2003 on their pets. It might sound a bit strange, but perhaps there's a way your business can profit from America's love affair with its pets.
September 8, 2003
Branding
Emotional Branding
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:59 AM
Though they all seem to be taking hard a line against George W. Bush (case in point, last week's Bush-bashing Democratic debate), there is one thing they're at least disagreeing about, how to present themselves to the American public, and more specifically, how "personal" they should get on the campaign trail.
A Sunday, Sept. 7 New York Times article, "Democrats Split on Pushing the Personal or the Political" by Adam Nagourney, illustrates just how different the candidates are in this area. John Edwards regularly mentions his father's life as a millworker and Richard A. Gephardt shares stories about his father's career as a milk truck driver and his son's successful battle against colon cancer when campaigning. Other candidates like Howard Dean and Joseph I. Lieberman avoid personal details. The candidate's different takes on airing their personal lives, notes the Times article, "reflects fundamentally different calculations by the candidates about what voters are looking for in this election."
It's a fine line to walk for the candidates, trying to determine how much of their personal lives they should share in an effort to connect with the public. It's one business owners have also had to walk, as Inc. senior editor Michael Hofman discovered when he wrote "Emotional Branding" back in the May 2002 issue of Inc. In it, he spoke with business owners who have used their personal lives as a way to market their businesses. Ivan J. Juzang, CEO of MEE Productions Inc. honed his start-up story to woo investors; Veronica Rose, CEO of Aurora Electrice, boiled down her life story into a two-minute pitch for prospective customers; and Marina Inez Poropat, CEO of Intaglio, found that people were so interested in how she was able to start up and compete successfully in a male-dominated industry that she had to share her story.
In any case, both political and entrepreneurial, there's a balance to be struck. Share too much information (à la Clinton) and you risk losing some serious credibility, but share nothing, and you could come across as a stuffed shirt. Most importantly, branding yourself really means deciding what you're comfortable with and what you perceive others to need from you. Most of the owners in "Emotional Branding" developed their "personal pitches" to market their businesses in direct response to the curiosity their customers, prospects, and potential investors had about them and their backgrounds.
We'll see how it turns for the Democratic candidates. Right now I'm an issues person, but if they don't start differentiating themselves on what's really important sometime soon, I just might need a little family footage to help make my decision in 2004.
September 5, 2003
Leadership
Employee Loyalty
Posted by Carole Matthews at 6:58 AM
What does it take to retain good employees? Apparently, not a lot of money, at least that's what the recently released Walker Loyalty Report suggests. In its survey of 2,400 full- and part-time employees, Walker Information discovered that the top five workplace factors having the highest influence on an employee's commitment are:
1. Care and concern for employees
2. Fairness at work
3. Feelings of accomplishment
4. Day-to-day satisfaction
5. Appreciation of ideas
Additionally, two strong influencers of employee loyalty in 2003 were being an employee-focused organization and offering opportunities for employee development.
All of this isn't news to Bob Nelson, who's been preaching for years that money seldom motivates and retains employees over the long haul. In an article on the Foundation for Enterprise Development website, Nelson says, "While money can be an important way of letting employees know their worth to the organization, it tends not to be a sustaining motivational factor to most individuals." He frequently encourages employers to be creative and more hands-on when supporting employees.
What are you doing to ensure your employees stay motivated and committed to their work and your business?
September 4, 2003
Staying Small -- in Japan
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:25 AM
I ran across this profile of a Japanese manufacturer of acrylic glass on Economist.com today. What struck me about the company, Nippura, is that in an economy that rewards large successes, it has chosen to stay small, ignoring nudges from banks and the Japanese government to grow and get listed.
With its 60 employees, the company has become a world leader in the manufacturing of acrylic panels for aquariums -- it has won three-quarters of the global market, and the 70-year-old owner, Tetsuhiro Shikiyama, is hard at work diversifying his company to apply its acrylic know-now to other markets.
I guess size really doesn't matter in business success. Just thought I'd share this little (or rather big) overseas success story.
Identity Theft
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:02 AM
The Federal Trade Commission released a survey yesterday saying more than 27 million people became victims of identity theft in the last five years, costing individuals $5 billion, and businesses and financial institutions $48 billion. Last year alone, 9.9 million people became victims.
Inc. columnist Robert X. Cringley warned readers of the growing threat of identify theft in his August 2003 column. In it he notes that computers and lax data management by the government as two reasons identity theft is so prevalent. He also recounts how he was able to collect, within one hour, enough information to steal 300,000 individuals' identities -- 300,000!
It's shocking how easy -- and quickly -- one can collect enough personal information to steal an identity. Cringely suggests that some sort of secure identity verification will have to be developed to thwart these crimes, but until then, we'll have to become more aware of the problem and ways to avoid it.
Here are a few websites you can visit to find out how you can avoid becoming a victim and to discover if you've been victimized already.
Fightidentitytheft.com offers advice on what to do if identity has been stolen, tips on how to detect personal identity theft, information on recent scams, and a slew of online resources you can consult for further information.
101-Identitytheft.com has a dropdown menu of all of the agencies and institutions you should contact if you suspect your identity has been stolen, as well as useful advice and information on preventing and dealing with identity theft.
The U.S. Department of Justice offers information on identity theft including what you can do about it. It also highlights what the USDOJ is doing about it.
The FTC has an "ID Theft" website, providing information on individual identity theft as well as a "soon to be released" section on business relevant information.
September 3, 2003
China
Currency Talks with China
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:12 AM
United States Treasury Secretary John Snow arrived in Beijing yesterday in an attempt to encourage China to revalue the yuan. The Chinese haven't budged on the yuan's value since 1995, when it was pegged at 8.3 to the dollar, and, as noted in the article, "Democrats and Republicans alike claim that with its refusal to let the yuan rise, China is riding an export boom that is sucking jobs from the US and distorting global currency markets."
But if China is ready to become more competitive in its currency valuation, what does that mean to the American consumer? Most likely, it would raise the prices of many Chinese-made goods, and as Fresh Inc. user JHB notes in a recent weblog comment, "How many of us would own a $1,000 DVD player?, or a $60 toaster?"
September 2, 2003
Leadership
People ROI
Posted by Carole Matthews at 4:53 PM
It's easy to measure the ROI on tangible expenses, but how do you measure ROI on your human capital expenditures? The New ROI: Return on Individuals, an excerpt of a longer article published in the Harvard Business Review by Loren Gary, asks this question in this week's Working Knowledge newsletter.
Unfortunately, there is no one formula firms can use to determine human capital ROI, but, as Gary suggests, you can choose a key driver in your business, such as corporate strategy, to help measure the value of your employees' contributions. One argument suggests that the more aligned an employee is with corporate strategy, the more ready and able the employee is to transform that into corporate earnings. As Gary notes: "When the big corporate picture is clear, it helps you make decisions about where to spend specific dollars. Not all jobs are equally important—focus your resources where they'll give you the greatest return."
Considering that, by some accounts, the employee investment can run upwards of 60% of a business's expenditures, finding a way to measure your human capital ROI could really pay off.
For further reading on the topic check out Jac Fitz-Enz's book
The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance. It's received a few stellar reviews at Amazon.com.
Technology
A Boost for Online Booking
Posted by Carole Matthews at 1:12 PM
Booking flights and hotels online have become the norm for many leisure travelers, but Forrester Research reports in a New York Times article today that online booking is increasingly becoming commonplace practice for business travelers. According to Forrester, business trip bookings accounted for $13 billion of the roughly $150 billion companies spent last year on travel, and the research firm expects that figure to double by 2007.
Why the boost? Businesses are beginning to wake up to the fact that booking online saves money, and many of the largest travel sites can generate detailed travel reports, as Inc. writer Nadine Heintz notes in a July 2003 article, helping businesses better manage the business travel process.
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