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Archives › November 2003
November 25, 2003
RE: Turkey Narcolepsy
Posted by at 4:03 PM
Before you nod off from all that savory bird, take a moment to join hands and sing a Thanksgiving carol.
(Don't know any? Let my Grandma Jewell help out)
"Gobble, gobble, gobble, fat turkeys are we,
We hope to be liv-ing
Long after Thanks-giving,
Gobble, gobble, gobble, fat turkeys are we."
And let's not forget the family farms that feed the families, both on their last drumsticks and feasting on the holidays.
Enjoy your nap.
November 24, 2003
Today's news
Ho! Ho! Oh forget it.....
Posted by Mike Hofman at 5:09 PM
So I'm standing in a Starbucks on Sunday, waiting for my venti iced coffee to arrive. The temperature has been unseasonably warm--in the mid 60s--here in New York for a few days. All of sudden, I become aware that the entire coffee shop is decked out in holiday decorations. I turn to the guy next to me and say, "It's doesn't feel like Christmas, huh?" He laughs and agrees. I get my coffee and head out.
Apparently, I'm not the only guy who feels that way-- the Denver Post ran this story today on how Xmas ads are indeed popping up sooner and sooner each season.
All of this begs the question, will Americans become immune to holiday promos as they become ubiquitous from September until the end of the year? Will there even be a backlash that renders holiday ads much less powerful? Or Option C: are we being trained, as a society, to become ever bigger spenders come the merriment and celebration of Q4?
My bet: in th future, the only effective holiday campaigns will be those that are really expensive--so many companies will back away from them. Clever innovators will devise sleek, slightly less cheery promotions, ad campaigns, new product launches, etc. to counter-program their rivals old school green-and-red offerings.
And speaking of Old School, and so long as I'm making predictions, you heard it here first: Bob Newhart will be nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Elf.
November 21, 2003
Measuring the ROI of Training
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:36 AM
A Fresh Inc. reader and professional speech coach was recently asked by a client how the effectiveness of his upcoming communication training with one of the company's executives could be measured. Traditional ROI models don't really apply, as it's hard to put a monetary value on improved self-confidence and increased credibility. Certain models as suggested by Dr. Jack Phillips, he notes, might be effective, but he wonders if there are other models out there that might help him measure the value of his somewhat "intangible" services. Any ideas?
In a cursory search via Google this AM, I did uncover a few interesting resources and viewpoints.
Measuring Training ROI and Impact, an article written in 1999, which discusses Donald Kirkpatrick's widely used approach, though it was first developed in 1959, while he was a professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin. It offers four levels of evaluation that can help trainers measure ROI.
Assessing the ROI of Training from a UK-based firm that details some elements you can consider to measure training's effectiveness.
Case Studies in the ROI of Training from Chief Learning Officer magazine, which offers a few case studies of how the effectiveness of some training programs was measured.
While none of these links provide any clearcut answer to the above question, they all contain some valuable information, which, if pieced together, might provide the solution.
November 19, 2003
Economic Outlook
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:04 AM
The Latest Economic Releases seem to reveal a recovering global economy as industrial production rose in October, jobless claims fell, and consumer confidence rose.
All positive numbers, but how is the economy treating your business?
Clayton Christensen Today
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:49 AM
Fastcompany's Polly LaBarre recently sat down with Clayton Christensen to discuss his thinking on innovation and leadership today in "The Industrialized Revolution." Her interview covers a lot of ground, including his current quest to discover the secret to lasting success, but one point that he made about how leaders learn to succeed struck me -- "Success, he argues, is the worst teacher of success." While success stories aren't necessarily bad things, they can lull today's managers into thinking that if they do things the same way as those "best practice" companies, then they'll succeed as well.
Are lessons in success the best teachers? On Inc.com, we receive loads of comments about inspirational success stories, but we also hear our fair share when we run stories about "failure." Most recently, the July 2003 story, "If at First You Don't Succeed" struck a chord with readers, as many could relate to the entrepreneur's trials and tribulations, and took away lessons from the story. And an older column in Inc. called "My Biggest Mistake" used to offer lessons in overcoming bad decisions made by successful entrepreneurs each month.
Where do you find your most valuable lessons? Is it in the successes, or failures, of others?
November 18, 2003
Today's news
A VC brings luck to a struggling franchise
Posted by Mike Hofman at 4:48 PM
San Francisco 49ers great Ronnie Lott was celebrated during last night's Monday Night Football telecast. As we wrote in 1999, Lott is part of a group of former jocks who now run a venture capital firm that invests the money of fellow former jocks in other VC funds. Lott's partners include Harris Barton and Joe Montana.
Last night, after his jersey was retired by the team during the half-time show, Lott spent a few minutes in the booth chatting with ABC's Al Michaels and John Madden. In that time, his former team scored two touchdowns in 14 seconds of play. One presumes his investors hope his presence is as beneficent when it comes to a term sheet.
November 17, 2003
Motivating Jaded Employees
Posted by Carole Matthews at 4:33 PM
Inspiring jaded employees, especially those long-term employees who have seen too many scandals and ineffective, overly paid managers, isn't an easy task. It takes a revision in thinking and a dedication to changing a company's culture, as Stever Robbins points out in Inspiring Jaded Employees today on HBS Working Knowledge.
Robbins suggests a CEO or company owner do a few things to turnaround sour employees, including:
- Making a visible sacrifice for the company good, like cutting your own salary and giving it back to the people who work for you.
- Discover your employees emotionally important goals by asking revealing questions, like "What's important about the work you do?", and find ways to incorporate them into their jobs.
- Ask them to describe their perfect jobs, but don't promise anything. Listen for how you might help them achieve it.
- Be vigilant in helping your employees attain their goals. Be available as a resource, and help them find ways to grow.
New Product Hunt Awards
Posted by Carole Matthews at 9:46 AM
The United Inventors Association, Inventors' Digest magazine, The Academy of Applied Science and the Procter & Gamble Company recently announced the top 10 finalists in their 1st annual New Product Hunt.
The list includes an at home coffee roaster, a handrail for toddlers, and a wireless detector that sounds all household alarms when a hazardous condition exists, and tells you where it exists. Now why didn't I think of that?
November 12, 2003
What Happened to Employee Loyalty?
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:47 AM
Fresh Inc. reader JHB, the president and owner of a manufacturing company, recently read a report stating that eight out of 10 employees want to change jobs as soon as the economy gets better. Some of the reasons: they want to spend more time with their families, they have been under too much stress with their current employers, they want more money and stability. All valid reasons to find new employment, but JHB wonders about the effect it has on the employer.
First, replacing an employee can cost nearly $100,000, JHB noted, (check out this turnover cost calculator to determine your cost of replacing an employee) not to mention the effect an exiting employee has on company morale and on business production. He wonders whether employees feel that business owners have put more pressure on them simply to make more money, or do they feel employers have done what they could to keep the businesses alive and their employees employed. If the employer did everything necessary to keep the business open during a difficult economy, doesn't that deserve some employee loyalty during better times?
November 11, 2003
Starting a Business
The Cost of Starting Up
Posted by Carole Matthews at 1:51 PM
Entrepreneurs expect start-up costs to be rather modest, reports John Schmeltzer today in a Chicago Tribune article. According to a recent study conducted by the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, soloists expect $6,000 to cover their start-up costs while firms involving several people see $20,000 as sufficient.
Though they expect start-up costs to be low, their expectations are high. Soloists expect to be recording $90,000 in revenue annually within five years time while firms with several people expect $125,000.
Sounds great, but as the writer points out, one thing is missing: working capital. Entrepreneurs surveyed didn't factor in what it would take to keep their companies operational after the start-up phase.
November 10, 2003
The Rise of Martin Guitar
Posted by Carole Matthews at 2:30 PM
The University of North Carolina Press recently published a new book documenting the life and success of Christian Frederick Martin, the German guitar repairman turned founder of Martin Guitar Company in 1833. The book is of interest to entrepreneurs and music lovers alike. It documents 19th century American business history as well as the development of early American music.
Today, Martin Guitar is still going strong, as Donna Fenn noted in her April 2003 piece, "Getting a Purchase on Inventory." In this article, Fenn discusses how the company's owner, Chris Martin, manages Martin's purchasing and inventory.
Technology
Database Details
Posted by at 10:34 AM
Aberdeen Group, the Boston-based IT market-analysis firm, has just released an updated version of its Database Buying Guide. The guide is intended to help business customers choose the right databases while driving down administrator costs. Topics covered include types of databases, matching the right product to the right function, key technologies, market trends that might affect buying decisions, and profiles of several major vendors.
The 177-page guide is available for download as a PDF file from Aberdeen's Web site (free, but registration is required). If you're in a hurry, just scan Chapter 1 for an executive summary and Chapter 2 for Aberdeen's key findings.
Technology
Web Vipers
Posted by at 9:07 AM
The Washington Post's TechNews.com has posted a good collection of short articles on computing safely online. Although the "Web Vipers" package is targeted to consumers, its advice for protecting your systems, your wallet, and your privacy may benefit your business as well. The package also nicely updates some topics we've covered in past Inc. TechnoFile columns on preventing viruses, fighting spam, and going wireless.
November 6, 2003
Employee Commitment
Posted by Carole Matthews at 1:40 PM
Want to foster more employee commitment? Try offering your employees flexible work arrangements. The 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce revealed that flexible work arrangements and other supportive work-life policies and practices increased employees' job satisfaction, their commitment to their employer, and retention. It also produced more positive life outcomes as men and women experienced less friction between job and family life when supportive policies were available.
The study also revealed that one in five employed people in the United States work for themselves. Thirty percent are small-business owners who employ others. The remaining 70% are self-employed. It seems that this arrangement also produces some positive benefits. Small-business owners and the self-employed are more likely to say that their jobs require creativity and allow them to develop their skills.
Hunting Down Virus Authors
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:52 AM
Microsoft recently announced a $5 million reward fund earmarked for people who help law enforcement officials track down computer virus authors. Currently, the company is offering $250,000 each to anyone with information regarding the authors of the SoBig virus and Blaster worm that reaked havoc earlier this year. Other rewards will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Hopefully, the reward will make a difference. A September 2003 IDC survey of 325 U.S. firms revealed that 82% of respondents have experienced attacks, and over 30% of these firms reported that the attack was detected but not removed immediately. With that kind of infiltration, and with virus writers getting more sophisticated, one can only hope that members of the virus writing community will start to turn on one another to collect the reward. On the other hand, it just might create a more competitive and challenging environment that could feed some authors desire to make harder to detect, and get rid of, viruses.
Technofile writer Anne Stuart outlined a number of steps business owners could take to protect their business systems from viruses back in March, complete with a list of resources you could tap for more information. What steps have you taken to ensure your systems aren't crippled by more viruses?
November 5, 2003
Today's news
Latest on Tina Conner Scandal
Posted by Nadine Heintz at 4:27 PM
U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher was elected Kentucky's governor yesterday, making him the first Republican to win control of the state's executive branch since 1967. Fletcher beat out Attorney General Ben Chandler, a Democrat plagued by the scandal of lame duck Governor Paul Patton and his mistress, nursing home owner Tina Conner. Conner, meanwhile, pleaded guilty last month to a federal mail fraud charge related to her construction business. She contends that her ex-lover Patton should also face charges.
November 4, 2003
Spammers Beware
Posted by at 6:23 PM
In the largest anti-spam judgment to date, a California judge recently ordered a Los Angeles area company to pay $2 million for sending unsolicited commercial e-mail messages.
Santa Clara Superior Court Judge William F. Martin imposed the fine last week on PW Marketing LLC, an Internet advertising company.
Martin also banned the company's owners, Paul Willis and Claudia Griffin, from owning or managing a business advertising on the Internet without first notifying the state's attorney general, a restriction to remain in place for 10 years.
Prosecutors accused the company of sending millions of e-mails that, among other things, weren't identified as advertising in the subject line and didn't provide "opt-out" information for customers wanting off the mailing lists.
Spam-haters cheered the decision, the first such action under California's tough new anti-spam law. The state enacted its restrictions in an attempt to battle the still-rising tide of junk e-mail, which Ferris Research says costs businesses billions every year in lost productivity, network storage problems, and exposures to computer viruses.
Today's news
A Holly, Jolly Christmas?
Posted by Bobbie Gossage at 3:01 PM
Despite the recent upswing in the GDP and recent gains in the stock market, a many small business owners expect weak holiday spending and few said they will hire temporary employees, according to an October survey by DollarDays International, a wholesale retailer. However, 55% see the economy as improving whereas 44% say it is stagnant or declining.
More survey results:
*36% of small business owners say their sales seem to be ahead of last year's holiday season, while 34% say their business is about the same and 28% say this year's sales are lower than last year's.
*57% say customers are more cost conscious than they were last year, while 41% say customers are equally or less focused on cost.
*44% of small business owners surveyed say holiday season sales will be better than last year, while 28% say their sales will be below last year's level and 26% expect their sales to be the same as last year's.
*76% of small business owners say they will not hire seasonal employees to help with this year's holiday rush.
*30% say they will stock their stores with more seasonal merchandise than they stocked last year, while 31% say they will stock less and 37% say their stock levels will remain the same as last year's.
In a press release Marc Joseph, president of DollarDays was quoted as saying, "Small business owners are clearly being cautiously optimistic about the economy in the long term, but they don't expect to see a huge improvement in time for the busiest shopping season of the year. While our survey is not scientific, it does point out the challenges faced by small business owners. It also points out that the economy probably won’t benefit from a boost in seasonal employment."
Who Needs Brains?
Posted by Carole Matthews at 11:48 AM
You don't need to be a genius to find innovative solutions to everyday problems. The authors of "Why Not?" look at how finding a better way of doing things often solves problems we didn't realize needed solving. The book excerpt on HBS's Working Knowledge this week cites a number of examples where ordinary people translated existing solutions to find new applications, including two guys who took the idea of green-glowing cyalume light sticks and eventually came up with the Spinbrush, now the U.S.'s top selling toothbrush. (Strange, but true.)
The entrepreneurial annals are filled with these stories, the tales of business owners and inventors who took existing ideas and found new, and sometimes even strange, applications for them. Inc. writer Tahl Raz discovered a company devoted to taking the mundane and making it extraordinary by finding new and exciting applications for it. Has your company taken the same path?
November 3, 2003
Today's news
Corporate R&D Spending Down
Posted by Carole Matthews at 10:55 AM
A survey released by the National Science Foundation last month revealed that overall industrial R&D spending dipped to $198.5 billion in 2001, the most recent year figures are available, from $199.5 billion the previous year. It was the third annual decline recorded in the past 50 years, and came mostly because federal funding slipped to $15.4 billion from $17.8 billion.
The Boston Globe article today that cites that information goes on to say that large corporations' focus on short-term gains and solving immediate customer needs have reduced the emphasis on R&D spending on longer term projects, like those Xerox projects that gave birth to the computer mouse and the graphical user interface. At risk is the very future of innovation, writer Robert Weisman speculates, and the story goes on to cite more reasons why large companies are causing the demise of true innovation.
But is innovation really at risk? Don't smaller businesses contribute to America's R&D efforts significantly? In the "The Innovation Factor" series in Inc. magazine, Inc. writers and editors uncovered America's most innovative small businesses, celebrating their determination and focus on developing the next "big ideas." Perhaps corporate America might not have the patience for fostering innovation, but I'm guessing that smaller businesses will see opportunity in large businesses' ignorance of pursuing big ideas with longer term payoffs. What do you think?
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