Leaders must empower frontline workers and outlaw silos. Frontline workers create value for businesses. Silos destroy value and encourage individual department’s performance, often at the expense of the organization’s overall goals. Still, many firms create organizational structures and design compensation and benefits systems that encourage silos. Besides, they create departmental goals, and reward executives with […]
Strategy Choices and Long Term Plans
Ask ten business people what strategy is, and most will give the same answer: Strategy is a long-term plan. My undergraduate students give a similar reply on the first day of my strategic management class. Besides, many folks use the word to inflate the importance of their activities. One business executive bragged, “I am excited because after […]
3 Crucial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Initially
Many entrepreneurs make three crucial mistakes at the outset. They do not pay sufficient attention to customers’ preferences; they ignore their competition because their product thrill them, and third, they neglect to follow their business strategy. Indeed, some have no strategy.
Budgeting Like Dieting Doesn’t Work, Here is an Alternative
Budgeting, like dieting, doesn’t work because folks don’t embed it in their lifestyles. Usually, it’s a chore that a finance person recommends. Is there a better alternative to achieve the goals of budgeting? Most people spend and then try to save what is left, usually, not much, if any. Take Warren Buffet’s advice, “Do not […]
Corporate Welfare Destroys Jobs Long Term
General Motors’ notice to shutter several plants reminds us that corporate welfare does not produce long-term sustainable businesses. It’s a band-aid and a colossal waste of taxpayers’ funds. Government could apply those funds to help retrain workers, assist them to find new jobs, and minimize loss of income during the transition to their new situations. […]
Budget Remaining At Year-End Available Only To Complete The Goal
Budget remaining at year-end? What happens then? First, understand what a budget isn’t. It is not a bucket to accumulate funds for various activities. Neither is it a straitjacket, nor a scheme to show what we can’t do. A budget is a highly directed tool designed to achieve specific goals. It is our best estimate […]
Counter-Intuitive Strategies Can Yield High Margins While Being Attentive To Customers’ Needs
A counter-intuitive strategy results in enhanced sales and high margins, often because people are willing to pay a premium for normal, regular goods and services. In his book Predictably Irrational, professor, author Dan Ariely provides experiments to show people’s irrational behavior as they spend. Ariely says most people don’t know what they want unless they […]
Why Public Corporations Delist Shares From Stock Markets and Become Private
Why do some public corporations choose to be private and delist their shares from stock exchanges? On Oct. 29, 2013, Dell announced that Michael Dell, founder and CEO, and Silver Lake Partners, a leading global technology firm completed acquisition of Dell’s outstanding shares. Michael Dell said he can focus on building the company, ”Not the […]
Ocasio-Cortez Newfound Hope of the Democratic Party Might Be A Handicap
Ocasio-Cortez seems to be the newfound hope of the Democratic Party—a party desperately clutching to anything that might appeal to a naive electorate. If it continues its wayward path, it will guarantee Trump’s reelection, if he isn’t removed from office before by one of the many potentially damaging issues surrounding him. Interestingly, rising star Ocasio-Cortez […]
Workers Need Right to Work Laws: Supreme Court Decision is Needed Catalysis
Employees in North America need universal right to work laws. No one should be forced to pay union “dues” if he or she does not wish to be part of a union. Hopefully, the recent United States Supreme Court’s decision might be the tipping point that encourages more states to introduce such laws. The Court’s […]