Every business relies on models. But when you come across information that conflicts with your model, how do you decide if it is a “signal” or just “noise.” Knowing the difference – the subject of this month’s newsletter – is an important and often underappreciated business skill. Read more…
Liquidity problems are always challenging, particularly when an existing lender has said “Enough!” What often frustrates business owners and operators is lining up additional financing and then having the existing lender go silent. The solution is to address the lender’s needs as well as your own. Read more…
I have written in the past about communicating to employees and creditors in a liquidity-challenged situation. When it comes to communicating with customers under these same conditions, the stakes are even higher and the considerations are different. In today’s newsletter, I explain how to assess your particular situation and offer several guidelines for moving forward. Read more…
“Management by Wandering Around,” a term coined by Tom Peters back in the eighties, remains an effective way of keeping your ear to the ground while ensuring that communication flows smoothly between management and front line staff. Today’s newsletter takes a look at this tested concept and offers five suggestions for making your management wandering as productive as possible. Read more…
Systemic and idiosyncratic risk are two very different things. The distinction is important. When risk turns into a real problem, the best way to solve it usually depends on whether the problem is idiosyncratic or systemic in nature. Failure to make this distinction often leads to wasted time, effort and money. Today’s newsletter explains the difference and offers suggestions for developing an appropriate course of action. Read more…
My early training as a new management hire taught me the importance and value of using a consistent, systematic approach to decision making This five-step process can be overlaid on most complicated decisions, as demonstrated in this month’s newsletter with an example from World War II. Read more…