Business Tips by Chris Reich
Tips from growing a business to dealing with disputesMake It POP!
I want to recommend a GREAT book. If you maintain your own website, write a Blog, produce presentations---any situation where you need to be persuasive, this book will help.It's not glassy or full of pretty pictures and that disappointed me at first. But the book is...
Is NOW a Good Time to Start a Business?
Demand is the key. It is not wise to start a business in a down economy with hope demand will rise with recovery.
Having Fun at Work Is Important!
I have not written enough about this subject. That shows how easily priorities get shifted when things get busy.Yes, making sure people are having fun at work should be a priority.Why?Start with the obvious. Time flies when you're having fun. This is certainly true...
Ethics
What is going on?I think the myth we are supposed to believe goes like this: When times get tough, we all pull together.I'm sure not seeing that. Yesterday I had a conversation with an executive about an employee taking a supposed false disability leave. The question...
Maybe It Will Not Work Out
I am very tired of dealing with business people facing serious consequences telling me, "it will all work out."The hell. That is a shallow, lousy excuse for not digging in and fixing what needs to be fixed even if you have no idea where to start! Just start!When...
Why Success Cannot Be Copied
You have heard that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. It's true.In fact, no two of anything are exactly alike. No two cars, made in the same factory by the same people under the tightest quality standards are exactly alike. Cars are complicated. What about, say,...
Build a B-29, It Is Easier Than Starting a Business
Toward the end of World War II the Soviets saw a need for bombers equal to those of the United States. While they had their own design, it hadn't proved very reliable so they asked the U.S. for some B-29s. The U.S. declined. But on three occasions B-29s made emergency...
What To Do With Friday
For most non-retail businesses Friday is the slowest day of the week. What do you do on Friday?Many businesses go into a sort of "unwind" mode. A lot of people go home early and some businesses even close early on Friday.And yet when asked about marketing, product...
Too Late
Something a lot of us do. We put off what we think is going to be bad news until it is too late be better than we expected news.This happens in business all the time. I get an email that says, "the landlord wants me out by the end of the week and I have no sales. What...
An “Idea” Is Not a Business
NOTE: This does not apply to those who continue to work on developing their idea.I frequently get calls from people who tell me they have a business plan and need my help to make it happen. After the formalities of Non Disclosure Agreements we schedule a meeting....
Rant Friday #1
I need to get this off my chest."ish" time is not real time and has no place in business. It is wrong to make an appointment or schedule a phone call for 4ish. I do not like waiting by the phone, unable to start anything else while I wait until 4:30 for a call that...
Dell Goes Private
I loved today's big news that Dell is going private in a $24 billion deal.That's a big company to take private and I hand it Michael Dell for leading the charge. Why am I so happy about this?First, my main computer is a Dell. I hate it. The thing reboots itself at...
Super Bowl Lesson
A lot of people are complaining about the "missed" holding call at the end of the Super Bowl. I am not sure that was a missed call. Maybe.It did not cost the 49ers a Super Bowl trophy. Falling 20 points behind cost them the game. Falling behind.Sure, we can point to a...
How Decisions Are Made
Are you closing as many sales as you should be? If not, better read on.Let's assume your marketing is pulling in shoppers. Shoppers are people who claim to want more information before deciding whether or not to buy.We should set a benchmark before moving ahead. If...
Opportunity
Boeing's new Dreamliner is experiencing serious issues. There have been smoldering battery compartments leading to emergency landings. This isn't good on an airplane.I love Boeing. Boeing is one of the most important companies the U.S. has in its portfolio. Sure,...
How to Build a Cycle of Achievement
Live By This and Your Business Will Die By it
Here's the start of an AP article about JC Penney:NEW YORK (AP) -- J.C. Penney is bringing back sales. The struggling department store chain this week will begin adding back some of the hundreds of sales it ditched last year in hopes of luring shoppers who were turned...
Action!
Remember "the book"? In Search of Excellence. One important conclusion from that book is that excellence is not a static condition. I believe that is because entropy is constantly breaking down whatever excellent framework an excellent company is operating under....