It was right after the Dot-com crash, and we were strapped for operating capital. I was frustrated with a languishing business situation that seemed to offer no opportunity for real growth. Sales had bottomed out and I didn’t have the capital to expand our software line in a way that
As the old saying goes, time is money. And there is nothing worse than feeling like you just frittered away valuable time at a meeting that tanked for lack of a tight agenda, the key people, etc. What are the key components of a meeting we can all be proud of? A few ideas
As engineering director and general visionary at CivilGEO I can easily get consumed with the details of running a business. Preoccupation with team management, product design and sales often makes me lose sight of the bigger picture and the WHY behind what I do. I know others have been in my position
What could an innovative transportation/taxi company possibly have in common with a firm that makes civil engineering software? As any Business 101 course will tell you, the rules to run a company well are marvelously universal. A greenhouse that specializes in rare orchids can learn a thing or two from a successful
I didn’t realize I had a problem on my hands until the wife of my absentee sales person called to ask one morning if we had seen her husband. There had been red flags leading up to this day that I had foolishly chosen to ignore. This sales agent hadn’t been able to close sales for months and I continued
My personal life is so intertwined with my business life that I value the lessons that apply to both. Here are five principles that I try to practice as much as possible: Simplify your Business and Home Life. I’ve trotted out this concept once before in an earlier blog but it is worth repeating
A company’s history, if you look hard enough, has all the elements of a good fairy tale. It is multi-layered, with multiple moving parts and multiple players; it is a constantly evolving and shifting entity. There is the workforce, the executives, those that have resigned or been hired, the produ
Building and growing a business is in my blood. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs that thrived on self-employment. From my great-grandfather on my mother’s side to my dad and several more in-between, we have always enjoyed building businesses from the ground up. But it hasn’t been
Let me introduce you to the employee I always wanted on staff but never had the opportunity to hire. “John” is an engineer in a medium-sized consulting office in Texas. He regularly contacts our office to let me know what he likes about our HEC-RAS software, what he doesn’t like, and
How do the basic bonds within a company mimic relationships found in nature? A company’s strength is to a large degree derived from the quality of the bond between employer and employee. If the employee, whether a physician, dog walker or factory worker, feels that his or her interests are
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