Should You Train Your Employees?
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Adams (The Education of Henry Adams, 1907) According to a study of 1,600 businesses, companies that train their employees “are able to promote internal candidates almost a third of the time, compared to only a fifth…
READ MOREGroup Compensation For Maximum Performance, Teamwork, and Teaching
“All that we do is done with an eye to something else.” – Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, 4th century B.C.) If you’ve spent any time managing a business, you’ve spent time wondering about compensation and performance: What is the best way to pay employees? If you want to get the most…
READ MOREBefore You Let That Mediocre (Or Poor) Employee Go…
“Perhaps nobody ever accomplishes all that he feels lies in him to do; but nearly every one who tries his powers touches the walls of his being occasionally, and learns about how far to attempt to spring.” – Charles Dudley Warner (Backlog Studies, 1873) The secret to having a top-notch…
READ MOREAutomatic Billing: A Profitable Strategy No One Talks About
“Human nature is above all things — lazy.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe (Household Papers and Stories, 1864) When we talk about the emotional aspects of selling, we often speak of our customer’s greed and fear — but never of his laziness. But laziness — usually your enemy — can sometimes…
READ MOREMake Your Product a Little Better and Charge a Lot More
“Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.” – Marshall Field The fastest way to gain market share is to sell a popular product at a below-market price. But it’s a tough game to play. You need the financial resources to pull it off and…
READ MOREAre You Too Competitive?
“Man has risen so far above all other species that he competes in ways unique in nature. He fights by means of complicated weapons; he fights for ends remote in time.” – Charles A Lindbergh (Autobiography of Values, 1978) Hollywood would have you believe that successful businessmen are competitive creatures…
READ MORECheating Yourself In Your Spare Time
“When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.” – Chinese proverb Theres a young man I know — someone Im mentoring — who has great potential but no obvious advantages. He doesnt have a good education, has no money to speak of, and has only…
READ MOREYes, You Can Get Rich By Teaching
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” – George Bernard Shaw (Man and Superman, 1903) What George Bernard Shaw didn’t say in today’s oft-repeated quotation — but should have — is that those who teach also do. A friend of mine has been very successful as an executive in…
READ MOREHow To Break Into The Lucrative World Of Catalog Sales
“The secret of success — if there is one — is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and to consider things from his or her point of view as well as your own.” – Henry Ford Whether you sell old books, cigar lighters, clothes, or furniture, a…
READ MOREDon’t Befriend Your Business Contacts
“Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.” – Jane Austen (Emma, 1816) I know a couple that has an unusual number of rich and successful “friends.” We circulate in many of the same social circles, but they end up becoming chummy with the billionaires, movie actors,…
READ MOREDo You Need A Strong Personality To Be Successful?
“You don’t have to be nice to people on the way up if you are not planning to come back down.” – Dan Stone If you read the wrong career advice, you might conclude that being successful in business is about being tough and aggressive, attacking the competition, and taking…
READ MOREYou Don’t Need To Be A Creative Genius
“There are three ingredients in the good life — learning, earning, and yearning.” – Christopher Morley I had lunch with JS today. JS owns and runs a very successful business in South Florida. He sells medium- and discount-priced jewelry directly to customers and through the catalogs of some very large…
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