Thank You

Tom Peters, one of the best known thinkers on leadership and management, wrote a book a few years ago entitled The Little Big Things. It’s about all the small, daily things that we can do that make a big difference to our customers and to our employees. One theme repeats itself throughout the book: appreciation.…

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2012

So, what will 2012 hold for you? In one sense, continuing change and uncertainty are to be expected. But that doesn’t mean that you need to be controlled by these things—or any other external factor. What do you want to accomplish next year? I don’t mean resolutions per se. I mean, what do you really…

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t thoroughly enjoy this time of year. Maybe I do but, other than Ebenezer Scrooge, their names aren’t coming to mind right now. For me it’s a time of family—kids, grandkids (mine are the cutest in the world and also the smartest). Love, laughter, pranks, and gifts of…

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Hiring Made Simple

Here are a couple of links that are helpful for interviewers… http://www.nfib.com/legal-center/compliance-resource-center/compliance-resource-item?cmsid=58964&utm_campaign=Legal&utm_source=SmartBrief&utm_medium=Email   http://www.nfib.com/member-benefits/employee-management/interview-questions

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Social Media Used Well

This afternoon I was flying out of Asheville (@flyavlnow) to Oklahoma City. Our outbound flight was delayed due to mechanical trouble; if you fly enough it happens. I was disturbed, though, when the gate agent, who was in her own awkward way diligently making sure folks were backed up on connections, began barking out our…

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Legally Right…Business Wrong

So I had a contract with ATT for our business landline. It auto-renewed about a year ago (without my knowing it). They claim I was notified via my bill but since I get it electronically through my bank I didn’t see it. So, when I cancel my landline in favor of wireless and VOIP I…

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My Favorite Holiday

Like many people I talk with Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There are lots of reasons. It’s simple (except for my wife who spends days preparing for the mad consumption moment). There are no presents. Just family, friends, and food. How could you not love that? One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately…

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Warriors, Veterans and Other Heroes

Every Veterans Day I think of my Dad, now nearly 91. When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 my Dad was 19. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor he was 21. He enlisted a few months later and was trained as a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. He learned to fly P-47 Thunderbolts,…

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One Thing

Life is complicated enough and business has enough twists and turns without us making it worse. Fortunately, most businesses can be reduced to just a few things, or even one thing, that is the key to making it all work. There is a great scene in the movie City Slickers in which Curly reduces life…

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Integrity—From Harvey Mackay

In our country, and indeed all over the globe, we are facing so many crises that we hardly know which one to address first. But one issue that is rarely identified as a real crisis, which I believe is at the root of so many of these other problems, is a crisis in integrity.  So…

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