Why Don't We?

Why do we as business owners focus only on the busy work and not on the big planning that can significantly shift our business? What is the big work that needs to be done instead? This article examines both of these areas and makes some powerful suggestions.

Brooklyn Industries, a Family Business With Style

Like many entrepreneurs she and her husband, starting the business in a tiny Brooklyn apartment with a single idea for turning their art into handbags, had expanded from the original concept of the business founded in the mid 90's to one that in 2001 required a radical makeover. For business owners this sort of thing is usually forced on them, by the economy, the bank, etc. Otherwise they keep on doing what they are doing until the money runs out.

Pump Up The Jam With Effective Brainstorming

When managers or business leaders need to come up with some novel way to solve problems, brainstorming usually comes up. In fact, I believe that the term is incorrectly being used by many to connote business meeting.

Channel Conflict in Technology Businesses

As I've been reading the trade magazines recently, I've paid particular attention to the channel magazines. A big story for several months has been the change in leadership at HP, since Mark Hurd took over as CEO from Carly Fiorina. This change has been met with much interest and concern for two reasons: 1) HP is a VERY BIG supplier to channel and 2) The company that Mark Hurd formerly led, NCR, utilized the channel to a far less extent than HP. So the natural concern is Hurd may steer HP toward a greater percentage of direct business in their distribution model.

How To Reduce Supply Chain Costs

The most effective way to reduce supply chain costs is to collaborate with your suppliers. This helps not just reduce supply chain costs, but also assists in expanding your business to other locations. Apart from supply chain collaborations, other ways to reduce the supply chain costs include, using better communication tools and sophisticated software.

Look Back Before Looking Forward

Before making plans it is important to reflect on the past, discover your triumphs and defeats, analyze them and create methods to have more triumphs, fewer defeats.

Risks to Business Success in China

Understanding the risks for doing business in China requires a deeper understanding of the China business culture. In order to avoid the pitfalls that many companies endure, this article outlines a few issues to consider before doing business in China

Keep The Fountain Of Business Idea Flowing

In an age of catastrophic population growth and shrinking job opportunities, why not take a look at putting up your own business? There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. No, it is not too late nor it is too early to open for business.

2007 Thoughts on Strategic Planning for the Year Ahead

Strategic planning and business is paramount to winning market share and growing the company. Unfortunately, strategic planning has become a buzzword by MBA business consultants and the university professors. In fact, often an MBA course will have several course titles with the words; Strategic Planning. So you can imagine how important it is to the top business colleges and universities in our nation and to the corporations who will hire these Business Management Graduates.

Do You Have A Strategic Plan?

Have you got a plan? Your business does? What's your problem? I have thought about this time and again meeting and working with executives who have taken on new roles in their organization or taken on a new role in another organization. They plan. They spend hours and days planning. They plan with others and they plan on their own. They plan the business from top to bottom. Then the...

General Colin Powell's Failure as Secretary of State Provides Valuable Lessons for Business Owners

This article explains how General Colin Powell's failure as Secretary of State can help business owners and mangers avoid his mistakes. General Powell ignored knowing himself, his strengths and weaknesses, how he failed to do his due dilligence on the issue of WMD, how he failed to state his objectives and make a plan which he could revisit, how he didn't pay attention to the basics of his operations, and how he severely reduced the status of the State Department in the eyes of the world by refusing to take himself out of the game.

How To Implement Strategic Planning For Small Businesses

We rarely come across instances, wherein small businesses have successfully transformed themselves into large corporations with operations spread across, unless of course they are merged with or acquired by a giant. Rather such occurrences are so rare, that they have been noted down in various journals as important case studies.

Building A Business Intelligence System

Business intelligence refers to the process of collecting meaningful information databases; analyzing this information and generating reports that will help companies make informed decisions. Business intelligence systems help organizes all data generated by the enterprise to make it available whenever it’s needed

Business Coach & Executive Coach: Is Professional Development Part of Your Strategic Action Plan?

Is investing in your professional development part of your strategic plan? Explore why and the how of this important strategy may help you increase your client loyalty.

Combining BPM And Strategic Technology Planning

Business Performance Management abbreviated BPM and commonly overlapped with enterprise resource planning or strategic planning has and ought to be directly linked with strategic technology planning. All levels of planning and strategy making and implementation decisions move in closed coordination with the overall business objective as followed by BPM.