INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
Loyalty is a hard-earned commodity. There are several times when stakeholder loyalty is tested to the limit. For employees, a late or missed payroll is the ultimate test of corporate loyalty, divorced even from an employee’s ability to make do without a paycheck. MORE
It can take 18 months from initial concern about a critical employee to getting a replacement up to speed. Of course, I’ll tell another harrowing story here. But first. an old friend, Dick Tanaka, gets credit for the 18-month rule. MORE
Close. At many board meetings, I can be counted upon to ask, “Where’s the bottleneck this month?” Senior management is usually prepared with an answer, and a good discussion of resource availability and application follows. Sometimes, the bottleneck is not so visible to the CEO. MORE
I expect that you have a story about how insurance saved you lots of money in your past. As usual, I have a story to make your hair stand on end. But first: here’s a fact. MORE
Close. I’ve been sued as a board member too many times over the past twenty-five years of board service. Five times. Does that shock you? It does me. Entrepreneurs blaming their board for failures of a fragile, early stage company. MORE
Here is one that is so important to the continued health of a growing company that it cannot be overstated. It’s a bit complex for novices. But hang in there as I explain a bit about accounting classification of assets and liabilities. Differences between types of assets and liabilities. MORE
What a powerful set of three questions. These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. MORE
Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Board members are usually busy people, often running other companies or serving on multiple boards. MORE
Close. This statement could be considered controversial. We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations. Now we explore the other side of that coin. MORE
And d oing both well usually wins the day. This is one of those arguable insights, where both sides win. Dell is a great example of emphasis upon fast, creating a customized computer in 48 hours or less, bringing in assemblies and components just-in-time to make the assembly line. MORE
Here’s yet another story that you may identify with – or have yet to experience in your business life. It’s one of those that define your leadership for all to see, sometimes based upon decisions made in the moment – such as this one. A story of a CEO’s snap judgment call. MORE
Close. Ever get bad advice? We all have in our past. Ever take that advice without question because the person giving it was an investor, a superior in rank, the chairperson of your board? I’ll bet you have at least one story of bad advice taken and being bitten as a result. MORE
Close. How many of us throw away marketing dollars because our paid efforts reach an audience that is much larger than the target or niche audience we need to reach? MORE
This week, we continue our series on marketing and positioning. There can be nothing more important in your business planning that selecting the proper pricing niche, making your story clear using that niche, and the defending your position against the competition. MORE
we_are_wat we_are_watching_you. Close. If you have been in management or an entrepreneur long enough, you will have experienced the gray area of decision-making where ethics, the law, your needs and expediency all collide. MORE
At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, change to other consultants quickly, and stop using them when a project is completed. MORE
Close. When do you cross the line between honesty and dishonesty in tax planning? Is it ethical to allocate income between periods to take advantage of tax breaks? Can expenses be put off until the next period to increase income, or accelerated into this period by prepayment to decrease net income? MORE
Close. How much risk you and your company are willing and able to tolerate over time? Most people believe that early stage companies should take risks aggressively because there is less to lose and much more to gain with each risky bet or decision. MORE
Money in the bank is like oil in the car. Certainly, you have many ways you are pulled every day, both tactical and strategic. But when money is the issue, your time, energy and focus are drained from other important areas of your life or business. MORE
So, you are close to selling your company, and counting the profits a bit early. Well, that’s human nature. Here’s a thought for you to recall later when and if the event happens. Remember those who got you there. MORE
Close. Accountants are trained, certified and usually quite experienced in financial analysis, both creating and reviewing data. Bookkeepers are often trained on the job although sometimes more formally and handle the physical work of accounting for the transactions. MORE
Be honest now. Have you ever thought of what legacy you’ll leave behind? If you are an entrepreneur or CEO, surely you’ve thought of how you’ll be remembered by your associates and stakeholders after you move on. Bad boss examples aren’t forgotten. MORE
Well, you may not be alone. Many executives and managers have made the mistake of using the financial and sales forecast to plan and execute hiring of new employees – so that they could be trained and up to speed when the demand arrives. The balance between preparedness and cost. MORE
First, there are at least three types of exits. I’ve been involved with well over twenty successful exits and four initial public offerings over the years, some of them with monstrous gains, some more modest. MORE
Have you ever noticed how slow time passes when you are in a troubled environment? Conversely, sometimes you look up at the end of a great day and wonder where the time went. It’s driven from the top. MORE
Small companies most often scrape by with borrowed or invested funds, doing everything possible to grow and prosper with limited resources. MORE
Ever think about growing your business with the plan to sell it someday, cashing in on your hard-earned work over the years? Or if you’re an employee with stock options, are you aware of the increases in value you can make with your efforts? MORE
This is one of my favorite insights, since I lived this one in a positive exit from my computer business. Types of business buyers expanded. Most people will tell you that there are two kinds of eventual buyers for your business: financial and strategic. MORE
It is tough to lose your best employees wanting to advance their careers. Sometimes you can be the coach, helping them even if it means losing them. MORE
Allow me to reminisce. This is the final post of this cycle. Next week we return to the start of the journey, focusing upon the “what and how” to ignite a successful enterprise from start-up to exit. But, for this short moment…. Looking back over an entrepreneur’s journey. MORE
Close. We all do it… to our own detriment. So, let’s make a pact that we will try, if not succeed, to handle our incoming messages more efficiently. Personal time management helps immensely to make a better manager of you and me. MORE
Here comes another story. Of course. This one may be like one or more you have experienced in your company. It is a story about focus upon the customer, first. MORE
Let’s get right down to it. Your banking relationship can be like a great marriage or a bad trip to the DMV. In most cases it is strictly your choice. But the results of that choice will reverberate for what could be years. For a start…. How did you open your first bank account? MORE
Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years. MORE
I am sure you heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that motivate our behavior, in which Abraham Maslow laid out a human’s needs – from the physiological, to safety, then love and belonging, on to esteem and finally self-actualization. A little too esoteric for you? Let’s make it more personal. MORE
Close. There is more money lost in businesses today from inefficient processes than any other single area. Yet this is not a place where most managers feel comfortable deconstructing and rebuilding. MORE
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 1, 2018
So, you are close to selling your company, and counting the profits a bit early. Well, that’s human nature. Here’s a thought for you to recall later when and if the event happens. Remember those who got you there.
Berkonomics
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
This is one of my favorite insights, since I lived this one in a positive exit from my computer business. Types of business buyers expanded. Most people will tell you that there are two kinds of eventual buyers for your business: financial and strategic.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 18, 2018
Loyalty is a hard-earned commodity. There are several times when stakeholder loyalty is tested to the limit. For employees, a late or missed payroll is the ultimate test of corporate loyalty, divorced even from an employee’s ability to make do without a paycheck.
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 15, 2018
Allow me to reminisce. This is the final post of this cycle. Next week we return to the start of the journey, focusing upon the “what and how” to ignite a successful enterprise from start-up to exit. But, for this short moment…. Looking back over an entrepreneur’s journey.
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 8, 2018
I am sure you heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that motivate our behavior, in which Abraham Maslow laid out a human’s needs – from the physiological, to safety, then love and belonging, on to esteem and finally self-actualization. A little too esoteric for you? Let’s make it more personal.
Berkonomics
AUGUST 2, 2018
This week, we continue our series on marketing and positioning. There can be nothing more important in your business planning that selecting the proper pricing niche, making your story clear using that niche, and the defending your position against the competition.
Berkonomics
JULY 19, 2018
And d oing both well usually wins the day. This is one of those arguable insights, where both sides win. Dell is a great example of emphasis upon fast, creating a customized computer in 48 hours or less, bringing in assemblies and components just-in-time to make the assembly line.
Berkonomics
JULY 12, 2018
Close. At many board meetings, I can be counted upon to ask, “Where’s the bottleneck this month?” Senior management is usually prepared with an answer, and a good discussion of resource availability and application follows. Sometimes, the bottleneck is not so visible to the CEO.
Berkonomics
JULY 5, 2018
Ever think about growing your business with the plan to sell it someday, cashing in on your hard-earned work over the years? Or if you’re an employee with stock options, are you aware of the increases in value you can make with your efforts?
Berkonomics
APRIL 5, 2018
I expect that you have a story about how insurance saved you lots of money in your past. As usual, I have a story to make your hair stand on end. But first: here’s a fact.
Berkonomics
JUNE 28, 2018
Close. There is more money lost in businesses today from inefficient processes than any other single area. Yet this is not a place where most managers feel comfortable deconstructing and rebuilding.
Berkonomics
JUNE 21, 2018
Close. How much risk you and your company are willing and able to tolerate over time? Most people believe that early stage companies should take risks aggressively because there is less to lose and much more to gain with each risky bet or decision.
Berkonomics
JUNE 14, 2018
we_are_wat we_are_watching_you. Close. If you have been in management or an entrepreneur long enough, you will have experienced the gray area of decision-making where ethics, the law, your needs and expediency all collide.
Berkonomics
JUNE 7, 2018
Close. We all do it… to our own detriment. So, let’s make a pact that we will try, if not succeed, to handle our incoming messages more efficiently. Personal time management helps immensely to make a better manager of you and me.
Berkonomics
MAY 31, 2018
It is tough to lose your best employees wanting to advance their careers. Sometimes you can be the coach, helping them even if it means losing them.
Berkonomics
MAY 24, 2018
Here’s yet another story that you may identify with – or have yet to experience in your business life. It’s one of those that define your leadership for all to see, sometimes based upon decisions made in the moment – such as this one. A story of a CEO’s snap judgment call.
Berkonomics
MARCH 8, 2018
Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years.
Berkonomics
MAY 17, 2018
Here comes another story. Of course. This one may be like one or more you have experienced in your company. It is a story about focus upon the customer, first.
Berkonomics
MARCH 29, 2018
Close. Ever get bad advice? We all have in our past. Ever take that advice without question because the person giving it was an investor, a superior in rank, the chairperson of your board? I’ll bet you have at least one story of bad advice taken and being bitten as a result.
Berkonomics
MAY 10, 2018
Here is one that is so important to the continued health of a growing company that it cannot be overstated. It’s a bit complex for novices. But hang in there as I explain a bit about accounting classification of assets and liabilities. Differences between types of assets and liabilities.
Berkonomics
MAY 3, 2018
Well, you may not be alone. Many executives and managers have made the mistake of using the financial and sales forecast to plan and execute hiring of new employees – so that they could be trained and up to speed when the demand arrives. The balance between preparedness and cost.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 11, 2018
Have you ever noticed how slow time passes when you are in a troubled environment? Conversely, sometimes you look up at the end of a great day and wonder where the time went. It’s driven from the top.
Berkonomics
MARCH 17, 2018
Close. I’ve been sued as a board member too many times over the past twenty-five years of board service. Five times. Does that shock you? It does me. Entrepreneurs blaming their board for failures of a fragile, early stage company.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 25, 2018
Be honest now. Have you ever thought of what legacy you’ll leave behind? If you are an entrepreneur or CEO, surely you’ve thought of how you’ll be remembered by your associates and stakeholders after you move on. Bad boss examples aren’t forgotten.
Berkonomics
MARCH 15, 2018
Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Board members are usually busy people, often running other companies or serving on multiple boards.
Berkonomics
APRIL 26, 2018
Money in the bank is like oil in the car. Certainly, you have many ways you are pulled every day, both tactical and strategic. But when money is the issue, your time, energy and focus are drained from other important areas of your life or business.
Berkonomics
APRIL 19, 2018
It can take 18 months from initial concern about a critical employee to getting a replacement up to speed. Of course, I’ll tell another harrowing story here. But first. an old friend, Dick Tanaka, gets credit for the 18-month rule.
Berkonomics
APRIL 12, 2018
Small companies most often scrape by with borrowed or invested funds, doing everything possible to grow and prosper with limited resources.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 22, 2018
At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, change to other consultants quickly, and stop using them when a project is completed.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 4, 2018
First, there are at least three types of exits. I’ve been involved with well over twenty successful exits and four initial public offerings over the years, some of them with monstrous gains, some more modest.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 15, 2018
Let’s get right down to it. Your banking relationship can be like a great marriage or a bad trip to the DMV. In most cases it is strictly your choice. But the results of that choice will reverberate for what could be years. For a start…. How did you open your first bank account?
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 8, 2018
Close. This statement could be considered controversial. We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations. Now we explore the other side of that coin.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 1, 2018
Close. When do you cross the line between honesty and dishonesty in tax planning? Is it ethical to allocate income between periods to take advantage of tax breaks? Can expenses be put off until the next period to increase income, or accelerated into this period by prepayment to decrease net income?
Berkonomics
NOVEMBER 9, 2017
Close. How many of us throw away marketing dollars because our paid efforts reach an audience that is much larger than the target or niche audience we need to reach?
Berkonomics
JANUARY 25, 2018
Close. Accountants are trained, certified and usually quite experienced in financial analysis, both creating and reviewing data. Bookkeepers are often trained on the job although sometimes more formally and handle the physical work of accounting for the transactions.
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