management fundamentals

Stardate 10920: The Force is with the customer

June 14, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

– Earth, Stardate 8511 (The Age of the Seller)

Once upon a time, in a galaxy that today must seem far, far away, sellers controlled all information about their products, services, and innovations. Consequently, customers learned what they needed to know from salespeople, who traveled far and wide dispensing information to, and collecting sales from, grateful and beholden customers.

If one had observed such a meeting, the customer would have nodded his head in wonderment as the salesperson revealed the virtual magic that was his product.

And in this land, the Force – control and availability of information – was with the seller.

– Earth, Stardate 10920 (The Age of the Customer) [Continue Reading]

Blasingame’s 3 Laws of Small Business Capital

May 16, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

The first sentence in the job description of every CEO should be, “Secure and manage the capital your company needs.”

Webster defines business capital as, “any asset, tangible or intangible, including cash and hard assets held by the company.” Capital blended with operating cash flow becomes the financial fuel your company’s engine uses to operate with and fund growth.

A small business has three primary sources of capital: [Continue Reading]

Will your business be successful? Depends on how you answer these HR questions.

May 10, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

1. What is your business’ annual training budget?

2. Are your employees successful?

3. Who are your key employees?

Now, let’s compare your answers to what they reveal about the future success of your business.

1. What is your business’ annual training budget?

While you’re chewing on that, let me point out one of the HR practices that Big Businesses are known for, and which small businesses should emulate: a legendary commitment to training. Alas, too many small firms conduct training after a fashion, if at all, and likely with no budget.

Historically, big businesses have had an advantage in this area because they have the resources to pay for structured training programs, and the staff redundancy to give their people time away from their assignments to acquire training. But thanks to the Internet, and thousands of companies that develop and distribute convenient and affordable online training programs, small businesses can acquire training in a wide range of disciplines without breaking the budget and with a minimum of lost production.

So how’re you coming on that training budget answer? [Continue Reading]

Who’s Doing The CEOs Job In Your Small Business?

May 3, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

Every business has specific assignments that must be performed by the Chief Executive Officer, a.k.a CEO. Not the founder, owner, or manager; the CEO.

It’s not difficult for a small business owner to understand the role of general manager, because that assignment comes preloaded with day-to-day operation stuff, which is always chock full of actions and reactions. But it’s another matter to get that same person to isolate a CEO’s strategic foresight assignments from a manager’s tactical tasks required to open the doors and serve customers today.

A CEO’s job is to carve out and commit to the time, energy, and assets to develop the strategies that make sure the business’s doors are still being opened next year and the year after. Let’s look at the three focal points of the job of CEO. [Continue Reading]

Change Will Happen, With Or Without Your Input Or Guidance

April 25, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven.”

On its face, this well-known King Solomon wisdom from the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes delivers hopeful encouragement. But implicit in this passage is a somewhat hidden, and often troublesome, paradox: A time for everything also implies nothing can be forever, and therefore, change is inevitable.

In the abstract, we accept the reality of change, but in practice, we regard it as the medicine we know we need but don’t want to take. And knowing change is inevitable doesn’t make the pill any sweeter.

In the marketplace, it was challenging enough to implement a change when we had the expectation of not having to do it again anytime soon. But in the post-pandemic 21st century, the bitter pill of change has acquired an unfortunate new characteristic: a frighteningly short duration.

Organizations that enjoy consistent success will make change an abiding element in their business model, rather than an intrusion into “the way we’ve always done things.” They’ll create a culture and environment where change occurs when necessary, without creating a casualty list.

Rick Maurer, my friend and author of Beyond the Wall of Resistance, surveyed organizations that have implemented change. He identified four things they did to create a culture compatible with change. Here are those findings, followed by my thoughts. [Continue Reading]

What’s Love Got To Do With You And Your Small Business?

April 18, 2022 by Jim Blasingame

In her second-most-popular song, Tina Turner sang, “What’s love got to do with it?” Out here in the Main Street marketplace, the answer is a lot.

Indeed, love is the reason people start businesses. We love to make and sell things: shoes, tires, hamburgers, cars, soap, computers, bread, air conditioners – you get the picture. You love your business; I love my business. Starting and running a business is a love story.

Yes, I know. Sometimes our businesses are not easy to love. In fact, our business is often like our teenagers: You may not always like it, but you always love it. Which is a good thing, because if you didn’t love your business you wouldn’t come back the day after it gave you the worst day of your life.

But love can also be a problem. Is it possible to love your business too much? As business owners, we know how to fall in love with our businesses, but we usually don’t know how and when to fall out of love with it. Here’s a great American love story that went wrong: [Continue Reading]