Unemployment is still high, although the trend is improving. I’m noticing a couple of other trends in this protracted unemployment that are a bit curious to me. This is not a scientific study, just what I’m seeing anecdotally from my network. I notice that headhunters and search firms are still targeting those who are employed when trying to fill positions; those in transition are considered, but usually “second” unless there is already a relationship. Similarly, companies seem to be hiring new graduates when they hire instead of looking for the unfortunate graduates who weren’t able to land a job in previous graduating classes. This seems like a bit of a shortsighted set of tendencies to me. So how are we all adjusting to this present reality?
Read the rest of this entry
There have been a rash of company “screw ups” these last couple of months. Everything from very public embarrassments of leading companies with respect to privacy issues, failures to acknowledge “do not track” requests to my own personal problem with my long time bank. It seems we forget, every now and then, who we are in business for in the first place. And then we wonder why we wind up with regulation, damaged reputation and customers who vote with their feet. And, to make matters worse, we’re right in the middle of campaign season, so we will now be subjected to wacky ideas of how to fix things.
Isn’t it enough to keep people employed and earn a profit?
The short answer is yes CSR matters and no it isn’t enought to just employ people and earn a profit; and it never really has been otherwise. The truth is that now there is more transparency (like it or not) around what companies and business owners are doing. And there is obviously much discontent over the widening gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” or, if you will, between the 1% and the 99% to use the now quite ubiquitous rallying cry of the Occupy Wall Street Crowd.
Read the rest of this entry
What is an entrepreneur?
Harvard Business School defined entreprenuer this way: “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”- Howard Stevenson
I was reminded of this several times this past month. First, over on LinkedIn, one of the groups I frequent posted this great article from Inc. Magazine. It’s an interesting read.
Entrepreneurship is creating something out of nothing. And of course there has to be a fair amount of leadership quality in the entrepreneur, at least in the beginning. Besides this article, I was reminded of the “entrepreneurship puzzle” as I worked with a colleague on his business idea presentation for his peer advisory board. That, in turn reminded me of the success gained by one of my UCI mentees in starting his own business. These two gentlemen are very different in training and background. Yet they both have the desire and the drive to build their own businesses – “without regard to resources currently controlled.”
Read the rest of this entry
I was speaking with a client yesterday and of course things turned to business. He offered that things were actually starting to “loosen up” for him and that his customers were actually starting to invest again. How that investment is going was of interest. His customers aren’t hiring full time employees. They are investing in productivity and cost reduction projects.
Read the rest of this entry
The sun makes my point. What point? I have been known to make the statement that “the universe is indifferent and knowable.” I usually am prompted to make that little observation when someone is complaining about how things aren’t “fair,” or how they have been “mistreated.” Generally, I shrub, make my statement and suggest that the only way to get out of their situation might be to learn what they need to learn and take action, because the universe doesn’t give a hoot about whether you survive or die. It just doesn’t care!
It seems that manufactoring in the U.S.A. may not be such a bad thing after all. The Economist, Moving back to America, pulled together some interesting data that indicates all countries may well be looking to build factories to meet market demands, not to re-import “back home.”
Read the rest of this entry
In a previous post, I laid out the basic model for understanding the deep underlying knowledge that drives our lives which I’ve called our “Fundamental Organizing Principles.” These FOPs form the foundation for not only what we hold to be true, but also how we see the world around us and interpret what we think we see. Recent work in the area of understanding the human brain and outlined in several books reviewed on this site (Brain Rules and The Believing Brain) give credence to the proposed model.
Read the rest of this entry
By now you know that Buffett’s heir apparent, David Sokol, has had to leave Berkshire Hathaway under an “ethics cloud.” As you would expect, there is much speculation around how much of this falls on Buffett and what he should be telling us about the incident. My view is that Buffett owns it all. Harsh?
Those who want the government to provide healthcare are right – and wrong. Those who want to turn things over to private markets are right – and wrong. And each “camp” is wrong to excoriate the other camp. Further, each camp is wrong for the same reason – they do not understand and do not practice systems thinking. They do not have their “minds wrapped around this problem” properly. Screaming at each other, sticking to tired old dogma and ideological positions is not helpful.
