Technology is giving merchants a newer, slicker, 21st-century way to offer customers reward/loyalty programs, signaling a shift away from those wallet-clogging buy-ten-get-one-free punch cards. Indeed, merchants of all kinds are signing up for tech programs that enable them to keep tabs on their regulars and reach out to new customers while the customers pile up reward points … [More]
Plan Exit Strategies to Yield Positive Outcomes
Are there any true positives that can come from selling a business? Yes, say three experts who have experience making cash-outs and exit strategies both happy and lucrative events. There are various reasons an entrepreneurial owner may decide to sell a successful and profitable company, says Orville (Chip) Fisher, an attorney, investment banker and managing director at the … [More]
Selling to Uncle Sam: What Business Owners Need to Know
The U.S. government is the world’s largest customer, spending billions of dollars every year on goods and services and buying everything from hair care products to cyber security consulting. Although selling to Uncle Sam might seem challenging, the payoff can be an upward spike in the growth of any company, large or small. Do’s and Don’ts for Government … [More]
Bridge the CIO vs CMO Divide
Behind closed doors, in the corner offices of companies throughout the nation, a heated C-suite battle rages on. On the surface it looks like a battle waged over the corporate budget — a tale as old as time — with both sides seeking to claim a bigger portion of the pie. But a closer look at the classic fight between chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief information officers … [More]
Even in the Matrix, Labor Does Have a Price
Matrix teams — formed by bringing together under a new project leader people who already report to another supervisor — is a common method of staffing projects. This is one alternative to outsourcing a project when a business has no team already available that has the requisite skill set. Matrix teams have their benefits and their challenges. There are pitfalls, however, that … [More]
Employee Engagement Lies in the Little Things
True employee engagement needn’t be expensive or difficult to implement. Engagement is really just another word for on-the-job happiness, and we intuitively know that happiness is connected to the simple things in life. So why not apply that principle to the workplace? Over the years, I’ve found that simple things like gratitude, respect, and autonomy make people far happier … [More]
The Blind Spot in Sales Management
It’s a simple fact of business: Without sales, no one else downstream can do their jobs. Because of how vital sales are to a company, CEOs frequently tend to misuse their best people. There are three “sins” that minimize the sales management role, which ultimately holds the company back from achieving its growth. When they misallocate key players, small to medium-sized … [More]
What Does Technology Look Like in the Valley?
Technology industry sectors, ranging from aerospace and defense to semiconductors and bioscience, represent the cornerstone of Arizona’s economy. They provide high-paying jobs, most of which are located in the Greater Phoenix area. Many of the major manufacturers are household names, while others are start-ups aided by venture capital that never seems to be enough to meet the … [More]
Collaboration Challenge: ‘Playing Nice’ Can Be the Enemy
Collaboration is the buzzword of today. Right along with creativity and innovation, everybody’s talking and writing about it, but what does it really mean for business? While it may be a great concept, the real challenge — and the enormous business opportunity — is to learn to collaborate in a way that makes a positive difference to the business. An organization may attempt to … [More]
Architecture: Building Our Business Environment
An old motorcycle dealership that is now a vibrant coffee and wine bar. An old abandoned produce warehouse transformed into a stylish and modern office building. A multi-story, multi-use contemporary building complex in the heart of a thriving waterfront location. These are just a few of the many architectural projects that not only provide places for people to work, eat, shop … [More]
Accountability: Make It Stick
As a leader at your organization, you like to think that you run a pretty tight ship. But if you’re being honest with yourself, you know that you let a few things slide. A missed deadline here and there. A few tiny white lies to clients. The fact that Mike in marketing often over-commits and under-delivers. Your own tendency to talk over others in meetings. In other words, … [More]
Sales Leads – Lost by Mistake?
U.S. businesses spend billions of dollars generating sales leads every year only to lose more than 70 percent of them simply because they don’t make contact quickly enough or follow up consistently, according to one study. But that’s not the only way they’re losing out on opportunities. A study of more than 600 companies by James Oldroyd, Ph.D., of MIT found the odds of a … [More]
Tap into Big Data for Profit
Big data is capable of making a big impact on the bottom line of businesses. The term describes the exponential growth and availability of data, which businesses are eager to exploit. But this overwhelming abundance of data is important to businesses only if they are able to accurately analyze it in a timely manner, which can lead to more confident decision making. The term … [More]
CopperPoint Mutual Emerges from SCF Arizona
“It seemed like a natural to turn the insurance business over to the people it was created for,” says Don Smith, CEO of what is now CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company. His 14 years with the state’s workers’ compensation insurance company included leading SCF Arizona through its transition from a state fund to a private company, officially launched this past … [More]
Manage Distracted Employees
As all managers know, workday distractions are everywhere, stealing employees’ precious time and productivity. Between new technologies that beg for people’s attention to the prevalence of shortened attention spans, everyone on your team has the opportunity to be more distracted today than in the past. Of course, being distracted at work creates numerous problems, from missed … [More]
Are Teams Obsolete?
Ten years ago, the business world couldn’t stop talking about teams. Remember all those slightly cheesy posters that showed rowers rowing in perfect sync or maybe just close-ups of interlocked hands? As we saw it then, teams of smart, innovative people were how work would get done in the “organization of the future.” Well, here we are in the future, and teams — at least as we … [More]
How Does the Fitness Sector Shape Up?
When it comes to staying fit in Phoenix, it can be easy as climbing Camelback Mountain no matter what time of year it is. But many fitness operators have bet people want a little help even in what has been a challenged economy, and that bet is paying off. For Becky Renner, an Arizona regional developer for Orangetheory Fitness, the area’s outdoor recreational opportunities … [More]
Be a Bankable Leader
Why won’t my employees just do what I tell them? Why am I struggling to motivate my team? Why aren’t they giving me the performance I need? These are common questions that plague many leaders. Often, companies promote to leadership employees who are competent technical professionals — who know how to build a bridge, negotiate a deal or justify a capital expenditure. But whether … [More]
