Like most business-oriented newsletters, this one tends to avoid political issues and broader economic and social questions.  At some point, however, it is appropriate to address the general background in which we all operate, since it can affect our businesses and employees profoundly. The U.S. is going through a very confusing and tough time.  Only about 13% of the populace

Mid-March is about the time a lot of New Year’s resolutions have begun to wane and guilt to set in.  This article aims to relieve you of some of that guilt. Since the publication a few decades ago of In Search of Excellence by Robert Waterman and Tom Peters, a national obsession has emerged of being outstanding in all that we do. 

It is easy to lose perspective when you feel inundated by a torrent of daily, discouraging news reports.  With a loss of perspective can come an erosion of hope and vision, which presents a danger to all enterprise.  “Where there is no vison, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) This article is about some truly positive and remarkable developments which may

First there was the ransomware attack on Continental Pipeline a month ago, making much of their computer system inaccessible. This shut off 85% of the oil to the East Coast, until a ransom of about $5 million was paid to regain access to data and hardware. A few weeks later, JBS, an international meatpacking company underwent a similar attack, causing

The news these days is full of discussions of proposed corporate tax increases, something business leaders want passionately to avoid, except for a few multi-billionaires.  Yet there is another activity that rivals paying taxes for the sense it evokes of doing the utterly thankless and truly distasteful—performance appraisals.  How draining, demoralizing, and unproductive they usually seem to be!  Consequently, most

The deep divisions present in our country at this time seem to constitute a leadership crisis. Some Americans are beginning to question the viability of democracy itself. I share the view expressed in the famous quotation attributed to Churchill that “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”  Lincoln’s view that American democracy is an “experiment”