December 2008
Why Legislating Behavior Never Works
Earlier this year, the New York Times posted a story about the goal for California to remotely control thermostats in homes.
In concept, I can understand the reason why the energy commission would back a proposal like this.
Reducing individual customers’ electrical use — if necessary, involuntarily — could avoid that, Dr. Rosenfeld (California Energy Commission member) said. “If you can control rotating outages by letting everyone in the state share the pain,” he said, “there’s a lot less pain to go around.”
Forget about the security implications for a moment and look at the practicality of this. Take a look at what really is going to happen in the construction world should this law pass. continue reading...
The Challenge of Using Social Media for Business
More and more people are trying to use social media for business. The problem with using social media for business is that social media is, first and foremost, social. You will find that because of the social nature of social media, people want to be personal.
Three of the best examples of where social media can be a challenge for business are Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed. These are great examples because they provide an environment that fosters conversations.
The fact is, people need to be personal. If they don’t put a human face on their activities, others will simply look at them as a spamming entity and will tune them out very quickly.
That social aspect of using social media for business brings a challenge that most people overlook. continue reading...
Could a Wal-Mart Bailout Be Next?
Let’s put forth the assumption that Wal-Mart is not showing growth like it is right now. Never mind the thought that when we see holiday shopping numbers they often will show numbers without Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart is doing so well.
We know they have more revenue than Saudi Arabia or more revenue than Apple, Google, Target and Microsoft combined. source
Let’s assume for a moment that Wal-Mart Executives were on Capital Hill asking for a $34 Billion Dollar “loan” with the statement that “they needed an immediate infusion of government cash to last until New Year's, and both said they could drag the entire industry down if they fail.” source
What would happen if Wal-Mart decided to ask for a “bailout” or a “loan?” Do you think that anyone would even entertain the thought?
Think about it this way. continue reading...
It’s Hard to Be Nice When People Make So Many Mistakes
You have no doubt found yourself in a situation that you have been told you made a mistake. You were given a list of instructions and you missed something. You forgot something. You simply didn’t complete something properly.
When you know that you made a mistake, it can be a disappointment for you because you probably intended to do it right.
In some (or most) cases, the mistake isn’t devastating. In many (hopefully most) cases, the over site or omission was not intentional.
Quite often, the real problem is that the instructions were simply not very clear.
Think about how you respond to your errors being pointed out as you read this. continue reading...
How to grow your business in a down market
As my businesses is growing… double digit growth every couple of months… I am often asked what am I doing that really sets me apart from other organizations? How are we increasing our business when others are failing? Why am I able to hire new employees when others are required to downsize?
How is it that my business is growing when the economy is “so bad?” I know that my company isn’t the only one that is doing well.
Certainly, in one blog post, I won’t be able to tell all the reasons why our little company is seeing so much success, but there are some things that you can do right now (or start doing right now) that will have meaningful, positive impact on your bottom line.
Here are the top three things that we have focused on that have made all the difference to us. continue reading...
