Current events give us daily examples of the toxicity of dishonesty in politics, sports, entertainment--and the business world bears high-profile examples of the same. So what is everyone missing? Clearly, broad discussions of ethics and morality haven't done the trick, so I propose that we skip the mushy-squishy stuff and go straight to the bottom line. Here are five ways to use honesty to drive profits: 1. Honesty increases customer retention and sales. Customers who feel l

It seemed natural to, at some point, blog about great books. I am, after all, a publisher. In order to make this list credible, though, I have not included any of the books we have published, or even books by authors whom I know or I have met. So, then, if I have published your book, or if I know you, please do not be offended that your book is not on this list. What follows is a list, in no particular order, of 10 great books that every entrepreneur or employee of an entrepr

In Hamlet, Shakespeare said "Brevity is the soul of wit." Winston Churchill said, "Say what you have to say, and the first time you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending -- sit down." There are about 20 other good quotes that speak to this point, but I'm trying to make a point here, so I'll stop at two. Keeping to your message, and making a short, quick point, is incredibly powerful. Just about anyone who graduated from high school can make a long, boring argument abou

My dad is a bright guy -- he's been feeding me good business ideas for a long time. One of my favorites is something I adopted years ago and has worked incredibly well for me ever since. That idea? Give Thanksgiving gifts to your clients and vendors. (Don't forget your vendors -- check out my blog articles on working with vendors if you need a refresher.) In the past, I’ve given mugs, specialty coasters, and staplers. One year, I sent everyone jalapeño plants with my company

There’s a great lesson in self-discipline that every company can learn -- one that can result in improved morale, increased customer service, and better client relationships. I can boil it down to one word: respect. We all remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s simple enough in theory, but I know I’m not alone in having to remind myself of its importance from time to time. If you’re like most companies, you may find yourself with a s

Tony Alessandra, the author of The Platinum Rule, is a hall of fame professional speaker, a bestselling author, and is close friends with many of my friends. The first time we ever met was over the phone, when he called to let me know that I had quoted his book without his permission. Yikes. At that time, I owned a publishing company -- I should have know better. A bit of history. In 2000, I wrote a book called A Gentleman’s Guide to Etiquette. In the book I mentioned “The Pl