The art of firing is much like the art of throwing a hand grenade -- it's rarely done right, and even when it is, the results include some chaos. When it's done wrong, a lot of good people can pay the price. (All this said, sometimes, only a grenade will do.) There have been countless articles written on the steps to take when firing (I'll save everyone the time of rehashing them here). I think that there are a few issues that need to be addressed in firing, though, that most

Every new year, we re-evaluate our plans for the next 12 months. I took a look at my past lists and pulled the best five that I thought would be good for everyone. 1) Be funnier. This applies to my family, my work life, and this blog... Life is more enjoyable when you can make others laugh. So I promise to try to make my wife, my children, my employees, my vendors, my clients and you laugh more. 2) Treat your staff well. You can't play with your food, but no one says you can'

If your employees don't understand how to manage their own money, how will they know what's really at stake when it comes to your business? By teaching them how to keep their finances in order, they'll be more in tune with helping to increase your bottom line. I realized we had a problem when a new hire asked me if she could have her paycheck deposited directly to her parents' credit card. Come again? This wasn't the first time I had fielded a red flag question about managing

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

We're all busy. I've got a few plates spinning at any given time family and friends take up what little time is left when I leave the office. People often ask how I stay on top of everything. (Usually not family and friends, who think I work too much). I guess my answer is that I'm hardwired to multitask and generally require less sleep than most people. Good old-fashioned hard work aside, there are three important lessons I've learned to help keep me one step ahead of it all

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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

With the new year just a few days away, it's time to think about our plans for the next 12 months. I took a look at my list and pulled six that I thought would be good for everyone. 1) Be funnier. This applies to my family, my work life, and this blog... Life is more enjoyable when you can make others laugh. So I promise to try to make my wife, my daughter, my employees, my vendors, my clients and you laugh more in 2008. 2) Treat your staff well. You can't do it with your foo

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

This was my second year in Omaha for the most famous annual corporate meeting in the world. Berkshire Hathaway has been an American icon for years, and the recent drama surrounding David Sokol made this year's meeting, held on April 30, extra special. I found the event fantastic and walked away with some great pearls of wisdom. Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha" and Berkshire's legendary chairman and CEO, and Charlie Munger, Buffett's deputy, were on their A-games and did

Much of the rhetoric we’re hearing in the media today talks about the huge gap between rich and poor. Politicians of all parties discuss this issue, but none get to the root of the problem. It’s true that the gap between the richest 10 percent of the country and the remaining 90 percent is growing, but from that point on, most politicians get it wrong. The gap is increasing because all sides are making more money. Yes, the top 1% are getting richer, but that also means the e

The sky is falling. The economy is in the tank. Your 401(k) will soon be worthless. No one is spending. Job cuts are swift and deep. We're all going to die painful deaths. Right? Nope. We all go through tough economic times, but they are the best times to make real money. People who pay close attention to the market, the economy, and the world can make lifetime of wealth in these periods of time. It just comes down to the right perspective. Think about it this way: A forest f

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

In tough economic times companies notoriously try to cut costs by resorting to their fallback plan: employee layoffs. Millions of them. This is evident from the high national unemployment rate. This is a problem shared both small, independent companies and larger rival companies. In theory, if you’ve done your hiring right and everyone is essential, even one layoff is unacceptable. If you haven’t done your hiring right and you have “expendable” staff, that’s a separate issu

When public officials or famous people make a big mistake, it is often followed by a public apology. They do a big news conference to supposedly bare their souls and apologize to everyone. All too often, it's a scripted, unemotional speech with poorly coached theatrics, and it rings hollow and disingenuous. Most important, it's too little, too late. Two poorly executed apologies that come to mind were those offered by South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Tiger Woods. Afte

I've spent almost my entire business life paranoid. It's not the most relaxing way to live -- I envy friends who walk around with a Zen-like smile and a picture-perfect Type-B personality. I'm just not that guy. My last year in college, I read Only the Paranoid Survive by Intel's Andrew S. Grove. The premise is simple -- get complacent and you lose. This theory, along with the stark reality that I am NEVER the smartest person in the room, keeps me on my toes. You can call it

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

My wife is a trusting woman. She is very smart, and yet when our oldest child was an infant, for some reason she still thought it would be OK for me to take care of our child for four days while she was out of town. On Thursday morning, she left, and I was in charge for the next four days... Fortunately, we already had help arranged during the day on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, after our daughter went to bed, I thought I was halfway done. The easy part was over -- n

I’ve spent my life working with incentives. Knowing how they work and using them effectively has proven to be one of the most powerful forces in history. Ignoring them is catastrophic. For me, it started early. My parents explained that if I was good, Santa would bring me presents. Unwilling to test the limits of Santa’s forgiveness, I was a pretty good kid. In school, the teachers said if I earned good grades, I would be more successful. If I didn’t study, I would pay the pr