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How Business Planning Leads to Better Management
In my experience leading dozens of business planning workshops in countries all over the world, I’d say only about 10% to 15% of teams I’ve encountered have an effective business planning process. Sounds low, doesn’t it? What many business owners fail to understand is that good planning equals good management.
Let me explain. Planning is about managing resources and priorities in an organized way. Management is related to leadership, and it’s related to productivity.
Here are three steps to get you planning better and, in turn, improving your management.
1. Devise a plan. As the business owner, you start by writing important details down. You don’t need to sweat every detail of creating a long document. Ins Read more…
How to Stage a Small-Business Comeback
When sales are down and cash-flow problems are up, small-business owners can become desperate for a turnaround. But rather than shooting from the hip, experts say it’s crucial to strategically plan your way back to the top. “Entrepreneurs sometimes lose that innovation interest that initially got them into the business,” says Mark Faust, author of Growth or Bust: Proven Turnaround Strategies to Grow Your Business .
But how can small-business owners get back in the game to stage a comeback? Here, three experts share their turnaround tips.
1. Look outside your company for help. Frequently, small-business owners don’t look outside their office walls enough for guidance. Faust suggests making a list of your top 20 existing customers and reaching out to them for feedback. “Too often in business we become too insular,” says Faust, also a growth consultant and coach based in Cincinnati.
Many Successors to Fannie, Freddie?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be replaced by an array of smaller agencies under bipartisan legislation being proposed by two House lawmakers, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.
The new agencies, which would be privately owned but would operate like public utilities, would perform the same major functions as the two mega-lenders in backing residential mortgages. However, they would be required to maintain larger capital reserves than Fannie or Freddie and would probably not be publicly traded, according to the report. The legislation is reportedly to be introduced today by Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) and Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). Neither has made an official announcement about the legislation, although Rep. Campbell has linked to the Wall Street Journal article on his congressional web site. As a bipartisan measure, it offers a potential compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the future direction of the U.S. Read more…
IFS: families have lost £500 over last 12 months
Typical households are likely to be three per cent worse off than the year before
The independent think tank said a combination of stagnant wage increases and high inflation means that the typical family will have lost more than £500 over the past 12 months.
Typical households are likely to be three per cent worse off than the year before, the IFS says, stuck on an income comparable to 2005 levels.
Official income data for the last financial year are not due to be published for another 12 months but the IFS forecasts that “such a fall is entirely possible”.
Much of the decline was caused by a sharp fall in earnings – the amount people are paid before tax credits, benefits and pension payments are taken into account.
Earnings dropped by 3.8 per cent in real terms over the first 11 months of 2010-11, according to the IFS, due to high inflation. The sud
Mobile Technology for Business Owners On the Go
Hotel rooms. Coffee shops. Planes, trains and automobiles. Sometimes these remote places become a small-business owner’s office when he or she is traveling. But just because you’re on-the-go doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected to your business and keep up with the myriad of tasks on your plate.
Luckily for road-warrior types, a number of gadgets and high-tech services are designed for helping business owners boost productivity while on the move. Here’s a look at some of the best:
Hands-Free Calling and Bluetooth Headsets
A number of high-quality, hands-free calling and wireless Bluetooth headsets can make it easier to participate in meetings or converse with colleagues while driving. The MoGo Talk XD and XD2 are practical options that offer four hours of talk time and noise and wind-reduction features, as their earpieces snap directly into a compatible iPhone case.
Markets May Relish Solid Job Gains
- The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with traders likely to heave a sigh of relief over the employment report, which showed bigger than expected addition to payrolls. The growth was the biggest since May 2010. However, the details were mixed, as the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose. Nevertheless, the euphoria over the solid headline number should help the markets shake off the inhibition they have been showing for much of this week.
U.S. stocks extended their losses on Thursday, as economic data continued to surprise to the downside. Stung by an unexpected spike in jobless claims, the major averages opened lower. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index remained mostly below the unchanged line, while the Nasdaq Composite recovered in the mid-session and stayed afloat till late trading but fell going into the close.
The Dow Industrials ended down 139.41 points or 1.10 percent at 12,584 and the S&P 500 Index receded 12.22 points or 0.91 percent before closing at 1,335, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 2,815, down 13.51 points or 0.48 percent.
Twenty-seven of the thirty Dow components closed lower, with Alcoa (AA), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) receding sharply.