As published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal on November 25, 2011. By Laddie & Judy Blaskowski.
The holidays are upon us and it’s time for most of us to enjoy time with family and friends, indulge in overeating, and have some fun. It’s also the time of year when we take stock of our lives and show gratitude for our blessings.
If you’re a business owner and have successfully navigated the economic hurdles of the past few years, you have cause for thanksgiving (we all know of companies that haven’t been so fortunate). Have you thanked those individuals who have helped make your business strong? Nothing is better for building relationships than letting people who have helped you know that you appreciate them. It’s an important practice that’s good for your business.
Continue Reading…
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Nov 29, 2011
As published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal on November 18, 2011. By Laddie & Judy Blaskowski.
Have you ever had this experience? You recognize a problem in your business and formulate a policy or procedure to govern how it should be handled in the future. You put the policy in a memo to your employees and send it out by email, discuss it at a staff meeting, and maybe even post it on a bulletin board.
People comply initially, but a month or so later you suddenly realize the policy isn’t being followed anymore. You’re now highly annoyed and frustrated because your directive has been ignored. Worse yet, there may have been repercussions because the problem recurred and wasn’t handled correctly.
Continue Reading…
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Nov 29, 2011
As published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal on November 11, 2011. By Laddie & Judy Blaskowski.
A client recently gave us the book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. It’s a great book and one story particularly stood out to us. Hsieh talked about how he developed his poker-playing skills through study and practice.
He went on to illustrate similarities between poker and business, and one of those had to do with table selection. He pointed out that when playing poker in a casino, choosing the “right” table of opponents greatly increases your chances of winning. “I learned that the most important decision I could make was which table to sit at,” Hsieh said. He believes this principle also applies to business.
Continue Reading…
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Nov 29, 2011
As published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal on November 4, 2011. By Laddie & Judy Blaskowski.
Remember the movie “The Christmas Story” and the scene where Ralph drops the F-bomb while helping his dad change a tire? His mother is stricken and certain he must have learned that word from a friend. But the grown-up Ralph narrator says he learned it from his father, who used it all the time.
Continue Reading…
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Nov 11, 2011
As published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal on October 28, 2011. By Laddie & Judy Blaskowski.
The work is done and your customer has been invoiced, so the sale is complete. Right? Wrong!
Your sales aren’t complete until you’ve been paid.
Continue Reading…
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Nov 04, 2011