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    « January 2009 | Main | March 2009 »

    February 2009

    February 26, 2009

    The Profit Equation

    Risk Here is a great question to ponder during these challenging economic times:  Where do profits come from?  If you think of the three factors of production, what type of income do they generate?

    1. Land/Buildings = Rent
    2. Labor = Salaries and Wages
    3. Capital = Interest, Dividends, and Capital Gains

    So, where do profits come from?

    The answer is RISK.  You must take risks if you expect to prosper and profit in any economic environment.  I believe now more than any time in our lifetime, those that have the courage (and the cash) can take advantage of some amazing investment opportunities.  This could be stocks, real estate, buying a business…

    Warren Buffett has a great quote on investment and business warfare: “Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful.”

    People have much fear at this time and are acting irrational in many cases; having the courage to take some calculated risks could result in great profit in years to come.

    What Risk do you need to take today?

    Posted at 09:47 AM in Management | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 23, 2009

    A Whole New Mind

    A whole new mind So, up until recently according to author Daniel Pink, we have been living in the Information Age. To succeed we needed linear, logical, and analytical skills – we needed to use the left side of our brain. In his book A Whole New Mind, Pink tells us we are now moving toward, or are already participating in the Conceptual Age. As he describes it, this is a new global economy that uses skills lodged in the long overlooked right side of our brain. These skills include: creativity, empathy, intuition, and the ability to link seemingly unrelated objects and events into something new and different.


    Pink states that in the United States the Agricultural Age (farmers) gave way to the Industrial Age (factory workers), which was then overtaken by the Information Age (knowledge workers). He contends that each of these shifts was caused by the same three factors: (1) affluence, (2) technology, and (3) globalization. And, he states that we are now passing into the Conceptual Age (creators and emphathizers) and again these same three factors (otherwise known as abundance, automation, and Asia are in play.

    Continue reading "A Whole New Mind" »

    Posted at 04:14 PM in Book Reviews | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 19, 2009

    PinnacleHealth

    Pinnacle Health When I think about positive leadership in our business community and within the nonprofit world, an organization that “gets it” is PinnacleHealth. PinnacleHealth has a long tradition of caring for the people in Central Pennsylvania, dating back more than 130 years. Not only does PinnacleHealth provide great service to their patients, but they also have a proven track record of providing that same great service to their employees and to the community around them.

    PinnacleHealth is the leading hospital and healthcare system in Central Pennsylvania, dedicated to providing the area’s most comprehensive and quality-driven healthcare. Whether it’s performing the first open heart surgery in the region, a life-saving kidney transplant, or offering the latest technology to treat Parkinson’s disease, PinnacleHealth is committed to excellence and providing quality care, today and always. Since their beginning, PinnacleHealth has been a healthcare leader, offering innovative and compassionate care. As a nonprofit organization, they are dedicated to the health and wellness of the people they serve and care for.


    PinnacleHealth is regarded throughout Pennsylvania as a leader both in terms of the number of patients they have the privilege of serving, and in terms of the superior quality of care they provide. PinnacleHealth’s Mission is to be dedicated to maintain and improve the health and quality of life for all the people of Central Pennsylvania – a goal that they continually strive to meet. They are also highly committed to living up to their organization’s vision to be the most caring, innovative, disciplined and trusted health system in Central Pennsylvania. These are the goals they remain focused on in every aspect of their work with patients, their families, their medical staff, and the larger community they serve.

    Continue reading "PinnacleHealth" »

    Posted at 08:33 AM in Organizations that "Get It" | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 17, 2009

    Exuberance is Contagious

    Exuberance I will on occasion do a Google search of Exuberant Accountant in an effort to see who is linking my site or quoting me.  I do find it fascinating to read what others have to say about the blog.  Here is a great blog by Dan Meyer (an Accounting Professor) called Tick Marks and a recent post he did on the top accounting and finance blogs. He references my post on Family Business – Managing Family, which is a very important topic for family business.

    Also, here is a link to an article on blogging by Certified General Accountants Association of Canada’s publication.  It is interesting that of all the accounting and finance blogs to reference, they picked mine.  If you want to read the blog in French, here is the link.

    We have added a subscription section to the blog and by simply entering your email address, you can get the Exuberant Accountant delivered to your email inbox each time I post.  Best part of the deal is that it is free J

    Posted at 05:52 PM in My Thoughts | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 14, 2009

    Family Business – Family Meetings

    Family Business Probably the most common problem I hear from the family businesses that I work with is, “we never talk.”  Why is this?  Is it because they have nothing to talk about?  Is it because they have some bigger family issues or history that prevents open communication inside the business?  Is it because they have no meeting structure or ground rules in order to have a safe open dialogue?

     

    It is estimated that 90 percent of family owned and managed businesses do not have regular family meetings.  It takes a fair amount of effort to plan, coordinate schedules and deal with everyone’s varied agendas.  Are these family business meetings really worth the effort?  Absolutely yes!  Research has shown that holding regular family business meetings turns out to be one of the three keys to a successful family business (the other two are: regular business planning and effective governance).  Those families who hold regular family business meetings have discovered that among the many benefits are building a stronger and more cohesive family as well as a healthier organization.

     

    Continue reading "Family Business – Family Meetings" »

    Posted at 04:00 PM in Family Business | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 11, 2009

    Rainmaking and Sales Generation

    Rainmaking During normal economic conditions, new revenue is important, but during these challenging times they are critical.  What do most organizations do when the budget is getting stretched?  They cut sales and marketing.  Is that the correct strategy?  What part of revenue generation is about branding and what part is about relationships?

     

    I teach an internal rainmaking course here at McKonly & Asbury and have presented some of this material to other organizations as well.  Clearly, selling a service is different than selling a product.  If you are trying to sell an inferior product, you will struggle during any kind of economic conditions and will probably only be successful if you are the low cost provider.  But assuming you have a superior product or service, how do you win new business? I believe people like to buy from someone they trust and like.  How do you develop trust and like?  It is all about relationships and this takes time and returning value.  In his book Never Eat Alone – And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, Keith Ferrazzi states that the currency of networking is not greed but generosity.  This means that in order to build relationships and ultimately develop like and trust, you need to give to get.  Most sales people misunderstand this key principle.  They tend to be the glad handing, life of the party type, but lack substance and seldom create value. 

    Continue reading "Rainmaking and Sales Generation" »

    Posted at 03:23 PM in Rainmaking | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 07, 2009

    The Exuberant Accountant’s Economic Forecast

    Sky is Falling Recently many clients and friends have been asking me what I think of the economy, recessions, who is to blame... and when will it get better?  I usually tell people this mess we are in did not happen overnight; one thing did not cause it; it will take a while to get out from under it and there is much blame to pass around.

    How did we get here?  It has a lot to do with greed and people not wanting to have delayed gratification.  Politicians from both parties tend to focus only on short term results.  This is one reason I believe strongly in term limits.  If I were King for a day and could change only one law, it would be mandatory term limits.  I suspect that most politicians intend to do well when they get elected, but fall into the trap of trying to stay elected.  This often results in a short term view of success and winning votes.

    Continue reading "The Exuberant Accountant’s Economic Forecast" »

    Posted at 11:41 AM in My Thoughts | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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    February 04, 2009

    Toolbox for Finance – The Exuberant Accountant

    Toolbox logo  The Exuberant Accountant is going national, again.  My blog was recently picked up by Toolbox for Finance.  The Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD), a best practices and knowledge sharing firm serving over 80% of the fortune 500, just launched an online community designed to support finance professionals. Toolbox is based on the Toolbox.com platform – a community with over 1.4 million users. I am honored to have a larger audience to share my passion for leadership, family business, employee engagement and the great books I read.  I continue to believe running organizations the right way will result in growth and long-term success.

    Posted at 01:59 PM in My Thoughts | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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