Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Pages


Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter


    Scott Heintzelman

    Create Your Badge

    « April 2009 | Main | June 2009 »

    May 2009

    May 31, 2009

    Family Business Challenge: Founderitis (Undervaluing 2nd Generation)

    Family Business Every business is faced with challenges, but a family business faces some unique battles.  If these challenges are not addressed, they could drastically affect the success of the business. 

    One of the most common themes I see in family business is Founderitis.  The typical theme of the 2nd generation is that they are unhappy with how they are treated by their father/owner.  Some typical complaints include:

    Continue reading "Family Business Challenge: Founderitis (Undervaluing 2nd Generation)" »

    Posted at 05:17 PM in Family Business | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 28, 2009

    GM Driven to Bankruptcy: Where Does the Road go for UAW?

    GM & UAW By the time you are reading this, GM may have already filed for bankruptcy.  It is hardly a surprise that the bondholders rejected the offer from GM.  On Tuesday when the union agreed to only take a 20% stake in the new company, many speculated that GM would offer the bondholders a much larger stake in the new company.  When they did not, the bondholders basically figured they would do better in bankruptcy court.

    There are several things that I find interesting.  First, why did GM not sweeten the pot by offering bondholders more than the original 10% stake in the company?  They clearly had to know this would be rejected.  The bondholders have been saying as much for weeks.  It is my guess they wanted to enter bankruptcy, but felt obligated to keep up the public perception that they were trying to avoid it at all costs.  The reality is they needed to start over and bankruptcy was the only way to clean the slate.

    Continue reading "GM Driven to Bankruptcy: Where Does the Road go for UAW?" »

    Posted at 04:47 AM in Bankruptcy & Workout | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 27, 2009

    Financial Freedom Seminar: Building a Personal Spending Plan

    Financial Freedom This Saturday morning, May 30th, I will be teaching a seminar on personal financial freedom and budgeting at Country & Town Baptist Church.  I have regularly been leading a class on stewardship and financial discipline for years and have decided to put this into a two-hour presentation. The course will focus on building a spending plan. We use the term spending plan as opposed to budget since most people associate negative feeling with budgets.

    If you know of anyone who would benefit and is interested in attending this complimentary training, please contact me.

    Posted at 05:26 AM in Speaking | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 25, 2009

    Operational Excellence: Best Practices (Supply Chain Management)

    Inventory A common theme I continue to hear from the business community is “we need to do more with less.”  Everyone is looking for an advantage or an edge in business.  Recently I wrote about Lean Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management and received an outstanding response. Our firm, McKonly & Asbury, is partnering with Dr. Robert O. Neidigh from the Department of Finance & Supply Chain Management at The John L. Grove College of Business of Shippensburg University.  Dr. Neidigh is helping us and our clients learn more about maximizing operational performance. Together, we have developed a process/questionnaire in an effort to assess an organization’s health as it relates to:

    Continue reading "Operational Excellence: Best Practices (Supply Chain Management)" »

    Posted at 06:16 PM in Manufacturing & Distribution | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 23, 2009

    Memorial Day: Why We Celebrate

    Memorial Day My eight year old son asked me this morning, “Dad, why do we celebrate Memorial Day?”  I am sure he has been around when I explained this to his older sisters, but only today was he ready to understand. 

    Most people associate Memorial Day weekend with the beginning of summer, barbecues, picnics or maybe racing.  Those are certainly good thoughts, but Memorial Day is so much more. 

    Continue reading "Memorial Day: Why We Celebrate" »

    Posted at 07:54 PM in My Thoughts | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 20, 2009

    Five Balls: Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit

    5 balls I love to read books as I believe each one has something that can make me a better person, father, husband, leader…   One such book is called "Suzanne's Diary to Nicholas" by James Patterson.  The book has a great word picture about life. 

    You are to imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them; Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit.

    You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.

    Continue reading "Five Balls: Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit" »

    Posted at 03:18 PM in Book Reviews | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 18, 2009

    Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc (EIHI)

     EIHI Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. (EIHI), headquartered in Lancaster, PA, is one of the leading providers of specialty insurance products and services in our area. At EIHI, the benefits of loyal employees, shareholders, agents, brokers, policyholders, and their respective employees are put first, and they are able to excel by bringing fresh perspectives to the market place and the work place. This differentiates them as a uniquely progressive insurer and employer and puts them on my list of Organizations that “Get It.”

    I believe that what differentiates EIHI as an organization that “Gets It” is their development of a unique and respectable culture that benefits all within the company. Their culture is based on five aspects: Personal Development, Open Communication, Continuous Improvement, Community Spirit, and Fun.

    Continue reading "Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc (EIHI)" »

    Posted at 04:44 PM in Organizations that "Get It" | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 17, 2009

    Graduation Challenge

    Graduation Challenage  Yesterday I attended Messiah College’s graduation ceremony and watched 650 young people receive their diploma.  These young people are ending one stage of life and crossing over to another.  The economy and the job market have changed dramatically from the time they entered school 4 years ago.  This got me thinking.  What if I was giving the commencement address?  What would I tell all these graduates? How would I try to inspire them?

    First, I would tell them to keep the faith…Faith in God, Faith in others, Faith that tomorrow can be different because of what they do.  I believe that God gives us many gifts and talents and expects us to use them for good.  So often we end up using them to fulfill our desires and often forget others.  For these young people it will be important for them to put their faith in God.  As Mahatma Gandhi stated, “A man with a grain of faith in God never loses hope, because he ever believes in the ultimate triumph of Truth.”

    Continue reading "Graduation Challenge" »

    Posted at 04:39 PM in My Thoughts | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 13, 2009

    Stimulus Funds: USDA Loans

    Stimulus Funds As I have written recently, the stimulus money is creating many changes and opportunities for organizations.  One of my goals is to look for ways that your organization can benefit from these changes.  One of these changes has to do with USDA loans.

    I recently met with BVFR & Associates, LLC to learn about an old loan program, which is getting a bit of refreshing by the stimulus plan.  The stimulus plan has allocated $2 billion for loan guarantees of 60% to 90%. This safety factor allows lenders to reduce interest rates by up to 150 basis points.  By guaranteeing loans up to $25 million, this program is a “hand up” not a “hand out.”

    Continue reading "Stimulus Funds: USDA Loans" »

    Posted at 10:13 AM in Economy/Stimulus | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    May 11, 2009

    Warren Buffett, Newspapers and Buggy Whips

    Stop the Presses I recently read a great article about Warren Buffett and newspapers having no future.  In a recent interview Buffett implies how the newspaper industry is going the way of the horse and buggy. "They have the possibility of going to unending losses. They were essential to the public 20 years ago. Their pricing power was essential with customers. They lost the essential nature. The erosion has accelerated dramatically. They were only essential to advertisers as long as essential to reader. No one liked buying ads in the paper - it's just that they worked. I don't see anything on the horizon that causes that erosion to end."

    I found this very interesting and it got me thinking about what other industries are dying and what behaviors have changed with customers.

    Continue reading "Warren Buffett, Newspapers and Buggy Whips" »

    Posted at 09:35 PM in Management | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

    |

    Next »