Displaying 631 To 660 Of 1,384 Comments What We Can Learn From Rocky III And I like to remind people that Potter stole $8K from our hero and was never called on it. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 4:39 pm What’s the line from Stripes? “Our ancestors were thrown out of every decent country in Europe…” 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 4:02 pm Cue the music! I love analogies, because people can relate. Frankly, I have felt for some time that America should not BE #1. We need to pull back a bit, reflect, get our collective shit together, figure out what we really want, and then go for it, whatever that is. How that process works in a society I have no idea. But I do know there is a lot of pressure and stress being #1. Let someone else do it for a while and let all the smaller countries of the world whine at THAT for a while. Just ranting a bit, but that does get tiresome. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 3:44 pm Doing Business – The Right Way (Part 2) Oh, and by the way, you may want to look at some of my responses to comments and merge them as notations or something. I give some more detailed explanations on certain points than are in the articles. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 12, 2011 @ 9:53 pm Permission granted, without reservation. This is a public forum, publicly accessed, so there is no copyright or other infringment implied or explicit. In other words, knock yourself out! If you have any questions that need to be answered in geater detail, see my email. Enjoy! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 12, 2011 @ 9:43 pm I cannot disagree. What I am building to is actually a hybrid of that philosophy that is easy to manage and understand. I recognize the inherent risk that the owner has invested in his or her business, and do not begrudge the profits that flow from taking that risk. What you all will see as this series progresses is an idea about business. At some point, usually through the Business Plan I talk about, the owner makes a decision… What is a reasonable Net Profit? 5%? 10%? 15%? What? That result has to be dependent on a clear understanding of the basic fundamentals of the business, what the financial picture really is, what is foreseen over the next fiscal year, and a dedication to make that vision happen. In addition, it is predicated partly on historic worker productivity and overall costs of labor. Once that determination is made…. say a 10% Net, the next question comes up. What if we can encourage worker productivity and engagement in that plan to boost the Net from 10% to 12%? What should we do with the “extra?” If the workers decide to just show up and meet their expected metrics (which they should be totally aware of), they deserve their basic pay, no problem. What if, however, they start to look at their work, figure out ways to do it better, be more productive, be safer, and produce less waste to get that “extra” 2% Net? My system says that the 2% needs to be split between the owner, who still has that risk in play and was smart enough to adopt a system that works so well, and the employees that actually contributed above and beyond their metrics. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 11:27 am Thanks David. These priciples are for business of nearly any size, really, but are often forgotten or abandoned when businesses go corporate, and that’s a shame. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 9:06 am Thanks, Fox! BTW, I deleted my PW account on HP yesterday. Had enough when they deleted a simple comment to someone that “it’s likely this is my last day.” Sheesh! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 6:26 am Thanks! I asked the powers that be here before starting this, because I did not and will not make this some sort of fancy commercial. This is about sharing information, and educating people about how it CAN be done as well as getting some understanding about business in general. Our politics are so wrapped up in business. When people say that “business will be hurt” by this or that policy, how is the layman to know what’s true? There is no magic here. Con artists and greedy consultants make it seem so. It’s not. In the end, it does take some knowledge and experience to put it all together, but people will see in the end, usually with that palm slap to the forehead, “why didn’t anyone TELL me?” Well, I’m tellin’ ya! LOL 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 6:24 am Just took a look at that link. He has it right, for sure. What you will see when I am finished building the structure I am attempting to explain, that what he is saying is what I am trying to do as well. Down the line, you will see that by having an OrgChart leads to detailed Job Descriptions that tell each employee not only their duties but responsibilities and give them very specific performance metrics. Those metrics evolve directly from the Business Plan and a detailed annual Financial Plan, which is generated by the Business Plan. That, in turn leads to a system of regular evaluation of performance. Exceeding those metrics leads to sharing in the profits that are generated by the increased productivity of which ever group they are in. Also, since that sharing of “excess profits” (as opposed to the ‘planned profits’ of the Financial Plan) amounts to every group within the company and every individual in each group becoming entrepreneurs, the system, if properly applied and managed, becomes self running. And the owner is left with having very little to do other than promote the business, run a staff meeting once a week, review the financials, and sign checks. Oh, and deal with only major problems that affect the whole company. The owner can rely on his people to handle everything else, because it is in their own personal and financial interest to do so. I know I am giving it away a bit here, but THAT is what I’m aiming at. Anyone that skips these first steps will have a tough time creating the system I’m proposing. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 11, 2011 @ 5:59 am Yup. One of my engagements was a family business… Dad had bought the thing from his alcoholic brother, and his three kids worked there as well as one road crew. Dad wanted to retire, and just hang around to guide things from time to time, and let the kids take over, going from hourly employees to owners. One little problem… the kids could not be in the same room with one another without near fistfights breaking out. They simply had issues with each other going back a long way, and never learned how to get along. THAT was a challenge. I got it worked out, though, by staging 5 minute practise business/staff meetings every day and refereed. Took nearly a month, but now they are doing very well, and Dad sits in his loft/office with his big flatscreen and his grandkids… That kind of thing makes me soooo happy! Clear responsibilities, total accountability, and metrics to meet go a long way to resolve these kinds of situations. It’s when everyone is responsible for everything, you end up with no one being responsible for anything. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 8:51 pm Good for him! My hope is to make that day to day struggle a lot less… well… a struggle. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 6:49 pm LOL I’ll take it… I rarely say this, but my real talent is being able to be both a ‘detail guy’ and a ‘big picture guy’ at the same time. I see how things fit. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 6:27 pm I will talk about Employee Handbooks in passing. There are a lot of legal issues surrounding EH’s, and I am not an expert. Typically, you can download a template and fill it in. Having said that, Part 3 is about Job Descriptions, which dovetail into EH’s, and more directly, into what I posted above, which is the functional Org Chart. As a preview, JD’s are NOT a simple one paragraph summary of a job… mine usually take 3 or 4 pages and are very detailed, leaving no doubt about what a person is supposed to be doing, who they report to, and what actual measurable metrics they are expected to attain. A warning (sort of) to those that think they can skip a step… if you have no OrgChart, it is difficult to do Job Descriptions. If you have no Business Plan, it will be difficult to do a real and detailed financial plan (which will come down the road a ways). I keep saying all this fits together, and I mean it. Do you really want to get out of the 80 hour a week rut, or not? 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 5:35 pm Oh, and “not for nothin'” as my NY friends would say, there is a reason why so many artists are broke or die broke… Food for thought… 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 3:09 pm Don’t apologize. This is for sharing, and nothing is one size fits all. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 3:06 pm I know…. But having said that, it’s a good exercise to list functions and divvy up the responsibilities on paper. If for nothing else, it may tell you you are missing something. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 3:05 pm You’re welcome. What you will find over time is that I try and leave nothing out that is important, and that everything will tie together. If I didn’t think it mattered, I wouldn’t write about it. This is important stuff if people want to “do it right.” 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 11:48 am Thanks. And my HS Composition teacher thanks you as well! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 10:55 am The Failed History of Conservatism in America Yeah, that’s him! LOL He thought he was sooooo camo’ed up! Not! Good to see you here, KT! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 1:51 pm Tips For Newcomers (and Regulars Alike) I must have seen reference to it when I cruised through all the WordPress docs… LOL 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 13, 2011 @ 4:03 pm I’m trying to find it… I know I saw it… try the Help Desk… I’m curious, too! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 13, 2011 @ 3:55 pm Great idea! I will review and critique…. I’m good at that! PS: The people that have designed & run this site do a great job. There are some things that are not intuitive, but they are minor, and I reserve judgement until I’ve been here a while. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 9, 2011 @ 5:47 pm Doing Business – The Right Way Truth, take your time… the waters are deep, and don’t ignore the commenting back and forth. There’s some good ancillary info there. » Posted By PocketWatch On February 17, 2011 @ 7:03 am Hey, Mossy! Glad to see you made the boat over here. This is always something I wanted to do, and have not found the place, until now. If I help just a few people understand business a little better, and maybe get them even 1% closer to success, it will make me happy. I’m a teacher at heart, and always have been. Part 2 is up, and I warn you, there is homework! 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 1:20 pm Thanks. I am the son of a master carpenter, and am the only one of three that can use a screwdriver without injury. Before the divorce took away my entire woodworking shop, I made all sorts of things. Now, living in an apartment, that is much curtailed, so I reverted to the old methods. I made my bedstead completely out of decking materials (5/4 deck lumber, square post spindles, and 4×4’s) all cedar, using a mallet and chisels for making the mortises, and wooden pegs to secure. Not a nail or screw in it. Got a couple of tables and a lamp or two handmade the same way as well, so I do understand the time it takes to do things the old-fashioned way. One of my regrets was that, when my ex made off with everything I owned, I had all my dad’s old hand tools. Among them was a 20 piece set of moulding and routing planes, circa 1880, that still worked. I used them all the time. They had to be worth $200 each just as antiques, and I know she sold it all to a bulk auctioneer for a couple of hundred bucks. :: sigh :: Anyway, hang in there. I’d love to see your work. And, I just posted Part 2. As I promised, this will be hard work, and everything will relate by the end, so happy reading, and Do Your Homework! (Yes, there are assignments!) 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 10:53 am Part 2 is up. Just posted it. The hard work starts! 😆 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 10:43 am Thanks, Funk! My purpose is to create FEWER ‘former’ business owners. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 6:47 am Hang in there on this series. While I can’t give away the actual tools I use – it is what I do for a living, after all – I will certainly outline what people can do for themselves and the principles behind each step. There will be a lot here that you will be able to use in a practical way. 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 10, 2011 @ 6:46 am You’re welcome. I have been online in one form or another since before the interwebs even existed, and have always just been myself. It’s too much trouble to use some sort of persona or whatever. In the famous words of Popeye, “I yam, what I yam!” 8) » Posted By PocketWatch On February 9, 2011 @ 5:39 pmComments Posted By PocketWatch
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