We appreciated the many comments from CEBI members that the Fall Summit was the "best ever".  At the same time, members offered many good ideas for improvements that we can incorporate into future Summits.  

Particularly well received were the Executive Briefings, a set of "mini-seminars" given by CEBI members.  Our thanks for great  preparation and excellent delivery to Ken Pritchett, Al Conway, Jason Premo, Scott McMillian and Franz Hoffmann.  Of course all these presentations are available on the Summit Library page (member user name and password required).  

One of those presentations included a live demo of a Cash Recovery Dashboard developed by Al Conway.  Have a look at: Al Conway's Amazing Cash Recovery Dashboard -- available as either an online tool or a downloadable application.  

Another well-reviewed segment was our all-member Forum -- "Making Lemonade -- Exploiting Opportunities in Times of Great Uncertainty".  Our members contributed many and varied ideas for taking advantage of the current turbulence in the economy, and three expert contributors commented from their own experience.  Our thanks to Mike Flynn, Harry Loyle and Jeff Lynn for helping out with that segment.  

The National Boards, always an important part of a Summit, got high marks as well, thanks to our Facilitators Chuck Biehn, Dave Crockett, Vonne Linse, Dale Perram, Joe Barber and Steve Hater.  

Our Thursday evening speaker, economist John Weinberg Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Director of Research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond was questioned and challenged by members in a lively exchange of ideas an opinions. 

If you missed this Summit, you missed one great event.  Be sure to mark your calendar for the 2009 Spring Summit, April 23-24, 2009 in Itasca (Chicago), IL..   If you aren't a CEBI member, our National Summits alone are reason enough to apply for membership.  

Many CEBI member companies are taking great advantage of the current turbulent business climate, some actually expecting to post record sales and earnings for 2008.  

Others, of course, are in sectors hard hit by a slowing economy and have no choice but to reduce staff.  Even those doing well are considering this an opportune time to hire great available candidates and shed some marginal contributors.  

Totem Poling is a term for a rigorous process of ranking employees from most to least valuable, making it crystal clear who needs to be terminated to either reduce cost or make way for a better candidate.  More on Totem Poling.....

During our Forum at the Fall Summit, we asked members for ideas on how their companies were capitalizing on current economic uncertainties.  More than one idea centered on taking advantage of weak demand for vendors' products or services by asking for reduced prices, extended terms, or more value-added services.  

Keep in mind that some of your customers may have a source of similar ideas and may be looking to do the same to you.  In that case, you need more weapons in your arsenal than price and terms.  You need "switching cost" on your side.  How can you make it either expensive or painful for a customer to make a switch, particularly if you don't yield to his request for lower prices or extended terms?  

It's a good idea to have established business processes in place by which you remind a customer of specific things you do to make his life easier and his business more successful.  The axiom "familiarity breeds contempt" is attributed to several Greek philosophers, who meant that as you get used to a relationship you begin to take the good things for granted and focus only on the problems.  

Here are some "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" examples....

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  While you or your company may not be under economic stress, it's likely some of your employees are.  A spouse job loss.  A potential foreclosure.  An extended family member who needs help (or was helping before they had a problem).  

Employee theft or embezzlement is always a risk.  It's a risk that rises substantially when otherwise honest employees find themselves in an economic bind from which they see no escape.  

If there ever was a time to re-examine your internal controls and your exposure to internal theft, this is it.  More on 8 Simple Internal Controls you can implement right away.....