The adage is well-known among business owners -- "Banks only want to loan you money when you don't need it."  Actually, it's more like: "Banks only want to approve a loan when you don't need it."  

Most business owners are borderline allergic to debt, and not only hesitate to put lines of credit in place when they can, but also hesitate to use them on occasion.  Both are emotional biases you might want to re-examine.  

News Flash: Banks, credit card companies and other lenders are reducing "dormant" lines of credit.  Here are some ways to protect yourself from that, plus  some ideas on how you might use credit to your advantage....

CEBI members continue to be on the lookout for ideas and strategies by which they can take advantage of our current economic turmoil.  And they're finding them.   

One huge opportunity is seriously examining your current workforce, identifying non-performers or marginal performers and dealing with them right away.  Then, who's going to do that work? 

You probably know that there are lots of people out there who would like to have that job.  Some of them are older and perhaps more skilled than the job requires, and they'd still like to have that job.  They also realize that their mobility is limited, so the conventional wisdom of "if I hire someone over-qualified, he will just take off when he finds something better" may or may not apply.  You may also find that the person is, indeed, worth what he earned before when you step up the responsibilities and expectations of the job.  

Fnally, your business is going to turn up and you'll need more help.  At that time, everyone else is going to be scrambling to hire, also.  The good ones will go fast.  

So, don't look at 50+ candidates the way you used to.  Read on for some reasons to take a good look at these candidates.....

Many businesses have not taken incentive compensation much past the sales force.  It turns out, based on CEBI Member experience, that incentive compensation can be incorporated into a wide variety of jobs.  

One General Manager recently backed into an incentive compensation structure while attempting to cut fixed overhead.  It's an interesting story, in that the initial objective was not to install an incentive scheme, but rather to cut costs.  It turned out differently, as he discovered that employees are surprisingly money-motivated after a pay cut.  

More on his experience......

Logic and decision-making have changed little throughout the age of human civilization.  In the 14th Century, William of Ocham wrote a paper outlining a "less is more" philosophy of decision-making that still applies today.  

Have a look at some 700-year-old wisdom.....  

And, as always, we're interested in your ideas for newsletter articles.  Would you perhaps write a guest Editorial?  Please let us know if you have ideas or material you'd be willing to share with others.