|
Prepare to Break Out in 2010
Wall Street Journal, Saturday, November 28, 2009:
"In this, the first Obama Christmas, the nation finds itself
tentative, apprehensive, uncharacteristically indecisive."
That sentence pretty much sums up the mindset of many business owners
this season. The prolonged duration of this recession seems to have worn down
even the most resilient of entrepreneurs.
A lot of business owners are still hunkered down -- playing to decide, vs.
playing to win. It's time to step it up -- to aggressively invest in
promoting new business and pursuing new customers.
Monetary policy is loose, and the economy is growing as a result.
Don't get behind the power curve on this one -- you can gain ground right now
on your competitors that they may never be able to reclaim.
CEBI Newsletter Readers Weigh in
on
Health Care Reform
Business owners & CEOs receiving the CEBI newsletter responded to a
recent survey
on Health Care Reform, the results of which were reported at the CEBI Fall
Summit in November. A majority (72%) of respondents agreed that
the US health care system needs some type of reform.
That same audience polled overwhelmingly against most of
the provisions of current legislation. In a recent Fox News poll, 57% of
Americans oppose the current legislation. Presently, 54% would prefer
Congress do nothing on health care. See
Article In a Dec. 3 CNN Poll, 61% of Americans oppose
current legislation as they understand it. See
Poll
With the most significant legislation since Income Tax and
Social Security on the table, this is a pivotal time to let your elected
representatives (in this case, Senators) know how you feel about this. Here's
a "how to" guide for doing that, whether you support or oppose the
current legislation.
(Includes complete contact information
for all Democratic Senators)
I encourage you to make your voice heard in the current debate,
particularly if your state is represented by a Democratic Senator (such as FL, IL, IN, MI & OH)
-- that's
where the votes will count.
Spectrum Technologies Partners
with
NASA
 Mike
Thurow, a member of the Chicago Board, founded Spectrum
Technologies Inc. to develop and provide advanced crop health
instrumentation to the agriculture industry. Little did he imagine
he would wind up in partnership with NASA, licensing a chlorophyll-sensing
technology for commercial development.
 NASA's
work on satellite sensors produced technology that Mike and his team have
productized and delivered to the commercial market as a point-and-shoot
device. They've added some other zippy features, such as GPS coordinates and the ability to upload
the field measurements to advanced software that maps the field readings for a
web-based overview.
Gary Gabel Opens TEDxDetroit Conference
The thoughts that dominate your mind have gotten you where you are today….
They've also kept you where you are today.
To the extent your employees hold negative thoughts or attitudes about your
company or your customers, their actions are probably working against you.
Gary has provided
both a worksheet and a leader guide you may use to identify and address negative attitudes
within your
organization.
Gary's talk has been viewed over 700 times on YouTube.
You'll want to have a look at both the video and the collateral material,
available for use within your organization.
8 Steps to Better Incentive Plans
for 2010
Do incentive
compensation plans work? Some say they don't work at all. Most are
badly-designed, causing you to pay bonuses for things that would have otherwise happened
by themselves, or, worse yet, for things that are actually detrimental to the
company.
Your goal, of course, is
to incentivize
exactly the behaviors and outcomes you want, while penalizing behaviors you
don't want. Easier said than done.
If you're looking for
ways to reward -- even if not motivate -- the accomplishments you want in 2010, have a look at
an 8-step
program for better incentive compensation plan design.
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.
Thanks,
Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
864 527-5917
www.chiefexecutiveboards.com
www.chiefexecutiveblog.com
|
Upcoming Events
|
Detroit LB*
|
Feb.
2, 2010
|
|
Indianapolis LB
|
Feb.
3, 2010
|
|
Chicago LB
|
Feb.
4, 2010
|
|
Chicago North LB
|
Feb.
5, 2010
|
|
Dayton LB
|
Feb.
9, 2010
|
|
Cincinnati LB
|
Feb.
10, 2010
|
|
Northern KY LB
|
Feb.
11, 2010
|
|
Houston LB
|
Feb.
24, 2010
|
|
Greenville LB
|
Feb.
25, 2010
|
|
Tampa LB
|
March
2, 2010
|
|
Cleveland LB
|
March
3, 2010
|
|
Columbus LB
|
March
4, 2010
|
Spring
Summit
|
April
22-23, 2010
|
|
* LB =
Local Board Meeting |
|
Listing
of all
2010 Local Board Dates
|
|
Alison
Pacewic
Joins CEBI
 Alison
Pacewic has joined CEBI as Manager of Member Services, replacing Fran Gosnell.
Alison's marketing background and technology proficiency will be great assets to
CEBI and its members. Email
Alison
Yes, the
Economy is Improving
Perhaps it feels to you like the economy is
improving. Perhaps not. Many CEBI members are reporting improvements
in their businesses in the last half of 2009. Some, in later-stage
industries, such as manufacturing equipment and tooling, haven't seen the upturn
yet.
The press is still looking for problems to write about, and
remains focused on unemployment, a lagging indicator. And, there's
the ever-popular "double-dip" prediction.
Despite all that, broad measures of economic performance
are up, and it's sometimes worthwhile to look at the data.
See:
This
Recovery is
Not a Mirage
Members Only
Fall Summit presentations & videos are
available on the Summit
Library page (user name & password required)
Mark your calendar
for the
CEBI Spring
Summit
April 22-23, 2010. Plan to arrive April 21 for Bowling
Night at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa,
Itasca (Chicago), IL
Not Yet a
Member?
Miss a CEBI
Newsletter?
Archives
are available here
|
|
Nominate a Member
CEBI membership
has grown at a record pace over the past year, in part due
to CEBI members nominating friends & associates as new
members. Additionally,
we've had multiple members nominate identified successors or
purchasers of their businesses.
Do you have an
acquaintance who could benefit from membership in Chief
Executive Boards International? If you need an
email to share with a friend, try these "talking points"
Use this Nomination
Form
|
|
