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April 2010
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Chief
Executive Boards International Update
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The Barbecue Index
An Obscure Economic Indicator That's Improving
 Billions
are spent, both publicly and privately, keeping statistics and making economic
forecasts. While almost all government and institutional economic
indicators have been improving for the past several months, I've become more
partial to watching "Main Street" indicators.
Steve Francis, owner of Pinkie's
Barbecue in Hermosa Beach, CA confirmed last month that the economy is
improving. He knows that because sales are picking up at Pinkie's after
a painfully slow 2009. While short on statistical depth, the CEBI
Barbecue Index is headed up. If you're betting against a stronger
economy, you might want to re-think.
Incentives -- Reward Early and
Often
A mounting body of anecdotal evidence says unexpected
"spot" incentive awards are more effective motivators than quarterly
bonuses, promotions, new titles, etc. Remember: How
Much Employee Motivation Can You Buy with a Car Wash? Or: How
Much Employee Motivation Can You Buy for $10? Word on the street
-- if you're doing spot awards of $50 or so, the Target Gift Card is the
currency of choice.
A recent Fortune Magazine article recounts the excitement
of an employee who received an unexpected bonus of a few hundred dollars for
several weeks of long hours on a project. "The fact that somebody
took the time to recognize the effort," she says, "made the long hours
just melt away." The article recommends "small awards, all the
time, to almost everyone."
You may also recall that for many employees, time
off trumps cash. It's easy to assume the same things that motivate
owners also motivate employees. Probably not so.
As we get into baseball
season, remember to be a switch hitter -- try some different rewards with
different people and see what happens. You can comment on any of the
above-linked blog articles to share your experiences with
others.
Finding Capital -- You'll Never
Believe Where
Nature abhors a vacuum. Something is always waiting to
rush in and fill it. In the case of capital, there are people out there
with available capital looking for decent returns. There are business
owners out there who need capital and are willing to rent it (pay interest) if they
can get it.
 These
buyers and sellers used to meet anonymously through an intermediary -- a
commercial bank. That isn't happening near enough lately, since banks are
building reserves (although not paying much on deposited funds) rather than
lending money to businesses.
See last month's newsletter....
So, these buyers and sellers of capital have begun finding each
other, establishing a recent trend of what's been called "Peer
Lending". Yes, business owners are just lending to each other, based
on their own assessment of the lending risk. Here's a real-life story you
just have to check out. Read
on....
And stay tuned -- this just one of two similar stories I've
heard in the past month. More on this fascinating trend in next month's
newsletter.
42 Ways The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Will Affect You and Your Business
 A
longtime friend, Bob DeGarmo, is Managing Partner of Entrepreneurial
Resources, a service provider to closely held businesses. Bob sent me an
excellent and thorough projection of the likely impact of The Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act. Bob's article is worth the read, and a fraction of the
bill's 2409 pages.
As Bob says, "Outside of a few congressional staffers, no
one really knows what is in this massive piece of legislation and won’t for
years. Much needs to be fleshed out with regulations by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services. When one wades through this, the scope and reach of this
legislation is stunning."
You owe it to yourself to have a look at Bob's article, "Obama
Care: Ready, Set, Duck"
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
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Owners
Report 2010 Salary Plans
Many business owners are very interested in what
others are doing about salary actions in 2010. We polled members of Chief
Executive Boards International to find out what they're planning for salary
increases or adjustments in 2010. Here's what they had to say.
Less
is More in
Crafting Strategy
Most small business owners
believe that they need more, rather than fewer lines of
business to be more successful. Experience has proven the
reverse is more likely true -- more products and services on
the plate may actually reduce the success of the
business.
I recently watched two
business owners decided whether focus or diversity was more
important. I hope you find their stories
fascinating.
Read
on.....
High
Unemployment
Will Persist, Despite
Stronger Economy
Unemployment persists at
levels near 10%. So, the economy isn't really recovering,
right? We may be looking at a "new" recession or a
"double-dip", right? Wrong. If your business isn't
turning up already, it will be soon.
While
both parties are making political hay with persistently high
unemployment, they're not likely to be able to do much about
it. That's because the driver of post-recession
unemployment has little to do with things government can
influence.
The
underlying problem? Those jobs aren't coming back
-- perhaps ever. To fix this one, we're going to have
to fix an educational system that's proven persistently
difficult to improve. Government has, so far, not been
able to get that done.
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