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The Succession Coach
by Kim Girard Tuesday Nov 24, 2009When founder Michael Powell decided several years ago that his just-out-of-college daughter, Emily, would succeed him in running the company, he brought in Mark Green, former director of Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program, to bring her up to speed — but with sufficient time to develop the skills and earn the respect
The $100K Referral Bonus
by Kim Girard Tuesday Dec 1, 2009Most companies skimp on employee referral bonuses — despite research that shows retention rates are much higher when referrals come from a trusted source, such as an employee, friend or business acquaintance. ghSmart pays a whopping $100,000 referral bonus — deferred over nine years — that has dramatically boosted talent and retention rates.
The One-Hour Board Meeting
by Kim Girard Wednesday Dec 9, 2009As the CEO of a small but growing business, Benjamin Wayne has his hands full. To get the most out of his four-member board of directors, Wayne limits each meeting to a one-hour discussion of one or two strategic challenges facing the company. The result: He gets the expertise he needs from his directors to help run his business.
Lessons in Succession
by Kim Girard Monday Nov 23, 2009Founded by Walter Powell in 1971 and run by his son, Michael, for the past 30 years, Powell’s Books operates eight stores, employs 550 people and posted about more than $50 million in 2008 sales. Next year, Michael Powell’s daughter Emily, a 30-year-old urban planner by training who returned to the family business in 2004, is poised to take over as president. Powell discussed some of the challenges of family succession.
Always-On Customer Feedback
by Kim Girard Monday Nov 30, 2009The company has 42-inch displays in its lobby and break room that flash real-time data on sales, searches, and customer surveys and ratings. The system has helped 4Imprint CEO Kevin Lyons-Tarr improve service daily and boost customer loyalty annually.
A Smart Start for New Hires
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009Training new employees consumes time and money. For DDI, the investment in its new managers and salespeople was taking as long as three years to pay off. So the company implemented a six-week orientation and training program that teaches fresh recruits not only the necessary jobs skills but also the networking skills to help them advance in their own careers. The company is on track for new hires to become fully productive within 18 months.
The Talent Dashboard
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009Project managers and engineers at Aldridge are the rock stars who make or break the business. But when turnover among its top performers became a big problem, the company overhauled the way it spots and rewards its best employees. It now combines evaluation software and tools with peer and performance rankings to identify the keepers — and weed out laggards.
The No-B.S. CEO Bonus
by Kim Girard Friday Nov 13, 2009A simple and strict executive pay policy. CEO William Hickey takes home cash bonuses only when he hits a variety of important financial benchmarks, not just sales or share price. In 2007, Hickey received a performance-based bonus of $460,000. In 2008, when the economy tanked, he got zilch.
Understanding the Health Care Mess Facing Small Business
by Kim Girard Monday Nov 16, 2009Bruce Phillips is an analyst and expert who has studied how health care policy impacts small business, most recently as a senior fellow with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation. In an interview with Bizmore, Phillips discussed the need for more insurance industry competition, what small companies can expect from reform and the tyranny of big insurance carriers.
