Strategic Planning

The Strength of an Ox

2024-10-12T15:16:54-05:00May 28th, 2024|Tags: , , |

One challenge small businesses face, who are forced to compete against larger businesses, is a lack of resources. Large companies can hire more people and invest in technology that may be hard for smaller businesses to come by.  This disadvantage requires that a small business needs to be even more selective in hiring the right people who fit the ...

Companion of Fools

2024-10-12T15:22:55-05:00May 24th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Recently, a group of friends and I were reflecting on our junior high school years. Rick shared how grateful he was that he met up with our friend group back then.   Before meeting our group, Rick primarily talked with Mike, one of the wildest kids in our class. Had Rick continued hanging out with Mike’s group, Rick’s life might ...

Guarding Against Grifters: Part I

2024-04-26T17:30:54-05:00May 6th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Unfortunately, Grifters love to use the church as their playground. If you’re not familiar with the word, Grifters are con men or women who are adept at reading people and exploiting their weaknesses.  Since there are a growing number of scandals of megachurch pastors who have been arrested or thrown out of their church for fraud or sexual impropriety, I ...

Navigating Inflation with Grace

2024-04-26T16:41:29-05:00May 2nd, 2024|Tags: , , |

An economic indicator I find valuable is the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index. This index checks the pulse of small business owners.  The 50-year average score for this optimism index has been 98. Last month, the index fell to 88.5, the lowest level since 2012. The primary concern listed in the survey by these entrepreneurs is ...

Training Priorities

2024-03-29T00:20:35-05:00April 29th, 2024|Tags: , , |

The Kansas City Business Journal highlighted that one way to help enhance our workforce is by upskilling existing workers. The Business Journal also discussed a study that discovered that 64% of respondents said they work with at least one under-skilled colleague.   Training should always be a priority, but our failed education system is revealing an even greater need. Regardless, there ...

Blindsided by Baseball

2024-03-22T21:56:41-05:00April 8th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Green Dirt Farm spent three years dreaming, building, and investing in a new farm-to-market restaurant in downtown Kansas City. Then they were blindsided.  As Green Dirt Farm’s grand opening drew near, the owners learned from news reports that the Kansas City Royals intended to build a new stadium directly upon Green Dirt Farm’s new location.  Although the Royals have since ...

Shrinking the Work Week: Part I

2024-03-22T20:36:36-05:00April 1st, 2024|Tags: , , |

Senator Bernie Sanders recently proposed to change the workweek from 40 hours a week to 32 hours for the same pay. Any hours worked after that would require employers to pay overtime.  Although some data looks favorable for those companies who have shifted to a 4-day workweek, there are other factors that need to be considered.  A shortened work week ...

Training New Graduates

2024-03-11T13:38:20-05:00March 28th, 2024|Tags: , , |

In the past, the business community has grown accustomed to a certain level of educational training provided to high school and college graduates. In my opinion, the future is soon to change dramatically.   During the pandemic, remote learning too often became no learning at all. In many schools, standards were lowered, graduating many students without basic educational skills.   As these ...

Residential Real Estate Changes Are Coming

2024-03-01T20:25:59-06:00March 13th, 2024|Tags: , , |

When a Kansas City jury delivered a $1.8 billion verdict against the National Association of Realtors’ longstanding commission practices it started a chain reaction. Lawsuits against real estate brokerage firms are surfacing nationally, requiring the real estate industry to take a fresh look at its business model of how buyers and seller’s agents are compensated.    In any business, dramatic changes ...

Supporting Women in the Workplace

2024-01-26T21:40:31-06:00February 29th, 2024|Tags: , , |

According to a Rice University study, working women do not feel supported by their clergy and churches. Many women felt that their work was not valued by the church and that clergy rarely had workplace experience to be able to relate to working women.  In addition, the study discovered that women’s church activities are often held during the day when ...

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