the business acuman

Future of Employee Benefits Agencies... ahead or behind

2010-07-13T15:13:00.003-04:00

AON purchases Hewitt Associates. How about that? AON is investing a lot of money to get deeper into human resources products and services to clients. We have been sending this message for 2 years. Businesses want productive employees. They want a return on human capital. We have been encouraging brokers to get in the game and build your products and services to include helping businesses

Insurance Agencies... Wait, don't close your doors!

2010-04-02T21:59:00.008-04:00

The insurance agency and brokerage community is terrified of the health care bill. The fears are: Agents will be cut out as the middleman on insurance sales. Government insurance will be purchased with little to no commission paid to the agent. Government regulations will determine how much commission an agent can make if they are able to make commission.Government Insurance coverage options

What should they do... but they won't?

2010-03-23T23:51:00.003-04:00

We have seen the positives and negatives of the healthcare bill all over the media and in my latest blog. I didn't give all the good, nor all the bad about the bill. The dang thing is over 2,000 pages long in its original form and over 150 pages of revisions. You wouldn't have read my blog if I listed everything.So, I hate complaining or complimenting without giving advice. What are the

Republicans and Democrats can sure tell you their side of the story

2010-03-23T15:53:00.003-04:00

Since most people either don't have the time or desire to read these bills (HB3200, HR3962, HR4872, HR 3590), we depend on someone else to tell us what they say. So where do we go?We can go to Fox News, Republican Politicians, and conservative sources and get "all" the insight and information about the legislation. And, we can go to CNN, NBC, Democrat Politicians, and liberal sources and get "

HB 3200

2010-03-22T19:24:00.002-04:00

Ok, so the House has passed HB 3200, the sun came up and we live another day. What does this healthcare bill really say? What does it mean for U.S. Business? What does it mean to individuals? I actually read the bill and have a lot of thoughts about it. I am going to write (as often as I can) over the next few days and give my opinions. Let me warn you. If you have strong opinions one way

Executing Your Highest and Best Use

2009-09-13T09:14:00.003-04:00

We hear a lot about Unique Abilities, Natural Talents and Strengths. Many consultants and advisors will give advice about the importance of only doing what you do best. But, most executives continue to struggle with the execution.Recently I was given great advice on how to get and stay in my unique abilities. The advice was focused on how you look at your life and job.Most people look at

Consequence Decision Making

2009-09-07T23:56:00.005-04:00

Ever heard of consequence decision making? Probably not. If you are like most Americans or Canadians you have been to the school of "don't bring me a problem, bring me a solution."I was at a class about 15 years ago when I heard that message and I just couldn't accept it. It was early in my career but I had been around long enough to know that I didn't see how bringing a bad solution was any

Leadership Challenge

2009-08-19T16:52:00.003-04:00

Leadership has been written about more than just about any other topic. Consultants make big paychecks writing and speaking on the topic. Why is it such a hot topic that never seems to go away? Because people can't put their finger on what it really looks like.Leaders come in many different forms. Jim Collins describes the leader in "Good to Great" as a humble introverted type. Most authors

What to do with your money

2008-09-29T20:19:00.003-04:00

My usual day includes reading 10 to 12 articles about the economy and business news. Today I read the best advice from Liz Pulliam Weston on MSN.com. Liz gave 10 pieces of advice about what we need to know about the financial crisis we are dealing with after the government failed to pass the bail out package. Her advice was pretty good, but it was actually number 11 that grabbed my

We Have Not Addressed the Real Financial Problem

2008-09-29T06:30:00.003-04:00

Who is to blame for our current financial crisis? Greedy homeowners? Real estate agents? Is it builders, mortgage brokers, bank lenders, wall street businesses, congress, Al-Kida?Let's look at the free enterprise model. Individuals are given incentives to own business that sell products to individuals. By owning or working for one of these businesses, people gain wealth and have the buying

History Still Repeats when we don't pay attention

2008-09-22T07:30:00.003-04:00

Alert: Banks get competitive pressure to perform and improve stock value and begin to loan money for real estate to people who can only afford the mortgage if the property values continue to increase. The real estate market takes a down turn and the banks are left with a crisis. People can't pay their mortgages, foreclosures become rampant, bank stock values decline, public confidence goes

Its the Presidents Fault

2008-09-18T20:17:00.002-04:00

I must say that as an ex Midland Texas boy that actually received help from President George Bush Jr. on homework when I was in high school, I am very disappointed in him as President. I don't know what I don't know about the war. That is a difficult thing to understand. American's REALLY don't want to know what goes on in the world and how "at risk" we may be every day. But, I find it

Eliminating Stress with "Should Do" Management

2008-08-31T11:01:00.000-04:00

We can categorize all the things in our life into three categories. Things we "have to" do.Things we "should" do.Things we "want to" do.The "have to" items are things we are compelled to do. They come from our values, habits, and experiences in our lives. Paying bills, taking a shower, showing up to work, etc. These things are not optional (hopefully). The more successful you might be,

Bad news will get you chewed out... NO NEWS will get you Fired!

2008-08-31T09:03:00.006-04:00

Over the last 25 years of being in and around business I have seen a consistency with business owners. None of them think they know everything (even though they may act as if they do) and they worry more about what they don't know than what they know.These owners know about good and bad economic times, people issues, client problems, operational struggles and financial concerns. They know,

A Retirement Mistake

2008-08-24T14:10:00.002-04:00

A woman in her 30's recently told me that she was not worried about over spending. She said her parents are very wealthy and are going to leave her a ton of money. She spends every dime she makes and actually runs into financial problems frequently because of her over spending. The family makes over $100,000 per year in income. They have a nice home but they live on heavy amounts of credit

Gene Upshaws Death - He Taught Me Great Lessons in Business and Life

2008-08-21T19:36:00.003-04:00

We have lost a great man today. Gene Upshaw passed on today due to cancer. Gene was the head of the NFLPA, a great football player, and a great man. This has brought back memories and great life lessons for me. First, the life lesson. Cancer jumped up and bit one more person without warning! Gene was diagnosed on Saturday with Cancer and died on Thursday. WOW! Next to immediate death due

"Kill The Witch" - Group Think in Comedy

2008-08-02T15:16:00.000-04:00

KILL THE WITCH One of my favorite movies is Monte Python’s “In Search of The Holy Grail”. A classic in most circles. One of the most memorable parts of the movie is the “kill the witch” scene. If you don’t remember it (or are one of the culturally challenged people who haven’t seen the movie) I will give you a brief recap. A mob of people are parading a poor

Business Acumen

2008-07-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my blog. Over the last 15 years of working with sales people in my consulting practices I have seen a huge need for the development of business acumen. Business acumen is defined as "having good business judgment". Good business judgment requires knowledge about business practices, models, strategies and tactics. Having this judgment will help to increase the success of any person

web site launch

2008-06-04T12:39:00.001-04:00