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Author Archives: Dave Berkus
Take this test to predict your success:
Your success must be based upon data that is solid and sometimes flexible enough to pass several critical tests if it is to guide a business enterprise to greatness. Here in brief are ten tests for your successful vision. Try … Continue reading
Posted in Finding your ideal niche, Positioning
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To directors and advisors: “Noses in; fingers OUT!”
Many of us have someone who reports directly to us and who supervises others in return. Well, this one is for you. And it is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a manager, board member, or … Continue reading
Are your board members as valuable as you?
Perhaps this is the natural conclusion from the several insights previously explored. While the CEO and management offer the vision, strategies, and tactics as well as the proposed budget, it is the board that controls with its votes the execution … Continue reading
Should board members be elected “for life?”
No board member should be grandfathered, guaranteed a board seat forever. Practically speaking, this is an impossible goal. We have investigated the restrictions imposed by investment documents and the obvious need to keep continuity on the board with the retention … Continue reading
Fight for balance on your board!
Picking up where we left off… In my last insight, I described the CEO who stacked the board with two friends, making a majority for control purposes and relegating the investor representatives to insignificance. There were no outside board members … Continue reading
Your need for a board grows with complexity.
Start-ups with one founder rarely have or need a board of directors. In fact, such a board would seem out of place in a one-person company. As soon as any outside money is ingested into the corporation, others have a … Continue reading
Your board should protect you!
All other board functions are secondary. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. They write in their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long … Continue reading
Posted in Protecting the business
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Hire a consultant; ignore the advice!
The ideal use of consultants… At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, … Continue reading
How to cheat legally on your tax return.
When do you cross the line between honesty and dishonesty in tax planning? Is it ethical to allocate income between periods to take advantage of tax breaks? Can expenses be put off until the next period to increase income, or … Continue reading
Posted in Protecting the business
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Do you really need an accountant?
First, let’s be sure we define our terms. Accountants are trained, certified and usually quite experienced in financial analysis, both creating and reviewing data. Bookkeepers are often trained on the job although sometimes more formally and handle the physical work … Continue reading
