Author Archives: Dave Berkus

The power of just ONE more unit.

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Dave Berkus

There is such leverage in high gross profit margins once a company is past breakeven.  Every dollar of gross profit falls to the bottom line, increasing net profit faster with each transaction.  A ten percent increase in revenues for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 4 Comments

Cast your net where the big fish swim.

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Dave Berkus

This is one of those “My dad used to say” homilies.  You’ve probably heard the accompanying “It takes just as much effort to sell a small deal as a big one,” over the years. The truth of this is more … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth! | 1 Comment

Corporate whistle-blowers fulfill a function.

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Assuming first that a corporate whistle-blower is not tooting about you individually, such a class of people have been granted protections under the law and serve a function that needs to be acknowledged. First, the assumption is that such a … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 2 Comments

Safety first. Profits follow.

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Much of work place safety is common sense.  But there is a natural tension between economy of operation and provision for safety for employees, and the resulting risk to the enterprise must be carefully weighed. Good boards of directors have … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | Leave a comment

Disaster Recovery and other happy subjects.

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Have you ever lost all of your data on your smartphone, laptop, or desktop PC?  If not, it is probably only a matter of time until you do.  Those of us who have experienced this heart-stopping event now regularly back … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 5 Comments

Refresh your enthusiasm for the job.

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Dave Berkus

So you’ve been at this for years through thick and thin, great days and days in which you’ve had better times.  Much of your job has become routine.  But it feels good to see your “baby” grow and others buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 3 Comments

Play Nice!

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Dave Berkus

When you were a kid, surely at one time or another, Mom or someone reminded you to “play nice” when you got a bit rambunctious with your friends.   I was reminded about this by Mark Wayman, a friend and reader, … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Surrounding yourself with talent | Leave a comment

Cash – is time – is cash.

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Here is a simple economic truth.  Fixed overhead continues to eat into your cash month after month.  It doesn’t differentiate facile, efficient businesses from slow, disorganized, quality-challenged ones. If it takes eighteen months to get a new product out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 2 Comments

The “buggy whip” trap.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Surely you’ve heard the buggy whip analogy.  A business making those necessary items ignored the signs of progress and found itself without a market.  Perhaps that happened to sword smiths upon the invention of the rifle, and certainly to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 5 Comments

What if you don’t know what to ask?

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Dave Berkus

Great executives and managers seem to intuitively know what they don’t know.   But it is not at all uncommon to not even know what questions to ask. How do you avoid being sideswiped by the new product you never saw … Continue reading →

Posted in Positioning, Protecting the business | 3 Comments