Category Archives: General

Employee vs. contractor: Here we go again.

Why revisit this issue now? Several years ago, I wrote an extensive article on the ten most important tests of a company in classifying a person as an independent contractor.  See https://berkonomics.com/?p=662 for that important insight.  But things have gotten … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, General, Protecting the business | 4 Comments

How to solve your most critical problems

First, the challenge Let’s say you have been told by your board, by your chairman, CEO, or direct leader to solve three problems you identify and report back within a month showing progress – or that you have solved these … Continue reading

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How good a leader are you?

There are many roads to Rio, so they say.  But there is one overwhelming method of appraising the effectiveness of a business leader. Outcomes. We can invent lots of metrics to measure progress for a leader, including revenue, profit, employee … Continue reading

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Are you really ready to examine your email open rates?

No–one needs to tell you that mobile readers now outnumber desktop readers for your message.  A recent Experian marketing survey revealed that 52% of all email opens are from mobile devices, and that 38% of all clicks are from mobile … Continue reading

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Here are tricks to find yourself on social media.

Finding your needle in the haystack There is so much information being shot at us daily via social media streams that we should monitor and control that which pertains to our business – and do so with some level of … Continue reading

Posted in General, Positioning | 1 Comment

Question: Do you know three types of advertising?

If we never advertised, we’d never sell anything.  Right? Perhaps right, but there are three major types of advertising, some requiring large outlays of cash, some not. The types of advertising First, you can advertise your brand so that people … Continue reading

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A tale of two CEO’s and the management of pain.

This is the tale of two CEOs, one of them unfortunately….me.   It’s a story of how people handle unusual situations when selling to the top – an executive of a prospective customer.  And the stories couldn’t be more different. … Continue reading

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Why would you ever “fire yourself?”

To start: “new source of energy” and “new ideas.” When a new CEO or manager is hired into a company, for a while lots of energy flows from the top and new ideas seem to be generated daily.  It is … Continue reading

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Can you negotiate without emotion?

Here’s the problem. Negotiating an agreement, especially one that involves personal gain, is tough for the person personally involved.  There is too much to lose to be objective, to be willing to walk when terms go upside down. What if … Continue reading

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Are you willing to hire slowly but fire fast?

Here’s a test of your patience and your willingness to suppress your tendency to avoid conflict or confrontation – all in the same insight. First a reminder about why we hire: New hires can shore up the weak areas of … Continue reading

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