Scalability

Is your company scalable?  If it isn't, you will have a difficult time adjusting to the crazy economic swings we have been experiencing. The most costly part of your company is probably human capital (people). Do you need an IT person, or can you source this work?

If you have seasonal fluctuations do you hire and fire or do you use a temporary agency?  These are the questions you need to ask yourself.  On the surface - the up-charges are more costly than having these people full time.  The real cost is having a full time IT person sitting in a cube with no real projects to work on, Or carrying seasonal people till the "busy" time returns.

Partnering with temporary firms or IT service firms will save money in the long run, and best of all, when it comes time for the seasonal layoffs, your partner does the dirty deed.

Realtors - grow some nads

Now that I have stepped down from Bubba Burger, I thought maybe sell the house and downsize - there are so many deals out there. So my wife and I do some research and on the surface it looks like we can sell our house for "x" and buy smaller for "y." The math worked until we met the realtor.  They have become experts in reducing expectations.  They stay quiet then show comps in less desirable areas and say this is what your house needs to be priced at to sell before the next millennium.

It is ridiculous.  I have built five houses.  Basically the number suggested was less than the lumber to build new and what the heck - let's throw the land in for free.

Anyone that knows me personally knows I am a conservative democrat who on occasion votes for the elephant.Ronald Reagan was one of those times.  We were in "stagflation" a new economic anomaly. I was in business school at the time and learned in ECO101 that peoples expectations was part of the mathematical equation. Huh. So Ronnie's staff knew this.  They conjured up trickle down Reaganomics and sold it to the nation and said things will get better.  The "expectation" was stagflation and 18% mortgage interest would go away. Huh.

Guess what folks - it freakin' worked!

Reaganomics was a bunch of crap and years later David Stockman, the guy that conjured it up like a potion for the American people it would admit that, but what did work was expectations.

So listen up realtors, raise prices, set expectations that the housing crises is over and guess what it will be. For us - we will stay in our wonderful house.

Change Management

Although some people love constant changes, the bulk of office type workers hate change with a passion.  Whether it is a new software, different manager, cube change, team member change, whatever the new parameter or paradigm, people will resist. Over my career I have been responsible to make changes to improve business intelligence, streamline process, enhance ERP applications, whatever the change dujour might be.

The first step in making changes is to keep people informed at the right time, and include them in the process.  Afterall the tactical people in the organization understand the details.  The strategic staff(management) do not typically know the details.  Change is a team effort let your team be a part of it - and the level of success increases.  If you need help with a change management project, call or text me at 904-219-7777 or email c@clarkschaffer.com.

Tax Tip - Home Office

You would think that the tax code is black and white, but it is very much gray. Just because a deduction may seem black and white, sometimes steer clear. Home office is one of those items. There are so many rules to take a home office and for some reason IRS agents have a knack for picking on this item.  At the end of the day the deduction is not that large anyway.  In fact there is a box to mark if you took home office.  Nothing like telling on yourself and asking for trouble.

If you feel you are due the deduction take it - or just augment other deductible items that are less susceptible to evidential scrutiny.  Need some ideas, call or text me 904-219-7777 or send me an email c@clarkschaffer.com

Sustainability

Is your business sustainable or a flash in the pan. GM, Citi, Arthur Andersen, Enron. Remember these household names?  Some have sustained thanks to our tax dollars.  Do you think Betty's Cupcake's will get a government bailout when the cupcake fad ends? Or closer to home, will ZenCog (a business I have with Garf and Shaun) sustain if the fixie fad ends?

The answer to sustainability is based one one simple word - AGILITY.

Unless you are a shoe cobbler or barber, you better be ready to change with the fads and styles. You must always be a fortune teller, seeing the future before it arrives.  Stay nimble, stay open minded, re-invent your business periodically.  Were you aware that Burger King franchisees are required to tear down and rebuild their restaurants every twenty years?

I challenge you to add a fund and account in your books called AGILITY.  Accrue for it, save for it, and in three years replace your carpet.  Keep it fresh, it will help you to remain sustainable. Nobody wants to walk on dirty, smelly carpet. Need more sustainable ideas? call or fax me at 904-219-7777 - Clark

Conscious Capitalism

I went to a CFO conference last week.  Jeff Klein jumps up to the stage. A fit fiftyish man takes off his sport coat, no tie and he animatedly starts his talk. You could almost hear the attendees wonder why he took his jacket off. Yours truly was in jeans - no jacket. Times are clearly changing.

Anyway Jeff starts his talk about conscious capitalism. The world is about people.  And the X-Y generations have no interested in the yuppie greed.  They want flex time, commute working, the ability to take time off for charitable events.

This excitable speaker kept us awake - no coffee needed. The point is this - work is more than the bottom line - its about your people. If your people are happy and fulfilled you will get ten times the productivity, and a much happier work force.  When I was at Bubba Burger my mantra was always your life trumps your job.  If there was an assembly for your kids or, ballgame or whatever - that is important.  There was one caveat.  Get your work done - before or after hours or remotely.

Yesterday I went to meet with my successor. We met about an hour or so. My former staff knew everything that had to be done.  The questions for me were rather mundane.  That was because my ship ran without me.  My team was trained, cross trained, and they new what needed to be done on their own.  Sure the CFO was needed to make decisions, but not for daily tasks.  My successor will have a smooth transition, which meant I did my job, and my team could work without babysitting.

As always - Its about people. Happy people. Respected people. Period!

Check out http://www.consciouscapitalism.org/ and http://www.workingforgood.com/

Servant Management

I believe in the school of "servant management."  It is a reverse paradigm of "boss management." Boss management also referred as "BM" is when the boss is king and employees do whatever the boss decrees.  This is the typical management style.  Herd those employees, whip them into shape, model them into what you envision your subordinates should look, act, and sound like because after all they work "for" the boss.

Servant management is where the team leader's role is to provide his/her staff with the tools, time, encouragement, and responsibility to perform at their highest capability.   You are not the boss, but the leader of the team. Your team will work hard to please you because you have treated them with dignity, honor, respect, and autonomy. If your business wants to "do more with less" this is one approach.  Do you need some coaching, just call or text me 904.219.7777. - Clark