Obit: Taxi Company's Zeal for Service Backfires
When Yellow Cab owner Raymond W. Stubbs exiled cab drivers who wouldn't adopt his stringent customer service policies, the cabbies went solo, taking their cu... Read more
Leadership
Recent Leadership Articles
Mad About Me
A disgruntled employee may suffer from an inability to take responsibility for his or her own life--the same inner turmoil that often prompts entrepreneurs t... Read more
No False Moves
Small companies waste untold dollars on technology that doesn't begin to solve their problems. Here's how to analyze your business and develop a focused tech... Read more
Manuel Fernandez: My Biggest Mistake
Manuel Fernandez is the chairman and CEO of the Gartner Group, based in Stamford, Conn., a high-tech consulting firm that generated $511 million in re... Read more
Soaring Video Chain Crashes to Earth
After hiring high-priced executives to manage aggressive growth plans, a slump in the video-rental market drove Planet Video into bankruptcy. A business obit. Read more
Hurry Up and Wait
CEO Brodsky describes how budding entrepreneurs often make poor business decisions because they're too impatient to think them through. He gives advice on le... Read more
So You Want to Be an Inc. 500 CEO?
A list of eight qualities common to Inc. 500 CEOs and their companies. Statistics include the marital status and economic background of owners and the types ... Read more
Scoring on the Rebound
Sales at SurfSoft Inc., a 1998 Inc 500 winner, faltered until CEO Chuck Hickey picked up "The Deming Management Method" by Mary Walton. The book tau... Read more
Where Really Bad Ideas Come From
Before starting the companies that made the 1998 Inc. 500, many CEOs pursued dubious business concepts that ultimately bombed. Here are the lessons ... Read more
How Can I Keep my Employees?
One Friday afternoon, C. Richard Cowan watched $600,000 walk out the door. Cowan, founder and president of Power Lift Corp. (#2), which distributes... Read more
Can Entrepreneurship Be Cured?
Many successful entrepreneurs believe their business building skills are genetically innate. This is often a coping strategy for people who can't separate th... Read more
Obit: Medicare Review Cuts Hospice's Lifeline
When Hartline Hospice Inc. was erroneously accused of fraud, a freeze in Medicare reimbursements, coupled with paperwork errors, drove the company into bankr... Read more
Hot Tip: Communicating With Employees
An open-door policy sounds like a great management idea--until the reality of a busy day intrudes. "I want to be available and accessible, but I really ha... Read more
Chairman of the Keyboard
The cofounder of VeriFone explains why a virtual company calls for a different concept of management. He describes why his company went virtual and the impor... Read more
A Wise Consistency
Lely Barea, owner of Ibiley Uniforms, achieves efficiency by demanding uniformity in everything in her life, including her wardrobe, communications with empl... Read more
Ben's Big Flop
When Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben Jerry's, decided to start Community Products, a company that would donate most of its profits to worthy causes, ... Read more
No Tickets, No Worries
As soon as beverage wholesaler Lenox-Martell started tracking business expenses, it became clear the company's 15 drivers needed to be a tad more cost-con... Read more
Obit: Bakery's Failed Recipe -- Employee Buyout
A lapse in product quality, outdated equipment, unprofitable contracts, a huge accounting error, and poor internal communications helped put Martino's Bakery... Read more
I Am My Own HR Department
At Xerox Corp., managers who want to give an employee a raise no longer call the human resources department. Likewise, workers who want to change their 40... Read more
A Brief Introduction
These entries are from a diary I started six months after quitting my day job as a business-book publisher on July 31, 1997, to go solo. The first six mon... Read more
Notes From The Guest Register
Inc.'s editor relates memorable quotes from business owners who've dropped by the office for lunch; plus, he addresses the fear many entrepreneurs have that ... Read more
The Training Myth
The most valuable employee training usually comes from on-the-job experience, not from a formal training session. Here's how to empower employees to learn fo... Read more
The Cost Cleaners
Mazzella Wire Rope and Sling Co. called it the Laundry List program . Employees compiled a "laundry list" of dozens of cost items, from w... Read more
Leave No Expense Unchecked
Jim's Formal Wear (JFW), a $25 million wholesaler and retailer of tuxedos based in Trenton, Ill., has been teaching employees how to accurately forecast t... Read more
The One-Day Rest Cure
Like many people who own businesses, Nan K. Chase used to find it hard to take a break. Instead, Chase, who works as a freelance writer and public-rel... Read more
Obits: Neglect Zaps a Laser-Tag Franchisor
Q-Entertainment Inc., a franchisor of laser-tag amusement centers, went under when meteoric growth caused the company to neglect the needs of its franchisees... Read more
Bible in the Boardroom?
Rabbi Visotzky explains how his Bible-study group helps CEOs apply stories from the Bible to issues that arise in running a business, including moral dilemma... Read more
What's Hot: Creativity
A guide to books and Web sites devoted to boosting creativity and enhancing brainstorming sessions. Read more
Lasting Impressions
Howard Schultz, CEO and chairman of Starbucks Coffee Co., explains how the welcoming rituals his company practices helps imprint the Starbucks culture and re... Read more
Keeping Score
Scoreboards that chart the company numbers were popular a decade ago, but slowly fell into disuse. Today, scoreboards are back but they're displaying new typ... Read more
What's Hot: Teamwork
A guide to books and Web sites designed to help business owners implement strategies for improving teamwork at their companies. Read more
Hot Tip: Community Involvement
Looking for a high-impact alternative to plain old charitable donations? At Bagel Works Inc., a $4-million retail bagel chain based in Keene, N.H., each o... Read more
Mentees on Mentors
Tom Stemberg , founder, chairman, and CEO of Staples, a $5.2 billion chain of office supply superstores <... Read more