The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Web site contains a treasure trove of market data and a powerful search engine for mining it. For example, you can download the Agriculture Fact Book 1996 to find out which foods Americans are buying.
The Problem with Profit Sharing, page 67
The Reward Plan Advantage, by Jerry McAdams (Jossey-Bass, 800-956-7739, 1996, $29.95), shows busy managers how to craft reward systems that promote initiative, productivity, and old-fashioned hard work. If you would like your employees to think and act like business owners, this book will help you design and implement incentives to get them to.
McAdams, the national practice leader for reward and recognition systems at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, in St. Louis, urges readers to skip around in the book. Starting from scratch? Don't miss the early chapters that explain how to meld incentive plans with business-plan objectives. Planning to reevaluate an existing plan's raison d'être and return on investment? Use chapter 4 as a diagnostic checklist to gauge whether it still serves its intended purpose. There's no lack of tips on eliciting feedback from employees, because, as McAdams points out, the goal is to involve them in the process.
If you're clear on the fundamentals, skip to the chapters on design and implementation. Here you'll learn why and when to use process-driven and outcome-based incentives and how you can structure them to get the biggest bang for your buck. "Poorly designed plans well implemented do better than well-designed plans poorly implemented," writes McAdams. "However, there is never a reason to settle for bad design." This book should save you from that fate.
Hands On, pages 84 to 97
Manager's Notebook: Noteworthy
The National Workforce Assistance Collaborative (NWAC) promotes workforce training at small and midsize businesses. Check out NWAC's resource guide on the Internet for information on state training grants. Or contact Kathy Stuart at the National Alliance of Business at 202-289-2915.
Collections: Get Paid Promptly
Accounts Receivable: How to Tame the Beast packs an incredible amount of useful suggestions into a free five-page brochure, published by Dun & Bradstreet Information Services (800-333-6497). Ignore D&B's sales pitch for its receivables-management division and focus on the guide's usable strategies, such as "do something every 20 days." (It even gives you some ideas.) The brochure should motivate even those CEOs who are afraid they'll lose customers by focusing too hard on collections.
Championship Collections: How to Squeeze Blood from a Turnip, by David and Martin Sher (Paradigm Press, 212-879-6486, 1995, $25), is written by brothers who are experts in the collection field. Their advice can be painfully obvious, but the 190-page book is chatty and full of good ideas on matters such as how to respond when problem payers cry poor. The first chapter, "Why You Have Bad Debts," is eye-opening.
Marketing Strategy: Focus, Focus, Focus
Many books have been written about finding a niche or segmenting a market. But too many of those how-to tomes are forgettable (like the recent Nichecraft) or hopelessly academic (witness such titles as Gerontographics: Life-Stage Segmentation for Marketing Strategy Development). The best way to learn about this topic (aside from experience) is to study the successes and failures of others.
Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It, by Al Ries (HarperCollins, 800-242-7737, 1996, $25), does a good job of covering the foibles of IBM, Sony, and other huge companies that have struggled to expand beyond their expertise. How do you know you're not following in their footsteps? Chapter 15, "Fifteen Keys to a Long-Term Focus," provides a handy checklist. Unfortunately, Ries doesn't focus on how growing companies have gone astray. Main Street Muffins, which ran aground trying to expand its retail and wholesale operations, is one of the few small companies profiled--briefly.
" Say When" (Inc., February 1995) goes into more depth on Main Street Muffins.
The Discipline of Market Leaders, by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema (Addison Wesley, 800-822-6339, 1995, $25), also draws on big-company case histories to illustrate how to narrow your focus. The book is now available on audiotape, read by the authors, from Soundelux/The Mind's Eye Audio Publishing (800-227-2020) for $19.95.
"Know Your Place," by Michael Porter (Inc., September 1991), includes a rundown of the "Five Fatal Flaws" small-company owners make in trying to find their competitive advantage.
Computer Networks: Intranets Explained
The Corporate Intranet, by Ryan Bernard (Wiley Computer Publishing, 800-225-5945, 1996, $29.95), explains more than most managers will want to know--including excruciating details on how to program and administer a site--but by flipping around the book, you can find the answer to any question you have about intranets. For a quick lunchtime read at the bookstore, turn to the section on page 333, which starts, "Yeah, but what's it going to cost me?"
Face-off: Why Open the Books?
The Power of Open-Book Management, by John P. Schuster, Jill Carpenter, and M. Patricia Kane (John Wiley & Sons, 800-225-5945, 1996, $24.95), provides case studies and tips on how to launch an open-book program. The classic on open-book management, The Great Game of Business, is now available in paperback for $15 or audiocassette for $17 from Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. (800-386-2752).
