NBA Lockout Has A Lot to Do With Poor Risk Management

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past 153 days, you may not have heard of the NBA Lockout—with 153 days being the number of non-playing days. Players aren’t happy. They don’t make enough, they want more, they want more of the owner’s share (remember the NFL Lockout?) It’s sort of the same thing.

Apparently, these NBA players are more serious because they let the start of the NBA season come and go and wouldn’t agree to a deal. It does seem, however, the NBA and its players have come to some sort of deal. Starting December 9^th, players can use training facilities but no talking to coaches or official NBA trainers and while the player’s union winds it all up so it’s all square and neat, the NBA expects four to five games to be played on of all days—Christmas Days. Merry Christmas NBA Fans!

So it’s settled but not all the fine details have been worked out.

The NBA and NFL Lockouts sort of remind me of using poor risk management plans in project management. I mean both the owners and the player’s unions knew the lockouts would come—they knew about the deadlines well in advance but yet, no risks were identified, prioritized or controlled much like they are in a risk management plan.

No project scope that said if this happens, we can do this or if that happens, we will do this. The plan of the NFL and the NBA seems to be just wait until the last minute.

What if Nike did that? What if Nike or Michael Jordan’s tennis shoe brand company said, “Hey we just don’t know how much everyone’s gonna weigh at game time, so we’ll wait and see. Wear some loafers or any old shoes.” But no, Nike and MJ shoes are on the ball here!

What if the stadium maintenance crews said, “No can do any clean-up of the turf for the NFL or make sure the floor is clean and shiny so we all can hear the noises those galloping shoes make when players halt, dribble and go for the three-pointer.” No, the maintenance crews are ready all day, every day.

Apparently there are some organizational teams who realize the importance of risk management where the actual athletes and their owners really don’t.

What’s up with that? Why couldn’t owners and dedicated unions reps have met well in advance of each of these lockouts to work something out? Oh, don’t tease me with rules. I hate rules when it comes to these kinds of things. You know those rules right? No owner or potential owner may talk to a player or potential player until the current season is over and no talks are allowed during days of the week that end in a “Y.” Gimme a break here. The players and the owners are the ones who drag this out and I’m stymied at why fans pay enormous ticket fees to watch and cheer these teams on.

For what I ask? Were they nice to you? Do they care if you have 4 mortgages on your home because you had to have those season tickets? Hell no! Do they care if you spent the off-season in search of your favorite player’s jersey (a signed one at that) and skipped the family vacation to pay for that jersey? Hell no! Do they care you made your daughter cry at her wedding because you insisted on having the reception in a sports bar during the playoffs? Hell no!

I say instead of allowing owners, union reps and players deciding on how to end lockouts or agree to disagree, it would be a great idea to appoint a committee of fans. That’s right fans and we could rotate those fans each year if needed. Fans could settle these messes in a snap and right quick! Now that would be a good risk management plan. Fans would decide well in advance who to cut and keep, how much money the players would get compared to owner profits. It would work so nicely.

Finally, I am a fan of the NFL and do love Football but I must agree with the master of the NBA (or at least he used to be) Charles Barkley who boasts NBA players are the best athletes on the planet. I agree Sir Charles—I mean these guys are constantly moving so you’re probably right. Unless of course you count the refs who have to keep up with you, they’re probably in pretty good shape too.

Well at least the NFL Lockout is over—well sort of anyway.

Is Your Business Like the Debt Super Committee? Do You Need a Bailout?

Bloomberg Businessweek reported on how our lawmakers in Washington are getting nowhere on what to cut as far as expenditures and for the business owner—this does not have to be your path.

Sure they have to make decisions on $1.2 trillion dollars to cut from the budget but if you compare your business to the decisions they have to make as far as cutting expenses, it’s really no different.

Should you downsize and cut employees? Should you move your operations to a more affordable space? Should you shut down, close the doorsand hope (and pray) your creditors will understand?

These are all good questions in today’s economy and as hard as these decisions are to make, they really must be made in the real world. Washington has become more of a make-believe fantasy world when it comes to what to cut—they don’t want to cut anything. They fear their valuable pensions and retirement funds will be dismissed by their constituents and so they should be. Why they get to keep are their major concerns when we, as citizens, and business owners have but one venue—vote them out and if that doesn’t work, we are still stuck in the same, hard situations.

But enough about Washington and their inability to pass a bill, vote in agreement on anything and the spectacular buildings full of polish and shine they work in.

When it’s time to cut costs to survive, you have to be tough and make hard decisions. It doesn’t always have to be employees, however.

Take a look at your income and expense statement. Drill down into that general ledger and see where the money’s going. Are you spending more on advertising than you thought? Are you overpaying on utilities or not taking advantage of discounts? What about your computers, furniture and fixtures—do you really need to buy new or can you suffice with upgrades and reuse some of the old stuff?

It’s time for business owners to forego the expense and look to the intelligence that started the business to begin with. What I mean by that is your ideas, your product and your services. These are what make you shine, not a fancy desk, a top health care plan or the highest wages on the avenue.

If you have long-term valued employees, now is the time to speak with them about what can be done to keep production and revenues moving along. It’s not the time to talk about cutting their salaries or benefits. You can get past those expenses. If you review your accounts payables; what’s higher, employee benefits or what you owe to your vendors?

Sure payroll and the taxes you must pay will always be your highest expense but you can get around that by having open discussions with everyone who works for you. Honesty here really is the best policy and you might be surprised at what some of your employees have to offer when it comes to ideas, changes and innovation. Don’t dismiss those you have counted on!

Instead of sending out pink slips, engage your employees with focus groups, and you will have those that won’t attend or participate and if you think about it, do you really need those who won’t rally along with the group?

Go line item by line item and see where the money’s going and if you don’t have time for that, you’re not being a smart business owner. If you think the easiest way out is to terminate, perhaps it’s time you terminate your business.

If you have gone line item by line item and still feel downsizing the employee pool is  your only choice, don’t challenge their unemployment benefits. Why? If you do, you’re only concentrating on the unimportant and what you really need to worry about is how to survive in this tough economy.

Think you’re on the downside of darkness? If so, talk to your local economic development center or SCORE, even visit the SBA website—not to apply for a loan you won’t get but in reality, they really do have some good ideas and why not use some of the stressful times you’re having and invest that time in research on how to survive. Talk to your investors and bankers. What sort of options can they offer you? Short term loans? A forgiven period until you get back on your feet?

Before you throw in the towel and say, “We’re finished,” ask yourself how much you really know about your financials? I would bet the farm, most business owners rely on others to “offer” the condition of the company instead of exploring on their own. If this is your business, it’s time to educate yourself on where the money’s going and make a conscious decision to make changes to aid the business.

Visit SCORE

Read the Super Committee Discussion on Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Business of College Football and the Fall of Joe Paterno

If you think the NFL is big business, you need to rethink college football and how the Gods at the top rule the world, especially at Penn State.  As a Pennsylvanian, I was sad to see how hard and fast the downfall of legendary college football coach Joe Paterno came.

The child molestation indictment of Sandusky (a former assistant coach) was announced, Paterno said he’d retire at the end of this season and then the college board of trustees fired Paterno making it final in a press conference Wednesday November 9 2011. It’s all over for Paterno folks and Big Papa is gone.

Many feel sorry for the guy and it shows through television report after report of loving crowds rioting in his defense and gathering outside his home. Paterno and his wife ventured outside last night (his wife in tears) to say thanks (sort of) to the crowd and told them to “go home, get a good night’s sleep” and “study hard.” Simple words from what many thought of as a genius on the college football field.

On the other hand, the business of college football is indeed scary. If ever Gods ruled, they did at Penn State and I would bet many famous college institutions are the same—not for the same scandal, but scandals not reported all the same.

On the television show The View, Sherry Shepherd said something very prudent when talking about how all the students gathered, yelling support to their fallen coach. What Sherry basically pointed out was these kids should be talked to individually so they understand the depth of how horrible this molestation case is. I mean after all, most of these college kids don’t have kids, nor have they been molested so to them, the firing of Big Papa is not fair.

If, however, it was “explained” to them as Shepherd said, perhaps they’d have a different point of view. What if it was you? Or, what if it was your little brother? Wouldn’t that change their minds? Maybe, but probably not.

College football (and all college sports) does come with rules and regulations—you can’t do this and you can’t do that, but the disallowed is often allowed or people look the other way. Look at Pete Carroll now coach of the Seattle Seahawks and once coach of USC for example. Carroll denied knowledge of any money changing hands with then player Reggie Bush which seems a little hard to believe and as a result, titles were stripped and USC was banned from any bowl appearances for two years.

The USC scandal is hardly a comparison to what happened at Penn State but it should give us all pause about how much power there is when a college is not known for its education excellence but for its excellence in sports programs.

Kids go to college for an education—at least that’s the goal right? Not when it comes to those who put tons of money into their sports programs, scholarships and the coaches they hire. To these colleges, football is a religion and top officials bow to the coaches and their staff as long as the teams are winning big.

In the end, there were children hurt, possibly scarred for life and that’s the saddest thing about the fall of Joe Paterno. He did say one thing: “I should have done more.” Yes, Joe, you should have and I for one am sad this ever happened.

Like the television show House, where Dr. Gregory House is fond of saying “everybody lies,” this is one example where no one should have lied or been allowed to look the other way or cover things up. People knew about this Sandusky character and they did nothing.

Instead of praying for poor Papa Joe, let’s all pray for the young men who became unwilling victims and pray they’ll be okay. What a black mark on Penn State and Pennsylvania for that matter and Joe, shame on you.

What Is the Oldest Family Owned Business in America?

I recently wrote an in-depth article on the some lesser known family owned businesses in America on Bright Hub for their business channel and after the article was published (you can find it here), I began to wonder about how some of the businesses’ websites claimed they were the “oldest business in America” or the “oldest restaurant in America.”

Who makes these decisions anyway? So, I began a journey. I found a lot of websites by doing a Google search on “what is the oldest family business in America” and found at the top (of course) Wikipedia, which I ignored because anyone can post anything on Wikipedia and instead found two nifty little websites:

One from Bryant University and the other on TreasureNet.

I was really intrigued with the post from Bryant because it’s an “edu” website and it discusses how a team researched oldest American businesses by criteria and surveys. There were lots of rules to this research and disclaimers due to when states were actually states and how the east was the east before the west was, well the west!

There were considerations on whether any of the “oldest” American businesses would qualify because they began in other countries and moved (mostly to New York or to the East Coast) and some were from countries of the past like Constantinople—this name alone to me (because I love just spelling and pronouncing it) should count for something! The Zildjian Cymbal Company which began in Constantinople in the 17^th Century and is now run by a great, great, great someone or another in New York City today does indeed seem to qualify—it’s one old cymbal company! Does this cymbal company qualify because it came to America in 1929? Maybe not!

What I found funny about these two websites is while TreasureNet mentioned the cymbal company, Bryant University did not but both websites mentioned Tuttle Farms founded in Dover New Hampshire in 1635 (Bryant gave it the top spot, TreasureNet gave it the number two spot).

If you visit Zildjian Cymbals’ website they do indeed claim fame to the oldest family business in America and I did list them on my top ten list. On the other hand, there was one company not mentioned on either website, a New Orleans Restaurant, Antoine’s established in 1840 and is still in business today, however, their website does say they are the oldest family-owned “restaurant” in America. A disclaimer I guess on the “restaurant” part.

What I did find funny on both websites, although now looking back, maybe it’s not so funny but just business need at the time was most of the older businesses were of the farming, plantation or funeral home variety. I suppose the need for funeral homes were in great demand back in the days considering how the good died young way back when—in the old days; and being 50 is now the new 40 but tell my body that please!

Have you ever wondered about the oldest family owned business in America and if you own or if you know about one did it make the list on either of the websites found below?

Drop me a comment; I’d sure love to know! Oh, please not entries for the IRS or the US Postal Service, or any government entity for that matter because to me, the government is no family-owned business although maybe it should be!

Bryant University Link

TreasureNet Link

Do You Babysit Employees All Day?

Ah, the small business owner—those with an entrepreneurial dream and a fierce drive! They believe in their vision, have created a mission to realize the vision and are bursting with enthusiasm.

There is one area of business ownership they haven’t considered, however—the unpredictable human employee and if these newbie owners don’t have any soft skills, they better learn them quick or they’ll find themselves swimming with sharks.

As a small business owner for many years I have seen and heard it all when it comes to employees but if you let them get the better of you—they will. I like to divide types of employees into three categories: dedicated, generational and frustrated.

Let’s look deeper at each, with an understanding that our first category or those who are dedicated, don’t require much discussion—just be glad you have some of them (if indeed you do).

Dedicated Employees – Those who are dedicated to their jobs are so by nature. They rarely complain or show distaste for any task handed to them. These are employees raised with strong family values, work ethics and if you have one or two of these—pay them well so you don’t lose them—and because they deserve it.

Generational Employees – Oh how I adore this category because it’s comprised of ages from those who can’t afford to retire (Traditionalists over 65) to the Baby Boomers who oh so want to retire to those delightful Gen Y (30ish to 40ish) and X folks (25ish and ready to work). If you believe you can have all of these types within one office with no drama, you are living in fairy tale land. What you need to do is fit the job and equipment needed to do the job with the generation.

Embrace the droids, tablets and check your texts and tweets if you expect to keep Gens Y and X happy and if you don’t offer state of the art equipment for them to work on, they’ll let you know it. This age group also wants a work/life balance. They seek options such as four days on and three days off. Finding a way to allow them to telecommute or even job-sharing will help how these youngsters behave at work. Skip these things and wait for the crying to begin.

For traditionalists they need their jobs to survive and mostly fall in the dedicated employee category, however, they can also become easily disgusted with Gens Y and X’s behaviors and dress and are more than not jealous of but also dismayed at their lack of understanding when it comes to technology. You can bide your time until they retire, but instead, allow them to mentor—even if it’s using a pen and paper and in return, allow the younger mentee to teach them a thing or two to excel. Above all, let them work the hours they want—in fact, they may request part-time options, so before you say no, think about their value.

Baby boomers are afraid. They once let it all hang out in the 60s and 70s but they fear those who went before them and those coming after them. They are tough, self-centered and will die to defend their right to work and their ideas. Because they “dropped out” and are now “back in” they’ve seen both sides.  Baby boomers are hard to tame, but you can by allowing them facilitator-type positions or leadership positions where they can showcase their expertise. You may have to pull them back in once in a while to remind them you’re the boss.

Frustrated Employees – More than not, a totally frustrated employee is hiding something. These “somethings” rarely have to do with what they do at work and can range from family to financial to even continual car problems. They start the day angry to begin with and want to take others down with them. Weed these folks out by offering employee counseling for financial or personal problems—hopefully there are some good ones hiding in the group. On the other hand, they say you can’t please everyone and in some cases, you may have to make the decision to terminate these types—if only to allow for total productivity.

Dictatorship-type bosses won’t work in today’s diverse age groups who remain employed. Those who suffer from outside frustration, allowing it to affect job performance often need a little guidance to get back on track. 

The generational and the frustrated categories of workers may often sway the dedicated category through rumors or acts of pure lack of respect in efforts to dethrone or jeopardize—they truly think of them as foes. Knowing all this does give you some power, so embrace it.