 |
| TAB Fort Worth Anniversaries |
|
Feb./March Anniv.
Mark Flavin - 402
Chad Horany - 501
Randy Hudson - 401
Earl Kirkpatrick - 401
Lee Rogers - 401
Amber Stilwell-Fergason 402
David Walsh - 401
|
| |
|
| Hear How We Help Our Members |
 |
| |
|
|
| Event Details |
-----------------------------------
Attend Business Bites Lunch 'N Learn -
2/3/2010
Please plan to join us for "How Can Conflict be Productive" on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at 11:45 AM at TECH Fort Worth, SW corner of Rosedale and I-35, 1120 South Freeway, Fort Worth 76104.
Presented by Melody Brooke, MA, LPC,LMFT, Author, Counselor and Speaker.
Learning to engage teams--enabling management and employees to see past knee jerk reactions to conflict--transforms disputes into opportunities for creativity and innovation. This session includes experiential methods, stories and humor to bring the content to life.
-----------------------------
Watch for Upcoming Events
3/3/10 Business Bites; information forthcoming
----------------------------- |
|
|
| |
|
| Schedule a TAB Speaker for your Organization |
| The Alternative Board (TAB) of Fort Worth possesses a Speakers Bureau comprised of individuals from various companies and industries. The range of topics is varied (finance, the environment, new technologies - such as LinkedIn business network, ethics, energy efficiency, and small business management, to name a few).
Click here for a list of topics.
|
| |
|
| Quick Tips |
Saving Money on Catalog Printing
To save us money on printing costs,we have changed our catalog from being printed to being sent out
on a CD-Rom. We also include a link to our Web site for catalog updates. Our Web site also contains
all datasheets and operation manuals in PDF format for download and printing.
Larry Shulman
Communications Specialties, Inc.
Hauppauge, NY
Advice for Cold Calls
Very few salespeople like making cold-calls. Walking into a strange business and asking to see the person in charge takes a lot of nerve. You face a day full of snubs, rejections and other unpleasant- ness. We have found that sending salespeople out in pairs is an effective booster of productivity. Two people make a more impressive entrance, they are less likely to be intimidated and they can support each other after a rough call.
Randy Smith
FORUM Systems Group
San Antonio, TX |
| |
|
| TAB in The News |
For a full listing of press hits, please visit our In the News page. |
| |
|
 |
| Now Available: Click on the above book cover to order your copy of The Wall Street Journal business book best-seller the 9 Elements of Family Business Success by Allen E. Fishman, Founder and Chairman of The Alternative Board®. |
| |
|
| The Alternative Board (TAB) DFW
Business Improvement Workshop How to Make Your 2010 Revenue Goal |
 Please plan to join us for "How to Make Your 2010 Revenue Goal" on Friday, February 5, 2010, at 8:30 AM at Las Colinas Country Club. Our presenters are Dan Hudson and Matt Smith of 3forward.
Attend this session to learn 3forward's methodology for sales revenue planning. Dan and Matt will reveal the forecasting traps many companies fall into and illustrate their formulas and models for successful multi-year revenue planning.
|
 |
| TAB Fort Worth 2009 Members of the Year |
|
Selection by fellow Board members is based on the following:
- Consistent provider of concerned, balanced, meaningful and impactful objective advice;
- Between meetings, he/she was available, accessible and willing to help another business owner board member;
- Judgment was provided in a caring and concerned manner;
Will Aktinson pictured
- This individual is one who recognizes that his or her life and accomplishments extend beyond what was noted on a balance sheet or P&L statement;
401 Board - Dave Walsh, International Protein Colloids AND Will Atkinson, CAP Software
402 Board - Eric Flavin, SpeedDirect AND Jennifer Carter, TALEM, Inc.
501 Board - Tony Ford, Kasper & Associates |
|
|
Email in the Office |
If you'd rather not install special software to stay informed on what e-mailing is going on in your office, there's an easy solution. I had an IT professional set our e-mail system so that I am copied on every e-mail sent from my
company's e-mail domain address. The way it was set up ensured the copies don't clog up my personal
e-mail inbox by setting up a separate box for the copies. This allows me to monitor, at my
discretion, what is being said in e-mails to customers and among workers. I have found out where
there is dissatisfaction within my organization and it has helped me with employee retention and with
being proactive in conflict resolutions.
One word of caution: Make sure you have a communications policy that states that you own all the e-
mails sent so that an HR liability issue doesn't result.
Al Felice, Rapid, Rivet and Fastener Corp., Farmingdale, NY |
|
|
Q/A The Workplace Doctor™
Layoffs |
 |
Need to cut costs.... considering layoffs?
Before sacrificing your #1 resource to the unemployment
lines, consider options:
1. If employees won't be receiving bonuses, neither should executives.
2. Redefine waste. Ask for and reward cost savings, waste reducing suggestions and innovations.
When employees calculated that the annual cost of pens equaled one position, they opted to bring their
own pen to work. One company moved executive suites to warehouses and sprayed interiors white.
Alcohol is no longer an approved expense.
3. Refrain from overloading survivors. If the receptionist is also CFO, that's a clue.
Outsource, contract, job share or prepare for lower morale, quality and productivity. 4. Layoffs drain talent and knowledge transfer opportunities. Take care of top performers; get
creative with recognition, reinforcement and rewards. Cash is not the only option, so propose and
invite options.
5. Use this time to cross train, retrain and recycle your people. If you expect your team to do
more for less, give them the training and tools to do so.
6. Ask employees what else they would like or are able to do. They may surprise you with their bonus
skills, talents and degrees.
7. Communicate regularly and be honest. Rally the team daily, not quarterly, to be creative and innovative. T
hen remember those that led the way. Without such opportunities, that
receptionist might not have landed CFO.
Copyright 2009, Dr. Connie Sitterly, "The Workplace Doctor™" President, Sittcom, Inc., Management Training Specialists. Connie is an international speaker, trainer, executive coach, author, management consultant. You may reach her by phone 817.737.2893 , Connie's email |
|
|
Use a Timeclock to Keep in Touch |
I keep my business' time clock and all the time cards in my office. Even though the in-and-out
traffic can get high at certain times, the situation gives me an opportunity to speak briefly to
every employee each day and gives them a chance to talk about
job-related and personal issues. More than just enforcing good attendance, this simple method keeps
me in touch with the pulse of the business and helps me to be accessible and accountable to our
people.
Jay Cook, Azalea Moving and Storage, Charleston, SC |
| 2 upcoming programs |
"How Can Conflict be Productive" on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at 11:45 AM at TECH Fort Worth.
Presented by Melody Brooke, MA, LPC,LMFT, Author, Counselor and Speaker.
More details.
February LinkedIn Workshops
|
|
Getting Greater Impact |
Complimenting your employees can go a long way towards energizing and motivating them on a daily
basis. However, you can get even more mileage out of these positive strokes by using handwritten
notes instead of just passing on verbal compliments.
At a previous company where I worked, we used specially printed notes and found them to be a great
motivator. I am going to get some printed up for my new business and suggest you do the same for your
company.
Steve Walden, Asset Disposition Group, Oklahoma City, OK |
|
|
Managing Your Accounts Receivables |
|
Rather than worry about accounts receivables after a client hasn't paid you for an extended period of time, focus on putting together a process to help prevent late payments.
One good method is to use a pre-qualifier like Dun & Bradstreet, whose services can be reached
online. You can purchase an annual subscription plan and then utilize the service as much or as
little as you wish.
Another hint is to take every client's credit card information and keep it on file for use just in
case they don't pay their bills.
Reto Hug, Maloya Laser Inc., Commack, NY |
|
|
Maintaining Profitability |
|
When your business slows down for any reason, making the tough calls necessary for maintaining profitability should become automatic, not a series of agonizing back-and-forth decisions.
When I start to see our backlog shrink significantly, I develop a series of thresholds at which
expenses will have to be reduced and I outline the actions that will accomplish those reductions.
Once we hit a particular threshold, the plan for that level goes into effect automatically and
without hesitation.
There may be times when we land a big job soon after implementing a cutback and we have to scramble
to get people back. However, that is much better than burning cash unnecessarily while we hope for
something to happen. It's sort of like going to an auction; if you don't set your bid limits going
in, you can get caught up in the excitement and over pay.
John Heaney, Shook Mobile Technology, Schertz, TX
|
|
Touted as the most valuable and beneficial business advisory organization in the world, The Alternative Board® (TAB) has been featured in leading business news sources from the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the Washington Post, CNN and many others.
The essential and critical counsel and value The Alternative Board® consistently delivers to small and medium size businesses, and the immediate impact it brings to its client organizations is an essential element for any organization that intends to thrive. | |
ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVE BOARD®
The Alternative Board® is comprised of members who are business owners, CEOs or presidents who run businesses in non-competing fields. During a TAB Board meeting, you receive the benefit of the collective experience of the board members, who offer practical solutions to your problems-not theories.
You can learn more about TAB, which has been helping business owners succeed since 1990, by visiting TheAlternativeBoard.com |
|
