Mar
28
Business wisdom from the lowly rat
By BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
We’re not quite two months into the Chinese New Year, and there has been little focus as to 2008’s function as Year of the Rat – especially in the realms of business.
Don’t jump to conclusions about that. Western culture generally regards rats (outside of the pet shop variety) with revulsion; not so with our counterparts in the East, where the rat has achieved a stature of prominence.
True, videos of an uninvited hoard (sometimes called a “mischief”) of rats seen rummaging through the stores of a Manhattan fast-food restaurant can make our collective skin crawl. But we too often concentrate on the negative examples of ratdom.
Among the good rats are Remy, the hero of “Ratatouille,” this year’s Oscar winner for best animated film (involving a chef catapulted to fame after forging friendship with a gastronomically talented, rat); Rizzo, the Muppets scraggly comic mascot with the New Yawk accent; Florida’s Don Garlits, known to fans as “The Swamp Rat,” holder of the hot-roddingest record in drag racing; Naples resident Truly Nolen, the pest control entrepreneur who holds a record for creating the world’s biggest rat trap as a publicity stunt; local resident (and one of Nolen’s biggest buddies) Gene Landrum, recognized as co-founder of the Chuck E. Cheese franchise; and the rock bands The Good Rats (billing themselves as “the world’s most famous unknown band”) from New Jersey, and our own local The Palm Rats.
For all the negative publicity involving imports from China, that culture’s reverence for rats offers healthy food for thought. Read more
Mar
28
Beyond the bottom line
Filed Under Business Builders, Editorial & Guest Columns, Vince Crew columns | Leave a Comment
Four tips for selling in an uncertain economy
By Vince Crew
When business is bad or you’re feeling sorry about the one that got away, I’m reminded of a sales manager in my early career who would say, “Vinnie, door knobs, door knobs.” What Jeff was telling me to do is make a difference by prospecting.
More than 20 years later, I still remember the sage advice that is steeped in common sense. Times are tough, but people are still buying, needs are still going unfilled and our way of life must continue. That means we’ve got to keep selling. And in some cases, get back to selling.
Mar
28
Without an assistance program, your business could be sunk
by SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
Don’t think an employee assistance program is important to your business? Better talk to someone at Exxon Mobil.
Nearly 20 years after an employee caused an ecological disaster, the company is now facing a potential keel-hauling by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a situation that may have been avoided had the oil leviathan solicited the services of its employee assistance program (EAP).
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