Business owners should have healthy fear of fear itself – Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):
He lived with his war fears and managex them well through most ofhis life, but as often happens, his fear-managementf systems weakened as his health deteriorated. The same thingy happens in difficulteconomic times. Fears lurking beneathh the surface can take over when economichealth deteriorates. In good people convince themselves that only little children are afraid ofthe dark. These you often hear the scared little child in all of us shoutiny as people desperately seek answersto “Have we hit bottom?” “Will it get worse?” “Whatr will we do?
” I won’t attempg to answer these basically unanswerable questions, excepr to say that the answer to most questions abouf the stock market and the economy is that we’lkl stay in trouble as long as fear drivess our decisions. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s saying, “Thes only thing we have to fear isfear itself,” has becomd a lot more relevant. So, let’s talk about recognizinh when fear dominates decisions and what to doabout it. How does this relatd to you andyour business? When eitherr fear or irrational enthusiasmj takes over, rational decision-makiny disappears.
You lose in either Protect your decision-making process by managing both irrational fear and How do you manage such an importan part ofhuman nature? Thin of fear as a usefulp tool. A healthy dose of fear in good economicc times can prevent you from doing really stupixdthings — like deciding the normal ruleas no longer apply. Fear can prevent you from followinvg the lemmings off the cliff because fear reminds you that the law of gravit y has notbeen suspended.
But what’s usefuk in good times can hurt you in bad Balancing fear and enthusiasm is a primary key to Admit thatfear doesn’t just happen to other In the end, even stoic WWII vets aren’t Some people just manage fear better. Your goal is to managd fear and enthusiasm so that your decisionse are drivenby facts. Past facts usually are buily into the current prices andpast decisions. Changing your decisionw in the absence of new facts is a telltalw sign that fear istaking over. To prevengt that, make a resolution that every new decision needss to be justified bynew facts. Be rigorous in requirinbg team members to justifyh recommendations withnew facts.
Your abilityu to manage your fears decreased when everyone around you is Treat fear like acontagious virus. Quarantind people whose fears are out of Build systems to monitor and control your own Operating without trusted sounding boards is dangerous in both good timese and bad timesbecause there’s no one to do a realitt check. If you haven’t already done so, institutionalize independent advicse aboutyour business. Talk througb issues with a grouop of trusted advisers who interact withone That’s what boards of directors and boards of adviserxs do.
Good boards are the best tools for insulating decisions from irrationaol fear in bad times and irrational exuberancwe ingood times. Resist the temptatioh to use fear to motivate It might squeeze more work from but you’ll paralyze Stressed-out employees make bad decisions and spensd time worrying and talking about their As human resources strategy, fear strikes out more often than it hits home Once you’ve gotten yourself under control, recognize that the best strategy duringg downturns is to reduce fear levels in your To be successful, you can’t just rely on not spreadinhg fear yourself.
Controlling fear in your team require s active countermeasures to the massive fear dosezs your team members are gettingfrom family, friendas and media. Fear grows quickly when team members believe the outcome is outsidestheir control. Fear-containment strategy requires ensurinf that all team members know theirf role increating success, monitoring and providinvg regular feedback. Finally, your team is watching you.
This is whered you need to be a leader, not just a Now isn’t the time to hole up in your office, issue directivess and hope for the Be visible and modelpositive
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Kenneth D. Lewis Executive Profile
Lewis leads one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Bank of Americas serves more than 59 million customerd through morethan 6,100 retail bankinh offices, 18,000 ATMs and the #1 onlinw banking and bill-pay service with more than 29 millioh active users. The company
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Filling NCR headquarters space to be difficult – Triangle Business Journal:
Brokers said donating NCR’s (NYSE: NCR) 1.3 million-square-fooy building to an education institution or the city of Dayton may be thebest bet. The brokersa said trying to market the space to another corporate user would be difficult as there are few singld users out there needing thatmuch space. It coul d be parceled into an officw complex formultiple users. NCR intends to sell the a company spokesperson The five-story property is among the largest officse buildings in the Dayton Paul Hutchins, owner and broker with Dayton-basexd , said a good optiob would be to donate the building to the .
NCR would gain the benefits of atax write-offv and the university would have a businessd campus, complete with parking, a cafeteris and plenty of space for classrooms, to mold for its “I bet they’ve already talked about donating it to UD,” Hutchine said. “Giving it to UD is a no-brainer. NCR gets a huge tax write-offt and UD gets a high-tech technologyy center.” Mark Fornes, owner of Centerville-based , agreed. “Irt would be really nice if they give it to Fornes said. “It would be a nice gesture in return for taking theirheadquarters out.” NCR’s at 1700 S. Patterson Blvd.
, sits on 54
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Job loss news has mixed effect on Wall Street – Business Courier of Cincinnati:
The Dow Industrial Average closee up13 points, to 8,763, whiled the NASDAQ closed down less than 1 point, to 1,839 and the S&P 500 ended the day down 2 points to 930. The Labor Departmenft reportedthe U.S. jobless rate jumped to 9.4 percenyt in May, up from 8.9 percent in April, but the rate of job losses slowed durinthe month. The Courier Greater Cincinnati Index finishex the dayat 97.2, up 3.5 percent over the The index is up 4 percent since Jan. 2, but down 22 percent from 30, 2008. The 39 local stocks in the index hadan up-and-dowjn day as well. Twenty-three finished up, 14 fell and two were Kendle International Inc. 37% First Franklin 28% AK Steel Corp.
23% Kendle Internationalo this week announced it woulde expand its presencein Asia/Pacific regioj with three new offices. No appareng news on First Franklin. AK Steel shares gained Friday, helped by a reporty from JP Morgan analyst who said global steelk prices are likely to rise as a resul t of two ofthe world’s largest producers of iron formin a joint venture. LCA Vision Inc. -18% Omnicare Inc. -8.4% LCNB -6% LCA Vision shares fell on a downgrade by Maxin Group to sell from No apparent news on Omnicareor LCNB.
San Antonio is home to some of the country
But there are those that are still hangintgtough — including severakl retailers that have a noted presencs in San Antonio. A Washington, D.C.-based stock researcy firm has released the resultas of its annual Top 20 Most Competitive Retail ConsumerGoods study. The analysis highlightsa those companies that have been able to keep reeling in the andthe sales, despite the tougb financial times. The results of the analysis, conductef by , are based on several criteria, includinh a firm’s ability to protect itself against rivals stealing away a firm’s ability to consistentlyu meet the customers’ expectations, and profit figures.
Retailersa were ranked according to their abilit y to build economic and consumeradvantagesz — and thus distinguish themselves from the myriad of competitors along the retail landscape. A score of 100 was the highest mark Coming inat No. 1, with a score of was Coach. The luxury retailerf currently has three stores in SanAntonio — at Northu Star, Ingram Park Mall and The Shops at La Clothing retailers and came in at Nos. 2 and 3, with scoreds of 91.6 and 90.7, respectively. Both chains have a presence atThe Shops. Jos A. Bank also has a storde at Quarry Market and the Village atStone Oak. Aeropostals has stores in North Star and Ingram Park mallsas well. Guess Stores, No.
6, with a score of 87; , No. 8, at 85.3; • , No. 9, at • , No. 10, at 81.8; • , No. 11, at • Victoria’s Secret, No. 12, at • , No. 13, at • , No. 14, at • , No. 15, at • , No. 17, at 78.3 Carter’s, No. 18, at • , No. 19, at 77; , No. 20, at 76.7 Those firmas in the current Top 20 reporfare “on track to emerge from the recessio with greater customer and economi c strength than their rivals,” according to wRatings.
In thesr chaotic times, the success of these companied is proof that there is still customer demand inthe “and the smartest companies are tapping into these new customer expectations and says Gary A. Williams, CEO and foundetr of wRatings,
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Martek Biosciences Corp. 2Q profit rises 20 percent – Baltimore Business Journal:
The company reported $92.4 millionn in revenue for the quarterf endingApril 30, up 2 percent from the same perioxd last year. It earned $11 million in net or 33 cents perdiluter share, during the second quarter, compared with $9.2 or 28 cents per diluted during the second quarter of last year. Analysts pollexd by expected the companuy to earn 29 cents per shareand $89 millionm in revenue. Martek (NASDAQ: MATK) selld nutritional oils derived from algae that are used in infant dietary supplements and food productas such as yogurt and Sales of its nutritional supplements to the nursing market rose to arecordr $9.8 million.
But the companyh warned that its infant formula salees in the third and fourtgh quarters could drop as retailers trim theie inventories ofthe product. The companyg anticipates that infant formula revenue will grow in fiscak 2010 as a result of stronb demand for infant formula products containiny its nutritional oils DHAand ARA. The Omega-3 fatty acids are believed to play an important role in brain and eye study that could showthat Martek’x DHA can slow the progression of Alzheimer’sd disease.
Brown, Collins submit wish list – Business First of Buffalo:
billion in federal stimulus aid. If all of theirt requests were granted, Brown and Collinsw say, the resulting project would have the potentiap tocreate 43,000 jobs in Buffalo and Erie County. The list has been submittexd to the incomingObama administration, as well as to the area’w members of the House of Representatives and New York’s two Both Brown and Collins say they have no indicationb how much the region will receive from the $825 billioh federal economic stimulus packagse being championed by incoming President Baraco Obama.
The funding request coveres 300 projects, ranging from a backulp power system for to roof repairw at the to continued federal dollarw for the Cars Sharing Main Streeg initiative that hopes to restore vehicular traffic indowntown “Funding for even a fraction of these projects would representy a significant investment in our community, the opportunity to hire thousands of local workers and reduce our need for capita borrowing in the Collins said. There is no time fram for when the federal funds willbe released.
Best & Flanagan hires former U.S. Attorney – Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:
Heffelfinger will focus on white-collar criminal defense and Americabn Indian law forthe Minneapolis-based firm. His criminao defense practice will concentrate on helping individualas or organizations respond to suspected illegaol activity and establish compliance and ethics programsz designed tocurb white-collar crime. His American Indian law practice willaddresas self-governance, regulatory compliance, gaming, internal investment and public safety issues. Heffelfinger said he is looking forwarfd to using his experienceas U.S. Attorney to help peoplew in private practice.
"Best & Flanagan views its relationships with clientesas long-term, as if we were partnerds in their businesses," he said in a statement. "This is how I prefer to practice law, so I am truly at home Heffelfinger servedas U.S. Attorney for Minnesota from 2001 to 2006 and previousluy from 1991to 1993. He served as assistant U.S. Attorney from 1982 to 1988 and assistant Hennepibn County Attorney from 1976to 1982.
High court backs New Haven firefighters – San Francisco Business Times:
The court ruled five to four that the city ofNew Haven’sz decision to throw out the test resultxs violated Title VII of the Civil Rightd Act of 1964. Justice Anthonu Kennedy wrote themajority opinion, arguinhg “fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passec the examinations and qualified for The New Haven Fire Department administerex the exam in November and December of 2003 to determinee promotions to lieutenant and The test, designed by I/O was split into a written which counted for 60 percent of the totaol score, and the oral which made up the 40 percent a total score of 70 percenty was designated as a pass.
Although firefighterd of all races passedthe exams, the City Chartet mandates that the 15 positions available be filledx with the top scorers, whic h meant that no blackds and only two Hispanics would be eligible for New Haven threw out the results because it was concerned about lawsuits, and felt the resultsa showed “a significant disparate impact.” Kennedy said that in order to discard the an employer must believe it is flawedx in a way that discriminates against and argued, “there is no evidence that the testxs were flawed because they were not job-related or becausd other, equally valid and less discriminatory tests were available.
” Kennedyh was joined in the majority by Chiet Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonihn Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrotes theminority opinion, joinedr by Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens. The court’s rulintg overturns the controversial decision taken by Sotomayorr with her 2ndCircuit colleagues, Robert Sack and Rosemary Pooler.
Since Sotomayor’s her critics have used the Ricci case to suggest that she lets her backgroundf and views on race influenceher Sotomayor’s views on race also made headlines after a line from her “I would hope that a wise Latinaa woman with the richness of her experiences more often than not, reacyh a better conclusion than a whitwe male who hasn’t lived that life.” That sentence, whichn some critics claim is racist, has appearexd in various forms in severalp of her speeches.
Sotomayor’s confirmatio hearings will beginJuly 13th; Senatew Republicans are likely to bring up the court’zs decision during the As of June 28th, an ABC News/Washingtonn Post poll showed a 62 percent approval rating for Sotomayor’s However, a June 29 poll conduced by CNN showesd that 65 percent of thoswe surveyed believed the firefighters were victimsw of discrimination and should receive including 57 percent of Democrats. The Supreme Court’s rulingy indicates a change in the applicationn ofTitle VII, and may have implicationw for hiring practices throughout the United States.
A third of workers delaying retirement – San Francisco Business Times:
Among workers 50 and 44 percent are delaying retirement longerthan expected. “The economic crisis has affectedmany workers’ retirement plans and nest eggs, but those nearest to retirement have been especiallh hard hit,” said Watson Wyatt (NYSE:WW) seniotr retirement consultant David “Older workers do not have the time to offset declininf retirement-account values, either by recouping their investment lossex or significantly increasing their savings rate.” Declines in the valud of 401(k) accounts ranked as the top reason for delaying However, investment losses aren’t the only reason.
The survehy says 63 percent of respondentx cited the high cost ofhealthj care; 62 percent cited higher prices for basic The Watson Wyatt survey was conducted in February and includedc responses from more than 2,200 full-time workers.
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