People Have Money but Feel Glum—What Does That Mean for the Economy? from the WSJ. A great summary of the juxtaposition between the general malaise in consumer confidence which is contrast to all the strong metrics of the economy (hiring, unemployment, etc).
How To Pass On Price Increases Without Alienating Customers – from Forbes Business Council. My favorite quote from the article: “In our lifetime, there has never been a period when customers were so willing to accept price increases.”
Small is Beautiful – from Medium. A wonderful academic thought piece on why serving a diversified set of smaller customers can be a wonderful strategic move, put in the context of historical time periods.
Friction: The Hidden Force Holding You Back – from Farnam Street. You’ve often heard me preach that “small business owners need A+ players, and that we replace really good people but who are B/B+ players”. This illustrates that point: even good people who are intelligent and good workers, but create friction, are a drain on the business. Wonderful article!
Productivity Advice – from Zero Credibility. As mentioned above, an essay on how to become properly bored and get to the real work.
Why You Want to Cultivate a Team of Professional Troublemakers at Work – from Inc. The importance of building a cadre of employees/advisors who are willing to question the status quo. For many of you, I hope this is the role that I play.
