Several years ago, I helped a small manufacturing company outside of Toledo, Ohio hire a new sales director and one candidate stood out from the other nine. He spent most of

I met a fellow entrepreneur at a business conference and over dinner he told me he couldn’t understand why his company’s growth taped off. He wasn’t lazy or sitting around waiting

Most businesses are losing money without knowing it. Bad hires are expensive. That much every business owner already suspects. What most of us don't have a real number for is

Hiring is the highest-leverage decision most small business owners make, and most of us treat it like the lowest. I didn't understand that early on. I thought hiring was something you

Bad hires almost never happen the way people think they do. When I talk with someone after an employee doesn't work out, the conversation usually starts the same way. "We really thought

A friend of mine, let’s call him Mark, owns a consulting business in Cleveland, Ohio. We were having dinner one night when the conversation turned to the early years of his

Years ago, I was unexpectedly laid off on a Friday. Like anyone else, my first thought was, "Now what?" On the drive home, I called a former employer I hadn't worked for

I was reading about Joseph Asscher, a master diamond cutter from Amsterdam. In 1908, he was entrusted with the Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough diamond ever discovered. It weighed more than

Starting a business has never been easier. Keeping one alive has never been harder. I’ve seen a lot of people get excited about a new opportunity, jump into a market, work

Today I'm publishing the first issue of The Long Game. The Long Game is where I'll share stories, insights and observations about building a business—the decisions, mistakes, and turning points that