The Rush on Business show is going on the road this next week. On Monday, November 5, I’ll be speaking in an Entrepreneur Workshop at Iowa State University. The Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Graduate Program at ISU received funding to teach the Entrepreneurship Workshop, which is a one-credit, hands-on workshop for students interested in
Iowa Non-Compete May Be Enforceable Even if You’re Fired
Charlie Longbrief picked up the phone on a Friday afternoon. He was accustomed to these late Friday afternoon calls. People with problems always seemed to call at this time because they need peace of mind over the weekend. It was his friend Joe Smith who worked as sales manager for Shake, Rattle & Roll, Inc. a local baby toy manufacturer.
"Charlie I
Employee Reviews: Is Everybody Really Above Average?
I read with interest fellow IowaBiz author Victor Aspengren’s article on Forget the Ratings in conducting annual performance reviews. Victor points out that most companies use subjective rating systems in their performance reviews which leave everyone in the company, supervisors and employees alike, dreading the annual review process.
What happens next is what I call
Midwest Business Lawyers and their Clients More Reasonable
Over on the Iowa Law Blog I discussed the fact that the number of lawsuits is down this past year for U.S. businesses. The statistics are based upon a study from the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski. But you need to read a little deeper to find a more intriguing statistic:
The
Accountability in the Workplace
First with Drew McLellan on marketing, and now with Shirley Poertner on leadership, the IowaBiz.com free breakfast series is off to a fast start. Shirley spoke yesterday about accountability in the workplace. A concept that is frequently missing in many organizations.
Shirley says we have fallen into a "blame" society.
- If you spill hot coffee in
Job Descriptions Must Be Carefully Prepared
Attorney Liz Overton has an excellent post on the need to carefully prepare job descriptions for small businesses over on Sullivan & Ward’s Iowa Law Blog.
I encourage you to check it out.
Franchisees Must Consider Internet Retailing Encroachment
I have written in the past about Iowa Franchise Law and Territorial Encroachment. Franchisees generally want an exclusive territory that is protected from encroachment by other franchisees or the franchisor’s company owned stores. But have you considered the impact of Internet retailing by the franchisor or other franchisees?
Be sure to review the territory
Good Habits of Successful Franchisee Representation
At this past week’s ABA Forum on Franchising I attended an insightful presentation with Michael Levitz, Kenneth Milner and Robert Purvin. Purvin is from the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers which has some helpful tips and resources on its Web site to evaluate franchise opportunities.
While the presentation covered many areas of successful
Fundamentals of Franchising: Franchisee’s Perspective
This past week I had the opportunity to attend the ABA’s Forum on Franchising. What a great event! First and foremost, it was an opportunity to network with some of the best franchise lawyers in America. Second, I really enjoyed hanging out with fellow Iowa franchise lawyers, Matt Krigbaum of Cedar Rapids and David Bright
Wage & Hour Litigation on the Rise
Shanti Atkins of the Compliance Training Blog has an interesting blog post about the crippling trend of wage and hour litigation. The post references a recent BusinessWeek article discussing how plaintiffs’ employment lawyers are "printing" money with wage and hour cases. One of the plaintiff’s lawyers is quoted as saying,
"I can hit a company