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

Lake_wobegon 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

As regular readers of this blog know, I am engaged in a never ending search for blogs that present franchise opportunities in a fair and objective manner.  All too often franchise related sites are merely promotional pieces. 

FranchisePick is a site worth checking out.  Yes, there are some promotional pieces on the site.  But franchise marketing veteran, Sean

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

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