Discrimination knows no bounds and prevents society from being its best. However, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs aren’t the solution. Ignorance, arrogance, political co… Read More

Selective Neglect is choosing what to neglect, whom you will disappoint today, and then managing the effects based on priorities. It is a major stress reliever that improves productivity and… Read More

The first quarter is about to begin. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolution? According to Forbes Health/OnePoll survey, Americans noted these as the most popular 2024 New Ye… Read More

Many folks have been asking about renegotiating their mortgages. Their financial advisor suggested refinancing their mortgages and extracting equity from their home’s value to save. It… Read More

ABC Principle – Unplug the fanThe ABC Principle is an equation A+B=C, pointing out links between a person’s attitude (A) and behavior (B) and resulting consequences (C). The… Read More

  Work-life balance is a popular topic today. But what does it mean? We are trying to balance work with life, like work is not a part of life, and work is bad. That’s absur… Read More

The Canadian government’s promised CAD 13-16 billion welfare grant to Volkswagen (VW) is outrageous! Is this the best use of funds? It’s an abuse of power, a waste of taxes, and… Read More

Toronto Star’s columnist Bob Hepburn’s piece on March 23, “Why do political and business leaders treat us like idiots?” touched a nerve. I’ve been thinking… Read More

Toronto Star’s columnist Bob Hepburn’s piece on March 23, “Why do political and business leaders treat us like idiots?” touched a nerve. I’ve been thinking… Read More

O ver the past few years, several parents complained to me about their children drifting from values and principles they taught them. Statements like: How can my child stop going to church a… Read More

In January 2022, Bank of Canada (BOC) projected year-end 2022 inflation at 2%. Oops, it’s 7% today! As the year progressed, BOC threw interest rate increases at the economy to take con… Read More

Central bankers need new strategies to tame inflation. When they speak about fighting inflation and avoiding a recession, they project confidence and precision. But their models use premises… Read More

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are way over paid and urgent action is needed. In 2021, the average CEO compensation of S&P 500 companies in the U.S. was 324 times more than their averag… Read More

Stock markets crash, rebound, decline for extended periods, and climb for long durations. Sometimes the fall and rise are steady, but the past year was odd. Stock markets were wild, yielding… Read More

The late management expert Peter F. Drucker, in his book, The Effective Executive, states, an executive does not have to be a leader. Effective executives, he states, follow eight… Read More

Inflation, rising interest rates, and volatile stock markets will be the new norm. Meantime, on January 25, Bank of Canada reprieved Canadians by deferring the first interest rate hike to Ma… Read More

A worker shortage might be excellent news for the economy! Maybe, just maybe, firms will awake and see workers’ substantial contribution to their success. Some CEOs take unconscio… Read More

Business Regressing because of Dumb RulesMy recent experiences and research show business regressing to Adam Smith’s 18th century Pin Factory productivity ideas, and Frederick Taylor&r… Read More

Exemplary leaders create a safe climate to help those led form and focus on controllable factors to reach a shared mission aided by precise values. Anyone with followers is a leader. That&rs… Read More

Why do companies hire chief operating officers (COOs) when their efficacy is questionable? A 2004 research found no support for the contingency view explaining when COOs are most beneficial… Read More

The pandemic ended a long period of global economic expansion. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the global economy shrunk 4.4% in 2020, the worst since the Great Depression of… Read More

In 2018, Oxford Dictionary made toxic its word of the year. Toxic [work] environment, toxic culture, and toxic relationship were among the top ten ‘toxic’ collocates in 2018… Read More

Apart from being cold in Canada, February is RRSP season. Personal financial advisors and financial institutions blitz clients to make annual contributions to get a tax deduction from the pr… Read More

In the second quarter of 2020, Apple was the number three smartphone vendor in the world, at 13.5% of the global smart phone market, slightly above the first quarter. Today, Apple is a… Read More

The APPLE leadership principle shows key traits leaders need to create a safe workplace for people to flourish and produce sustained value; but many leaders lack them. Take the results of a… Read More

Managers are leaders despite what some experts say. Management books and “experts” tell us a basic distinction between leaders and managers is leaders lead people, managers manag… Read More

Diagnosing the struggling startup is the first step to recovery. When you go to the doctor, he or she will not prescribe a solution before a diagnosis. The same with companies—large, s… Read More

Stakeholder capitalism is today’s fad to replace shareholder capitalism. But is it the correct cure? In the survey we designed and commissioned in August 2020, 65% of 145 respones show… Read More

Should firms volunteer to pay living wages instead of mandated minimum wages? A 2013 Harvard Business Review article, Does Money Really Affect Motivation? A Review of the Research, concluded… Read More

Stock market volatility continues and is today’s norm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell a further 28% to 18,591 on March 23, following its largest one day drop of 1,191 on… Read More

Layoffs are not a long-term answer for firms when they face tough times. Nine-eleven and the Great Recession tested firms with no-layoff policies. Southwest Airlines, Marriott, FedEx, Honeyw… Read More

Effects of COVID-19 on Canadians’ personal finances could be severe. But now might be opportune to make tough decisions to reset crucial lifestyle choices that led to massive debt buil… Read More

Supporting businesses during the pandemic means supporting workers. Businesses like other institutions are vehicles, mere shells with people who decide every aspect. The left… Read More

The coronavirus’ stock market impact is immense. It is spooking stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed 12% or over 3000 points over five days, February 24-28, the… Read More

Share buybacks or share repurchases can distort a firm’s results and delude the public. These events hike earnings per share (EPS) without growth in the firm’s basic value… Read More

Capitalism isn’t dead, it is on life support. Industry leaders push their agendas with practices that hurt the public, and they get rewarded. For instance, Boeing’s CEO over… Read More

Firms need to focus on maximizing value in their supply chain—a series of interrelated activities to move a product or service from its originating point to the customer or client. It… Read More

Sometimes young entrepreneurs ask me to help write their vision statements. They believe a written vision statement is essential. I assure them the crucial issue isn’t the written visi… Read More

T he Business Round Table (BRT) had an aha moment and decided maximizing shareholder value  is not a corporation’s sole purpose. That metrics from the 1980s is wrong, it said… Read More

I identified as evangelical before Donald Trump’s presidency. Now, I cling to my Christian faith, but dropped the evangelical label; I am ashamed. American evangelicals defy biblical t… Read More

Facebook’s $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for serial privacy abuses doesn’t go far enough. After the market received news of the fine, Facebook&r… Read More

Meaningful meetings are possible, desirable, and should be the aim of every executive. Many people say meaningful meetings is an oxymoron, and they have a point. Research shows consiste… Read More

Politicians are vying for credit for the genesis of the growing economy (USA). Today, what matters most is that we sustain the economic and job growth. Thus, the government must not interven… Read More

Senator Warren plans to stifle the influence of big businesses and several CEOs. The Senator is not a fan of Wall Street or corporations, especially large firms and their CEOs. Many folks ag… Read More

Leaders must empower frontline workers and outlaw silos. Frontline workers create value for businesses. Silos destroy value and encourage individual department’s performance, often at… Read More

Ask ten business people what strategy is, and most will give the same answer: Strategy is a long-term plan. My undergraduate students give a similar reply on the first day of my st… Read More

Many entrepreneurs make three crucial mistakes at the outset. They do not pay sufficient attention to customers’ preferences; they ignore their competition because their product thrill… Read More

Budgeting like dieting doesn’t work because folks don’t embed it in their lifestyles. Usually, it’s a chore a finance person recommends. Is there a better alternative to ac… Read More

General Motors’ notice to shutter several plants reminds us that corporate welfare does not produce long-term sustainable businesses. It’s a band-aid and a colossal waste of taxp… Read More

Budget remaining at year-end? What happens then? First, understand what a budget isn’t. It is not a bucket to accumulate funds for various activities. Neither is it a straitjacket, nor… Read More

A counter-intuitive strategy results in enhanced sales and high margins, often because people are willing to pay a premium for normal, regular goods and services? In his book Predictably Irr… Read More

Why do some public corporations choose to be private and delist their shares from stock exchanges? On Oct. 29, 2013, Dell announced that Michael Dell, founder and CEO, and Silver Lake Partne… Read More

Ocasio-Cortez seems to be the newfound hope of the Democratic Party—a party desperately clutching to anything that might appeal to a naive electorate. If it continues its wayward path… Read More

Employees in North America need universal right to work laws. No one should be forced to pay union “dues” if he or she does not wish to be part of a union. Hopefully, the recent… Read More

Moving from time management to self-management is crucial to become more productive. Particularly since time is our most precious resource. It’s fixed, doesn’t discriminate&mdash… Read More

WordPress is an award-winning web software, used by millions of webmasters worldwide for building their website or blog. SiteGround is proud to host this particular WordPress installation an… Read More

Donald Trump’s trade war has erupted! He thinks “trade wars are good and easy to win.” But the expected negative outcomes might surprise him. The United States (US) fired t… Read More

Wisdom is lacking today. The Ninth Edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines wisdom as “experience and knowledge together with the power of applying them critically or practical… Read More

Trust in the Lord AlwaysDo you trust in the Lord to help you through each day? Gyrations in the stock market, the massive baseless rise in the value of Bitcoins, pervasive greed in society… Read More

Rising interest rates will harm you only if you choose to gamble with your future and live beyond your means. To be sure, rising interest rates could be a blessing in disguise to help you ge… Read More

GOP Tax Reform Is Not Perfect But A Step ForwardWhy does the GOP tax reform result in more tax brackets? Though imperfect, unpopular, with too many income tax tranches and deductions, the pr… Read More

Effective stewardship at Chanukah and Christmas (the holidays) occurs when we do not allow the “season” to cause us to use time, talent, money, and resources wastefully. Active s… Read More

Your Christmas bonus can jump start a financially healthy New Year. Will you get a Christmas bonus this year? How do you plan to spend it? Have you committed it already? Will you use it to c… Read More

Rules and Regulations’ EffectWhat’s the importance of rules and regulations in an organization? Except for rules and regulations mandating ethical and legal behavior, why do so m… Read More

Tax reform should encourage sustained job creation. Thus, governments should not tax retained profits (undistributed profits) but allow firms to use profits to reinvest, create jobs, help to… Read More

Profit is legitimate. Unlike governments, businesses need profits to survive. Let’s look at how profits originate using two fictitious companies, Bensons Ltd, and Drummond’s Inc… Read More

Relax, stop fighting about moneyCouples, stop fighting about money! Disputes will arise in your marriage that you attribute to money. Think about it again. You know it’s never about mo… Read More

Newlyweds mind the gap about moneyNewlyweds and debt can be a bad combination. Over the past 21 years I have given so-called financial counselling to many engaged couples. “So-called&r… Read More

The next recession is overdue. In April 2013, I wrote about the soaring Stock Market and progressing economic expansion. I assumed then that the next recession would start in 2014-15 based o… Read More

The primary role of the board of directors of an entity is to steward the owners’ investments in that entity. I served on several boards of directors in many countr… Read More

The primary role of the board of directors of an entity is to steward owners’ investments in that entity. I served on several boards of directors in many countries… Read More

Encouragement costs nothing but a few minutesEncouragement goes a long way to motivate and retain employees. In fact, encouragement can be more effective than a salary increase. It costs so… Read More

Recently, I did a Google search on stewardship of time, stewardship of talents, stewardship of the environment, and stewardship of money. I was not surprised to see stewardship of time with… Read More

I have written about becoming debt free, and staying debt free often. Each time I try to add something that might be more helpful than before. So when I see a different path that worked well… Read More

Decision making is both an art and a science. The science tries to analyze all information, while the art attempts to produce divergent, innovative solutions. Making a good de… Read More

Effective time usage during the holidays might decide how you celebrate. Burnt out? Frustrated? Joyful? Lonely? Or a combination? Christmas and Hanukkah are two major holidays that seem… Read More

Why do so many people spend consistently more than they earn? They fall deep in debt, their quality of life plummets, they retain their cherished buys, but do not enjoy them fully. Sadl… Read More

Why aren’t university leaders leading? They are allowing students to push insane, bizarre, politically correct ideas on everyone in their universities (and colleges). To be sure… Read More

Students should aim to improve their financial knowledge before graduating from college. Otherwise, they will succumb to temptations and live in bondage to debt. Further, debt will prev… Read More

Solution driven marketing can reshape a firm’s view from product or money focus to  customer-needs’ focus. Solution driven marketing applies to every organization—prof… Read More

Are university or college students customers of their institutions (subsequent references to college include university)? I am not referring to a student-as-customer’s movement that at… Read More

A positive brand perception is an important goal of many successful organizations. They understand that their brands are emotional links with customers. The deeper the link, the stronge… Read More

Household debt is a huge problem in Canada. I wrote about it in 2012. I thought the situation was a crisis then. But it’s gotten worse.Canadians are in a debt mire, sinking deeper, but… Read More

Christians, don’t integrate faith and business. Don’t integrate faith and anything! Live as followers of Messiah where you are.Business is having the right people in the right sl… Read More

Two life lessons flowed out of my reflections on the solution of  issues that posed the biggest challenges to some of my students this semester. As I pondered different situations, I as… Read More

Popular teaching about personal finance encourages people to concentrate on credit scores, cheap credit, and credit cards. Essentially, it assumes you will live in debt forever. It does… Read More

Your decision making process is more important to a successful result than your analyses to prove the validity of a decision. That’s what research shows consistently.How do y… Read More

How to stop living paycheck to paycheck will take time, sacrifice, and patience. The solution won’t be easy, and it might be counter intuitive. It will focus primarily on lifestyle cho… Read More

Holiday survival kit? Why does anyone need a holiday survival kit? One definition of survival is “to continue to live in spite of difficult circumstances.” Have Chanukah and… Read More

Applying effective stewardship in business is key to its success. What does stewardship mean today for businesses? Since the Great Recession, executives are more aware of their trust ro… Read More

Effective Stewardship Requires CautionHow do you get on top of your finances when you are deep in debt? Apply effective stewardship. Accept you are a manager of God’s resources.Wh… Read More

Unbalanced Life Is Key To Live As Jesus’ DiscipleUnbalanced life? I strive to live an unbalanced life—that’s right, unbalanced. I know this is counter cultural because I he… Read More

Wall Street PlungeWall Street panicked this morning (August 24). Fear and hysteria were pervasive. Programmed selling followed—securities’ sales generated automatically… Read More