Dear Reader,
Thank you for viewing my articles, which are posted here following publication in various magazines and blogs. For your convenience, they are separated into three categories: business, personal, and travel. Click on the link for the topic you are interested in to view all the articles in that section. The business articles are currently displayed. Check back frequently for new material!
Business Loans: They’re Back!
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose USA Today Business Editor Steven Strauss once wrote, “Cash flow is your business oxygen.” Indeed, business owners need ready access to liquid cash to make payroll for their employees, pay bills, and keep their companies alive. However, many people underestimate how much money…more »
Is Someone Stealing from Your Business?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose It’s all over the news: almost a half-million dollars is missing from the South Carolina Hospitality Association, most likely due to embezzlement. The scandal has raised many questions, like “How could that amount have disappeared without being noticed? How often do things like…more »
Making Your Business Magical
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose If there’s one thing Disney is known for, it’s creating magic for customers young and old alike. Walt Disney World employs nearly 60,000 “Cast Members,” the organization’s term for its employees, and entertains more than 16 million “Guests,” or customers, annually. Every cast…more »
Building an Ethical Company
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In the current recession, being profitable and saving money are top priorities for many companies. Leaders are pushing staff to perform beyond their limits with fewer resources, and as they struggle to find shortcuts, employees may feel pressured to behave unethically. …more »
What We Can Learn from Steve Jobs
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Apple may be the most admired company in the world. Valued at $170 billion, much of the company’s success is owed to its late founder, Steve Jobs, who is often called one of the most influential business leaders of the early 21st century.…more »
Putting Out the Burnout Fires
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In this bear economy, entrepreneurs, leaders, and employees are working extra hours to complete work that once was the responsibility of two or more people. Combined with high stress levels and layoff threats, it can become too much to handle. People burn out…more »
Is Your Staff Headed for Burnout?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose The idea of mojo—a passion or drive for excellence—is exemplified in some businesses, including Southwest Airlines and our family of companies. It took years for us to create the right culture, but our employees enjoy what they are doing, and the quality of…more »
You’re Fired!
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In Good to Great, Jim Collins determined that great organizations hire self-directed, competent staff who have positive outlooks and are team-focused. If you make greatness your goal, as we did in 2007, staff who don’t fit into your vision will have to leave.…more »
18 Ways to Keep Customers Happy
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Our research and experience have shown that business is like travel: the smoother the customers’ ride, the greater the chance that they will patronize businesses, come back for more, and, ultimately, tell others about their positive experiences. Unfortunately, many clients today are stuck…more »
Toxic Cultures…Transformed! Part V
Part V--The Results By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In 2007, we set out to build a great family of companies with employees who exceed customers’ expectations. Our hypothesis was that if we had happy employees, they would provide better customer service, thus creating happy customers and ultimately, profit.…more »
Mike’s 2007 Speech to the Companies: Building Great Companies
Mike DuBose’s Companywide Meeting Presentation Building Great Companies: the Vision December 11, 2007 In 2006, we got everyone fired up about the future of our companies. This came off the heels of working with our independent consultant, Ken Allen, in the strategic planning process. Then, as one of you…more »
Toxic Workplaces…Transformed! Part IV
Part IV – Harnessing Feedback for a Healthy Culture By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In our first three articles about creating positive, productive workplaces, we defined culture, listed symptoms of toxic environments, and outlined ways to conduct autopsies of organizational cultures. For the last several years, one of…more »
Toxic Workplaces…Transformed! Part III
Part III – What Kind of Culture Do You Have? By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose In Parts I and II of this series, we defined what culture means and the symptoms of a toxic work environment. This installment will address ways for leaders to capture an accurate picture…more »
Toxic Workplaces…Transformed! Part II
Part II – 27 Symptoms of a Dysfunctional Culture By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose No business or organization is perfect. Even those deemed “great” by Jim Collins in his bestseller Good to Great are vulnerable to dysfunction, mistakes, and failure, and there are some people who are impossible…more »
Toxic Workplaces…Transformed!—Part I
Part I – Defining Culture By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose An organization’s workplace environment has a significant impact on staff, customers, leaders, and vendors—not to mention the bottom line! Whether a business, house of worship, non-profit, school, or branch of government, no two organizations have the same…more »
Hiring Great Staff
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Business leaders often say their staff is their most valuable asset, yet many fail to practice smart hiring practices. Employees’ skills and outlooks should align with the company’s mission, purpose, values, and vision. In fact, while researching his bestseller Good to Great, Jim…more »
Building Innovative Organizations
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Apple, Inc. seems perpetually one step ahead of the competition. The company accurately predicts future niches, generates popular, outstanding products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and keeps customers happy. As strategic marketing consultant Christine Thompson reported, “A key element of Apple’s strategic…more »
Managing Cash Flow to Avoid Business Failure
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Have you ever suddenly awakened in fear at 3 AM, wondering where your company will find the money to pay its bills? If you’re one of the 42 percent of business owners who lose sleep worrying over cash flow, you’ve been down that…more »
Promoting Entrepreneurism in the Workplace
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Most people think of “entrepreneurs” as being exclusively associated with the business world. Although this is the most common definition (and the one given by Webster’s Dictionary), we have seen many entrepreneurs in other sectors like government, education, and charities. Entrepreneurs thrive on…more »
13 Rules of Electronic Communication Every Leader Should Know
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Effective communication is an art that few people ever completely master. It takes time to learn how to transmit messages simply and concisely, but you surely know folks who can—and when they speak, people listen! The world of communication is evolving. Technology is…more »
Business Marketing: Innovate or Die!
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose If the Beatles or Rolling Stones began their careers today, there’s a good chance that they might fail! All facets of our society are evolving, and what worked in years past won’t work now. The technological revolution has changed how our culture communicates…more »
Is Technology Hurting Your Business?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Fifty years ago, President Kennedy announced, “We choose to go to the moon.” Seven years later, American astronauts walked on its surface—a monumental feat. His vision brought about even greater technological innovation. Now, fast forward to 2011, when some experts are predicting that…more »
Business 2011—Survive, Fail, or Thrive?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose As 2011 dawns, lights of hope are appearing at the end of the tunnel. South Carolina’s economy improved in 2010 and will continue its slow recovery 2011, according to a forecast released in December 2010 by University of South Carolina economists at the…more »
The Art of Negotiating
By Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose Every little bit—saving money, making extra money, or protecting your current assets—helps your company’s survival. Negotiating is an important part of developing this culture. Negotiation is like a dance, with each party leading at different times. Give in too much or try to…more »
Living and Learning
By Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose When reading the book Good to Great, we were taken aback by Jim Collins’ assertion that “good is the enemy of great.” Upon rereading it, we realized that in order to prosper in the long haul, maximize profits, and build a profitable company…more »
Giving Back
By Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose Most companies are similar to ours in earlier years: driven by greed and a desire to maximize profit. If we gave to charity, our first thought was, “How will this help the bottom line? How will our donation obtain marketing exposure?” When we…more »
Threats: How to Detect, Prevent, and Insure Against Them
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose When it comes to threats and crises, no business is ever completely out of harm’s way. However, businesses (and leaders) that survive in the face of threats share some common attributes. Actions they take include: Building the right culture: Leaders should instill open…more »
Accountants and Lawyers: How to Find and Work with the Right Ones!
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose We have heard many horror stories from unprepared business owners who lost time and money when they were sued needlessly. Complex laws, unexpected liabilities, and failing to have the right financial and legal systems in place can allow threats—though entirely avoidable—to escalate into…more »
Success: How Do You Define, Obtain, and Keep It?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Everyone seeks success, but how do some people (and companies) seem to always be at the right place at the right time, consistently making the right decisions to attain it? At a Charleston, SC market, we saw a box with a lid that…more »
Making Good Business Decisions
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Good decisions breed success, energize staff, and build outstanding organizations. Keeping a positive perspective has helped us turn painful business mistakes, personal tragedies and bad decisions into treasured gifts from God! As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from…more »
Selecting the Right Web Design Company
“How did I ever get myself into this mess?”Who in the private or public sector has not had that painful thought? We sometimes develop partnerships based on first impressions and early conversations, only to face costly nightmares later! Of all the horror stories we have heard since starting our…more »
Managing and Avoiding Crises
By Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose It was Sept. 11, 2001, and Mike was lecturing in front of 150 professionals who had traveled to Austin, Texas to hear him speak. He, Blake, and his staff had just conducted the same class in New York City near the World Trade…more »
Why Do Great Businesses Fail?
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Business failure! These are two words that most business leaders would rather not even think about. Most focus all of their energy on succeeding and being profitable instead of simultaneously predicting and preventing business failure. Few realize that success and failure are interwoven.…more »
The Art of Effective Marketing
By Mike DuBose Marketing is the process of informing customers about a business and its products or services. Great companies know how to successfully market to the right people at the ideal times at the lowest costs. Marketing is important because you can have the best product or service…more »
Developing Strong Fringe Benefits
by Mike DuBose Advertising for, selecting, training, and maintaining an outstanding employee workforce is a significant, time consuming, and costly process. When employees leave, companies lose all of the time, resources, and effort spent training them. Thus, one of the small business owner’s goals in building a great company…more »
Our Culture
The following document was produced by Mike with input from all staff members. It describes the type of culture that employees are striving to implement within our family of companies. Though rarely done by leaders and staff at most companies, defining an organization's culture is very important. Our culture document has been instrumental in setting the standard…more »
The Art of Buying First Class Cheap
By Mike DuBose In order for a business to remain viable, it must take in more money than it spends—in other words, it must be profitable. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But there is no easy formula for making a profit. It is actually a combination of many different…more »
The Art of Finding the Right Location
By Mike DuBose Selecting the right business location is one of the most important decisions that leaders from great businesses must make. It could also be your most costly decision, so be careful and take your time. Great companies like Walgreens know that location is crucial. Jim Collins described…more »
Building a Team of Experts
By Mike DuBose Many entrepreneurs believe in seeking expert assistance only when something goes wrong or blows up—then it is time to put Humpty Dumpty back together again! Small business owners frequently fail to see the value of preventive maintenance and often won’t invest money in experts to…more »
Terminations the Right Way: Managing the Risks
By Mike DuBose It was the year 2005 and our company was experiencing success like I had never dreamed of having. We were not perfect, but it seemed that just about everything we touched turned to gold. Then, without warning, it happened! Our success rate for securing projects, which…more »
Succession Planning - Business Owners Need to Plan to Die Tomorrow!
by Mike DuBose Harvard’s School of Business recommends that successful business leaders anticipate threats by conducting a “risk audit” and plan accordingly. Some know this as SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). One threat is no succession planning – or not making orderly company exit plans for the…more »
Building a Fun Environment with Happy Employees
By Mike DuBose In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins and his team found that great organizations often contained happy employees who care about each other. Many of the employees in these companies had established close relationships with their peers, often socialized during and after work with each…more »
Crisis Leadership
By Mike DuBose It was Sept. 11, 2001, and I was lecturing in front of 150 professionals who had traveled by plane to Austin, Texas to hear me speak. Members of my staff and I had just conducted the same class in New York City in a building near…more »
The Art of Execution — Getting Things Done
By Mike DuBose I had the opportunity to meet Larry Bossidy and speak with him firsthand for two days in May 2008. During this time, he shared ideas from his book and many years of business experience with me. The following chapter chronicles how one of my companies changed…more »
Communications
By Mike DuBose Great leaders have long known the important role that communication plays in business and in life. Alan Greenspan once said, “To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation…in communication skills.” John Powell was right on the money when he…more »
Strategic Planning
by Mike DuBose "He who fails to plan, plans to fail" —Anonymous There was a time when I thought that a small business did not need a written strategic or business plan. As the business owner and leader, I kept all the plans in my head or locked in…more »
Power, Greed, and the Love of Money
By Mike DuBose America, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, has a large population that enjoys a standard of life far higher than that of most people on Earth. Even our poorest citizens are considered rich by people in some Third World countries. "Americans are not ashamed…more »
Conducting Successful Events
By Blake DuBose and Mike DuBose Nearly every business, government agency, or non-profit attends (or hosts) trainings, conferences, socials, or seminars at some point. Because those events represent the organization, what happens during them can mean the difference between success and failure. Therefore, it is important to carefully think…more »
Business Failure
By Mike DuBose Entrepreneurs dread those terrible words. My grandmother said “Hope for the best, but plan for the worse!” Thus, we should plan from the beginning to fail in order to succeed. We know this as SWOT analysis -- regularly assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats when planning…more »
Exceeding Customer Expectations
By Mike DuBose When you think of high-quality products and great services, what companies come to mind? Chances are you think of at least one Japanese company, like Toyota or Sony. For years, many Japanese companies have produced reliable, high-quality merchandise, coupled with superior customer service. In fact, Toyota…more »
Hiring the Right Staff
By Mike DuBose and Joann Moss Small business owners do not realize the dangers that they face when hiring new employees. Having been through several lawsuits and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) complaints (all of which we won), it can be pretty scary and frustrating to sit in court or…more »
Keys to a Successful Business
By Mike DuBose Entrepreneurs have differing versions of what make their companies successful, but the bottom line – no one shoe fits all. Many elements combine to make businesses great. The key is getting as many of these variables to operate simultaneously. Let’s look at what works! Build a…more »
Secrets of Successful Leaders
by Mike DuBose Peter Drucker reported “While leadership concepts are the same today as centuries ago, modern business leaders are faced with more, complex challenges.” Great leaders “create a culture where people turn challenging opportunities into remarkable success!” Effective leadership is an endless, evolving journey -- what works today,…more »
