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Perception is reality. That is, Ms. Jones’ perception is the reality you have to deal with every day. The reality may be that Ms. Jones is a middle-aged woman facing an empty nest and semiretirement. She droops where she used to perk. She used to be a trendsetter, but now she thinks animal prints are […]

“In the 1930s in New York City, users in a large new high-rise office building consistently complained about the wait times at the elevators. Engineers consulted concluded that there was no way to either speed up the elevators or to increase the number or capacity of the elevators. A designer was then called in, and […]

“Come home this minute and clean your room!” my dad shouted from the back porch. I reluctantly left the playground at the park behind our house and stomped adolescently to my bedroom. There, amidst the rubble, was a brand new Santa Fe bicycle! Dad’s smile revealed his ruse, and I spent the next several summers […]

Sometimes different is good. Other times you don’t want to be different. We want to blend in. Remember high school? Being different was death. You wanted the same kind of shoes the popular kids wore, modeled the same haircut and mimicked the same cool way they carried a comb in their pocket. You followed their […]

Everyone loves a bargain. Discovering designer sweaters for just a few dollars, fixing and flipping falling-down houses and stealth bidding for online auctions are the modern day equivalent of hunting and gathering. What makes a bargain a bargain? Is it the price? No doubt about it, price is an important factor in determining a bargain. […]

Dead ends. Loose ends. Wit’s end. Split ends. In a furniture store there are many endings. For the salesperson, it ends when they hand the customer their receipt. For the warehouse, it ends when they hand the customer their furniture. For accounting, it ends when the customer hands them their money. But for Ms. Jones, […]

Six sure bets in life: Death and taxes. Summer and winter. Seedtime and harvest. The laws of business parallel the laws of nature. The farmer plants a seed and waits for it to grow. It’s a no brainer, right? But do you do the same in your business? What are you planting, and are you […]

Growing pains. Growing up. Outgrown. Overgrown. Growth pattern. There’s a growth pattern in humans that applies to businesses as well. People hook up and conceive a business plan. The plan is under wraps as planning, financing and sourcing slowly develop over the course of several months. It’s then birthed in a grand opening celebration and […]

You would expect a magazine called “Green” to be printed on recycled paper, but it’s not. It’s not even printed. It’s a “digital digest” available only online. Now that’s green! Green is cropping up in the produce section on organically grown products. It’s all over the hardware store, with “Eco Options” labeling for products that […]

Family man. Runs in the family. In the family way. Family tree. Family matters. Americana is all about family. We’ve even stretched it to include our “work family” and our “school family” or our “church family.” Despite efforts to redefine it, we all have our own personal definition. What does “family” mean to Ms. Jones? […]