Entrepreneurship & Small Business

Early in a new year many of us want to re-organize our lives, especially our work lives.

In the 1980s, while I was a senior vice president at JH Collectibles, we were so focused on producing fashion sportswear for the misses market we missed the emerging “women's” size market.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” is an English proverb which means necessity or difficult situations encourage inventive solutions.

After 23 years in business together, John and Patty Mueller, the owners of Menomonee Falls-based Idea Factory Inc., have managed to keep their marriage operating as smoothly as their business ventures.

It seems there is no way to put a stake in the issue of trust vs. verification. Caterpillar Inc.'s recent $580 million writedown on a Chinese company it acquired in June for $700 million is an example of the principle.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed at work or school...or both? In “Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours” author Robert C. Pozen will change your mindset from hours worked to results produced.

Social media is such a widespread networking tool that it is beginning to change the way businesses operate today.

I received a phone call last week from a guy I would refer to as a highly talented, committed, hard-working young professional. A top 10-percenter or probably more like 5. This is the “guy” HR professionals all over the greater Milwaukee area are trying to recruit.

Are you pleased with the quality of innovative thinking at your company?