Top 10 Signs Your Sales Career is Dying   Water Quality Products May 2003   Carl Davidson
Here are the top 10 signs I have noticed over the years that are warnings your productivity as a salesperson is waning. I put them before you, not to be critical, but in the hope that recognizing the early warning signs may help you stay on top of your game for years to come.
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Where Is Your Operation Headed Next?   Water Quality Products July 2002   G.A. “Andy” Marken, Marken Communications, Inc.
Regardless of whether you are trying to determine where you are going tomorrow with your present company emphasis, or planning to enter prospective new areas, a strategy plan is necessary. Such a plan helps ensure that everyone in the organization is in agreement as to the posture and direction of the company. Equally important is the fact that your financial backers know where you are going and have the level of confidence necessary to support you in the effort. Putting the information down on paper is far from fun, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
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Only Time Will Tell   Water Quality Products January 2002   Multiple Authors
The unprecedented events of Sept. 11 and the recession that began hitting our nation at the beginning of 2001 created havoc in the business world. The water industry was no exception; it also saw its share of fluctuation. With such an unpredictable economy, we move into 2002. WQP asked industry professionals nationwide to comment on what the water industry may see in the upcoming year. Although these professionals share their outlooks for next year, only time will tell what lies ahead.
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Breaking Through the Financial Barrier   Water Quality Products June 2001   G.A. "Andy" Marken
As you drive along Highway 101 in California?s Santa Clara Valley, Route 128 near Boston, the Beltway around Washington D.C., the Carolina?s Silicon Triangle, Washington State?s Silicon Forest or nearly anywhere across the country, you almost can see the parched bones of entrepreneurial ideas that have died and been cast aside. They lie next to now healthy giants and soon-to-be-successful product and service organizations.
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The Crisis Counselor   Water Quality Products March 2001   G.A. Marken
Business trips give you an excellent chance to catch up on your reading since you’re isolated on a plane for two to three hours. So there was no better time to review Jeff Caponigro’s, The Crisis Counselor (Contemporary Books), a guide to managing business crises, than the round-trip flight from San Francisco to New York.
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I've Never Met a Rich Sharecropper   Water Quality Products March 2001   Carl Davidson
Sharecroppers are poor tenant farmers. They farm the land for the owner in exchange for a share of or percentage of the crops they produce for the owner. They do what they are told and have no land to farm themselves.
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We Ought to Be Committed   Water Quality Products February 2001   Carl Davidson
We ought to be committed. No, that isn’t a comment on our mental stability but rather a comment addressing the fact that we ought to be totally committed to success if we intend to achieve it.
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International Business: The Business Card   Water Quality Products January 2001   Eric Aparnieks
Have you ever wondered why we carry business cards? If you ever stopped to think about it, they really are unique in many ways.

Oh Yeah? Well, I Quit!   Water Quality Products December 2000   Carl Davidson
I was giving a seminar last week when one of the managers attending said, "You can’t tell people to work hard in this job market or they just quit." The other managers agreed.

The Business of Family   Water Quality Products September 2000   Mike Henning
A major predictable pitfall for business-owning families is their lack of policies that will eventually affect each family member in the present generation and for generations to come.

Nine Highlight Audit Items for Small Business Owners   Water Quality Products March 2000   Mike Henning
The following are the key items that the IRS historically looks at in determining whether to conduct a personal audit.

Managing People: Your Most Difficult, Most Rewarding Task, Part II   Water Quality Products February 2000   G.A. "Andy" Marken
When you really understand yourself and your interrelationship with people who work with and for you, everyone can accomplish more. The following article is continued from the January issue.

Fishing for Good Employees   Water Quality Products November 1999   Mike Henning
Privately owned companies need good outside employees to grow and remain profitable. They need excellent outside managers for running smoothly, receiving fresh perspectives and ideas, to mentor inside managers and support the owners. But keeping employees on board can be more difficult than hiring them

Cutting Your Tax Bill: Ten Strategies to Help You Save Tax Dollars   Water Quality Products March 1999   Mike Henning
Everyone wants to know the bottom line with regard to tax savings opportunities.

The Top 10 List   Water Quality Products November 1998   Mike Henning
We scanned the various lists of characteristics and skills considered key for success.

Accountability in the Family Business   Water Quality Products July 1998   by Edwin A. Hoover, PhD CMC

People and money! That's the answer you're likely to get if you ask the typical family business owner to name the two biggest problems in running a successful operation.

Succession Planning Disputes in Rapidly Changing Times   Water Quality Products January 1998   Edwin A. Hoover, Ph.D., CMC, and Colette Lombard Hoover, MS
Succession issues in family businesses can become high-conflict and are always high-stakes affairs.

Building Family Relationships on Trust   Water Quality Products December 1997   by Mike Henning
As families come together to discuss directional issues, wealth, power, and control situations, individuals have definitive ideas and strong feelings.

Q &A: Family Business Issues   Water Quality Products November 1997   Edwin Hoover, Ph.D., CMC
Family Business questions answered by Dr. Hoover

Bringing Family into the Business   Water Quality Products August 1997   by Edwin A. Hoover
One of the biggest problems in family business has to do with the pitfalls and potholes surrounding the entry of family members into the business.

What Drives Your Company ?   Water Quality Products August 1997   by Mike Henning
Oftentimes business transition occurs simultaneously with individual transitions, and relationships are often strained during these periods in one's life. Armed with this information, what may seem like a unique situation to you, actually may be common among privately-owned businesses.

Seeking Family Business Advice   Water Quality Products August 1997   by Edwin A. Hoover, Ph.D., CMC, and Colette Lombard Hoover, M.S.
For family business owners, knowing when and how to engage a professional family business consultant feels like trying to find the light switch in a dark, unfamiliar room. Most consulting relationships are great successes, but for those that end in frustration, it is lose/lose for both the owner and the consultant.

Managing Conflict   Water Quality Products May 1997
Experts believe that tension is common in over 85 percent of family-run businesses. So, conflict in business is not only common, but also is an important issue to resolve.

Non-Family Managers   Water Quality Products April 1997
Growing numbers of family-owned businesses are filling key positions with outside executives. This article addresses issues facing businesses approaching a leadership change involving non-family managers.

Keeping the Family and Business Together   Water Quality Products March 1997   Edwin A. Hoover
The complexity of family businesses begins when three overlapping systems compete for attention.

Estate Planning for the Small Business Owner   Water Quality Products December 1996   Bradley K. Walton
Planning your estate encompasses much more than merely reducing taxes. Numerous personal issues must be addressed as well

How to Establish an Effective Compensastion Program   Water Quality Products August 1996   Mike Henning
Without question, the issue of compensation is one of the most volatile that families in business must consider.