Profile

Professional summary

My work with entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, spanning more than 10 years at Riverside Business Coach, focuses on their issues and opportunities in sales, marketing, operations, financial management, and personnel (selection, development & pruning).

I ask lots of questions to explore and provoke them to develop new solutions or make course corrections in existing strategies. Where it is useful I add new tools and techniques to their management practices. I also work with clients to bring focus during day-to-day work to how these activities will contribute to their longer term objectives, business and personal. Finally, I act as their personal accountability check. Every time we talk I will ask at sometime during our discussion

Engagement overview

Duration and cost of an engagement depends on the scope of work, identified during the initial consultation.

Clients

As a business coach I have experience working with the leaders of organizations in many fields:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Web-based security checks,
• Yoga
• Educational software
• Restaurants
• Eco-products retailing
• Religious institutions
• Marketing services
• Tax and CPA services
• Retail stores
• Alternative energy products and engineering services

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Areas of expertise
Insights

Question: Should a subsidiary, in startup mode, be led by an external CEO

To add to the comments from Michael Harden and Patrick Boulard:

You might think about the team of people you need to get this new business up and running. You will need more management than just a CEO. There is nothing ruling out bringing in an outside CEO with start up experience and an up and coming sales person from your organization who knows the customer base. Both of these people will be dr... Read more

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Question: Ensuring merit-based entry into family business

In addition to the process comments by Tom Cox and Mike Dorman, I would add the practice of a family owned business that has transitioned into the 3rd generation.

Starting at the turning point to the 2nd generation they put in place two policies that stand out.

First no family member could enter the business without first working for five years outside of the family business after graduat... Read more

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Question: Revenue-share arrangement with a vendor

I agree with Mark Hurwich's main points - i won't comment on his own practices.

To add to his thoughts, you might also consider how many vendors you have. With a focused set of vendors you will be able to develop lower project management costs and better quality (measured in fewer bugs and better on time delivery).

In this process of exploring a deeper relationship you might also look at y... Read more

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Question: How can I find and vet new board members for a nonprofit organization?

I am answering this from my perspective as a long term non-profit board member in a number of organizations and currently President of a library board where finding new board members is continuously driven by a term limit in our by-laws.

First, what kind of board do you need? Active or passive. Most boards are passive. Active boards are actually participating in the work of the organization. What... Read more

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Question: How can our organization either sustain change initiatives, or avoid wasteful spending?

Before making a suggestion I feel compelled to point out that innovation is always a very risky venture. A key element of the innovation process is to have a process in place to examine the failures and harvest the lessons that are there for those who look.

Finance folks always have a hard time influencing the strategy of innovation. The phrase you have undoubtedly heard is, "You finance guys a... Read more

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Question: How to confront overselling practices in the sales department?

I think that Mr. Jardin's comments about "skin in the game" are headed in a good direction. This is a common problem, really a universal problem with sales people.

I would amend Mr. Jardin's suggestion to focus more on the sale manager's compensation. If you go after individual sales person's compensation they will complain loudly that they cannot be held responsible for lost customers because... Read more

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Question: Who should the HR manager report to?

Although there are certainly many aspects of HR management that are transactional, tactical, and compliance oriented, there can be no doubt that selecting, developing, and pruning employees is strategic. As such if the choice is between the CEO and CFO the choice for reporting structure for the HR manager is similarly very clear.

CFOs are responsible for the extremely important financial managem... Read more

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