My first memory of my Dad was when he took me to a baby sitter on his way to work. I must have been less than four, but I remember crying as I ran after his car, screaming, “Daddy, don’t leave me.”

My Dad never went to college, but he was one of the smartest men I knew. He wasn’t a philosopher, but much of what I’ve learned about life, especially about what’s important in life, I learned from him.

Dad grew up in rural America during the Great Depression as, and this is his word, a “sharecropper.” Things were pretty tough for his family, as it was for most families during that time.

It’s been said that we’re either a product of our raising or a reaction to our raising. My Dad chose to be a product of his raising, which made him the person who was loved by so many.

Dad never thought of himself as brave, but when the world needed him during World War II, he answered that call, as millions of his generation did. Serving in both the European and Pacific theaters, once going three years without a furlough, along with all the others of his generation, my Dad helped save the world.

Dad worked hard all his life. I watched him work in a steel mill and on the railroad. I saw him work nights at a gas station, pumping gas to make ends meet, after he got off work at the steel mill. I’m not sure he actually knew how important it was for me to see him do those things.

For many years I worked with my Dad on our farm. Me working on that farm was his idea, but it was good for me.

Dad made sure we got the best medical treatment money could buy, even when he didn’t know where the money would come from.

Dad took me to church. He taught me that there were going to be all kinds of people in heaven, not just our kind, and he let me make my own decision about my personal faith.

Dad showed me that Moms & Dads could fight and get mad at each other, but that the family is more important than whatever the argument was about.

There were times when my Dad said, “We can’t afford it.” It must have hurt to say those words, but they were important words for me to hear. I was never cold or hungry or deprived. I may have thought I was, but I never was.

Without actually saying it, Dad taught me that if you can’t be happy without money and stuff, you won’t be happy with money and stuff. Love for family and friends, respect for others and self-respect cost nothing, but they are more enduring than all the material things in the world. I learned that from my Dad.

Dad let me see him make mistakes. Everyone makes them, but he shared his mistakes with me so I would make my own mistakes, not his. It took a lot of love and wisdom to do that.

My Dad let me know, sometimes without saying it, that he loved me enough to protect me with his life. I’m grateful that in the last year of his life, Dad and I said, “I love you” to each other, every day.

If someone asked me to describe my Dad in one short sentence, I would say, “My Dad was a good human being.”

In the last year of his life I learned just how strong my Dad’s spirit was and just what a good human being he was. Even when he was often in great pain, and with all the indignity that comes with living in a nursing home, my Dad never lost his sense of humor, his famous wit, or his respect and love for others, right up to his last moment of life.

If class is grace under pressure, my Dad set a new standard for class. And that’s a bar I fear I will never reach.

Happy Father’s Day, dads. More than you may know, you make a difference.

All the hours logged as Dad and Poppy have often caused me to contemplate how different are the roles of mother and father, especially in the overt demonstration of parental love. It’s fascinating how the manifestation of this love differs between mother and father – biologically, emotionally and experientially.

A mother’s love, at once sweet and fierce, is observed in almost all animals, not just humans. No doubt you’ve heard this metaphor: “… as sweet as a mother’s love,” and this warning: “Don’t get between a momma bear and her cub.” I have been the recipient of this kind of love and have witnessed it, and there truly is no other force in nature like it.

But it troubles me that there are no corresponding sweet references to a father’s love. In fact, a human father’s love is more often associated with unfortunate references such as, “tough” and “discipline.” And here’s a warning no one has ever heard: “Just wait ‘till your mother gets home!”

Could this be why Father’s Day is not quite as big a deal as Mother’s Day? I’m just saying …

Mothers occupy the pinnacle of parental love – with justification. And not to take anything away from them, but let’s be honest: since a mother’s sweet love is as primal as the miracle of birth, they don’t have to work too hard to deliver it. But there is a uniqueness about a father’s love that deserves a better rap. Here why:

• Unlike a mother’s sweet love, a father’s tough love does not exist outside of homo sapiens.
• When a father’s parental toughness is required, especially when applied to an indignant recipient (read: teenager), it requires a love that has found the courage to endure a negative response and a willingness to defer gratification – sometimes for years.

No one is more keenly aware of the distinction between the application of these two demonstrations of love than a single parent (especially a single mom), where both kinds are required of the same person, perhaps within minutes.

Mothers, please forgive any paternal bias you may detect, but here is my conclusion about parental love: The only force in the universe that comes close to a mother’s sweet love is a father’s tough love. But the latter is the harder job, and the return on investment almost always takes longer.

Happy Father’s Day, Dads. You’ve earned it.

The Question:
Some surveys indicate that small business profits are up. What is your experience?

17% - We’re profitable and are seeing profits increase lately.

57% - We’re profitable but are not seeing any improvement.

14% - We’re not profitable, but we’ve started heading in that direction.

12% - We’re not profitable and it doesn’t look like we’re going to be soon.

My Comments:
As you can see, less than one-third of our sample said they were seeing an improved profit trend, while the rest of our respondents refuted the news. Small business profits have always been an elusive beast - almost mythological to many. I’m going to have more to say about this in my column in two weeks. Stay tuned.

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Listen to my latest interviews with Sam Norwood of Tatum, LLC. We discuss the latest Tatum Survey of Economic Business Conditions.

Tatum Survey: Cap Ex and borrowing are not growing

Tatum Survey: Sales and hiring are up

Tatum Survey: Business conditions are improving

1. The information in their own head is not as important as the yet-to-be-mined information in their prospect’s head; and

2. Knowing how to talk little enough and listen long enough, to be able to mine that gold.

The lesson is similar for small business owners who’ve gone to a lot of trouble and expense to hiresmart employees. We already know what we know; we need to know what’s in the heads of the members of our brain trust. We need our folks to be open and productive with their ideas about problem-solving and business strategy.

How do we do that? Not by behaving like we’re sitting on our throne with all the answers, that’s for sure. Instead, let’s consider the thinking of author and management guru, Peter Drucker, who said, “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant, and ask a few questions.”

I know you’re very proud of what you’ve learned and how much you’ve accomplished; and you should be. But if your business isn’t hitting on all cylinders; if your plans just aren’t coming to fruition like you intended; if you don’t seem to be getting the most out of your investment in the other humans in your business; perhaps you should try acting ignorant and ask a few more questions.

And don’t forget to listen.

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By definition, stakeholders in a democracy vote on issues and the majority rules. But while this process is one of the greatest inventions of mankind with many applications, business is not one of them.

Pure democracy isn’t practical in government, either. But a group of visionary malcontents solved that problem over 200 years ago by creating something new: a constitutional republic, where an elected few represent the interests of all.

A business can be like a dictatorship in that an individual will likely make the final decision. One desk, as President Truman so famously said, where the proverbial buck stops. But here’s another irony: Even though a business may have characteristics of a dictatorship, it likely won’t be successful if the team is managed by a tyrant. The dominator management model is as old as humanity itself, but it requires subordinates to dutifully follow the instructions of superiors. As a withering vestige of centuries past, this model is no longer competitive.

The 21st century management model must look more like a partnership. Just as effective government requires that elected representation augments pure democratic principles, an ultimate decision maker in a business must be alloyed with the experience, brainpower and engagement of the team.

The Founders envisioned a nation that could be as dynamic as it was enduring, and as powerful as it was benevolent, but only if the stakeholders believed their investment in such an ideal was justified. Our republic — warts and all — essentially does this. And even though Americans outsource the management of their government, the classic principles of democracy come to bear with regularly scheduled elections to see if the majority wants to change its mind.

Employees change their minds by seeking work elsewhere. And while they always had the right to leave a job that’s managed by tyrants, past generations swallowed their pride in favor of what we now know was the illusion of job security.

Today, employees have no such illusions. And while they accept the reality that someone has to make final decisions, they also expect to contribute to the basis for those decisions.

In the 21st century, a business still can’t be structured as a democracy or dictatorship. Today employees expect to be led, not driven; they want to contribute, not just take orders, even if the last order wasn’t their favorite.

The 21st century workplace does not abide tyrants.

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Need more information about management and leadership within your small business? Check out the links below to listen to my latest interviews with management and leadership expects

Interviews about Leadership

Interview about Management

12% - It’s just politics - these things happen to presidents of both parties.

82% - Obama Administration abuses are finally being uncovered.

6% - These are just Republican witch hunts.

My Comments:

Almost every U.S. President in recent memory who was re-elected had a dicey second term. Even the venerable Ronald Reagan had his 2nd term issues, like the Iran/Contra scandal. It is now evident that President Obama will not be an exception to this ignominious trend.

We wanted to know what our small business audience thought about what has quickly become a trifecta of scandals (Behghazi, IRS, AP/Fox) for the Obama administration, so we asked this question: “What do you think about the numerous scandals the Obama administration is facing?” Less than one-in-five of our respondents attribute Obama’s problems to “just politics,” or “a Republican witch hunt.” The remaining 82%, however, lay the president’s problems at his own feet.

You will remember that the Watergate scandal, which was associated with Nixon’s 1972 re-election, ultimately led to him becoming the only president in U.S. history to resign. People called Reagan and Bill Clinton a lot of names, but I don’t remember anyone comparing either one to Nixon.

There is one thing that makes Obama’s scandals different from those of Reagan and Clinton - they all seem to be associated with his 2012 re-election. It’s not good news for the president when political thought-leaders and members of the media, including those who are in no way aligned with the Republican Party, have invoked the name “Nixon” or the term “Nixonian” when discussing what we’re learning about the Obama scandals.

Amid Reagan’s second term scandal he accomplished many things, including landmark tax reform. Even the Lewinski scandal of Clinton’s second term didn’t prevent him from negotiating landmark welfare reform.

Obama’s scandals are serious. But he will not be impeached, nor will he resign. But he has almost four years left on his second term and the more his unfolding scandals sound, smell and/or look Nixonian, the less he will be able to accomplish any of his goals or secure a desirable legacy.

Regardless of what has gone before, what will be said about President Obama in 10 or 20 years will depend upon what happens from this moment forward.

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On its face, this well-known King Solomon wisdom, from the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes, delivers hopeful encouragement. But implicit in this passage is a somewhat hidden, and often troublesome paradox: A time for everything also implies nothing can be forever, and therefore, change is inevitable.

In the abstract, we accept the reality of change, but in practice we regard it like the medicine we know we need, but don’t want to take. And knowing change is inevitable doesn’t make the pill any sweeter.

In the marketplace, it was challenging enough to implement a change when we had the expectation of not having to do it again anytime soon. But in the 21st century, the bitter pill of change has acquired an unfortunate new characteristic: a frighteningly short duration.

Organizations that enjoy consistent success will make change an abiding element in their business model, rather than an intrusion to “the way we’ve always done things.” They’ll create a culture and environment where change can occur whenever necessary, without creating a casualty list.

Rick Maurer, author of “Beyond the Wall of Resistance,” conducted a survey of organizations that have implemented change. He identified four things they did to create a culture compatible with change.

1. Make a strong case.
   Maurer found that “when change was successful, 95% of the stakeholders saw a compelling need to change.” Change must be accompanied by evidence of its importance. If you can’t make the case, perhaps it’s not the right thing to do — yet.
2. Establish the vision.
   Maurer’s research indicates 71% of successful changes happened “when people understood the vision of the project.” Stakeholders should see the long-term benefits of change.
3. Sustain the changes.
   The primary reason for failure, Maurer found, was “inability to sustain the change.” Sustaining change isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon that must endure pressure from many sources and may be the greatest test of leadership.
4. Anticipate maintenance.
   Successful managers recognize that it’s not in the nature of change to be self-perpetuating.

Change will happen. And if we expect something positive, it probably will be.

Don’t just manage change – lead it.

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Click on the link below to listen to Rick Maurer’s latest interview. Click the book image above to purchase Rick’s book Beyond the Wall of Resistance.

When you’re trying to implement change, focus can be difficult - My interview with Rick Maurer

This is the 11th year I’ve published the poem below on Memorial Day. It was written by Commander Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret.) in 1981 when he was a high school senior (JROTC cadet) at Homestead High School, Homestead, FL. It is a tribute to his father, a career marine who served two tours in Vietnam.

Freedom Isn’t Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.

My friends, I pray that we never forget those who paid so dearly for our freedom. Have a safe, happy and respectful Memorial Day.

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The Question:
Constitutional limits can be troublesome for any president. How do you think Obama is treating it?

0% - Obama has done nothing to abuse the Constitution.

81% - Obama’s Constitutional abuses are unprecedented.

19% - Obama is not doing anything other president haven’t done.

My Comments:
It’s not good when 100% of our respondents think the current President of the United States is either abusing the Constitution in an unprecedented way, or no worse than any other President. Both responses should trouble all Americans, regardless of their political affiliations or ideology.

This isn’t a political party problem, my friends. It’s an American problem. We must fix it.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander of the Army of the Republic, made Memorial Day official with General Order No. 11, which stated in part, “… the 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country …” And other than Congress making Memorial Day a national holiday on the last Monday in May, America has since honored its fallen heroes from all conflicts pretty much as General Logan ordered.

When America issued its first call to arms – before it had a professional army – that call went to the militia, which was identified as “all able-bodied men.” Called “Minutemen,” because they could be ready to fight on a minute’s notice, they were primarily shopkeepers, craftsmen, farmers, etc. Today, we call them small business owners.

From as far away as Scotland, America’s Minutemen were impressive. Writing about the colonies’ quest for independence in “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith predicted America would prevail thanks to its militia which, “…turns from its primary citizen character into a standing army.”

Early in the 20th century, state militias became the National Guard and the National Defense Act created the Reserves. In every war or conflict since, America has deployed National Guard and Reserves alongside regular forces, where they represented a proportional number of casualties.

On this Memorial Day, as we honor all who paid the ultimate price in service to this country, let’s also remember the long tradition of America’s militia, including small business owners and employees, who served honorably and courageously on behalf of a grateful nation. It’s hard enough leaving family to march into harm’s way. But the degree of difficulty of that commitment is compounded for volunteers who also disconnect from businesses and full-time careers.

Contemplating the blessing of freedom wherever it may be found, there is one prime truth: Freedom is not free. As beneficiaries of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, our only method of repayment — the only way we can ever be worthy of their sacrifice — is if we do all we can to maintain the freedom that they paid for and gave to us.

God bless those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Listen to my latest segments on The Small Business Advocate Show about Memorial Day. Click on the link below to download or listen.

Memorial Day Show Archive

The Question:
Will you be able to take time off from your business for vacation this summer?

43% - Yes, for at least a week

49% - Yes, but only a couple of days at a time

9% - No. Can’t afford the expense or the time away

My Comments:
Here’s an old small business joke:

A small business owner is talking with an acquaintance and is asked, “How’s it going?” To which the business owner says, “Things are getting better; I’m down to working half days.” When the friend congratulates him, obviously impressed, the small business owner says, “Yes, it’s great; I even get to choose which 12 hours.”

As you can see from our poll last week, 91% of our respondents expect to take some time off for a vacation this summer, with the rest admitting they “… can’t afford the expense or time.” Regardless of whether you’re talking about vacation or just an occasional day off, any time a small business owner gets away from the business is a well-earned and richly deserved.

Hope you get to get away this year. Good luck.

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The story is quite similar for CPA’s, architects, medical doctors, or any securities representative such as stock brokers, financial planners, etc. Much of the behavioral track these professionals run on is pretty well spelled out for them. Not that the members of these groups need to be led or coerced into good professional behavior. It’s just that, when in doubt, they have published guidelines with which to refer.

Small business owners operate in the same marketplace as the so-called professionals. Indeed, they are often our clients and customers. We serve the same businesses and consumers as other professionals, plus we enter into similar relationships, contracts and agreements. And we often find ourselves perched precariously on the same horns-of-a-dilemma as other professionals. But here’s the difference: The Universal Small Business Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics doesn’t exist.

Small business owners, like all humans, ultimately behave according to their own moral compass, sense of fair play and inclination to deal in good faith. When we find ourselves in a quandary over how to respond to a difficult situation with a customer that is in the gray area of a contract, we’re on our own. When we are faced with an ethical issue that would challenge King Solomon, there is no sanctioning body or support group to dial up, or to whom we can email a “scenario.”

There are many ancient codes small business owners can turn to for behavioral guidance in the marketplace, such as the last three of the Ten Commandments. But in terms of a handy guide, I think philosopher and 1957 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Albert Camus, may have given us the best ethical vector when he wrote, “Integrity has no need of rules.”

Wise small business owners know that life is much simpler, and exceedingly more rewarding, when we just do the right thing.

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Back in September I wrote about the Small Business Code of Ethics and received great feedback from colleagues and small business owners. Check out the article below and let me know what you think.

Observing the Small Business Code of Ethics

You’ll never hear me minimize doing due diligence on your entrepreneurial dream. Indeed, an entrepreneur’s hunch without some foundation is like a belt without belt loops. Still, there will come a time when an entrepreneur must take action without all the answers.

And in the not knowing, but going forward anyway, we find the quark of entrepreneurship and the paradoxical twin emotions, apprehension and exhilaration.

These emotions presage possibility: Might be good, might not be; might be successful, might be a train wreck. And contemplating either possibility produces the headrush entrepreneurs get the moment they risk what they know for what they might learn.

The best way to manage these emotions is a two-step process. First, believe in your own ability to take the next step. This confidence comes from gaining knowledge and experience, plus the perspectives of others – like a mentor – who have already been where you want to go.

If you’re having difficulty finding this confidence perhaps your subconscious is sending a message that you have more work to do before you take that next step. But if your credentials and preparation are reasonable and you’re still lacking confidence, perhaps it’s time to risk what you know for what you might learn. And that leads us to the second step, which is about faith.

Faith is defined as a belief in something unseen. You must have faith in yourself to handle future plans. You must have faith that your plans will be flexible enough to deal with the unknown. And you must also have faith in one more thing which may surprise you – serendipity.

My friend, Jim Ballard, author of “Mind Like Water,” says serendipity is “a meaningful coincidence.” Jim thinks the more we expect serendipity the more of it we will find. I think business serendipity is good fortune that happens when you show up in the marketplace with your plan, preparation and faith – every day.

Always research the risk you’re taking, believe in yourself and what you’re creating, and have faith that something good will come from your commitment. But when you take the next risk, be prepared for the possibility that what you get for your efforts might not be what you expect, and for the possibility that this is a good thing.

Expect serendipity whenever you risk what you know for what you might learn.

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Be sure to check out Jim Ballard’s page linked below. Jim Ballard is a management consultant, leadership trainer, motivational speaker, and consulting partner with the Ken Blanchard Companies, and author of What’s the Rush? He founded Maudala Press, a direct-mail educational publishing firm, and wrote a series of children’s books and books for teachers on humanistic education.

Click here to see Jim Ballard’s latest interviews and books

Recently we asked our online audience if they were financially prepared for an interruption with this question: “Could your business handle the financial impact of a business interruption?” Almost one-fifth said they, “… have cash and business interruption insurance if we need it,” and a little more than one-third reported they had “…cash and credit if we need it.” The other half admitted, “We would be hurting if it lasted more than a few days.”

There are three kinds of interruption preparation to focus on: operational, financial and digital. Here are examples of how to manage all three:

Operational
What would you do if your building became unavailable to you or your customers?

1. Use laptops that allow key employees to work and connect remotely, both internally and with customers. And make sure they have high-speed Internet connections at home.
2. Identify and become proficient with cloud-based applications that serve as an alternative for any installed programs that may be lost.

Financial
A significant part of the working capital of most small businesses is from cash flow. What would happen if your cash flow was interrupted?

1. Purchase a “business interruption” rider on your property and casualty policy to pay you cash upon the acceptance of a claim. Read the fine print; all policies are not created equal.
2. Maintain a close working relationship with your banker so you won’t have to introduce yourself to the person you might ask for a disaster loan.

Digital
Small businesses are increasingly using digital assets more and physical assets less. Are you prepared to protect your data as diligently as you do your building, equipment and inventory?

1. Assign one person to be in charge of keeping all computers enabled with a proven firewall and anti-malware program, and keep them current.
2. Regularly copy critical data from your hard drives and store it offsite. Better yet, backup your date with one of the cloud-based backup and recovery firms. Search for “online data backup.”

Business interruption – it’s a matter of when, not if.

38% - We’re seeing an improving economy for the next few months.

50% - We expecting our economy to maintain the current level this summer.

3% - We’re forecasting a sales decline from recent business conditions.

9% - Our business has been down and we don’t see improvement soon.

My Comments:
As you can see, less than four of ten of the respondents to our poll last week are expecting the economy to pick up over the summer. The rest, 62%, think business through the summer will be no better or worse than the recent past.

It’s almost four years since the technical end of the Great Recession and the U.S. Main Street economy is still limping along. When considering the awesome entrepreneurial energy that is pent up in America today, one has to wonder what could cause this. In an upcoming Feature Article I’ll answer this question and challenge those who can solve the problem. Stay tuned.

Someone once told me that you can’t be an effective leader without first knowing how to follow. In his book, Moses: CEO, my friend, Robert Dilenschneider says, “Leading and following are opposite sides of the same coin.” What an interesting paradoxical metaphor: Opposites indeed, but one can’t exist without the other. Being a leader takes more than just wanting to lead. In the marketplace, you can only be a leader if you can get others to follow you.

No matter the size of a small business, there will always be more things to do than people to do them; everyone must wear several hats. You can’t drive people to wear extra hats, but you can lead them to do it. This means that leadership is an especially essential characteristic for a small business owner to have.

Napoleon once said, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a piece of colored ribbon.” But only a leader who understands the heart of a follower can convince the soldier that the ribbon is worth fighting for.

If you want to be a successful small business owner, make sure you know and understand both sides of the leadership “coin”. Then line up your troops, put your ribbon out in front and lead them into battle.