I am an open book gal. I have practiced running a business in as transparent way as I could and I saw the magic with my own eyes. By that I mean that workers know and understand the vision, the mission and the numbers – all the numbers of the business. I also think that  I understand what makes people feel valued. People want to feel a part of the bigger picture. They want to be listened to. When we are working,  we want others to appreciate us for what we do and what we know.  It doesn’t matter what work you do. It can be highly trained professional work. It can be making pizza. It doesn’t matter. Because in the end our job satisfaction is about the team, not about the money.

But when I am teaching this. Often, business owners don’t believe me. They still want to command and control. They want an army of clones to deal with their business the way they do. So I am so happy to send you to this lengthy article published in this month’s Inc. Magazine. . Kudos to Sarillo for doing it right. And kudos to Inc. for telling the story.

Lessons From a Blue-Collar Millionaire

When Nick Sarillo launched his pizza business, he had one goal in mind: to create a corporate culture unlike any he had seen.

It’s Takeout Tuesday at Nick’s Pizza & Pub, and the air is thick with the smells of hot pizza crust, peppers, onions, and cheese. Eighteen young men and women — most of them high school age — form an assembly line between a row of worktables and a long bank of pizza ovens. The kids laugh and shout, even as they focus intently on their tasks.

I’m reading the new Fast Company Magazine – an article about Hulu and I am disarmed by these lines in the first page;

“Imagine that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal had gotten together and created Google News. Or that Sony Music and Warner Music Group had introduced iTunes. That’s Hulu, a daring attempt by would-be victims of the digital revolution, NBC Universal and News Corp., the parent company of Fox, to control their content — and their fates.”

Someone save me. Its been said out loud! What was wrong with Sony and WEA that they didn’t do this 10 years ago and handed their fate into the hands of the computer industry?  Even when I sat at the independent content provider intro to itunes in 1996 in Cupertino, I wondered why they allowed this to happen. I also was thrilled that someone- anyone – picked up the gauntlet and moved the industry out of inertia even if for a short time. Apple didn’t solve the music industry’s problems but they did pull us along with them. And now, Hulu with their benefactors at NBC and Fox are an example of facing change head on. Shame on the music industry. You still embarrass me, years after my exit. Way to go.

In this same copy of Fast Company, The Heath Brothers write an article on looking out of your box to solve problems.  It is the same thought as the Hulu article- thanks guys for saying it:

“The biggest barrier to the idea hunt, in fact, may be you. It may never occur to you to start searching because we all commonly keep our thinking penned up within our company or industry.”

Mark Your Calendar:

Friday Nov. 13,  The Holbrook Hotel , Grass Valley

The Nevada County Bar Association together with The Economic Resource Council and The Alternative Board present:
“Riding the Wave -  – Navigating the Legal Challenges of the New Digital Revolution.”

Learn what you need to know about:
*           Blogs, Avatars and Cloud Computing: Business in Web 3.0
*          Trademark and domain name basics – understanding the difference  between the two.
*           Copyright basics -  how to negotiate for the right to use  copyright protected properties (graphics, text, music, film).
*            How to deal with employee blogs, social networking, employee  misuse of websites and email.

Speaker:  Professor Marc Greenberg is a veteran intellectual property, entertainment and business attorney who joined the faculty of Golden Gate University School of Law in 2000 as its first Director of the Intellectual Property Program of the Law School.He is the author of a series of law review articles focusing on Internet and Copyright law issues, and is currently completing an article on China, Copyright and Calligraphy.  His next article will discuss legal issues confronting the comic book and graphic arts industries. Over the years, Prof. Greenberg’s Entertainment law clients have included Aerosmith, Wesley Snipes, Shaunna Hall (4 Non Blondes), Janis Tanaka (Pink, L7), Ray Lynch, Music from the Hearts of Space, Testament, and many others.

Noon- 1:15

$26 includes lunch / Buy a ticket

I don’t have the answer. I’ve been thinking about it a lot though. And I’ve been noticing a lot of business owner anxiety not just about Twitter  but social networking in general. Until I get really clear about my opinion, I’ve been telling my clients with anxiety to single task. Learn one thing at a time. Prioritize and conquer. Keep to the plan. And above all else, don’t worry about it. 

For now, read Alexandra Samuel article” Don’t Keep Up With Social Technology” on the Harvard Business Review hotlist. She’s close to mirroring my current sentiments.

Stan Smith of Gold Country Roofing talks about the value that TAB has brought to his life.

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