Business Coaching

Welcome to the start of the New Year! Many of us see this as a time for new beginnings, and therefore, we often choose the start of the New Year to resolve and to do things differently. Hence, many of us make “New Year Resolutions” related to ourselves, our businesses, careers, and personal lives. Unfortunately, those resolutions are typically not kept. According to Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, only about 9% of people succeed at keeping their resolutions, while 23% of people quit their resolutions by the end

As we move through the first full week of December, we can begin to anticipate the end of the calendar year. Since Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays this year, many businesses are giving their employees the last week of the year off from work. In addition, most are also off on January 2, and many are taking days off in the week leading up to Christmas, particularly with Hanukkah running from December 18-26. Therefore, many of us have anywhere from one to two weeks away from

Dr. Rick Franza, Professor of Management at the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he forecasts what 2024 holds for the economy and the business world. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: It’s almost 2024, so it’s time to do a little prognosticating about economic and business trends we could see next year. Let’s start with one that everyone is concerned about: Inflation. Rick: Inflation is steadying, but it’s not getting any lower. It’s still

Dr. Rick Franza, Professor of Management at the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he gives tips on planning for a new year in your business. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: In just a few weeks, we’ll be starting a new year, likely to be filled with a variety of challenges for businesses. How important is it to plan ahead in your business when the future is unknown? Rick: You need to plan a

As I have mentioned in previous columns, when on business or vacation travel, I cannot help but observe and evaluate the service companies that I encounter during my excursion, thanks to my background in operations management. My trip to Seattle for Thanksgiving with my wife and older daughter to visit my younger daughter for the holiday was no exception. While the holiday was great just from the fact of our family being together for the first time since June, it was greatly enhanced by the outstanding service we received throughout

Dr. Rick Franza, Professor of Management at the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he gives tips on reviewing the past year in your business. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: It’s December, nearly the end of the year, a time often used to reflect on the past year. It’s also when businesses can take some time to look back at the previous 12 months at the good, the bad, and the ugly. Why is

In the strategic management course that I teach in the MBA program at Augusta University’s Hull College of Business, I periodically assign my students take-home exams that are analyses of cases prepared by the Harvard Business School. In early November, I assigned my students two cases that examine the grocery store chain, Trader Joe’s. Although there are no Trader Joe’s in the local area (the nearest is in Columbia, SC, while there are multiple locations in metro Atlanta), some of the students had been to a Trader Joe’s. While a

Dr. Rick Franza, Professor of Management at the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about the importance of financial wellness for employees and employers. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: A number of CSRA businesses have begun offering financial wellness classes for their employees. How do you define financial wellness? Rick: Let’s start with financial literacy. In order to be financially well, you need to be financially literate, and that’s part of the