Business Coaching

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 examines the characteristics of a good leader. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: What is the difference between being a boss, or manager, and being a leader? Rick: A leader earns authority whereas a boss is ordained authority – but that doesn’t make someone a good leader. The difference between a manager and a leader is that you manage things

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 advantages of hiring people who played sports in school. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Although academics is often the focus of preparing for a career, some companies are finding that people who participated in sports in high school and/or college have valuable assets. Why is that? Rick: Sports and even marching band provide kids with the

This past weekend, my wife and I escaped the summer heat for a few hours and went to see the highly anticipated summer blockbuster movie, “Oppenheimer.” I had been anxiously anticipating seeing this movie since I had seen a preview months ago, and then reading reviews and interacting with others who had seen the movie only heightened my anticipation. Some of my anticipations came from my interest in how a great scientific feat is accomplished, as the movie chronicles, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s time leading the Los Alamos Laboratory efforts, otherwise

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 investigates the cryptocurrency issue and how it might affect businesses. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: We’re hearing a lot about digital currency, or cryptocurrency as it’s often called. Some businesses already accept digital payments but that’s not the same as digital currency. What’s the difference between digital payments and digital currency? Rick: There’s a significant difference and it’s important

In this week’s edition of Augusta Business Daily’s “Mondays with Rick,” Gary Kauffman and I discussed the issue of retaining employees. We talked about how retention is critically important during times of tight job markets, such as those we have been experiencing in recent months and years. We had been expecting a little relief in the job market due to an anticipated recession, given the Federal Reserve’s increase of interest rates in the face of high inflation. However, recent economic data indicate an increasing likelihood of a “soft landing,” meaning

Confidence, Consistency, Consideration, Courage, Charity, Competence, Compassion, Communication, Courtesy, Comedy, Curiosity, Creativity, and Collaboration put ordinary leaders in the extraordinary category.   Confidence. The best leaders have self-confidence unmarred by arrogance. Good examples in the military were Colin Powell and George Marshall. In industry, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, in the media, Judy Woodruff, David Gergen, David Brooks, and Tom Friedman, in the CSRA, Shell Berry, CEO of the Community Foundation and Kim Evans, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta are among the best and brightest. Consistency.  Leaders