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 talks about the importance of a succession plan for your business. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: We often hear that a business should have a succession plan to keep going after the owner or founder retires. Why is a succession plan important? Rick: It’s particularly important for small businesses and family-run businesses, but succession planning is important even

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about how to recover from a customer issue. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: One of the things that is inevitable in running a business is that at some point, there will be a mistake or problem that affects a customer. Why is it so important to be able to recover well from this? Rick: I’ve seen research that shows

For those of you who have been reading my columns in various venues during the past six years, you know that I am an avid sports fan and that Major League Baseball (MLB) is among my favorites.  Therefore, when I heard those magical words, “Pitchers and catchers report,” a couple of weeks ago, signifying the start of MLB’s pre-season “Spring Training,” my excitement for the coming season began to build. If you don’t follow MLB, Spring Training takes place from mid-February to late March, with some MLB teams training in

  Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about the importance of digital marketing. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: We hear a lot about digital marketing, but I think for many companies that is still a somewhat vague and confusing term. What is digital marketing and how does it differ from traditional marketing? Rick: Marketing is any way of providing your message and can be done through