Banknotes

Most people have heard of Pareto’s 80-20 principle on cause and effect, which theorizes that 20% of individual actions are often responsible for 80% of total results. This rule is useful in explaining outcomes in business relationships, economic events, and even social situations.

Twenty years ago, I left my position at a large New York financial institution to move to a bank in the Midwest. Shortly thereafter, 9/11 happened.

I remember a colleague who was still in New York running operations at another large financial institution at the time telling me they were able to get their international banking operations back up and running in very short order. He confided that it had been difficult to convince people at his bank to run practice drills of their crisis plan leading up to that event. But because of their meticulous preparation, each manager understood his or her critical role in identifying what needed to happen and executing the plan quickly and confidently.

Many individuals and businesses in southern Wisconsin have seen delayed U.S. Postal Service mail deliveries since the closure of Madison's USPS processing and distribution center in 2014. This resulted in mail being routed to Milwaukee for sorting, even when the sender and recipient were local. While mail has never been fast – it's called "snail mail for a reason" – the gap in speed between postal mail and electronic communications widened more.

Conventional wisdom among grief counselors holds that going through hard times does not create problems in a relationship. It amplifies them.

Every craftsman knows there are multitudes of ways to construct a beautiful piece of furniture – and as many considerations to make in so doing. The same holds true for commercial financing: there are plenty of different means of achieving the same outcome; the challenge often lies in determining the best one for each individual client.

While a disruption in cash flow can happen for many reasons in the best of times, the economic consequences of this coronavirus pandemic have certainly proven that life is not “business as usual” for almost everyone all at the same time.

Key employees are synonymous with results, professionalism, and character, making your company unique to your clients/customers. To you, and your business, they provide the stability and predictability you need to sustain profitability. You, your customers, and your other employees rely on this.

If you have key people (knowledgeable, leaders, skilled and reliable resources) whose contributions are so crucial that, without them, your business risks failure, key-person insurance should be considered to protect your business by giving you the financial wherewithal to regroup in the event of their loss.

Congress’s well-intentioned plan to bolster retirements for working Americans – the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act – will come with its own set of wrinkles and challenges for defined-contribution plan sponsors (e.g., 403[b], 401[k], etc, which I’ll collectively refer to as “401[k] plans,” for the purposes of this article).

I have to be brief and selective, but here are a few topics to consider carefully if you are tasked with administering the plan for your co-workers or employees.

Without question, statistics show that greater diversity within an organization drives better performance and more innovation.

It makes sense. With diversity comes different life experiences and perspectives that provide insight into consumer-purchasing decisions. For instance, more women now make decisions about health care, home purchases, and many other financial decisions that affect the family.

If you’re like most people, you likely had a bit of a chaotic end to the year, balancing ongoing business demands with increased personal obligations around the holidays. For as joyful a time as it most often is, it can be equally stressful. With the din of the holidays beginning to quiet and life resuming a semblance of normalcy, let’s take a look at what the New Year can mean for you and your business.