I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: Nothing good can come of teaching bears to ice skate.
Author: CBPS
Peter Mehit is co-founder and Managing Partner of Custom Business Planning and Solutions, a business consulting firm that provides problem solving, planning and process help. He has worked from private equity to the Fortune 100 at all stages.
He can be reached at pmehit@wbpllc.com or at 800-741-8444.
S.B.A. Softens New Good-Will Rules | NYTimes.com
We just ran across this issue with one of our clients, so I thought this would be good information to pass along. Note that the ‘good will’ limitation was $250,000 or 50% before, so this is a big policy change.
As always, all SBA deals are done according to individual bank policies so it remains to be seen if this change will actually help someone.
Effective Oct. 1, good will and other intangible assets can amount to up to $500,000, with no limit on the percentage of the loan. When intangibles exceed $500,000, the S.B.A. will recommend that banks limit the S.B.A.-backed loan to 75 percent of the purchase price.
Back in the U.S.S.R.: The secret Paulson-Goldman meeting | Blogs | Reuters
This
meeting took place between Hank Paulson, then Treasury Secretary and the Board of Goldman Sachs, in Moscow, in secret. This was two months before the collapse and subsequent bailout.
Goldman Sachs was a hugely powerful for-profit investment bank, and there he is, giving private chapter and verse on his opinions about the US and global economy, talking about internal Treasury matters, and previewing an upcoming (and surely market-moving) speech. All in secret, at a “social event” which somehow got kept off his official calendar.
Lap Dances at Yahoo’s Hack Days? A Lesson in Monitoring a Global Brand | Fast Company
When brand control becomes damage control:
“Scantily clad gyrating women” who give lap dances to men on your company’s dime can damage your brand within seconds.
For a sample of the outrage, click here. Especially entertaining are the dozens of Twitter posts.
IdeaPaint: Turn Your Entire Office Into a Whiteboard | Design & Innovation | Fast Company
I’m going to paint every square foot of my house:
The benefit–besides being able to brainstorm on almost every inch of your office–is that the paint is half the cost of whiteboard and better-performing–you can leave marks up indefinitely, and they won’t stain the wall.
Caught in the Middle: Rising Unemployment Takes Its Toll on Older Managers | Knowledge@Wharton
This spells trouble for one especially vulnerable group — managers in their 40s and early 50s. They tend to be more expensive than their younger counterparts; they may lack some of the high-tech savvy needed to succeed in a more efficient workplace; and they face a downsized job market that will stay that way much longer than usual.
Berners-lee regrets the double-slash | The Inquirer
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“Think of the amount of print that we could have saved if I would have just removed the double slash,” Berners-Lee said, somewhat light-heartedly.
Stimulus News Digest #6 | California Office of Small Business Advocate
Good news: Some money is flowing. Bad news: The funding doesn’t look like it’s all that small business oriented.
After reading this, I recall Jeff Goldblum’s famous line from ‘Jurassic Park’.
Headlines from the piece:
Kaiser Permanente Wins $54 Million in NIH Grants for Genetic, Other Research.
Region Gears Up for Possible $260M in Solar Power Projects.
Teachers Most Helped by Early Stimulus Funding.
Struggling Santa Cruz County Steelhead Get Bump from Federal Stimulus.
Berkeley Study Says Energy Bill to Create 1.9 Million Jobs.
California Stimulus Saved or Created 100,000 Jobs: More than 100,000 jobs have been saved or created in California.
Shasta County Nonprofit Group Wins $2.6 Million in Stimulus Funds.
California Wants $4.7 Billion in High-Speed Rail Stimulus.
Pay Your Bill On Time? Bank of America Has Your Reward |AP
B of A announced new fees for a select number of customers based on risk and profitability. You’ll never guess who has to pay.
Why we aren’t in front of these banks with torches and pitch forks is beyond me.
When Great Design Becomes Its Own Language | Duffy Point of View | Fast Company
A quick read about brand basics. Check out Joe Duffy’s blog also.
The basic elements of a brand’s visual language–type, color, photographic/illustration style and layout also establish a filter for making decisions on how to best “speak” from the heart. If all the basics are in sync, it will make choices like story, set design, talent, wardrobe, physical space, dialog and tone of voice easy to make.
It’s really no different than being true to yourself when you speak to others about how you really feel or most importantly, who you really are. It’s also the key to creating the world that surrounds you in a one-off, true to you kind of way.
Dispatches From The Front 