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Archive for December, 2009
« Previous EntriesThis was a year to remember - but not to repeat!
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Time recently dubbed 2000-2009 as “The Decade from Hell.” That may be a little extreme, but 2009 was certainly a year we wouldn’t want to do over any time soon.
This was the year of a lingering recession caused by the subprime mortgage meltdown on Wall Street. (Some economists say the recession [...]
Incremental apologies aren’t effective
Monday, December 28th, 2009It’s hard to watch what’s happening to Tiger Woods, whose situation keeps deteriorating as more and more women step forward claiming to have had relationships with him. It’s no wonder that The Star recently reported that Woods’ staff was quietly packing up his boat, ironically dubbed “Privacy,” for what could be an extended get-away. [...]
I wish you a “Silent Night”
Friday, December 25th, 2009Legend has it that the beautiful Christmas carol “Silent Night” was born out of adversity. Rev. Joseph Mohr, who wrote the lyrics to “Silent Night,” was the priest of a poor church in Oberdorf, Austria. One Christmas Eve, he discovered that the church’s failing organ wouldn’t work, perhaps because mice had chewed through [...]
Don’t party too hearty!
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009This post continues my series on keeping your business out of court. (It’s a couple of days early because, well, it just doesn’t feel right to talk about litigation risk management on Christmas Day.) Let’s talk about one of the annual pitfalls that businesses frequently fall into: mismanaging employee drinking at the company [...]
It’s tough to be Santa in a recession
Monday, December 21st, 2009The Wall Street Journal published a heart-breaking article last week, reporting that mall Santas are struggling to be jolly this year. Seems the recession has kids asking for things like socks and eyeglasses instead of toys and sugarplums, and often they’re requesting jobs for their parents, too. The only good news reported is [...]
Write your rules with care
Friday, December 18th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about an area that frequently catches companies off guard. Most companies know that there are laws that govern their operations and that they need to comply with those laws to stay out of court. What they don’t always realize, however, [...]
Be ready with a bad gift apology!
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009It’s that time of year again … mail boxes crammed with catalogues, crowds at the mall, Bing Crosby crooning “White Christmas” on the radio, and everyone trying to find the perfect gift for someone they love. Many of those gifts will undoubtedly be winners. But what if you buy a present that’s an [...]
What will it take to bring the banks on board?
Monday, December 14th, 2009The Wall Street Journal reports today that President Obama is rapidly losing patience with the nation’s banking industry. Appearing on 60 Minutes last night, President Obama said, “I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street.” The President’s choice of words wasn’t especially [...]
Adjust your time horizon
Friday, December 11th, 2009Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s turn to a problem that gets a lot of people in legal trouble: too much focus on the short-term. Yesterday, I reported on Bank of America’s decision to fire Jackie Ramos for helping customers misrepresent their circumstances so they would qualify for [...]
For Jackie Ramos and Bank of America, two wrongs didn’t make things right
Thursday, December 10th, 2009The Huffington Post reported this week that Bank of America fired one of its “customer advocates,” Jackie Ramos, for helping customers who were deeply in debt qualify for the bank’s loan modification programs. Why? Because Ms. Ramos reportedly told customers who didn’t qualify for the programs, but desperately needed help managing their debt, [...]
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