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Archive for March, 2010
« Previous EntriesThis Easter, please, don’t buy a bunny!
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010With Easter just around the corner, there will undoubtedly be lots of opportunities for parents to delight their little ones with live presents. Hundreds of fluffy bunnies, some of them dyed bright pink, purple and blue, will be handed out with baskets of eggs and mounds of chocolate. They’re tons of fun on [...]
Product safety shouldn’t be rocket science
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010According to AOL’s Douglas McIntyre, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can’t figure out why Toyota cars keep spontaneously accelerating. While Toyota attributes the problem to floor mats and sticky accelerators, various other parties - including some plaintiffs’ attorneys - blame the problem on the cars’ electrical systems. So, Transportation Secretary Ra LaHood [...]
Google your contractors
Friday, March 26th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about how outside contractors can land your company in court. Businesses frequently hire outside experts to do everything from designing software systems to running their pension plans. Such outsourcing makes perfect sense, because it allows businesses to take advantage of [...]
Protect your male employees from harassment, too
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that, since the start of the recession, a growing number of sexual harassment complaints are being made by men. It appears that the increase is, at least in part, attributable to high unemployment rates resulting from the recession. While men used to be able to escape sexual [...]
Protect your employees from customer harassment
Friday, March 19th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on an area that frequently gets companies in trouble. Most businesses have employees whose job it is to interact with customers. Unfortunately, customers sometimes treat employees very badly indeed. When that happens, lawsuits can ensue.
Consider this example. [...]
Kraft’s apology to Parliament deserves a thumbs-down
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010No, we’re not talking about Tiger Woods today. (He’s apologized, and now he’s announced his intent to return to golf. You decide how that announcement affects your assessment of his much-publicized apology last month. Enough already.)
Instead, let’s focus on what has to be one of the worst corporate apologies I’ve ever seen. [...]
Does absolute power lead to absolute dishonesty?
Monday, March 15th, 2010MSNBC.com reported today on a new study linking power and dishonesty. According to a Columbia Business School study titled, “People with Power Are Better Liars,” it appears that people in power are less troubled by lying. For more ordinary liars, the act of lying elicits fear of getting caught and physiological stress. [...]
Google your prospects
Friday, March 12th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on a fabulous tool to minimize your litigation risk. Everybody already knows that running an Internet search on a prospective client or customer can make it easier to close a deal by providing a wealth of information to help you tailor [...]
Can we trust China’s new code of ethics?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Chinese politicians are maneuvering themselves into position for big changes in the government. Seems that a major shift in power is expected two years from now, being spurred by the National People’s Congress and the Chinese people themselves.
Some of the candidates-in-waiting are already mounting [...]
Speak simply
Friday, March 5th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s address a problem that plagues the customers and clients of many highly skilled professionals: the inability to understand what’s their professional advisors are saying to them.
One of the hallmarks of a profession is education in a specialized field and, with it, immersion in [...]