Business Mentors

New Internet-Security Standards for Financial Institutions

The Federal Financial Institutions examination Council (FFIEC) — a group of federal financial regulators empowered to issue uniform standards for most of the financial institutions in the United State Read More

Cuomo Shows the Courage to Tackle the Extreme Left

New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo intrigues me. What he is trying to do may impact the entire country some day. Cuomo is from the left, of course. He gets a lot of campaign money from the left. Teachers’ Read More

Blogs, social media are the best marketing for a small business

For a small business, marketing and advertising seek an answer to the question, “How will prospective customers find me?” People today no longer reply to direct mail. They don’t peruse the phone book. Read More

Governor’s Budget Reforms Medicaid, Pension System, Boosts Education Aid Some

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed his executive budget recently. Overall, it’s a good start that addresses contentious issues and has the taxpayers in mind. It keeps spending at the same level as last year. Read More

Health-Care Capitation: What Goes Around, Comes Around

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”  — Anonymous Back in 1996, when I was young and optimistic, I wrote a column about the evils and “benefits” of health-care “capitation” in a “managed-care” mod Read More

Personality Testing: the Swiss Army Knife of Talent Utilization

“Having the most talented people in each of our businesses is the most important thing. If we don’t, we lose.” —Jack Welch, former CEO of GE “I am convinced that nothing we do is more important tha Read More

Preparation is vital to keep a family business flourishing

What can help a family-owned business avoid fulfilling the proverb of “Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves in three generations,” and instead keep growing into the fourth and fifth generations of the busines Read More

“Is anybody there? Does anybody care?”

Come with me on a short trip. We’ll travel from a North Syracuse repair shop to a tent in the Revolutionary War, and then to a Connecticut hotel. Donna Curtin from Syracuse sends a simple plea to me. Read More

Time for a Clean Sweep

Here is a perfect solution to that nagging thought that you should really get your financial house in order “this” year. Start with a list. Does it seem like a daunting task? Here’s some help. Conside Read More