Survey results on "small business friendliness" via Thumbtack.

Kristin Hovde had some great marketing tips at the Duct Tape Marketing blog.  She recommends:

1. Have a Measurable Goal 2. Know Your Target Market 3. Get Involved in Networking Events 4. Grow Your Social Media Presence 5. Join Volunteering Groups or Start Your Own 6. Show Your Expertise in a Blog 7. Be Consistent in Your Marketing Campaigns 8. Keep Your Website Updated 9. Write a Press Release 10. Measure Your Results

Head over to the article to read her complete advice.

“We need to fundamentally rethink the workforce, to create a unified vision across government,” said Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the council, which represents 375 member companies. “It will affect everything from how we prosecute wars to how we operate our business systems. The time for incremental or tactical change has long passed.”

Charles Clark with the Executive Report, quoting from The Professional Services Council’s newest report, which will be formally submitted to the House and Senate Armed Services committees and the Office of Management and Budget.

Tom Hoffman brought a great article by Micah Solomon at Forbes to our attention that talks about the importance of "avoiding simple but critical language mistakes that often occur in customer service interactions."  Solomon had two great anecdotal additions to Solomon's points:

• Avoid easy mistakes like mispronouncing customer's names, take the time to remember them.
• Make them feel recognized in sometimes-cold places like doctor's offices

What are some easily correctable language mistakes that you've noticed?

An interesting post at NYT Who's the Boss? blog highlighted a negotiation technique that AGi found interesting for cutting to the core of a negotiation:

The idea is simple: When counter parties express grief over a perceived shortcoming of yours, ask point-blank whether the issue will make it impossible to work out a deal.

Strip-lining calls their bluff by providing them with an opportunity to kill the conversation right then and there. Often, the prospect will concede that this is not a make-or-break issue, allowing the concern to be dropped and the conversation to move forward. If the issue is make-or-break, it clarifies their priorities and allows you to decide if you want to seek a solution or move on.

A commenter expresses a similar technique has been helpful for them:

I work in advertising at an agency and have used a similar tactic many times with clients. If I'm pitching creative, which means showing a client mock ups of potential ads we've made, and I'm really getting beat up, I'll offer to kill the whole ad right there and go back to the drawing board. Almost every time the client will resist and switch their position to arguing for the ad rather than trashing it. At this point we can usually agree on a couple small tweaks and then get it approved. I never thought of this as strip lining but it is quite similar.

Clearly not of use or even appropriate in every scenario, but perhaps helpful when communications appear to have stalled.