Small Business Strategies

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Who's Zooming You?

You're out there. On the Web, there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of references to you -- in company newsletters, college alumni notes, and friends' blogs. (As a tech writer, I'm especially promiscuous: Googling my name turns up 10,700 results.) So how can you monitor and manage your online reputation?
(March 2006)

Business Blogging for Beginners

Elizabeth Albrycht of Blogging Planet and Andy Lark of the Lark Group offer the lowdown on blogging style and etiquette.
(February 2006)

What I Know Now

What lessons has Len Schlesinger learned since he went from professor at Harvard B-school to COO of Limited Brands?
(January 2006)

Hot Wheels

How do you get a soccer mom to shell out $749 for a stroller? Design it so it'll grow right along with Junior. Dad will think it's cool, too.
(December 2005)

Thinking Outside the Cup

Surprise! Starbucks barista-in-chief Howard Schultz is making a big, bold push into the music business. He aims to transform the record industry -- and turn Starbucks into the world's biggest brand, period.
(November 2005)

Marketing Effectively With Fewer Resources

E-mail is a powerful way to help small and medium businesses build customer relationships and increase repeat business.
(August 2005)

The Best Things in Life Are Free

In an excerpt from his book, Free Prize Inside!, Seth Godin shows how anyone can champion new ideas.
(August 2005)

The Starbucks of Pharmacies?

An innovative startup thinks technology can make you actually enjoy going to the drugstore.
(July 2005)

MANAGING THE BOTTOM LINE

Supply Chain Management Is Information Management

Supply chain management (SCM) applications are designed to let you use information you already have much more effectively. Here's how you can choose one that works for your business.
(March 2006)

It's Never Been This Hard

For a nimble diving company based in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina posed enormous challenges--and offered huge opportunity.
(March 2006)

Walking the Walk

Is it possible to run a billion-dollar public company and save the world at the same time? Timberland's CEO Jeffrey Swartz is trying to find out.
(February 2006)

Inside the Mind of Jeff Bezos

Amazon.com's founder is a study in contradictions -- analytical and intuitive, careful and audacious, playful and determined. What really makes this remarkable entrepreneur tick?
(January 2006)

Ford's Escape Route

The new Escape Hybrid was the most complex project in Ford's history -- and maybe its most important product since the Model T. To pull it off, the company had to act in some very un-Ford-like ways.
(December 2005)

My Life as a Yahoo

Dan Rosensweig, the COO of Yahoo, on seeing people realize their dreams, the luxury of time, and foosball.
(November 2005)

Accounting: Beyond the Basics

From monthly profit-and-loss statements to annual reports, accounting is just basic business hygiene, right? Wrong. Read on to see how your business can use financial information as a strategic tool to improve day-to-day business results.
(October 2005)

Copy This

Anne M. Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, has the company cranking again. Here are her thoughts on changing an organization, taking risks, and telling stories.
(October 2005)

The Clear Leader

Marcus Buckingham spent two decades studying great business leaders. His conclusion: True leaders have a unique ability to make things simple.
(August 2005)

Patching or Replacing Your Technology

The business case for upgrading older equipment.
(July 2005)

Consultant, Heal Thyself

Jon R. Katzenbach and his partners have written books about creating great companies. Now they're trying to build one of their own.
(July 2005)

BUSINESS SYSTEMS

Be Heard Above the Electronic Din

Even as technology expands the way leaders can communicate, it's gotten tougher than ever to be heard. Here's how to get your message across.
(March 2006)

Cell-phone Confidential

What your wireless carrier doesn't want you to know when you go international.
(February 2006)

Experience Experiment

The Brand Experience Lab links cool technologies with cool companies.
(January 2006)

Hosted Applications Aren't a Free Lunch

Renting business software can sound like a great deal, but it's not always the cheapest, or most effective, answer to your software needs.
(December 2005)

Icebreaking for Geeks -- and More

Feel tongue-tied at conferences? These gizmos will do your networking for you.
(December 2005)

Networking for Fun and Profit

If you think about your network as a tool that could transform your company, you're likely to discover ways your company can truly profit from it.
(November 2005)

The Fabric of Creativity

At W.L. Gore, innovation is more than skin deep: The culture is as imaginative as the products.
(November 2005)

Hondas in Space

The ex-CEO of PayPal is spending a fortune to prove you can build rockets faster, cheaper, and better. Innovation, it seems, isn't always rocket science.
(October 2005)

Why the %#$@ Computer Doesn't Get It

Why can't humans and computers just get along? We say one thing, they hear something different. People are from Venus, computers are from, well, a factory somewhere.
(August 2005)

Getting Friendly With Technology: Server Myths Debunked

A server is the key to protecting vital business data. It can also improve the productivity, efficiency, and profitability of your business.
(July 2005)

Refusing to Gamble on Privacy

Sandy Hughes, chief global privacy officer for Procter & Gamble, oversees privacy efforts for the company's 98,000 employees working in 80 countries. In an interview with Fast Company, she expanded on the company's approach to privacy, the need for consistency, and the challenges associated with keeping up with change around the world.
(July 2005)