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The Globe and Mail didn’t show up at my door last Saturday. I called circulation and when the robotic voice said, “I’m sorry for your inconvenience,” my anger disappeared.

Here I was talking to a machine, but I still felt better to have my feelings recognized and acknowledged.

I’d advise companies to apologize early and often. Make customers know you care. Be sincere. Don’t be cavalier or hypocritical.

BP’s chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, said in Washington today: “We care about the small people.” Later, he said he was “very sorry” for speaking clumsily. Nothing worse than having to apologize for your apology.

Dan Ariely, a Duke University professor of behavioural economics, talks about the power of an apology in his new book, The Upside of Irrationality.

He ..read more

Every founder frets about competition from a big company, me included.

We scoff at their inability to innovate and for prioritizing shareholders over customers, but still we quiver in fear.

Dozens of people on Answers.OnStartups ask about it so I know I’m not alone. It always goes like this:

I’m just a two-person operation with no budget. What if a huge company with a hundred software developers and a million dollars in marketing budget decides to copy my idea?

Answer: You’re dead! Give up! No small company has ever survived competition with a large one!

Oh wait, that’s not true. But poking fun doesn’t help; maybe this article will.

First, take a deep breath and remember ..read more

I love to celebrate anniversaries. I’m doing so today with some questions I’d like readers to answer.

Is life any better for consumers than it was three years ago? Is it easier to communicate with large retailers and manufacturers? Is there more protection for consumers when it comes to overcharging, product quality and safety and safeguarding of your rights under the law?

Is life any better for retail investors? Is there hope of transforming the client-adviser relationship after the market collapse of 2008-09 exposed its shortcomings? Is the average person ready to leave high-cost mutual funds with bundled advice and look at alternatives (do-it-yourself investing)?

Finally, is the Internet making a difference for consumers and investors? Is it allowing more effective communication with companies? Do you find ..read more

In the last post I beat you to death about ditching your business plan but failed to provide an alternative.

Okay okay, “Planning == Bad,” but the supposed benefits of planning are still important: designing for profitability, understanding your customers and competitors, focusing your attention, deciding what’s worth doing next, changing directions, and ensuring the founders agree on important issues.

To help you, I’m stealing a trick from therapists.

Cartoon by Andertoons

Therapists don’t tell you what to do. Rather, they ask probing questions that get you to discover for yourself what is true for you, your situation, and what you want.

You’re smart. You’ll make good decisions. But you also get bogged down in daily minutiae and putting ..read more

“You need a business plan” is the mantra of MBA types.

As they say, businesses don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan! Who could argue with such a clever turn of phrase?

Let’s do some quotes:

“Without a business plan, how will you know whether you can make a profit?” (source) “A complete business plan should include five-year financial projections. These projections will assist investors with making decisions about your business and help you to know how much funding you will need to get things rolling.” (source) “Many businesses fail due to poor planning. It is important for every business owner to understand the entire depth, flexibility, strength and weakness of their business plan.” (source) “Adjust ..read more