Systems can make any company run better and be more profitable.

I miss “junk mail.” It’s true. Even though I sometimes complained when digging out from a pile of mail, I actually enjoyed opening it.

When you think and do like everyone else it’s usually the wrong thing to do at the wrong time.

We may live in the age of specialization, but right now the best thing you can do is become more of a total solution provider.

As the homebuilding industry continues to plod through this necessary correction, the number of “experts” and their thoughtful antidotes to overcome the pallid economy seemingly outpace the number of monthly housing starts. Yet, amidst this deluge of directives, a simple yet salient business practice garners scant exhortations. Until now, that is.

I’ve been saving fortunes from my Chinese dinners and I’m elated. Apparently, I’m in line for an incredible string of good luck. And my good fortune is your good fortune because we’re all in this downturn together.

Bill Rogers wrote a story on customer service that struck me as “what-a-coincidence.” I recently had some work done on my home. We needed a stairway remodel and I may be a plasterer, but truly awful at finish woodworking. My wife and I got two bids, and like Bill experienced, they wanted money up front.

It’s not just a numbers game. Make sure you’re targeting the right audience.

The best staffing ratio is 2:1.

In September 2005, the world was mesmerized by the greatest natural disaster in the history of the U.S. Most of us were glued to our favorite cable channel or Web site, watching hurricane Katrina pound the Gulf Coast without mercy.