MAY 31ST, 2011
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Dan Coughlin, The Dan Coughlin Co. — A few weeks ago I completed a really enjoyable five-year experience of coaching my son’s recreational soccer teams. I was an assistant coach and a head coach for Ben’s soccer teams from kindergarten co-ed soccer where we used Nerf soccer balls in indoor soccer through fourth grade all-boys soccer where things were starting to become a bit more like competitive soccer. Read more >>
MARCH 15TH, 2011
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Adam Shiflett, ADP Lightspeed – I was a little taken aback when I read the headline on CNNMoney.com: “Subway beats McDonald’s to become top restaurant chain.” How could that be? I thought no one could beat McDonald’s. Intrigued, I followed the link. Read more >>
MARCH 7TH, 2011
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Dan Coughlin, The Dan Coughlin Co. — I used to make fun of the word “philosophy.” Thought it was too impractical, too theoretical, and too useless. Read more >>
FEBRUARY 1ST, 2011
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Dan Coughlin, The Dan Coughlin Co. — The real test of leadership is not in the moment, but in the long term. Of course, the decisions you make at any moment can positively or negatively affect the long term health of the business. Read more »
JULY 27TH, 2010
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Peter Granata, president, Granata Design and the Marine Design Resource Alliance — Does success follow a company that decides to replicate or assimilate someone else’s products? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but will it be competitive? Every time a company elects to take the easy way out and copy a someone else’s idea, aren’t they forced to compete on price alone? Read more >>
JUNE 22ND, 2010
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Christopher Kourtakis, director of sales and marketing, 360° Industry Solutions — The other night I was sitting in a local marine business meeting listening to a lot of people discuss how bad the current conditions are. One stated that they have never seen it this bad. Another stated that this was similar to the 1980s and that we used the same techniques now that he did back then. Read more >>
MARCH 12TH, 2010
By MIKE DAVIN
By Mike Davin, online editor, Boating Industry magazine — We highlighted an interesting article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in our e-newsletter the other day. The article reported on the difficult decision facing Florida’s Manatee Technical Institute, which is weighing whether to cut its boat-building curriculum. Read more >>
FEBRUARY 23RD, 2010
By CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER
By Peter Granata, president, Granata Design and the Marine Design Resource Alliance — Ever notice how some leaders look at things individually rather than as a whole? They look at the numbers of the business but not the business overall. They focus on the problem, not what is causing the problem. They look at the way things have always been done in their industry but not the way other industries are accomplishing their goals. It’s called “not seeing the forest through the trees.” Read more >>
SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2009
By MATT GRUHN
If you’re not paying close attention, there is some news in our line-up today that could sneak by you without giving it much of a second thought. But I want to call your attention to it because of the potential that it represents: The Marine Retailers Association of America has created the Young Leaders Advisory Council. Read more >>
MAY 4TH, 2009
By LIZ WALZ
In my last blog, I wrote about why it is particularly important that our industry’s small businesses develop strong and effective succession plans. But the industry as a whole has its own succession problems, which become more urgent as the recession continues. As the boating business shrinks, the need for a new generation of leaders to point the way to recovery and growth becomes more critical. Read more >>
