http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog Thoughts about business and economic development in rural areas. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:26:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I read several blogs on a regular basis and I also act as a co-facilitator for the Richland County (WI) Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club. So what do those two things have in common? The blogs I most often frequent are usually written by small business people who are in the process ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=214 Spoke at the annual meeting of a local chamber or commerce last night and my topic was "First Steps to a Better Community." While I listed several things to consider doing, the key to the entire message was that it all depended on passion. Your passion. My passion. Business and community ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=210 Sometimes we do things with the best of intentions and wind up with unintended results. I may have stumbled across one of these last week. In a conversation with a friend we started talking about 'community service'. To me, that phrase brings up thoughts of involvement in civic clubs and ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=202 No, I'm not talking about my blog. I'm talking about a free ebook compiled by Seth Godin. I read several blogs but I enjoy his the most. His free ebook contains comments and observations from 70 people that he respects. The book is short, it's right on target and it ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=198 Several months ago I helped a community conduct an open planning session where they set five goals. Since then I have had contact with several of the leaders of that effort and the impression they gave me was that very little, if anything, was happening in the way of follow-up. ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=192 During taping of the second session of our web development videos for the Richland County I & E Club I was surprised (and a little disturbed) by one of the comments that John Wells of WebWise Design & Marketing made. I had written down and prioritized my reasons for doing ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=187 I just took over as facilitator for the Richland County Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club. This group meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month and the primary purpose is to give people the opportunity to network with others who are going through similar experiences as they try to develop ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=175 I've written before about the importance of getting out of the office and this article by Wally Bock has some great tips on how to make that time truly valuable. You've got to do more than just visit your communities. You've got to do something to make each trip worthwhile ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=173 I shared a ride to the airport with one of the attendees from a conference where I had just delivered a presentation on exceptional customer service. One of the points I made referenced the 55-38-7 'rule'. I put the word 'rule' in quotations because that's the term that is usually ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=169 Innovation can be challenging. It's easy to say, "Think outside the box" and then try to come up with new ideas. There are lot's of techniques and processes that can help. Heck there's a whole shelf of books promoting great methods to help you and your business become more innovative. ... http://www.bluechiptraining.com/blog/?p=166