tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50083595502104951722024-09-11T21:20:26.022-05:00Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-64925367582336236842015-11-18T13:41:00.000-06:002015-11-18T13:41:07.024-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives How both personal and business experiences can lead to successful endeavors Bill Kieger knows how to manage money and people, but a corporate art program? Well, he figured that out, too. Kieger is the CEO of Art Force, a subsidiary of General Finance & Development (GFD), both based in Minneapolis. If you ask him, he might say his

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-82455943693249652672015-11-11T09:57:00.000-06:002015-11-18T12:09:29.411-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives They say the early bird catches the worm. In the case of innovation, sometimes the worm puts up a fight. Markets aren't always ready for a new product or process just because it's better. Entrepreneurs may spend millions on research and development, but they must also prepare for loyalty to inefficiency, a learning curve among

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-14052528166784433152015-10-28T10:10:00.001-05:002015-10-28T10:10:06.248-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Franchises have long been the business model of choice for entrepreneurs who don't want to reinvent the wheel — or make a new wheel — but invest in a proven product or service for faster profits. What happens, though, when an industry not normally modeled as a franchise is introduced to the franchise concept? Launched well, it can

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-67432402778934634422015-10-07T09:50:00.001-05:002015-10-07T09:50:13.732-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives It's no secret that the banking industry overall has received bad marks in customer service and loyalty over the past 10 years. With public perception low on banking, it takes a fresh perspective in leadership to inspire customers to see one bank as different from another - better than another. It takes more than one individual sticking

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-86921174790946447112015-08-12T09:22:00.001-05:002015-08-12T09:22:50.039-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives After years of rising through the ranks of a large corporation, an ambitious executive will eventually ask the question: "What's next?" A less-traveled path is to start or purchase a business. It sounds reasonable, but executive and owner roles have less in common than you think. One successful executive is facing that reality right

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-71516339006024032332015-07-22T09:35:00.000-05:002015-07-22T09:41:37.200-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Television and movies popularize the maverick charting his or her own course in a hostile and changing environment. We cheer for these people and at the same time wait for their destruction. It's part of the fun. In a business environment, the fine line between doing it your way and being part of a team isn't just fun and games.

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-46758538562458110112015-07-08T13:38:00.000-05:002015-07-08T13:38:45.649-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives George Bernard Shaw said that "youth is wasted on the young." Despite their advantages of stamina and mental sharpness, not all young people take full advantage of life's opportunities. Even if they do, few rise to the level of leadership often found among people in the second half of life. Some would say it takes more than youth

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-9641297097716525072015-06-03T14:26:00.000-05:002015-06-03T14:26:55.921-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Just one word can sum up how a friendly, small-town business can achieve global corporate success: "diversification." Taking feedback from clients is one way to diversify into new products or services. But growth also requires analytics, processes, outside counsel, and decision-making that must translate to daily work. Sustaining

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-85926395870639072062015-05-28T13:39:00.000-05:002015-05-28T13:39:12.432-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Integration can mean a lot of different things in business. Some companies provide systems integration for their customers, but those same companies also must focus on integration within their operations to ensure growth. When the owners decide whether or not to merge with another company, integration has a whole different meaning.

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-22874981515627838332015-05-12T16:24:00.000-05:002015-05-12T16:24:05.737-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Bill Arrigoni was 13 years old when his future purpose came calling. His mother, Virginia, had just completed treatment for alcoholism. Seeing the need for addicts to have continuing care and more time in a safe environment, Virginia decided to turn her own home in St. Paul into a safe place for people to continue their chemical

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-23980135813156107382015-04-29T12:03:00.000-05:002015-04-29T12:03:14.102-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Great American success stories are still happening, including this one in Woodbury. And like the stories of old, this story shows that hard work, the right connections, and passion can pay off. Angelo Montes grew up in Biella, Italy, near Milan. He worked in restaurants from a young age, and held a dream of owning his own

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-8118279206114332692015-04-15T13:32:00.000-05:002015-04-15T13:32:10.405-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives A new web tool helps business improve communication - and accountability. Every great leader has skills and processes to ensure team accountability and achievement. Now, a Minnesota operations specialist has found a way to bottle such skills, he says, into an effective tool that aligns performance with profits. Ted Capistrant spent

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-29992405224799243232015-04-01T14:35:00.000-05:002015-04-01T14:35:20.633-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives How one returning founder focused on creating the right environment for his employees It was 2008 and Modern Molding in Delano was operating like a well-oiled machine. Founder Doug Portmann had taken some time away from business to learn to fly an Xtra (an acrobatic plane) competitively and to relax at his cabin on Woman Lake

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-43483613405552554482015-03-25T09:12:00.000-05:002015-03-25T09:12:07.980-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Jim Redpath, managing partner at accounting firm HLB Tautges Redpath, recalls the day that audit partner and shareholder Mark Gibbs called him out in front of the team for being late to a meeting. "You're 10 minutes late, Jim," he said. "How can we start this meeting if you're not here?" Gibbs wasn't fired. In fact, this episode

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-35032288440338298542015-03-11T16:07:00.000-05:002015-03-11T16:07:47.524-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives I work with CEOs and owners who feel frustrated these days by pricing pressures, competition from outside the United States that encroaches on their market share, and a general sense that customers will drop them at the slightest pushback on requests. It's easy to get reactionary and lose focus on core principles when profits don't

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-57914475031703362932015-03-05T11:35:00.001-06:002015-03-05T11:35:30.008-06:00

Bob Baur, Chief Global Economist for Principal Financial Group, discussed: how the recent global trends are unwind and the world is re-balancing; the closing of the China Investment boom; Reduced growth in China's economy on a permanent basis (due to 1 child policy shrink in labor force, peak productivity has passed, cost competitiveness diminishing and excess productive capacity has been

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402229466765259032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-40857255016468495472015-01-28T13:44:00.000-06:002015-01-28T13:44:09.442-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives It may seem that real estate is no longer the best investment or asset due to depreciating values in recent years. But in reality, the buyers' market is prompting more people to add real estate to their portfolios and holding it for future returns. Real estate offers tax advantages and is available to anyone as an investment. Plus

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-54149089364520307872015-01-15T08:27:00.000-06:002015-01-15T08:27:27.871-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives John Groves establishes trust before trying to make changes to a company culture. Every day, companies lose money and productivity due to lost time from injured employees. Their cultures are historically designed to wait until someone files a claim upon being injured, but this often leads to higher costs and increased lost work

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-25288088739806816752015-01-07T09:58:00.000-06:002015-01-07T09:58:04.622-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives One of the first rules in business: know your strengths. Another rule: Know your weaknesses. Large companies have entire departments and personnel dedicated to corporate intelligence, threats and weak links. But for small and mid-sized businesses, it’s been harder to access this valuable information.  The people who do this

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-34828940259172355002014-12-31T08:51:00.001-06:002014-12-31T08:51:35.516-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Waste is a big focus in business. Every leader I talk to is finding ways to cut the fat from internal processes, from production to billing. Many have successfully achieved higher margins, productivity and profits simply by eliminating wasteful activities. At Lifeworks Services, based in Eagan, this journey started with clothes

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-81650572822646442672014-12-17T15:26:00.000-06:002014-12-17T15:26:43.613-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives It’s often easier to look outside of an organization for answers when the way you do business doesn’t seem to work anymore. Many industries are experiencing sweeping change, and the printing/graphics industry is no exception. If maximizing the investment in equipment isn’t challenging enough, the very nature of graphic design and

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-74074682917533633542014-12-10T13:08:00.000-06:002014-12-10T13:08:54.131-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Lifestyle Business Bears Fruit at Woodland Hill Winery The Dickerman's seemed to have it all: great careers - Mike as an engineering sales director, Katie a manicurist. They had all the toys - a personal plane, a yacht and a recreational vehicle ready to travel at a moment's notice with the family. Primed for a future of

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-9557843706905570992014-11-19T10:39:00.000-06:002014-11-19T12:55:08.924-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives A lot of companies claim to have a family atmosphere. I assume that's supposed to be a good thing: caring people, working together, sharing dreams? Well, not every family culture is like that. Some are competitive. Some are disconnected. Some are plain annoying. Before a company claims to have a family atmosphere or any other

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-47561963418161586292014-11-12T11:30:00.000-06:002014-12-19T14:29:28.196-06:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives It's no longer surprising to read about businesses filing for bankruptcy or restructuring or even failing in the last three years. What is surprising and unfortunate is that many of these companies have been around for 20 years or longer. For one reason or another, they are not making it in a very changed economy. So it's

Allied Executiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550741629398375959noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008359550210495172.post-91041749325405324512014-10-15T15:01:00.000-05:002014-10-15T15:01:49.399-05:00

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives Someone once told me that all airplanes have instrument panels, but reading the dials doesn't mean that you know how to fly the plane. Apply that to business. Most business owners don't know what to measure in the wealth of data generated from all of the departments. That's because there are infinite things to measure and ways to

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