Why Tech Should Behave More Like Finance

Why Tech Should Behave More Like Finance

Tech executives in particular should take a page from top financiers on how to build efficient, competitive, and successful companies. The financial industry often gets a bad rap, thanks in part to world-shattering events like the 2008 recession. It’s tough for an...
Want Profits? Bottoms Up!

Want Profits? Bottoms Up!

BURP: Don't knock it 'til you try it.

I'm not suggesting that you host an open bar at work. What I am suggesting is that you adopt the BURP strategy in your place of business. Okay, now I'm sure you think I just returned from a two martini lunch, but alas I'm quite serious (yes, sober too). The BURP strategy (Bottom's Up for Remarkable Profits) is based on a single premise: nobody knows how to make your business succeed like those that do the work.

In business, high-level managers are responsible for creating the vision and mission, setting the direction in which the business will go and the means by which it will go there. Mid-level managers are responsible for implementing the policies and plans created at the highest level. Front-line managers direct the activities of the non-managerial personnel. Each of these people are subordinate to someone. If you're the CEO, it's the Board; a VP, it's the CEO; and so on.