Technology is a wonder. In today’s world, there are a staggering array of “green” devices and techs you can use to dramatically reduce your company’s energy bills. In fact, if your state has “Net Metering” laws, you can actually turn your electricity into a profit center, rather than a cost.

Negotiation is more art than science, but it is an art that anyone can learn. Most people go into a negotiation with a firm idea of what they want, and a laundry list of “stuff” they’re willing to give up to get the things they want. That’s fine as far as it goes.

Given the surging popularity of mobile devices, the short answer to the question posed by the title of this piece is “yes.” Yes, it’s right for your company because increasingly, that’s where your customers are. The longer answer is a little more involved with that, so let’s tease it out and get to particulars.

Nobody likes to be kept waiting, but sometimes it happens. One way you can ease the pain of having to wait is to make your waiting and reception area come to life for your visitors. The best part? You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to do any of this.

Marketers are intensely clever individuals. They’re always coming up with ways to get people to spend money, even when there might be some reluctance to do so. You’ve seen most, if not all of these before, even if you haven’t consciously thought about it.

In marketing parlance, it’s called the “up sell” and sometimes the side-sell, and its purpose from your company’s point of view is to do just what the title of this piece says. When your customers open their wallets or pull out their credit cards, you want to see more of those dollars in your cash register than you otherwise would have.

It’s an interesting question, and one that managers everywhere would love a definitive answer to, because that’s an easy fix. If all it takes to improve performance is a shirt and tie, a quick mass e-mail and you can go take a long lunch, right? Mission accomplished and productivity up 4-6 points.

Entrepreneurs are a breed apart. The entrepreneurial spirit is not something you can teach; you’ve either got it or you haven’t. Having said that, technology can help to sharpen and enhance your natural skills. Below, you’ll find a marvelous collection of apps that, once you begin using them, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them.

One of the biggest problems facing any business is how to handle customer support. Most businesses take the wrong approach towards customer support; they treat it as overhead or expense, when it can, in fact, be the core of making money in almost any company.

Attention Target shoppers, we regret to inform you that up to 40 million of you may have had your credit card information stolen, and up to 70 million may have had some, or all of your personal information compromised. Oops. Have a nice day.

Five Months After The Target Data Breach – Lessons Learned

Despite the bit of snark above, Target’s post-breach behavior was solid, if not exemplary.