Chuck Violand
Chuck Violand is the founder of Violand Management Associates (VMA), a highly respected consulting company in the restoration and cleaning industries. Through VMA, he works with business owners and companies to develop their people and profits. For more information, visit www.violand.com.
Ask Different Questions
We can learn much about ourselves and business from people we’ve hardly met. In this instance, I’m referring to applicants interviewing for a job with...
Island Vacations
After being invited to attend a business conference in Australia a while back, my wife and I took the opportunity to extend our stay and...
Move the Needle
One of the positive attributes of most entrepreneurs is that we dream big. We have little patience for small dreams or even thinking incrementally about...
The Impact of Gratitude in Business
Most of us learn at an early age that it’s polite to thank others for the kindnesses they extend to us. Saying “please” and “thank...
In Praise of Janitors
When I was in my mid-thirties, I was working with Butch Balaun, a customer who owned several successful restaurants in our area. On one occasion,...
Looking Beyond Our Own Con
When thinking of con artists, famous ones probably come to mind, like Bernie Madoff, the American financier who bilked billions of dollars from unsuspecting investors...
Rookie Mistakes
My wife and I had spent a beautiful late-summer weekend removing planks from our deck and paneling from our family room to prepare for a...
It’s All About Timing
The weekend had been a busy one. My wife and I had lots of family in town and staying with us. Among them were six...
Leaders Wear Carhartt
It’s baffling to me that so many great small-business leaders don’t think of themselves as such because they don’t wear suits and ties to work....
The Plunger
Invented in 1874 by New York confectioner John S. Hawley, the common household plunger was initially patented as a “vent-clearer.” Now this basic yet indispensable...
