Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #16 — Professor Long’s Rule #16 is simple: “Get it in writing!” I realize some of my rules seem obvious — and this is certainly one of those I believe everyone should know (already) and understand. GET IT IN WRITING — no matter who’s making a deal. I don’t care who’s selling…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #15 — What is Professor Long’s Rule #15? If you have children or you were a child, or you’ve been a teacher or a student, or you’ve ever encountered difficulty or weren’t chosen or missed an opportunity or loved someone who did, you’ve either heard it said or said it yourself: “Life…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #14 — There’s an old saying (and you know I love old sayings) that goes, “People who make decisions are called management; people who don’t make decisions are called former employees.” Well, you get the idea — decisive times call for decisive action! Hence, Professor Long’s Rule #14: “Make a decision!!!” (Yes…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #13 — Ah, the “unlucky” Rule #13! (Probably unlucky for me, as most people do NOT like this rule): “Go to bed before midnight and get up early and get to work.” Benjamin Franklin said it this way: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #12 — If there’s anything that’s constant (besides E=mc2 & the laws of physics), it would be this axiom given to me by a former co-worker, Bob Cooper (which I adopted as Rule #12): “Change is good — embrace change!” Well, I can tell you this is a tough one — because…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #11 — Rule #11 should, most likely, be Rule #1. To me, it’s an essential, important rule: “Know the difference between ‘I need’ and ‘I want.’” That’s it. Seriously, if I could name one rule as most important, this one is it. Period. If you can do this, you’ll be happy, financially…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #10 — I learned Rule #10 from my great-grandmother, who I was fortunate to know for many years; she lived to age 96. At the time, I was struggling with a particular situation, likely one I could not change. She recognized that, even though I couldn’t, apparently. When I expressed my angst…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #9 — If Rule #9 isn’t obvious to you, you haven’t been around many coworkers or had many employees. Rule #9 states, “People are NOT motivated by money.” For this rule, I won’t get into a long discussion about “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” but I will touch on it. It is important…

Professor Long’s 26 Rules of the Business Road — Rule #8 — Rule #8 may seem to be in direct contradiction to parts of the tome on Rule #7 — particularly the part about “time off” and vacations. Rule #8 states, “ALWAYS take your vacation and make your employees take theirs.” Your time off — and theirs — will recharge you and…