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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

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Every week, reporters around the continent write great business stories that don't make it onto your screen or into your local paper. And every week I scour newspapers around the continent to identify five of those great stories to enrich your weekend reading. This week I'm pointing you to stories about hospitals and your credit, the rolling impact of the information age, customer service as competitive advantage, strategies for coping if you're a hotel, and student business plans.

My Posts This Week

Look to your left to see what I blogged about here this week. Over at Momentor I blogged about "How do you find a mentor?" and did my weekly selection of Top Career Posts.

Last week's newsletter was "The Rule of K." As usual there were pointers to Web and Reading Resources, too.

Since I do a lot of writing for business, including ghostwriting, I've stated a Business Writing blog. Check it out if you need a writer or if you need to improve your own writing, web site, and marketing materials, or if you want some help telling your story.

Carnivals

Blog carnivals are collections of posts from a number of blogs. Here's a selection of recent business-oriented carnivals.

Carnival of the Capitalists
Carnival of HR Administration
Carnival of Human Resources

And now, here are five great local business stories from this past week.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hospitals mine data to identify those likely to pay
"As an Equifax executive, Arvind Krishnaswami saw the chronic gap between what hospitals billed patients and what they received. Hospitals, collecting an average of 10 cents on a dollar, wrote off “a staggering amount of bad debt,” he said. That disparity gave Krishnaswami the impetus to form Roswell-based Medlytix in 2006, joining a wave of companies that use data to help hospitals improve their back-office accounts."

Wally's Comment: Here's another advance in healthcare. They're automating the "wallet biopsy."

From the Toronto Globe and Mail: Failing to push paper in digital age
"What felled the newsprint maker is not going away, even when the economy shapes up."

Wally's Comment: If you make and sell newsprint, you have a problem.

From the Charlotte Observer: Good customer relations can be the best lure
"As the owner of Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters in Cornelius, Rob Domico tries to remind his store's fly fishing guides to focus more on the value they add to customers' experiences than on how many fish they catch in a day. Catching fish, he says, becomes the byproduct of having fun. The same philosophy shapes his business as he steers it through the downturn. Focus on customer relationships, he says, and people will return and spend money with you."

Wally's Comment: The best source of sustainable competitive advantage is your people.

From the Miami Herald: When the boom goes bust, South Beach hotelier adapts
"As one of South Florida's newest hoteliers, Taic is sorting through the consequences of a tourism boom in retreat."

Wally's Comment: Buying a hotel seemed like such a good idea before the economy went south and the tourists quit.

From the Houston Chronicle: Students play game of capitalism
"Youth, energy and ideas at the Rice Business Plan Competition prove there are lots of ways for new entrepreneurs to barrel through a recession."

Wally's Comment: There are several of these contests going on around the country. I chose this article for a good description of the range and quality of the students' business plans.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.