• Home
  • About
    • Program Overview
    • Alpha Board Founders
  • Fresh Octane
  • Membership
    • Advisory Members
    • Corporate Members
  • Programs
    • Launch Overview
    • Market Partner Profiles
    • Executive Profiles
    • Product and Services Profiles
    • Corporate Profiles
    • Executive Roundtable
  • Events
  • Contact

Alpha Board

Alpha Board is an information site for growing companies

  • Front Page
  • Overview
  • Leadership
  • Innovation
  • Technology
  • Fresh Octane
  • Growing up KC™

Profits are the Only Thing

7:38 am By Dave Anderson

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

George ClouierPssssst! Do you own your own business? Are profits hurting a little in this current economy?

Well I’ve got this guy I want you to meet. His name is George Cloutier. He’s a Harvard grad that Business Week dubbed a “Turnaround Ace” and his focus has always been on small business. Actually, you may not even need to hire him, just read his book.

His national best-selling book is called Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing. The book includes “The 15 Rules” that George Cloutier’s consulting firm has used to turn small businesses on life support into profit-making machines. His success with helping small businesses is immense. In fact, in the first chapter of the book he talks about how his firm has helped more than 6,000 businesses in 300 industries. His company has identified more than $1 billion in additional profits for those clients.

So why wouldn’t every small business want to hire Mr. Cloutier’s consulting firm and get their share of the $1 billion in extra profits? Good question. The answer is that these kinds of profits come with a price.

For example the book suggests that you should work seven days a week, never pay vendors on time and give up golf. Are you ready to make those commitments or do they make you feel like maybe profits aren’t everything?

If these measures sound extreme, they are. Cloutier says you only have to make the hard choices if you want to be successful in business. If you want to have life balance, start a non-profit he adds.

The majority of Cloutier’s clients are family businesses. And two of his 15 Rules are specific to them: Love Your Business More Than Your Family and The Best Family Business Has One Member. As harsh as that seems, Cloutier says too many family businesses mix family issues into the business and in the majority of situations they fail. The first of those rules states, “Your cell phone is for taking orders from clients NOT grocery lists. Weekends are for work. Pray at your desk if you must. Your business is not a part-time job. Be there or be broke.”

There is no doubt that much of Cloutier‘s advice is challenging and even scary. Still, the book is both entertaining and thought provoking.

George Cloutier, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, founded American Management Services in 1986. The company’s web address is www.amserv.com

Article By Paul J. Welsh

Interview was conducted by Jay Liebenguth

Filed Under: Front Page, Leadership

Fresh Octane

It’s Business Drive Time<sup>®</sup> in Kansas City

It’s Business Drive Time® in Kansas City

Kansas City is jumping. Businesses are doing well. Companies are expanding. New organizations are finding their beginnings in the city. Employers hiring. They are looking for great people, and they are finding them in Kansas City! And Kansas City is developing a prominent spot on the national map. The city is racing on all cylinders. […]

Time to Hit The Road

Time to Hit The Road

Who are the leaders that are moving American business forward? It’s Business Drive Time®, and we are looking for some of the greatest business drivers regionally and nationally to feature in our 2018 Alpha® Board Fresh Octane Tour.  Who are the innovators?  Who are the leaders?  What (and where) are the opportunities?  Which companies, technologies, […]

Events

Time to Hit The Road

Time to Hit The Road

Who are the leaders that are moving American business forward? It’s Business Drive Time®, and we are looking for some of the greatest business drivers regionally and nationally to feature in our

The Building of a City – Business Drive Time<sup>®</sup> in KC

The Building of a City – Business Drive Time® in KC

It’s Business Drive Time in Kansas City. What does that mean?  Kansas City is growing!  Embrace it! About 100,000 companies, including ours, are sitting at the national epicenter of business

Additional Articles

Portraits of Leadership Series – Kurt Knutson

Kurt Knutson – Freedom Bank, Overland Park, Kan. Founder, Chairman and CEO It’s Business Drive Time® in America, and we’re on a national business leadership tour. We are speaking with some of the … [Read More...]

The Mojo Moment

4:53 a.m. August 18, 2009 Have You Ever Been Struck By Lightning?   Have you ever experienced that “Mojo Moment” in your business?   Can you name the time and place?  Can you name the result, how it … [Read More...]

Building Great Brands in a Digital World

It’s Business Drive Time® in this new age, ever changing digital world. So, who in the marketplace is doing the finest job in the business race? Who are the winners? What industries, what … [Read More...]

Thank you for signing up for Fresh Octane® Business Leadership Exchange

We look forward to see you at the Fresh Octane® Business Leadership Exchange … [Read More...]

Portraits of Leadership Series Dr. Chad Welter – Founder of Laser Advanced Founder of Active Family Chiropractic

Dr. Chad Welter is the “Active Family Doctor.™” He is also an active entrepreneur. Chad owns a sports medicine practice in Overland Park, Kan., a Kansas City suburb. … [Read More...]

Business Drive Time® Kansas City Freedom Bank and Kurt Knutson

We recently began a series of interviews with Kurt Knutson, founder, chairman and CEO of Freedom Bank of Overland Park, Kansas, the largest suburb in the Kansas City metro area. Today’s topic is a … [Read More...]

Alpha Board is an information site for growing companies

Recent posts

  • It’s Business Drive Time® in Kansas City
  • Business Drive Time® Kansas City Freedom Bank and Kurt Knutson
  • Portraits of Leadership Series – Kurt Knutson
  • “Kansas City on the Move®” – Sheila Ost
  • Portraits of Leadership Series Dr. Chad Welter – Founder of Laser Advanced Founder of Active Family Chiropractic

Archives

  • December 2019 (4)
  • November 2019 (4)
  • October 2019 (1)
  • September 2019 (1)
  • August 2019 (1)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (3)
  • October 2018 (1)
  • September 2018 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (2)
  • February 2014 (3)
  • January 2014 (1)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (1)
  • February 2013 (2)
My Tweets
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2019 · Magazine Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · [site_link] ·