11个容易摧毁公司的做法

         企业在作出决定时要注意细节。本文给出了11个企业主需要注意的小细节，希望能够给企业的成功带来帮助。

 

Businesses make hundreds or thousands of decisions every year, many of which seem inconsequential. But the smallest details can have business-changing or even business-ending consequences. Here are 11 of my favorites to watch out for:

         企业每年都要做出数百或上千个决定，许多决定看起来都是无足轻重的，但最小的细节可以改变企业甚至终止企业。下面是我认为最需要注意的11点：

1. The lowly extension cord. People get cold feet. They get a space heater. They plug it into a two-pronged extension cord. They forget to unplug it when they leave work. That night, while you are sleeping, your entire business burns down. Your brilliant marketing plan, your three-year projections, all of your records, your new product samples … . You get the idea. This is not something that most business owners think about, but insurance companies know that extension cords and space heaters are major fire hazards. It is good practice not to allow any extension cords in your business that aren’t three-pronged.

         1.普通的延长线。人们会手脚冰凉，于是买了小型供暖器，把它插在双交叉的延长线上。下班时却忘记了拔出来。那晚，在你睡觉时，你的整个公司都被烧毁了。你卓越的营销计划、你的三年目标、你的所有记录、你的新产品样品……你明白了。大多数企业主都不会考虑到这点，但保险公司知道延长线和小型供热器是重大火灾隐患。不让办公室里有任何非三交叉延长线是一种很好的做法。

2. Bad receivables. Let’s assume that you are using good judgment as to which customers get credit and how much. Even so, it is very easy to get into a business-life-threatening situation because of a big customer that goes broke. Months before the bankruptcy filing, the following statements will be made to you: “I’m not going anywhere. We’ve been short on cash before, and we always come out of it. You have my personal word.” And you will respond: “We’ve been doing business together for 30 years. I’m not worried about it.” Bad things happen to good people. Good and honest intentions do not always result in getting paid. It is very painful and difficult to cut off an old customer, especially when you need the business. But many companies go broke because of bad receivables.

         2. 坏的应收账款。假设你有很好的判断力，能够决定哪些客户可以赊款并能赊多少。即便如此，一个大客户的破产也很容易使你陷入危及企业生命的形势。申请破产的前几个月，你会听到以下陈述：“我哪也不去。我们以前也缺过钱，但每次都能从困境中走出。我保证。”然后你会回答：“我们已经合作了30年，对此我并不担心。”不幸的事会发生在好人身上。善意的意图并不总是带来好的结果。丢掉一个老客户很难，尤其是你需要他的业务时。但是许多公司因为坏的应收账款而破产。

3. Interviewing. It is both art and science. Like a bad science experiment, it can cause explosions. Having someone who hasn’t been properly trained interview prospective employees is a recipe for disaster. There are many questions that you cannot ask without risking a nasty lawsuit that will cost plenty of time and money.

         3. 面试。它是一门艺术，也是一门科学。正如一次失败的科学实验，它会导致爆炸。让没有得到适当训练的人面试未来的员工是一个灾难。有许多问题都不能问，以避免带来浪费时间和金钱的诉讼。

4. Hiring without doing background checks. There are some bad people out there looking for jobs. Even with a background check, there is no guarantee that you won’t have a problem, but it will certainly improve the odds.

         4. 没有调查背景而雇人。有些坏人也在找工作。即便调查了背景也不能保证你不会有问题，但是这会提高其可能性。

5. Vehicles. They are rolling liabilities. Allowing someone who is not insured properly through the company to drive one can have disastrous results if there is an accident. You will be seen as having “deep pockets” — even if your pockets are empty.

         5. 车辆。他们是滚动的债务。允许没有得到公司适当投保的人开车，如果发生车祸就会带来灾难性的后果。即便你的口袋是空的，你也会被认为有大量“资产”。

6. Vehicles, again! With the demise of the full-service gas station and longer intervals between oil changes, many people are driving around on under-inflated tires, which are much less noticeable since the advent of the radial tire. Under-inflated tires are more likely to cause a blowout, which can result in very bad things. We check all of our vehicles once a month.

         6. 还是车辆！随着提供全方位服务加油站的消失和加油时间间隔的变长，许多人开车时轮胎都充气不足，这在辐射轮胎出现之后更加不引人注意。充气不足的轮胎更容易爆胎，这会导致非常糟糕的事情。我们每个月都会检查所有车辆。

7. And again! Texting while driving is the new drunk driving. Do not allow it.

          7. 仍是车辆！开车时发短信是一种新的醉酒驾车。不要允许这样做。

8. Insurance. I asked my insurance broker what the three biggest small-business insurance failings were. His response: 1) understating insurance to value; 2) not having employment-practices insurance; 3) not having business-income replacement coverage to replace lost revenue until the company is up and running again. It is no secret that the insurance companies are in a much bigger hurry to settle a claim when they are paying out money every week to replace that income.

         8. 保险。我问我的保险经纪人小型企业保险三个最大的失败是什么。他的回答是：1）低估保险的重要性；2）没有雇佣责任险；3)在公司重新运营之前没有企业收入重置保险来取代失去的收入。众所周知，当保险公司每周都要付钱来填充那份收入时，它更急于解决这项索赔，

9. The wrong accountant. Many accountants just do tax returns and are not qualified to act as an outside voice and keep an eye on the health of the company. I have seen more than one company fail because the owners didn’t know what they didn’t know.

         9. 不合适的会计。许多会计只做纳税申报，并不具备对外宣布并密切注意公司状况的能力。我曾见过不止一家公司因业主不知道他们所不知道的事而破产。

10. Bad controls. Many companies have gone broke because of theft or embezzlement. Your accountant should help you set up these systems.

          10. 不妥的管理。许多公司因为盗窃或挪用公款而破产。你的会计应该帮你制定这些制度。

11. Bad company policies. I was just in a spa. There was a sign posted that said that tips must be paid in cash. I asked why. (Apparently, they get asked about this a lot.) The receptionist explained that the employees didn’t necessarily claim all of the tips and the company did, so there could be a discrepancy if either got audited. Not a great story. I am sure that some customers — 5 percent? 20 percent? — will either find it inconvenient to use cash or will resent supporting tax evasion. If I am right and they lose customers, the spa will undoubtedly blame the losses on competition or the economy.

         11. 失误的公司政策。那时我在一个温泉浴场。张贴的指示牌上写着“小费必须付现金”。我问为什么。（显然，很多人问了他们这个问题。）接待员解释说小费并不是员工拿到，而是公司，因此如果任何一方被查账都会有一处差异。这并不是很好的借口。我确定一些顾客——5%？20%？——要么发现用现金不方便，要么对支持逃税感到愤恨。如果我是对的，而且他们也失去了顾客，公司无疑会归咎于竞争和经济的损失。

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Benjamin Franklin was a good businessman.

         一分预防胜过十分治疗。本杰明 富兰克林是一位杰出的商人。

Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago.

         杰伊 戈尔茨在芝加哥拥有5家小企业。