Making the future, today
August 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
Most propane managers tend to manage their business for the reality of yesterday. We often assume that past events will reoccur if we just wait for them.
Read More Know your time
July 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
A current retail propane industry debate is how to improve the efficiencies of retail operations. The prevailing logic is that to be a more successful company, it must be efficient, often through adapting technology.
Read More Our business is knowledge
June 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
This is the fourth in a series on business topics inspired by the 20th century business management icon Peter Drucker.
Read More The role of management in retail propane
May 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
Results are obtained by exploiting opportunities, not solvingproblems. Fixing problems only restores a broken situation back tonormalcy; it does not create new value.
Read More Get a handle on hiring and promoting
April 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
This is the second in a series of columns inspired by the late management guru Peter Drucker. This month, we apply Drucker’s thoughts on the hiring and promotion process to the retail propane company.
Read More In business, all profits are costs
March 1, 2006 By LP Gas
Implications of this redefinition of profits serve a useful purpose in the measurement of a retail propane company’s performance. The first purpose cited above is how we historically view profits — the excess or what’s left over after we have paid our bills. However, in the second point it may be that the profit is not sufficient to replace capital for worn-out equipment.
Read More Continued failure of gallons measurement
February 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
Driven by requests for this topic and my interest to discuss only issues that will add value to retail propane businesses, I address the continued, flawed thinking in many companies that say if their gallons are up year over year, then they have had a good year.
Read More Don’t let friends start ‘C’ Corporations
January 1, 2006 By Carl Hughes
In early 2002, I addressed the penalizing tax disadvantages to propane companies that are structured as ‘C’ Corporations.
Read More How do you lead the best?
December 1, 2005 By Carl Hughes
Over the past four months I have offered an approach on how to hire the best employees possible for your propane company, establishing high expectations for the qualities we seek in our workers.
Read More Is the job candidate manageable?
November 1, 2005 By Carl Hughes
This is the final column in the series of hiring the best in the propane industry. The three original questions I asked in the beginning of the series were.
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