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American Airlines, going against the tide of US carriers outsourcing aircraft maintenance to hangers in Mexico and Central America, has discovered a new partner in reducing costs and creating efficiencies: their own mechanics’ union, Transport Workers Local 514. The only US airline that has not sent its jets to foreign hangars is American – they’ve continued to send them to their maintenance hangers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wade Goodwyn at NPR told this story on the air on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Americans’ maintenance crews have reduced the time an MD-80 spends in the hanger on what’s called a “heavy check” from 22 days to 12. Just in case you’re thinking that means they threw almost 1,000 people at the job, they didn’t. They’ve reduced the heavy-check crew from 700 to just over 300. Good work, less time, fewer man-hours. Sounds like a business plan instead of a union work-rule, doesn’t it? Which is what gives me hope that trades unions in this country might enjoy a renaissance, with the highly educated and skilled workforce we still have in the US using those smarts and skills to create, and keep, good work for themselves. What I love about the American Airlines story is this: it looks like there are still smart people in unions. I’ve wondered what had happened to the movement that fought so hard in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to make factory, construction, and agricultural work fit for human beings. Trust me, kids – at that time, in this country, it wasn’t. Read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle if you have any questions. The members of TW Local 514 have seen what’s happened to the rest of the wrench brigade in the US, who until the ’80s saw regular increases in wages along with a strong union membership…

One of the things I most enjoy doing is talking to groups of people who are looking for a new customer. They call it “looking for a job”, I think customer and employer are synonyms – don’t you? Here’s another share of my take on personal branding and social media for those looking for their next customer – and remember, it might be worth it to open up your entrepreneurial chakras. Think B-I-Z, not just J-O-B. 2009 Personal Branding + Social Media That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it…

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Richmond, VA – you’d know that already if you were at the Venture Forum’s Entrepeneur Fair today @ Capital One Town Center. Rich Reinecke, President of the Forum and founder of Career Quest, led the charge on making the Fair a really stellar event. Of course there were sponsors – we all owe a debt of deep thanks to the Better Business Bureau, The Greater Richmond Partnership, the VA Council of CEOs, RichmondBizSense.com, CBS6/WTVR Digital Media, BluTiger, Cherry Bekaert Holland, FranNet, LeClairRyan, Mitchell Wiggins & Co., Strategy by Design, and the VA Biosciences Development Center, because without their support, and that of Capital One, the event wouldn’t have been nearly as successful (and it was luxurious, too). Where the action really was, though, was in the great speed networking session facilitated by Ignite Speed Networking‘s Mike Ogilvie, and the buffet of breakout sessions where budding, and established, business owners could learn from entrepreneurs who’ve been there, done that, and have the t-shirt (and hard lessons learned) to prove it. Advice was available on: buying a business pitching your idea how to transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship why entrepreneurship makes sense (you can control your destiny!) what pitfalls to avoid The Fair wrapped up with a panel of successful entrepreneurs, led by Steve Kimball of Tuscan Advisors. He made a very powerful statement that resonated with everyone in the room, and bears repeating here: Entrepreneurs are America’s competitive advantage. How true – and cool – is that? This is why I tell the  job-seekers I talk to that they want to consider realigning their thinking: don’t think J-O-B, think B-I-Z. If you’ve got an idea, there’s no time like the present. A down economy can be a great time to bring that idea…

I had the privilege of hearing my friend Marta Wilson, CEO of Transformation Systems Inc., talk about that very subject this past Friday at a Chamber of Commerce lunch. Marta’s on the circuit in support of her terrific new book, “Leaders in Motion: Winning the Race for Organizational Health, Wealth, and Creative Power” – the title’s long because it’s a big subject – in which she weaves her own personal story through leadership stories that have made, or are making, history. Her purpose on Friday was to spread the message of the importance of intention in leadership. Boiled to its essence, here are the key parts of that message: Intention – the will to see something through must be the starting point. Clarity – once you have a target, bring it into focus. United effort – get everybody on the bus. She told a great story about a leadership development exercise one of the leaders she interviewed for the book outlined: a bunch of masters of the universe were at a weekend retreat, working on leadership development, and they were given a challenge late one afternoon. 100 homeless people would arrive for breakfast the next morning, and these captains of industry were to provide that breakfast. Food, cooking equipment, utensils, plates, the whole nine. The real challenge? They couldn’t use any resources – no money, no credit cards, no promises to pay later – to get the breakfast on the table for those 100 people. They pulled it off – after storming around, pissed off, for a little while – by identifying what they needed: food, equipment and utensils, and decorations. I dunno as I would have thought that decorations were necessary, but I wasn’t part of the team! They split up into three groups, and when out to achieve…

If you’ve been, um, “evaluating your options” lately (translation: looking for a j-o-b after getting downsized to the curb), there’s an event coming up that could help you open up your entrepreneurial chakras. I’ve been singing the Don’t Think J-O-B, Think B-I-Z song for over a year now, and it seems as if the rest of the world is starting to sing back-up – including RVA’s own Venture Forum, who has announced their Entrepreneur Fair on June 5 @ CapOne’s West Creek campus. Capital One is hosting the event, which has to be a good idea on their part. Earn loyalty from start-ups, get their business as they grow. Win/win (if everyone remembers to read the fine print). The Entrepreneur Fair is slated to include sessions on a variety of topics of interest to anyone looking to start or grow a business: What I Wish I’d Known When I Started My Business Controlling Your Destiny: Why Pursuing Your Entrepreneurial Dream Makes Sense Buying a Business From Corporate Exec to Managing in an Entrepreneurial Organization Entrepreneur Success Stories The Fair’s also going to feature my buddy Mike Ogilvie’s IGNITE Speed Networking, a facilitated speed networking session that goes miles beyond traditional business networking, helping create contacts and connections that will help move entrepreneurs further, and faster, down their path to success. Get yer entrepreneur on – if you’re anywhere near RVA on Friday, June 5, plan to come by the Fair, running from 8am to 1:30pm. Start writing your own success story. That’s MY story, and I’m stickin’ to it…

I had my 15 minutes of internet fame recently, with a “My Take” essay on BusinessWeek.com. To say that made my month would be an understatement! Social media played a part in bringing me this opportunity. If you’re not a believer in the power of the Holy Trinity of SM (Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook)…you need to be. That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it…

I don’t know about you, but I prefer to visit the bathroom alone. Given that preference, I’ve felt, for over a decade now, like I’ve been under attack by advertising in public restrooms. The brain trusts who decided that ads on bathroom stall walls were a smokin’ good way to get their message across have been pushing their products in my face, and I’ve been making note of companies NOT to buy from. I mean, who wants to buy insurance from some dude who you first see smiling down at you in a bathroom stall? Larry Craig might find that compelling, but I most certainly don’t. Besides, a strange guy in my bathroom means that he’s in the ladies room, which adds another level of weirdness to an already weird scene. Bathroom walls have long been used for commercial messages, but those have traditionally been along the lines of ‘for a good time call’ or ‘Dwayne + Lola 4 Evah’. Why insurance brokers, day spas, or anyone else would think that bog walls would be an attractive, or even suitable, venue for their messages is beyond me. Well, beer might work, in a bar bog, but bars have notoriously uncontrollable bog walls, and ads posted there might find their messages being morphed by user-generated content. The beer company may find themselves appearing to participate in unnatural acts, or to agree with white supremacists. Anyone who has any thoughts on why the bog-wall ad is a good idea, please share. That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it…