As I look back over time, I’m convinced that Scott Dinsmore is exactly right. None of us have a clue what we can really do. Not the faintest idea. On the contrary, we’re all fairly sure what we can’t do. But the whole “can’t” thing is really way too easy. It’s the can that hard. “Can […]

Most folks expect the race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D) and challenger Congressman Denny Rehberg (R) to be as much a nail-biter as the 2006 race between Tester and then-incumbent Conrad Burns. With the Supreme Court taking limits off contributions for “independent expenditures,” 2012 should be the greatest election ever in terms of […]

The mayor and city council of Kalispell are looking for another high paid city manager. Next year we will vote to retain the city manager or go back to a mayor form of government. This vote happens every 10 years, or you can vote on the form of government every year if you can get […]

An Associated Press article entitled “Crowded field courts far-right voting bloc” recently appeared on the front pages of newspapers across Montana. The author, Matt Gouras refers to the far-right voting bloc, which he links to the Tea Party. Since when is being fiscally responsible, following the Constitution and supporting free markets far right? It sounds […]

Council members have largely praised Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington’s short tenure here. When she arrived in August of 2009, the city was dangerously close to broke. She quickly made cuts, which is why there is another camp that is eager to see Howington pack up her desk and head to Rhode Island. City departments […]

Did the Flathead County commissioners really think no one would notice the fraudulent makeup of the mailing list they used to survey a “select” group of Whitefish “doughnut” property owners? Many long-time residents were not even sent a survey, while many out-of-state property owners got multiple survey cards. The survey methodology used by the county […]

In Steve Denning’s Forbes commentary this week, he mentions a presentation made by author and Harvard business professor Clayton Christensen decrying U.S. business schools’ focus on numbers-above-all, saying the pursuit of profit is killing innovation and the US economy. The pursuit of profit is not the problem, nor is profit itself. What the always interesting and provocative Christensen […]

It was the conviction for social justice that drew former Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis to Wall Street to join activists at the Occupy movement. Lewis was arrested by New York police as protests entered their third month. “The fact that they were not doing this for themselves; they were doing this for all people […]

A childhood home is often considered a more magical place once you move out. When I first left for college, I gladly declared my freedom from household rules and regulations that I was previously forced to follow. But that soon changed. Within months, I eagerly anticipated trips home to Spokane, Wash. A full refrigerator, clean […]

Nolan Hotel, Mingusville (later Wibaux), Montana, autumn, 1884. Young, bespectacled Theodore Roosevelt was tired and hungry. He had been searching for stray horses since dawn. As he entered the inn TR described what happened. “A shabby individual in a broad hat with a cocked gun in each hand was walking up and down the floor […]

On numerous occasions, I have advised you to offer higher-priced, higher-value products and services because they focus you on high-lifetime-value customers whose loyalty extends beyond what’s on sale this week. Likewise, we’ve talked about using those higher-priced products and services to “subsidize” the value-priced part of your business so that you can identify more high-lifetime-value […]

Flathead Electric is drilling test wells for geothermal down by Hot Springs? Hope they score big, given other exciting co-op news – the implosion of Southern Montana Electric (SME), a partnership of five southern Montana co-ops and Great Falls public utility Electric City Power. At the end of October, after refusing to seat new board […]

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republicans have traded shots recently over how much money Montana still has in the bank. The Legislative Fiscal Division has revised its forecast and now says $265 million will be left over in the state’s coffers by June 2013, up from its previous estimate of $150 million. Schweitzer’s budget director says […]

“I was there.” Those are three powerful words in the right circumstances. They imply a first-hand knowledge that only a few can legitimately claim. In grade school we were taught that primary sources, those who were there, were the best to cite in term papers. When it comes to Inventoried Roadless Areas, I can say, […]

A question came in earlier this month… “How do I compete with businesses that can offer similar products/services at a lower cost?” The question is “Why are you depending on price to close your sales?” It’s important to examine because *so many* people focus on it. In a weak economy, it’s natural for price pressures […]