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 […]

Leftist journalist Naomi Klein wrote the books “No Logo” and “The Shock Doctrine.” The social activist spoke at the Occupy Wall Street movement indicating that they can fulfill on the promises of the 1999 global trade action in Seattle. That was the last time a global and youth-led movement took aim at corporate power. Asked […]

I am writing a column this week in place of editor Kellyn Brown, who left for the sunny beaches of Mexico over a week ago, pale-skinned and bright-eyed, and by this reading has now returned, a few shades redder and wondering where all of that glistening sand went. Welcome back. Kellyn deserved a vacation. Anybody […]

The President has ordered our troops home from Iraq by year’s end, but it was President George W. Bush who first announced this withdrawal date of Dec. 31, 20ll. President Barack Obama is enforcing that timetable despite the opposition from some. Bush is the person who ordered us into the war in Iraq and now […]

Productivity is pretty important, but it had better apply to the right sort of work. Even if your employees are incredibly efficient at whatever they do, if their work no longer brings substantial value to the table, your business could evaporate. The failure to automate the work that can and should be automated will eventually […]

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) wants our Jesus gone from Big Mountain? Um, I beg to differ. Founded in 1978, FFRF enjoys IRS 501(c)3 tax-exemption, under Category x20 as a “Religion, Spiritual Development (Christian)” organization. FFRF headquarters, a former rectory, is located in a city famous for its progressive civility: Madison, Wis. According to […]