Little Engine Ventures is a nod to small but mighty teams that humble themselves before troubled customers, and help them climb. We are excellent at managing small teams at multiple locations. Our team sizes range from 2 to 25 per location. When others think “that’s barely a company!” We think “small but mighty.” A large Read more about Small Team Ventures[…]
Few small business owners that I have met have a systematic onboarding process. I believe this is one of the reasons they stay small and complain about their inability to hire good people. Frankly, their standards are too high and their system is too weak. They people that could succeed are too rare. Once you Read more about Measuring the Pace of Onboarding[…]
Each year I pick a reading theme that fills in my time. My primary blocks of reading time in our marketable security business line are filled with companies I have already researched before. Once current on those I like to explore. Having a theme for the year helps give me structure so I don’t wander Read more about Reading Annual Reports of Public Companies to Influence Your Small Business[…]
We recently hosted our quarterly Advisory Committee meeting in Lafayette, Indiana. Jeff Peterson stuck around afterward to share some more detailed advice. I asked if I could share his notes –which he delivered from memory–I had to write down. He agreed and proceeded to say, “There are 3 types of managers that fail.” Ultimately, each Read more about The Types of Managers That Fail[…]
On Thursday, July 20, 2023 more than half of our partners gathered with our managers in downtown Lafayette, Indiana for a report on the previous twelve months and our updates on the go-forward plans. We are grateful for the people who have helped us. While our purpose is to help others climb, we have been Read more about Summary of the Little Engine Ventures Annual General Meeting 2023[…]
Saturday morning I finished reading the 2022 Annual Report for a large, publicly traded corporation. We do not own shares of this particular company, but it is on my list of wonderful businesses. Over the years, it strikes me that all wonderful companies have simple expansion plans. This particular company has maintained the basics of Read more about Systematic Expansion[…]
We concluded our final session of our first-ever “General Manager Training” this week. We plan to start our next cohort May 23. Per my usual, I thought I’d reflect on what worked and share some opinions about what we might change in the future. Purpose: Condense two years of management training into three weeks in Read more about General Manager Training[…]
“Knowledge is justified true belief. Wisdom is knowledge enacted. Prudence is wisdom enacted for the good of all involved. Righteousness is prudence enacted in accordance with God’s will.” A version of the above was first shared with a group of friends seeking to understand righteousness. The above is how I have come to think of Read more about Transforming Knowledge[…]
In my experience in small businesses, it often takes 2 years for a new employee to reach the same productivity of a senior staff member. I believe this is why many small business owners complain about not being able to find good people –at the price they want to pay. This situation develops because small Read more about Train[…]
Purpose is a deliberate choice. The method of achieving the purpose is emergent. Once discovered, the method ought to become deliberate, too. At Little Engine Ventures, our guiding purpose is to help others climb. How we go about accomplishing our purpose has been evolving. Our basic principles remain in place. But, we have refined our Read more about Purpose is a Deliberate Choice[…]