Press
Review: Executive Book Summaries
The Drill Sergeant of Small Business
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh by describing the subject of this post as a drill sergeant. Drill sergeants get a bit of a bad rap. They’re men and women with an extremely difficult task. They have to mold and shape a rag-tag band of recruits into a disciplined unit that perfectly executes every maneuver. This requires intensity, tenacity and a devotion to perfection.
When it comes to boosting the current state of small businesses in the U.S., George Cloutier may be the right man to wear the stripes.
Review: Bookviews by Alan Caruba
Getting Down to Business (Books)
He advises that you fire every family member but yourself; that weekends are for working, not seeing your children; to never pay your venders on time; and to wear your control freak badge with pride. Some might argue that these and other similar precepts will leave without customers, venders, friends and family, but Cloutier has 30 years as the president of American Management Services, guiding business owners through tough choices to achieve profitability. It’s a $20 million business he built from scratch, so maybe you might want to pick up a copy of his book, eh?
Article: Bloomberg
Cloutier Says Profits Are the Only Thing for Small Businesses
The chief executive officer of American Management Services and author of “Profits Aren’t Everything” has some tough advice for small-business owners, specifically the approximately 7 million businesses he says employ 500 or fewer people.
Underperformers, including family members, should be fired sooner rather than later, employees need to follow your orders and not their own agendas, payments to creditors should be stretched out whenever possible, and if everything else fails, don’t be ashamed to file for bankruptcy to get out from crushing debt, says Cloutier, 63, who divides his time between Palm Beach, Florida, and Nantucket, Massachusetts….
Review: CNN Money
The Maverick’s Business Guide
“But the author’s larger message—that success in business requires relentless focus on the bottom line—is worth hearing in these hard times. Cloutier’s book is a brutal, albeit cynical, wake-up call.”
Review: Reuters.com
Is your business failing? It’s your fault
Brace yourself, because George Cloutier has some unsettling news: your failing business is your fault.
Cloutier is the no-nonsense CEO of American Management Services and author of Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing, a literary slap in the face to small- and medium-size business owners who wonder why sales are slipping and cash is tight.
Like the gruff boss he urges small business leaders to be, Cloutier doesn’t waste any time trying to get you to like him — he wants your respect, and his book fires off rules without apology: “Love your business more than your family”, “End your denial” and, perhaps most startling, “Give up golf - it’s a waste of time!”