Month: January 2010
A Winter’s Destination
I’m on my retired person’s daily designated three mile walk from the Old West Side of Ann Arbor into town and back. We’ve hit full winter and the temperature hovers at 15 degrees and the snow piles up. All right, so I drive my car part of the way, park on a side street, and hike out from there wearing a funereal black down coat and black lace-up boots, topped with a gray alpaca beret and Pashmina scarf to match the winter skies. I keep my hood up for the entire trek. By the time I reach the bricked-paved Detroit Street, I’m thinking get me out of this gray stuff and take me into a different world. My destination is Zingerman’s Deli.
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Month: January 2010
This week, Zingerman’s Training (aka, ZingTrain) was profiled in Crain’s Detroit Business Weekly!
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No secrets: Businesses find it pays to open books to employees
Private businesses have traditionally operated from the top down — executives passing along only the information deemed “safe” for employee eyes.
But that’s not the case for the nine companies in Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor.
Owners Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw practice open-book management, the business practice of sharing financial and decision-making duties among all employees.
“Our employees really get a chance to participate in the business,” Weinzweig said. “They are learning how to manage money and how to run a business.”
It’s the employees who manage expenses, monitor operating margins and develop new products. This opens a new realm of business transparency, one that can eliminate the “us vs. them” mentality between management and employees.
Private companies are known to hide net profits and keep books closed to protect competitive advantage, said David Brophy, finance professor and director of the Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance at the University of Michigan‘s Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
“I think it’s amazing that a company is willing to do this,” he said. “It shows they have tremendous confidence in their ability and have obviously learned the positive gains exceed the potential risk of revealing trade secrets.”
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Read the rest of the article here and, to learn more about ZingTrain and our Fun, Flavorful Finance Seminar, click here.
Month: January 2010
- Welcome to Candy Land!: The inside story on Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory
- A Recipe for Making Something Special: An excerpt from Ari’s forthcoming book, Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, vol. 1
Download the Zingerman’s Newsletter for January-February 2010
Month: January 2010
Zingerman’s Annual Holiday Gift Guide!
Ari’s favorite foods from 2009 including:
- Paw Paw Gelato
- Raye’s Yellow Mustard
- Roadhouse South Carolina Mustard Barbecue
- and 25 more!
Download the Zingerman’s Newsletter for November-December 2009
Month: January 2010
- Sourcing Superior Seafood: Ari on why we LOVE fish from Foley’s in Boston
- An ode to Ortiz tuna and anchovies
- Ari’s favorite new foods from Chile, Serbia, and Tunisia
- Bakehouse Managing Partner Amy Emberling on Nutrition Labels vs. Nourishment Labels
Download Zingerman’s Newsletter September-October 2009
Month: January 2010
- Welcome to Camp Bacon: Excerpts from Ari’s new book, ZIngerman’s Guide to Better Bacon along with a tour of some of our favorite bacon makers in the U.S.
- Coffee and Bacon pairing guide
- Ari’s “Secret History of Mozzarella”
- Mo Frechette on Robert Lambert’s Amazing Citrus
- How I Spent My Summer Vacation from Cornman Farmer Mark Baerwolf