Management

I was observing a salesperson in a store where I was doing consulting not too long ago. This young lady was a very talented salesperson. She was neat, smiling with an almost contagious positive attitude — and that’s just for starters. After all, if we don’t like the person we're doing business with, we'll very rarely buy from that person. This salesperson was likeable. She had mastered the skills of listening attentively and gave strategic compliments in the most sincere of ways.

There’s no arguing that banks, potential investors and creditors look heavily to a company’s financial statements to determine its value. However, past financials often aren’t the whole story. Below are five additional factors to consider as you seek to maximize your company’s value, whether you plan to sell soon or simply want to be ready when that day comes.

Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Oct. 5. He was 56.

It seems the Australian chain store GASP may be shuttering the location where a salesperson yelled at a shopper for failing to grasp the genius of a garment that resembles a "dead flamingo."

The Finish Line has named Sally McKelvey as vice president of strategy for the Finish Line brand. McKelvey previously served as senior director, operations financial planning and analysis, at 7-Eleven.

Kohl's announced it anticipates hiring more than 40,000 associates nationwide this holiday season, up approximately 5 percent from last year due to store growth in 2011. Kohl’s is bringing on additional associates to provide shoppers with excellent customer service throughout the holiday season.

The right hire can bring a team together, strengthen a division and help the CEO focus on growing the business as opposed to running the business. CEOs have been mostly concerned about how the tough economic conditions are affecting profitability. They're now looking at other issues such as recruiting and staffing to help grow their company as things hopefully continue on an upswing.

Lands' End announced the promotion of Tim Martin to chief operating officer and chief financial officer and Chris Kolbe to brand president. Martin most recently served as senior vice president, chief financial officer. Kolbe most recently served as chief merchandising and design officer for Lands' End.

After a decade at the helm of Target's marketing, Michael Francis is leaving the company to join J.C. Penney. Francis will join J.C. Penney as president, effective immediately.

Perry Ellis announced the appointment and return of Doug Jakubowski as chief merchandising officer for the Perry Ellis brand. Jakubowski, who previously held several executive-level positions with both Salant Corporation and Perry Ellis International, returns to Perry Ellis to guide the product strategy for the Perry Ellis brand from design conception to product assortment to its final presentation in stores.