This column on how to balance the budget with the business was originally published on Entrepreneur.com on July 13, 2016. It is especially relevant now as people prepare their 2017 budgets.

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I was sitting in a board meeting recently and heard a phrase that always makes my skin crawl: Someone said they had instituted a “hiring freeze” in their area of the business.

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By now you have probably heard about Zirtual, the on-demand virtual assistant startup that closed up shop in the wee hours of August 10 and left 400 employees jobless overnight.

I spent some time recently in England and experienced for the first time the concept of monarchy. Seeing the English King’s palatial estate at Hampton Court brought home the opulence of the 17th century monarchy.

If you want an exit later, deal with critical issues now.
Guest author Bob Barker is managing partner of 20/20 Outlook LLC. He acts as a trusted CEO advisor, helping convert a clear vision into executable strategies that accelerate growth.

I know a senior manager at a large company who did not meet his direct manager for 18 months due to a travel ban. Finally, the ban was lifted and he made the trek to corporate headquarters to meet his boss.

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As I mentioned in my most recent post – The budget is set so no brilliant ideas until next year – in many companies budgets are often the only strategic, tangible plans that lower-level managers and employees are expose