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e-Trouble? Spotting e-business red flags

By Ellen Paris

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Is your e-business sickly? You may have an e-bug. The good news:Recognizing an illness is the first step toward recovery.

So says a recent Accenture report, Governance at eSpeed, whichlooked at the 10 warning signs of a faltering e-business."Business owners have to expect the way they manage and governtheir e-business to change as they become successful,"explains Brian Pappas, associate partner at Accenture inBoston.

Here are a few signs to look out for:

1. No experience "clickingaround": If you're not a hands-on e-businessuser yourself, then you probably don't have a feel for whatworks in the dotcom world.

2. No external profile: Doesthe world even know you exist? To raise your e-business profile,network with well-known business and technology leaders.

3. No decisions . . . or slowdecisions: Exploratory committees, project teams andpilot programs make good e-business sense-just don't forget tomove swiftly on your findings.

4. No passion: Mostsuccessful dotcom em-ployees are passionate about what they aredoing. Are yours?

PaulStoltz, guru of the adversity quotient concept, has a new book onthe subject, Adversity Quotient @ Work (William Morrow).Stoltz advises people to "remember to focus on what you caninfluence and not on blaming someone." For more in-formationon measuring and strengthening your AQ, go to www.adversityquotient.com.

Ellen Paris is a Washington, DC, writer and former Forbesmagazine staff writer.


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