Business Management
CREATE RELATIONSHIPS THAT MOVE YOUR BUSINESS
I know someone I only hear from when they want something. They might want a recommendation. Or they want to borrow something. Or they need a special favor. Yet when I reach out to them, I seldom get a response. And when I do get a reply it is much delayed, or someone else contacts…
Read MoreDO YOU GROOM YOUR LEADERS OR JUST PROMOTE THEM?
“It was her turn,” said the CEO. I had asked the CEO how a specific member of their leadership team was promoted to that position. I’ve heard other answers like, “They’ve been with me a long time.” “I trust them. She is very loyal.” “He needed to make more money.” “My [family member] needed a…
Read MoreHOW TO HAVE MORE FUN AND MAKE MORE MONEY – PART 3
The steps to having more fun and making more money are aligning your business’ purpose with your personal purpose, creating business goals that fulfill the purpose with strong execution and surrounding yourself with people who support your purpose and who have the ability to accomplish the goals. People are important. The “right” people are often…
Read MoreHOW TO HAVE MORE FUN AND MAKE MORE MONEY – PART 2
The first step to having more fun and making more money is to align your business’ purpose with your personal purpose. The second step is to create and execute business goals that progress the business’s purpose. This might sound easy, but it’s not. And more important, it’s not common. According to research done by the…
Read MoreCAN YOU PICTURE YOUR BONSAI TREE?
The original Karate Kid movie was released in 1984, a coming of age story of Daniel, a young man, whose mentor and best friend is an elderly Japanese maintenance man, Mr. Miyagi. The movie is an excellent blend of teen angst, Asian wisdom, and martial arts. One of my favorite scenes is when Mr. Miyagi…
Read MoreTHE ELEPHANT AND THE DEER (an Elephant Tales story)
As the Elephant’s company continued to grow, he noticed his team of ants struggle to keep up with the volume of work. The ants worked hard, and he hired new ones as fast as possible, but the higher volumes and faster turnarounds seemed beyond the ants’ skill and experience. The Elephant decided to hire a…
Read MoreHOW DID YOU DO THIS YEAR?
It’s that time of year when we get a clear view of how the year will turn out. There is still much business to do, but the planning is complete, and the decisions made. You can begin assessing how your organization performed. One more question, how did YOU do this year? As the organization’s leader,…
Read MoreWHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING?
I had lunch with a friend the other day, a local business owner. She was frustrated with her employees, who never seemed to know what she really wanted. They required constant direction and even micro-managing. I asked, “What is the first thing you look for when hiring?” She was a bit surprised by the question,…
Read MoreBUILDING A SERVICE CULTURE
Building a service culture is something I get asked about often. Those words may not be the exact ones used, but it is what they mean. It more often is asked as: How can we improve our teamwork? How do we instill a mindset of customer service? What is needed to tear down “silos” in…
Read MoreTHE ONE THING YOU CAN’T DO FOR YOURSELF
The one thing you can’t do for yourself… is to coach yourself. Here’s why. You can’t see what you can’t see. Everyone has blind spots. A coach can be an extra set of eyes to assist you in “seeing” and understanding things going on in your organization, marketplace, or even within your leadership team, that…
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