At 3:15am on an October morning, we were roused from bed by a kind neighbor pounding on our door: “Fire! You need to evacuate!” Seeing the bright orange glow of a fire, just a few miles away, we left very quickly and didn’t return for nearly 2 weeks until it was once again safe to … Continue reading Managing Through Business Disasters – 8 Lessons Learned from the California Wildfires
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Avoid failure: seek out fresh perspective and experienced navigational support to help your business GROW. I read an article that resonated with me: 11 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail. Here’s a summary with my observations: Empty Pockets– #1 reason small businesses fail. They may have GREAT products and people but cash flow is a problem and they … Continue reading 11 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail
Starting up a business or beginning a new job can provide a great lesson in humility. I know that I have felt that myself. You have great intentions, ideas, and determination. But “stuff happens” and gets in the way. Lots of roadblocks are thrown your way. You make progress, you gain optimism – then more … Continue reading Don’t Back Down (Life Lessons from Tom Petty)
My friend, Jack Harvey, shared a very interesting HBR article on the truth about being a nice boss, from author Emma Seppala. Here were her key conclusions. #1. High Stress Reduces Productivity If “tough” managers create tremendous levels of stress on employees, the effect can be very negative. High levels of workplace stress have been … Continue reading Can a Nice Boss Be Effective?
Annual strategic planning is often something to do because “we always do it.” But how can you get real value out of your strategic planning process? Here are 8 ways to get more from your strategic planning process for 2016… Identify the 3 Biggest Factors that are limiting your company’s success. If you spent just … Continue reading 8 Ways to Get More from Your Strategic Planning Process
I recently worked with a CEO who taught me some great lessons in management. One of the best I learned was that strong leaders must set clear and steady vision, and the leader can’t get drawn into a battle of “Yeah, buts”. So, what is a “Yeah, but”? A "yeah, but” describes a tiny attack on your vision, … Continue reading Strong Leaders Don’t Give In to the “Yeah, buts”
Have you ever wondered whether reading bad news in the morning can have a negative impact on your productivity? According to a new study by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan in the latest Harvard Business Review, “consuming negative news CAN make you less effective at work.” In their study, participants who were exposed to negative news stories … Continue reading Reading Bad News in the Morning Reduces Work Effectiveness
We have all heard the phrase “He can’t see the forest through the trees.” When people say this about leaders, it is certainly not meant to be positive. The suggestion is that the leader gets so bogged down in details that he can’t see the full picture; he can’t see or articulate a vision. We … Continue reading Macromanagement: Vision vs. Details
A struggle for many company leaders is resisting the urge to micromanage. What enabled you to rise in your organization was your ability to get things done – to take full responsibility of making something happen, based upon your own extraordinary skills in specific functional area. But now you are a leader. Yes, you probably … Continue reading Micromanagement Dragging You Down?
Most successful sales people will confirm that very few sales take place on the first call. 5 to 8 calls has proven to be a good reference point for most industries and products. A low cost, low value sale might require fewer calls, which a high cost, high value sale could take many more calls … Continue reading Sales: Persevere to Succeed