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Strategic Planning
Find the Cause of the Problem Before Trying to Fix It
So often, managers and business owners assume they know how to solve every problem simply because they have had many years of experience. However, experience often leads to decisions that worked in the past, and past decisions are not always applicable in the current environment.
10 Steps to Accountability
Early in my career, my boss gave me what he called “The 10 Commandments” to personal and team success. It was a laminated, front-and-back, wallet-size card with 10 statements on each side. One side was titled “10 Steps to Accountability” and the other side was “10 Steps to Right Person, Right Place, and Right Time.”
Don’t Waste Time in Meetings
Ask any executive and nearly every one will say meetings are their biggest time wasters. As Dave Barry put it, “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.'”
3 Secrets to Reinventing Your Industry (Before Someone Else Does)
Your industry is about to change. Best reinvent it before someone else does it for you. And as you reinvent it, ask your team what business will you be in? Which one should you be in?
Many Entrepreneurs Over-Think or Under-Think Issues
While technology and the Internet allow you to act and react more quickly than ever before, you need more than ever to consider decisions reflectively before making them. In addition to solving problems the right way, make sure you are solving the right problems.
Execution
During the first couple of years in business, you will constantly be challenged with the bicycle pedals of motivation and discipline. When motivation wanes, discipline must kick in to keep the bicycle moving. Some of the best leaders and managers in business don’t achieve peak results because they simply don’t execute the plan.
Long Term Focus for Small Business
As a small business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of an average day. Especially when work piles up in and around the office, entrepreneurs don’t always take the time to consider the long term impact of what they’re doing. Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you promote the long term success of your business when the going gets tough.
Essential Elements When Framing Organizational Change
A critical element of initiating a successful change initiative is communicating that change is a normal and positive function of doing business—it is a key factor in a company’s ability to remain relevant and differentiate from competitors and grow year over year.
We Misunderstand Lean—But It Is So Important!
Lean has huge traction in about every part of organizations except for sales and marketing. But if you really understand Lean, it becomes compelling for sales and marketing, purely because of the clarity, focus, and simplicity it drives.
Know Your Role As The Owner
As an entrepreneur starting a new business, you often have to wear the hat of cook, dishwasher, accountant, and general manager. However, one of the biggest mistakes a young owner will make is not quickly clarifying their role within the organization.