Organizations are Reflections of Leaders’ Priorities

I have lots of different conversations with sales executives. They cover any number of issues: “Dave, how do I get our people to use the sales process?” “My people aren’t using the tools we provide them….” “We need to be more customer focused….” “We need to create and communicate our value more effectively…..” “We need…

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The Key to Running a Business as a New Parent

Whenever a person transitions to running their own business, they have to adjust their concept of work/life balance. In return for equity and the possibility of financial freedom, you’ve got more responsibility and much longer hours. This means that work/life balance as an entrepreneur is challenging, if not impossible, to achieve. Now imagine adding an…

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A Riddle: Why Explain Why?

In my early journalism classes, I was taught the five “W’s” of good news stories, and that most should be in the first paragraph at that. Who, what, when, where and why are the five, with sometimes a “how” thrown in for those followers of the macabre. But of the five, “why” is by far the most important for business…

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A Vision for Success

We all have a different idea of success. For some of us it might be a house or luxury vehicle we’ve always wanted, and for others it could simply be having the financial stability to provide for our families. To accomplish these particular goals, we craft a vision for our success and rigorously strive toward fulfilling the…

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Eliminate Your To-Do List

“We are preoccupied with time. If we could learn to love space as deeply as we are now obsessed with time, we might discover a new meaning in the phrase to live like men.” ~Edward Abbey I have conducted countless seminars on time management, and I am always amazed at the number of people who…

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Displacement Principle in Startups and Small Business

It’s really pretty simple. Intuitive. I didn’t learn about it in business school; I learned about it while building and running a real business. I decided to call it the displacement principle. Displacement Principle: In the real world of small business, everything you do rules out something else you can’t do. My favorite metaphor is dropping a…

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Good, Cheap, Fast. Pick Any Two.

This one is attributed to Rod Adair, the famous oil and gas fire suppressing expert. And boy, does it apply to most of us and our offerings. “Quality” products and services should not be positioned as “cheap,” or your potential customers will question your message from the start, and will be more critical of the…

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Mindfulness in Business

A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine. ~Meher Baba As I said in last week’s column, I have just returned from walking over 450 miles on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. That experience taught me so many important lessons…

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Get Rid of Excess Baggage

The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective. ~Warren Buffett Another lesson from my recent 450-mile trek on the Camino de Santiago in Spain is about baggage. As you might guess, when making this walk, you have to travel as light as you can to take…

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