October 3, 2007
Has your business ever experienced a time when sales were down, sluggish or perhaps even non existent for a period of time? Most businesses have been there at one time or another, some due to predictable business cycles and some…
September 10, 2007
Let’s face it, if you run a business you’re going to run into problems. Of course some of those will be more difficult than others, and some may even be “opportunities” when examined more closely. Problems nonetheless, and every business…
September 10, 2007
I recently met with a business owner who was lamenting that his employees, all long-term associates with this relatively successful professional services company, were not as committed as they used to be. The example he gave me to prove his…
August 31, 2007
Last week marked the end of 2nd Quarter 2007 or some other milestone depending on your fiscal planning cycle. Oh my, how time flies! No matter – it’s over – and the key question is “How’d you do?” Before you…
August 31, 2007
Great businesses have great people, and every growing business is always looking for more. The people you need to grow your business may be full time employees, part-timers, contractors, virtual types, vendors and suppliers, partners and advisors — all types…
August 31, 2007
Last week I was waiting to board a late night flight back to Chicago from Dulles International. While watching passengers deplane from the incoming aircraft that would soon be my plane home, I observed a simple yet poignant lesson in…
August 31, 2007
Not too long ago an executive client of mine, a business owner, was lamenting she simply had too much to do in the amount of time she had to do it in. She was working 10 hour days, five days…
August 30, 2007
Using Change to Add Value to Your Life and Business Like it or not, change is a huge part of your business. Technology, society, commerce and industry are all changing at unprecedented rates. There’s more of it, it happens faster…
August 30, 2007
I recently met with a group of successful business owners in a mastermind session where we discussed the topic of “how to keep you and your business growing.” There were no wallflowers in this group so the ideas and best…
August 30, 2007
Every year we see statistics reporting that about 50 percent of businesses fail in their first year and an even greater percentage fail within five years. Many reports also state the top reasons for this: insufficient capital, poor credit arrangements,…
August 30, 2007
Four Keys to Operational Excellence As we’ve stated before, operational excellence is no longer a competitive advantage. Globalization, access to technology, sophisticated communications and highly demanding and knowledgeable customers make it a competitive necessity. If your company is not world…
August 30, 2007
No one ever said that honing the best strategy for your company is easy. It takes good research, creativity, holistic thinking, risk taking and sometimes a bit of intuition. A formidable task, it is expedited by the promise of improved…