Next Level Strategy · 15. June 2023

There are four reasons a commodity mindset occurs in business, and in every instance, these reasons should be viewed as warning signs that it’s time for a strategic re-focus

Momentum Building · 02. January 2023

The key to good decision-making is being in the right mindset. Too often decisions are made from uninformed or misguided thinking, resulting in a "wish I would have known then what I know now."

Momentum Building · 01. August 2015

As we are a month into the second half of the fiscal year for most businesses, savvy business owners are already planning for the year ahead, along with continuing to look 3 to 5 years ahead strategically. For decades, the norm for situation analysis within a business plan and strategy is to use SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) as a basis for making strategic decisions and prioritizing action. Too often, however, specifically the weaknesses and threats are not effectively...

Confidence Building · 01. May 2015

You may have heard the cold call statistic that it could take as many as 100 phone calls to get one meeting. That statistic has been around since cold calling was in its heyday. But at a one percent return on your time investment, are those odds really working in your favor? After all, wouldn't it be better to have odds that would actually give you the probability of converting that prospect into an actual customer? Over more than 30 years working with businesses, I have tracked what I like to...

Next Level Strategy · 01. April 2015

Walking into a Main Street gallery gift shop, I was greeted by its associate who asked, "How may I help you?" My answer, the same answer most likely you have given on countless occasions, "No thank you. I'm just looking." Instead of the usual, "Okay, just let me know if you have any questions," this associate literally seemed to get excited!He leaped out from behind the counter and said, "I have just the thing for you!" He returned with a card that offered a "Just Looking" discount on my...

Value Building · 01. March 2015

Over the past several months, I have witnessed buy-sell agreements fall through in businesses because of unanticipated developments that converted an appealing opportunity into a calamity of hidden surprises that ultimately killed the deal. As more and more Baby Boomer business owners are looking toward selling what they have built over the years, as well as Boomers ready for a second chapter in their lives, willing to invest in a business venture, it is important to be fully aware of some of...

Momentum Building · 01. March 2013

During down economic times, more reinvention occurs than new inventions as companies are forced to look inside their operations to determine what must change or evolve in order to continue to grow. Ask any business owner who sees the other side of any challenge and he or she will claim wholeheartedly that the shift they made was something they should have done sooner, but just needed that challenge to see its true opportunity. Business owners can also go awry when reinventing. Here are five...

Momentum Building · 01. January 2013

As business owners we are constantly choosing. Decisions are upon us all the time. We are also continuously shifting and adapting, which is why we can be the most resilient when necessary during challenging times.The key to good decision-making is in being in the right mindset. Too often, decisions are made from uninformed thinking or misguided thinking, resulting in a “wish I would have known then what I know now” regret at a decision made. Here are five areas to consider in how you choose...