A Path to Greatness

I often meet entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses, provide added value to their customers, hire more employees, or take their businesses “to the next level.” Yet, when I ask them what steps they are actively taking to achieve those goals, I am often met with silence. Sometimes my question is met with a […]

Business as Usual?

During a quarterly review session, I facilitate a thorough assessment of each section of a Leadership Team’s Strategic Vision & Execution Plan. This practice aims to ensure the Leadership Team is 100% on the same page with the organization’s vision and strategic plan. This often leads to robust conversations among the Leadership Team members. Sometimes […]

Marketing Strategy

If you have read my blogs with any frequency, you know I am a huge fan of Seth Godin. He has authored 20 bestselling books, and I have read many of them. One of my favorites is This Is Marketing. Seth offers a big idea in this book: “Great marketers don’t use consumers to solve their company’s problem; […]

The Value of Rocks

As a Leadership Team guide and coach, I am passionate about helping Leadership Teams get what they want from their business. One of the tools I teach every Leadership Team is how to set quarterly Rocks. A Rock is a clearly defined strategy to address the team’s priorities during the next 13-weeks. Most companies try to focus […]

Don’t Drive Into a Lake

I borrowed this blog title from gapingvoid. What does this have to do with business, you ask? Great question! Periodically, I engage with a Leadership Team that becomes too attached to their annual strategic plan. Granted, they worked hard to develop their annual plan. They examined the trends taking place in their industry, identified the organization’s […]

Energizing Break

“If I was to sum up the single biggest mistake of senior leadership in the Information Age, it’s a lack of reflection. Solitude allows you to reflect while others are reacting. We need solitude to refocus on prospective decision-making, rather than just reacting to problems as they arise.” ~ James Mattis, 4-star Marine Corps General […]

Leaders Determine Culture

There is a wonderful story in the book Teaching the Elephant to Dance by Jim Belasco. The book is about Dr. Denton Cooley, a cardiothoracic surgeon famous for performing the first implantation of a total artificial heart. Mr. Belasco spent months following Dr. Cooley around, observing and interviewing him. One day, as Dr. Cooley was about to […]

Office Politics

We’ve probably all worked in a setting where office politics were practiced. Wikipedia defines politics as “the practice and theory of influencing other people.” When people make decisions or sway others based on their own personal interests, or to support their own project or department, company morale suffers. Because this isn’t what is best for the greater […]

Do You Have a Business Playbook?

A business playbook is a strategic approach to documenting your company’s core processes. Core processes are the conceptual sequence of events that enables people in a business to do what they do. A good core process is very cleanly and clearly defined. Sports teams have a playbook. Envision your favorite team: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, […]

Distractions, Distractions!

No matter what stage your business is in – whether you’re just getting started or you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor – it’s easy to lose focus. Maybe you or a member of your Leadership Team has a new idea. Maybe there’s an opportunity you’ve been presented with. Or maybe it’s a client request […]