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 · 01. April 2017

Too often, owners and managers operate their businesses in silos that cause many opportunities to be overlooked. Accounting focuses only on accounting. Operations focuses only on operations. Marketing focuses only on traditional sales and promotion. Safety and maintenance only focuses on safety and maintenance. I could go on and on. High growth companies understand that each area of the business is a spoke on a wheel that works in tandem to truly keep opportunities flowing in and turning into...

Image Building · 01. October 2016

Branding is something every company should be doing. Unfortunately, most are doing it poorly because they approach branding from a marketing perspective only — rather than an enterprise-building perspective — or fail to take the different levels of branding into account. The basic levels of branding are visual impression, verbal impression, physical impression and personal experience. The visual image is what you see, such as graphics, logo, colors, etc. The verbal impression is achieved...

01. May 2016

Customer Attraction/Retention: Part I of II - Over 32 years in interviewing thousands of customers of clients in almost every industry, I have been able to document key factors of attraction and retention of customers that every business should pay heed to in order to realize a continually growing and loyal customer base. If you feel that you must always be pursuing new customers, chances are you are not truly understanding how successful businesses attract and keep customers through how they...

Profit Building · 01. September 2015

Part I of II - A challenge every business owner experiences, no matter how long in business, is the stress of cash flow not flowing as expected or projected. Especially when there are receivables on the books, if the money isn't in the bank, it can be stressful waiting for it to be received when payroll must be met, vendors much be paid and investments need to be made. See if any of these are part of your cash flow problem. 1. Delayed Billing or Receipt: If you don't bill the customer, you...

Image Building · 01. September 2014

In working with various entrepreneurial and small business clients, I have noticed a trend that beckoned to be explored further. Let's face it, business owners work hard in their businesses. So hard, in fact, that sometimes their vision can be clouded and their ability to make decisions can be stymied due to feeling attached to aspects of their businesses that are no longer serving them well. This "hanging on" tends to always boil down to an emotional attachment that derails strategic business...

Confidence Building · 01. March 2014

A company that expects to continue to grow efficiently and effectively must put controls in place to manage the process of growth. Additionally, setting standards and expectations is also essential to assuring consistency and quality.However, what I have been seeing recently are cases where standards are actually counterproductive, and may potentially be doing more harm than good. Are your standards sending the wrong message? Here are areas I am seeing companies fall victim to in their good...

Team Building · 01. December 2013

Are you frustrated by employees or associates whose work or efforts are not to your standards, level of passion or competency? Is this causing you to feel as though you are the only one that can get things done right? Nothing is more disheartening for a high achiever, and especially a business owner, than feeling as though no one can do it exactly like you. The dilemma is that as you take on more and more in order to accomplish more and more, you are actually crippling your ability to achieve...