Beyond The E-Myth
Michael Gerber was Correct. But… Michael Gerber’s 1988 book, The E-Myth, is recommended reading for all entrepreneurial business owners. The sequel, The E-Myth Revisited, is the more valuable read. If you’ve not read these or need a review, here is my brief summation. The E-Myth: A Summary Gerber introduces the concept that a business owner […]
We’ve Always Done It That Way
Railroad Q & A Have you ever wondered why the U.S. standard railroad gauge (the distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8½ inches? Probably not, but you must admit it’s a peculiar number. Like many of our US measuring systems, the origin was British. Their standards were applied to the U.S. railroads. Why did […]
Time Is Money
What does “Time Is Money” Really Mean You’ve heard the old adage: Time is money. We all say it. What does that really mean? Many of us are paid on the basis of the amount of time that we put in. However over the long term, the rate we are paid for our time is based […]
Cutting Through Marketing Clutter
Are there silver bullets for today’s cluttered marketing arena? Brand building attempts are everywhere today. We need to look no further than professional sporting events to be exposed to advertising overkill. In baseball, superimposed ads behind home plate are changed every inning. NBA basketball games change their scorer’s table ads with each possession. PGA golfers […]
Taking Lemons and Making Lemonade: A Classic Example
My personal favorite example of taking lemons and making lemonade comes from the early days of Wal-Mart, long before they became The World’s Largest Retailer. The Lemons Our story begins at an early Wal-Mart store, located in an economically depressed region. The store gained the dubious distinction for having the largest inventory shrinkage rate of […]
Two Rules for Mixing Family With Business
In my experience with family owned businesses, I have discovered that if owners would follow two simple rules, their lives would be both more prosperous and harmonious. Rule #1:Treat your employees like family. Rule #2: Treat your family like employees. familyRule #1 is applied by the best employers regardless of their type of ownership. Rule […]
Shortfalls of Seminar Training
Wasting Millions In his book Working With Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman describes how millions are wasted on two and three day leadership and management training seminars. In some researched cases, performance actually dropped after seminar training. Drinking from a Fire Hose In most instances, seminar training is like drinking from a fire hose. Participants are bombarded […]
Business Growth and The Peter Principle
A business will rise no higher than the level of its leadership. The Peter Principle; defined Executive recruiters and commercial lenders agree that it takes a different kind of leader to run a $20 million company that it does to run a $2 million company. The same can be said about running $100 million and […]
The Pinocchio Effect
It starts with with a seemingly harmless fabrication Have ever you avoided a phone call by instructing your assistant… “Tell him I’ve gone to lunch” or “Tell her I’m in a meeting” …when it’s not true? It seems like a harmless fabrication. It allows you to avoid that undesirable conversation. It helps you to seize […]
The Role of Core Values in Business Strategy and Leadership
A Tale of Two Brands Business planning emphasizes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A Vision and/or Mission are standard fare. However, the most meticulous strategy plan can still derail without the guidance of core values. They are the standards for behavior that define your culture. Defining core values is a critical step. From there, the […]