It Really Isn’t About You

Keep Your Ego in Check to Achieve Your Goals

     Why do people have to be so difficult? If they just did what they are supposed to do (in other words, what you want them to do), your job and life would be so much easier and less stressful.

     You might as well just [...]

Are You Pushing a String Uphill?

Don’t Try to Solve a Problem That Doesn’t Exist

     What is the mission of your business? To solve your customer’s problem, right? Isn’t it your goal to provide your customers with a product or service that makes things more convenient, easier, less stressful?

     It is critical that you are very clear and specific [...]

Are You a Nutrition Label or a Picture?

Presentation is Essential When Asking for Money

     Imagine for a moment that you have had a very long day and you are driving home, hungry and tired, fighting the rush hour traffic. You do not want to cook dinner, your spouse will not cook dinner, your kids do not know how to cook [...]

10 Tips for Creating Strategic Advantage

Identify the key people or talent groups you need for your strategy to work. Adopt the practice of questioning and challenging the analyses and findings of groups that have worked in an area for a long time. Think like your competitors. If you were to compete against you, what would you do?

[...]

Which Type of Brand Are You?

     I was looking through an old edition of Home Furnishings Retailer, an industry trade magazine, and I came across an interesting article.  The two main points of the article were:

1.  Recognize that you have established a brand image in the minds of your customers, either intentionally through specific brand-building efforts, or unintentionally through your interaction with [...]

Does Your Team Know the Game Plan?

   In the huddle the pro-quarterback looks at the other players and says, “We really need to win this game.  Let’s score a touchdown on the next play.”  The players respond, “Great, we’re with you QB, what’s the play?”  The quarterback snarls, “What’s the play? How long have you guys been on this team?  You’re supposed to know all the [...]

An Unintended Benefit

   I often recommend conducting your own due diligence review to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses in your company.  The idea is that fixing problem areas now will increase the value of your company and therefore improve your ability to raise capital.  These are the most obvious benefits of an internal due diligence review.

   However, there are [...]

A Strategy for Growth and Increased Profits

     A critical tool in building any successful business is an effective marketing strategy—one with an ongoing focus on creating new customers while increasing sales from existing customers.

     By definition, the marketing umbrella covers many business functions other than selling: market research, pricing, packaging, distribution, quality control, public relations, advertising and customer service.  Businesses that focus primarily [...]