Leadership
Building a Team Through Shared Goals
For any business to succeed, you have to build a team that works together. That team includes you as the business owner, any employees you have, your vendors, your partners—everyone who is part of running your business. When it comes to building that team, although talent is important, a cohesive group that sticks together is…
Read This Article
Finding Your Confidence
We might like to believe otherwise, but the reality is that things don’t always go smoothly. Whether you’re just starting out, or have been in business for decades, no matter how successful you are or what you do, there are surprises waiting around the corner, obstacles for you to overcome, and problems to solve. So…
Read This Article
Encourage Dissent!
Diverse thinking is one of the things I value the most. I want to hear all kinds of different ideas from all different sources. I don’t want other people to just echo back what I said, I want people to challenge me. And I don’t want everybody around me to think the exact same way.…
Read This Article
Beyond Women’s History Month: Keeping the Conversation Going for Women Entrepreneurs
March is Women’s History Month, a celebration of great women who made courageous strides forward and paved the way for the next generation. I can’t wait to read more about inspiring female entrepreneurs and talk to women business owners throughout the month. What happens when March is over? Subsequently, Women’s History Month ends and society…
Read This Article
Developing Your Sales Team
The salespeople that will put you on the map are hard to find. You want to build a sales staff of greats. They do 80% of the business. They usually number no more than 30% of your force — preferably more. Fire or Train? You should recognize that not every hire will work out and…
Read This Article
Are You Multiplying Your Team’s Success or Diminishing It?
Adapted from One More Customer by Fran Tarkenton and Scott Miller As you add to your team, whether with permanent or temporary members, hopefully you’ll add complementary talent to your own: individuals who share your values and work ethic, but add dimension to your company’s abilities. You don’t need eleven quarterbacks to make a winning team; diversity…
Read This Article
Failure is Not Final
To learn from failure, you must own your failures. When you make a decision, you need to acknowledge that things can go wrong and take responsibility when they do. Owning failure means you examine it, rethink it, and figure out how to improve. Our parents tell us things like “Learn from your mistakes.” Most of…
Read This Article
Don’t Miss Out on What Could Be Your Signature Idea
Newly elected baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is known for many things: Holding the all-time career saves record. Winning 5 World Series championships with the New York Yankees. Setting a host of playoff relief records. And last week, those accomplishments made him the first player ever unanimously elected the Baseball Hall of Fame. I…
Read This Article
Consultant’s Corner: Serving on a Corporate Board
Q: How does a person go about getting considered to serve on a corporate board, or as an advisor to other corporate boards? The approach, qualifications, and other considerations for getting a board of directors, or advisory committee, seat vary somewhat based on the type of corporation—nonprofit, privately-owned, or publicly owned. Having contacts and relationships…
Read This Article
Start Talking About Failure
The taboo against uttering the F-word—failure—grows stronger the closer you get to the top. In the mailroom, or in mid-management, you can bet they talk about problems in the business all the time. But as you rise to the C-suites, you find executives who think they have to hide behind the pretense that they are…
Read This Article