Larry Galler - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

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Larry Galler has been an owner of three small businesses selling to local, regional, and national markets. Since 1993 he has been coaching and consulting high performance executives, professionals, and owners of small businesses to extraordinary acheivement. He speaks frequently to business groups and has written a weekly newspaper column since 2001. If you want to increase the velocity of your business success, contact Larry for a free coaching session - larry@larrygaller.com .

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The Most Critical Skill For a Changing World
[Business:Management] For success in today's fast-changing business environment a company and the people in the company, from the CEO to the newest hire must be adaptable to change and flexible in their understanding of their position. Rigidity doesn't allow progress.

Greatness is a Conscious Decision
[Business:Management] Building a "great" business doesn't happen because of luck. It happens because management made a choice to build a "great" business. Consider the difference in intention when the business is focused on "greatness" instead of "goodness."

Reversing the Slippery Slope to Dull Mediocrity
[Business:Change-Management] Unless new goals are created when the old goals have been achieved the company starts down a slippery slope to mediocrity. New goals and focus reinvigorates the company and sustains forward momentum.

Your Manual Pays Dividends
[Business:Management] The smaller the business the less likely the possibility they have up to date operations and training manuals which is the primary reason why the owners complain about the quality of their staff. Taking the time to write those manuals will pay huge dividends in increased better customer relations, fewer errors, and a better managed company. Invest a little time and reap the dividends for years.

For Product Meetings - Synergize, Energize and Improve!
[Business:Management] Meetings that are participatory and open will unleash energy and creativity. Meeting that are dictitorial may be self serving but stifle creative and fearless input.

Glitz and Glamour Versus Substance
[Business:Marketing] While attending a national trade show held in a large convention center, I stopped walking suddenly and had an epiphany. Actually, I had been walking the aisles back and forth looking at booths left and right and realized that I had probably walked the last two aisles in a zombie-like trance and needed to take a rest. So I stopped, sat down for a moment and started observing.

Are Loyal Customers Profitable Customers?
[Business:Small-Business] Common sense tells us that loyal customers are the most profitable customers but look at your data first because they might just be buying the promoted bargains which bring low margins and low profit. You won't know unless you look!

As the Seasons Change, Opportunities Arise
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Changes in the season change buying patterns. Every business has seasonal fluctuations in customer's needs and desires. Promote right and capture more sales in both the busy season and the slow season.

Recession Over?
[Business:Strategic-Planning] No matter whether the recession is over or not, businesses can't do "the same old thing" and expect to do as well as they did in pre-recession days. Look at your market, evolve to meet the new marketplace or your competition will do it before you!

Become an Actor When Playing a New Role
[Business:Change-Management] Thrust in a new situation? Got a new part to play? Instead of fumbling in a "old dog - new tricks" situation imagine yourself an actor playing the part of "you in your new role." It works!

A Basic Solution Until the Tide Turns
[Business:Marketing] Choosing to change the marketing position of a product, service, or company in this challenging economy is not an easy change yet major players are going downmarket as their customer base changes buying habits. Is this a strategy you should consider?

Summertime Pleasure and a Lesson in "Sales"
[Business:Sales-Training] Last week I indulged in the annual summertime pleasure known as "Going to the County Fair for Dinner." I won't tell you about the illicit unhealthy deviation from my normal "heart-healthy" diet. I'm not proud of this excursion into wretched excess but I will tell you about learning experience I received.

Stop the Presses! Check it Twice, Or Even Three Times!
[Business:Presentation] Don't lick the envelope or hit the "send" button without checking for spelling errors, typos, and incorrect word usage. Your clarity of thought and attention to detail will be compromised unless you proofread as a matter of habit.

Walking the Tightrope of Change
[Business:Small-Business] There is always a risk associated with change. Reduce risk and increase the possibility of reward by making evolutionary changes rather than radical change.

Why Drive 40 Miles When It's Available 6 Miles Away?
[Business:Customer-Service] Between my house and the garden center we frequent there are many competing businesses. Why do we spend the time and money to travel so far when the same products are available closer?

To Innovate Ask "How Else?"
[Business:Management] It's easy to answer a question but to arrive at a breakthrough you have to go deeper than the surface. To go deeper you have to ask deeper and ask deeper again and ask deeper yet again.

Don't Try Selling to Everyone!
[Business:Marketing] If your business knows who its best prospects are and promotes directly to that target instead of diluting the message by trying to attract everyone, you have a much better chance of attracting those who are most likely to buy. I often ask businesspeople, "who is your targeted market," your "ideal customer?" Most of the time the answers I receive are a disappointing: "Everybody."

Olympic Bid and Business 101
[Business:Small-Business] When you hear a sophisticated speaker recite the Business Plan to explain a business it reinforces the value of the planning process. This speech was so clear, specific, and precise it makes one wonder why so many owners of small businesses are stuck for an answer when asked, " What do you do!"

Imagine Baseball Without Home Plate!
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Sports, without a goal, would be total nonsense. So why, then, do businesses go goal-less?

When Bad Things Happen to Good Businesses
[Business:Strategic-Planning] No matter how good your business is, there are outside forces at work that can turn your market and your business into a tailspin. Analyze the causes, alternatives, and proactively create success out of disaster.

Looking at a Time Capsule
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Businesses are born, businesses prosper and survive or they die. Look back at your industry and your community for proof. In twenty-five years will your business be prospering or dead? It's up to you!

Transform the Business
[Business:Strategic-Planning] We spend lots of time in our business but little time improving our business. The task of improvement is transformational. If we can spend effective time transforming the business we'll be ready for the future.

Please Don't Call Me That - Ever!
[Business:Customer-Service] Time for a personal rant. As long as I can remember I've been known as Larry to everyone except when my legal name is required such as my birth certificate, Social Security card, driver's license, bank accounts, even the dreaded "permanent record in high school. I've always been Larry and, when someone calls me Lawrence, the sound of the name is so foreign to me that I figure they are talking to someone else. When I realize they are talking to me, it is like hearing someone's fingernails on a blackboard.

Complex Procedure? Simplify It!
[Business:Management] Even the most daunting, complex tasks can be broken down into component parts and simplified into manageable chunks so they become routine, methodical operations. Consider how difficult it must be to assemble an automobile, yet when it is broken down into component tasks, each becomes relatively easy.

Fix it For the Last Time
[Business:Small-Business] When a problem occurs or something breaks we fix it. If it happens again we fix it again. But unless we fix the core issue, the problem will occur time and time again. Developing a process to fix the core issue will eliminate the problem forever.

Customer Service Brings Them Back
[Business:Customer-Service] The other day I was rushing around trying to get all my errands done quickly. One of my tasks was to purchase some needed supplies. Years ago I stopped going to the most convenient vendor because the staff was unhelpful on a good day and downright rude on a bad day and it seemed they had mostly bad days.

Scout the Other Team and SWOT Them
[Business:Small-Business] If you compete for customers (and who doesn't?) you will be better able to compete if you take advantage of your strengths and your competition's weaknesses; grasp your opportunities and overcome your threats. Analyze them well and win those customers.

Everyone Can Be a Hero
[Reference-and-Education:Survival-and-Emergency] Emergencies happen at any time, any place. Those who are trained and prepared become heroes. Those who are not, become victims. Create a culture of preparedness and make heroes out of everyone.

Eliminate the Customer Elimination Department
[Business:Customer-Service] Is there a stealth Customer Elimination Department hard at work making it easy for customers to defect to the competition by making it difficult to please them? Root them out and eliminate it!

Synergize and Conquer - Utilize the Power of Promotional Synergy
[Business:Marketing] Let's face it, advertising and marketing are expensive. Many businesses don't promote much because they fear the reward will not justify the risk of an extended campaign. Yet everything one reads on the subject including many research studies tell us that an extended campaign will bring a profitable return on investment eventually.

Follow-Up Isn't a One-Shot Deal
[Business:Sales-Management] Most sales don't happen at the first contact. It takes time and continued effort to create a relationship, build credibility and trust before the prospect is comfortable. Regular, scheduled follow-up will be more successful than giving up.

First Build Credibility
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Being trustworthy comes from being credible. Once you have credibility you start building trust. It's one of those things that takes a long time to build but you can lose it in the blink of an eye or the admission that it's all a Ponzi scheme.

When the CSR Doesn't Service
[Business:Customer-Service] Calling someone a CSR (Customer Service Representative) does not necessarily mean that the customer is getting served. If serving the customer is intended then the culture of the company, the training, and the focus must be on customer service, not on the title.

A Pricing Policy That Peeves
[Business:Customer-Service] Instead of charging for once free services consider offering attractive options that customers are willing to pay extra for. Taking away is never as customer pleasing as charging more for greater value.

Conventional Wisdom Vs The Unconventional
[Business:Small-Business] In business we are often doing work today that, hopefully, will pay off tomorrow. It's much like the farmer who sows seed today with expectations of tomorrow's harvest. That's the conventional wisdom and it works... usually. But these are certainly not usual times. In fact these are unusually unstable times.

Have a Fail-Safe System and Check it Twice
[Business:Small-Business] Error elimination is a constant issue. The typical scenario when an error is discovered is to correct the error - period, but rarely is the cause of the error worked on. Many error causing activities can be eliminated by creating a fail-safe system or process to do it (whatever it is) right the first time and every time.

Four Tasks at Work - Where Should You Spend Your Time?
[Business:Productivity] Much of our time at work is spent at tasks that should be delegated if we are to be productive but many small businesspeople say they don't have the time to be productive. Look at where you spend your time and you'll find that you can work on the important tasks instead of the comfortable ones.

It Floats! - And Other Differentiators
[Business:Small-Business] On some level we all sell a commodity. The lavish white-tablecloth restaurant and the fast-food emporium both sell the commodities known as "lunch" or "dinner." The differentiators in ambiance, price, speed, choice, and personal service determine what they are willing to pay for and where they chose to dine.

"How About Those Meatballs" and Other Networking Skills
[Business:Networking] There are many opportunities to meet new prospects in a business situation yet so many people are not able to take advantage of them because they have difficulty getting outside their comfort zone and can't think of a way to engage others in conversation. Like everything else, it takes practice.

Create a Mini-manual to Guide Training
[Business:Productivity] The other day I was working away on my computer trying to do something that I knew was possible but I didn't know how to do it. I'll bet there is a cliche about using the "help" function in software just as there is one about men stopping to ask directions when lost. Usually I try one keystroke combination after another until I finally guess right and hit the magic button.

Time For a "Time-Out"
[Business:Management] Most of the time there isn't just one right answer to a vexing problem. There are often multiple ways of solving it. In a perfect world those who are working to solve the problem have to look at the situation, analyze it, create options, determine the best course of action (and perhaps alternative solutions), and figure out how to implement the solution.

It's Not All Doom and Gloom
[News-and-Society:Economics] Every so often I get together for a quick conversation over a cup of coffee with a friend who owns a growing small business. Last week's coffee conversation was eye-opening and inspiring. It started by him telling me that 2008 was his best year - sales, production, and profits were up.

Create a Structure to Unify Purpose
[Business:Management] At lunch with a business owner recently I heard complaints about one department that was dysfunctional and causing customer complaints. In digging deeper the problem actually started in another department's paper work and, once both departments worked together to solve the problem, the complaints stopped.

Of Avalanches, Lemmings, Physics and Our Reaction
[Business:Marketing] Buying and selling go in cycles. Trends and fads are at work on either side of the equation. Understanding the dynamics of mass hysteria can gain significant advantage both as a buyer and a seller.

Faces Have Personalities - X-Rays Don't!
[Business:Customer-Service] Attaching a photo of the customer to forms, records, etc. allows the service provider to visualize the customer they are working for instead of working on just the data. It has proven to reduce errors and improve the work.

Replace Camouflage With Honesty and Knowledge
[Business:Customer-Service] When faced with a question and don't know the answer many people attempt to bluff their way through it. The result is often unsatisfactory causing the questioner to go elsewhere. Taking the time to research the answer will raise the perception of integrity and satisfy the questioner.

Sweat it Out in the Gym
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] World Champion Downhill skier Lindsey Vonn has the amazing physical talents necessary to compete at the highest levels of her sport, but all those she competes against also have those talents. She has the support of coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and equipment specialists but so do all the other athletes at the top level of sport. In the off-season Lindsey works out in the gym an amazing seven hours a day working on strength, flexibility, and focus.

Why Does the Chicken Cross the Road?
[Business:Marketing] Our customers, clients, and prospects are all buying because of habits or patterns. It is up to us to strengthen those patterns with those who are buying from us and to break the pattern of those who are buying elsewhere.

Unlock the Future With an Idea
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] I was reading a book on creativity and came across a quote of Thomas Edison recently that got me thinking and, as I was in pondering mode, I also started thinking back to my school days. Edison said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

Ask and Ask and Ask
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Here we are in the fourth quarter of the year which means that it is Strategic Planning time again. Notepads and pencils, laptops and spreadsheets ready? For many businesses, next year looks to be challenging because of the turmoil in the financial markets impacting businesses in both the world capitals and in the town square.

Continuity Vs Chaos
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Companies that retain their staff for the long-term also retain customers better. Companies that churn their staff are also churning customers. The way to real, sustained growth is by creating an environment of stability rather than of chaos.

Use Foundation As Compass to the Future
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] I often ask businesspeople about the foundation of their business. I ask whether they have "Foundational Statements" such as a Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Values Statement. Many of the people I ask actually have those statements.

Dig Below the Surface For Deeper Answers
[Business:Management] When seeking information don't settle for the surface, glib, throwaway answer. Ask a series of follow-ups and get to the real gems you are seeking.

The "Child Inside" Overcomes "DRUDGE"
[Business:Productivity] There are many tasks that, while they are necessary or even critical, are dull, boring, and repetitive. Creatively transforming those tasks into a challenge, sport or game can help get those tasks done quickly and accurately, eliminating procrastination and allowing bonus time to do much more.

When the "Big Boys" Arrive, "Position" and "Vision" the Future
[Business:Small-Business] A small company either withers and dies or changes and becomes stronger when a much larger, better funded competitor comes into the marketplace with a business plan designed to steal market share from the smaller, weaker, competitors. Having the ability to "vision" the future and the forsight to "position" the company's products to attract market niches not served by the larger company allows survival and then a thriving company.

Keep the Sky From Falling
[Business:Continuity-Disaster-Recovery] In a volatile financial market planning for contingencies is critical because, when an issue arises, the responsive action has already been considered. Crucial time is saved when all you have to do is review the plan and modify it as necessary rather then invent the action under intense pressure.

Small Goal May Be the Best Goal
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] Large, long-term "stretch" goals are great but can be daunting. They can sometimes demotivate. A series of small, linked, mini-goals can keep passions high and attain the same, or better results.

Persist Politely and Gain Respect
[Business:Sales-Training] Professional Sales is often a game of follow-up. Some attempt to batter down the doors of resistance with a battering ram which may work for one-time sales. When a relationship and future sales are considered use a more subtle approach of polite persistence.

Of Star Trek, Farming, and Cultivating Innovation
[Business:Change-Management] Going boldly into the future requires an assumption of two risks. The risk of not moving forward and the risk of moving in the wrong direction. Minimize those risks and make the future yours.

Create Culture For Customer's Special Needs
[Business:Customer-Service] Products and services need to be designed for the people who use and buy them. Some people have special needs but often, since the designers may not have those special needs, they design products and services that don't function for people with those needs and they are missing sales that others win.

We Can All Be Champions
[Business:Small-Business] If I have seemed groggy for the past week or so it is because the Olympics have made me lose sleep. I've been staying up well past my normal bedtime watching magnificent athletes performing at the highest level of human performance and endurance. I've watched them perform extraordinary feats of skill that have been practiced and honed over years of training and competition.

Of Big Mac's, Economics, and Us
[Business:Management] There are many ways of measuring performance but if you are attempting to show something to someone who is not familiar with the measurements you use creating an analogy may help them more easily understand your measurement system. Use the "Big Mac Index" as an example.

Trees, Forests, and Other Points of View
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Some see the "big picture" others see the many details. Making projects successful requires that the grand strategy is right and that the details are done to perfection.

Develop the Organization to Eliminate Chaos
[Business:Productivity] An organized business is built on systems and processes and the integration of those systems and processes. It all must fit together to run effectively.

Opportunities and Threats in Chaos
[Business:Strategic-Planning] These days it seems that chaos is all around us. We are being whipsawed by the wild run-up in energy costs and commodity prices, the pressure on credit markets caused by the mortgage bust, the stock market gyrating seemingly out of control, some large financial institutions and banks are in trouble, historically iconic companies (examples are General Motors and Ford) are facing difficulties considered unthinkable until recently. You and I have no control over any of this!

Case Study - How Much Can You Afford to Pay For a Customer?
[Business:Marketing] After a number of years of steady, profitable growth a company had maxed out their ability to fulfill orders in a timely fashion. The owners knew they had to add capacity which meant they would have to add people, train them properly, and change their internal systems to add capacity. So they made a commitment to change, hired their first sales manager to keep sales momentum growing, and started a year-long internal changeover to increase capacity.

Creativity is a Substitute For Cash
[Business:Advertising] Let's face it, marketing can be expensive. It is especially expensive for a small company with little in the way of resources who competes against well funded, large companies. The "household name" companies have the cash to spend to retain and grow their market share while the small company has to scrape up the funds to market.

Stand Up and Fight
[Business:Marketing] Sometimes market leaders rest on their laurels and lose market share to aggressive upstarts who invest more in marketing and advertising. Don't let it happen to you!

It's the Enforcer
[Business:Customer-Service] I went to lunch last week with a long-time friend, the owner of a local, successful twelve-year-old business in a service related industry. When he walked to the table about ten minutes late I could see he was angry, agitated and red-faced. "It looks like you are going to have a stroke, what's up?

Link Mini-Goals For Maximum Achievement
[Business:Productivity] Large, complex projects appear daunting, difficult, and time-consuming. If they are broken down into smaller, manageable components they become easier to grasp, more comprehensible, and easier to finish on time and on budget.

Will They Come?
[Business:Marketing] The theme of the movie, "Field of Dreams" was "Build it and they will come." I still hear people refer to it as a viable strategy for success but I think they are in error. I'm sure that this passive approach is at least somewhat effective and certainly it is a theme that we would all like to believe.

Cure the Disease Not the Symptom
[Business:Management] Too often we see a problem and fix it with a "patch" instead of looking for the underlying cause and eliminating it so the problem returns, often worse than before. Look deeper and eliminate the cause so the issue doesn't reoccur.

Project Over? Give Yourself a Grade
[Business:Productivity] Instead of finishing a project and filing away the results first assess hou you performed, your level of success against your standards or expectations. This review will increase your awareness of past and your future performance.

Demand Vs Persuade - Times Have Changed
[Business:Management] Pounding your fist on the desk used to work now there are better, more gentle ways of leading the troops without causing your blood pressure to spike and causing your neck veins to throb. They are more effective and create a more harmonious environment.

Attitude - It's More Than The Stuff In The Bag
[Business:Customer-Service] The customer experience is defined by the attitude of the company and its staff. It is much more than the "stuff" your client buys. Improve the experience to differentiate your company from those you compete against.

Put The Horse In The Right Location
[Business:Management] Making decisions in a "flash of brilliance" many be a rush to judgment. Even though that "flash" may be correct, a disciplined approach to decision making will lessen the opportunity for error.

Defog The Mirror Of Customer Satisfaction
[Business:Customer-Service] There is a high probability that your belief of your customer's satisfaction and their belief of how satisfied they are satisfied is different. Find out - you might be surprised!

Process - Right Turns to Save Lots Of Gas
[Business:Productivity] Recently I read that United Parcel Service changed the way they route their brown delivery trucks to make right turns instead of making left turns and crossing oncoming traffic. According to UPS, this saves time and fuel while waiting for traffic to clear on busy roads and at stoplights. It is also safer because there is less exposure to opposing traffic.

You are a Fashionista!
[Business:Marketing] It's vital to be aware of changing market conditions and it's critical to monitor the trends and fads that those market conditions affect. If you do it right you will profit. If you don't you might end up with a warehouse full of pet rocks.

Achieve Goals Instead of Watching Graffiti
[Self-Improvement:Goal-Setting] While sitting in my car waiting for a long, slow train to move past and hoping that it wouldn't come to a frustrating stop just a few cars before clearing the crossing. I thought about my mental list of goals for the day, the week, and the rest of the year. Instead of reading the graffiti painted on the sides of the railroad cars I went over my New Year's Resolutions to see how I was doing. Happily, I discovered that I was well on the way to accomplishing some of those tasks.

A Beautiful Business Is Like A Completed Jigsaw Puzzle
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] A jigsaw puzzle morphs from a pile of pieces. An excellent business morphs from many tasks, departments, or activities and each one is just as important to the whole business as each piece of a jigsaw puzzle is to the completed picture. One missing piece ruins the picture, one dysfunctional department ruins the business.

For Quality Conquor the "Vital Few" Versus the "Trivial Many"
[Business:Change-Management] I don't make a habit of reading obituaries but there was a memorial published recently about Joseph M. Juran. I knew the name in a hazy way so, curious, I read about him and learned about an inventive innovator.

Confessions Of A Miscommunicator - But Improving
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Do a "Clarity Check" before hitting the "send" button, before speaking, before licking the envelope shut. Check and see if there is any opportunity to improve clarity and understanding and fewer people will say, "I thought you meant...".

Speed - Jack's Strategy For Success
[Business:Customer-Service] Our world is speeding up - competition is increasing customer expectations. If we can't beat the competition in delivering what the customer wants when they want it we will lose to the faster, more nimble competitor. Consider the Pony Express and Jack B. Nimble when thinking how you can capture more business.

Management Styles For Effectiveness - Dissonance Versus Harmony
[Business:Management] There are as many styles of managing as there are managers - some are effective, some are destructive. How can you change your style to create a harmonious atmosphere that really gets things done?

Get Past the Gumption Trap
[Business:Productivity] Getting started on any project is difficult sometimes. We procrastinate, make up excuses, or just have difficulty looking at a "blank sheet of paper." Get past it by just taking that first step.

Design Your Boomerang To Drive Customer Loyalty
[Business:Customer-Service] Everyone knows it is much easier and more profitable to sell to people who you have satisfied in the past but very few businesses have instituted programs to inspire those satisfied customers to return. Design a boomerang - throw out an incentive to those people and see how often they return.

How Can You Be In Two Places At Once?
[Business:Management] If a business owner, executive, or manager is to leverage their time and skills effectively they must delegate effectively yet many have problems doing it. How then can one international executive be such an effective delegator? See what he says the answer is.

Opportunities If The Glass Is Half Full Or Disasters If It Is Half Empty
[News-and-Society:Economics] In recent weeks the stock market volatility, more bad news on the subprime mortgage mess, less then stellar government economic reports, and predictions by various "doom and gloom" business gurus have made it look like blood will soon be (or already is) running in the streets. Yes, this difficult turn of financial events has hurt or even devastated some people and businesses, and yes, more will follow.

Anybody Seen Wolfgang?
[Business:Management] While many business owners and managers feel that nothing is done right unless they do it themselves, others are able to delegate tasks to others. Those who delegate well still oversee or control the quality and timeliness of the tasks thus leveraging their time and energy.

Overturn the Turnover Problem
[Business:Management] I spent a little time over the holidays catching up on that pile of business magazines and newspaper articles I have accumulated on the corner of my desk to read "one of these days." It was either throw out the whole pile or wade in, thumb through it, skim those that look interesting, and throw out the rest. So, instead of wasting my time watching football, I gathered some gumption, poured a cup of coffee, pulled a large waste basket next to my comfy chair and sat down.

The Boss Retires - What Then?
[Business:Management] Planning for the sale of the business or succession of the owner or CEO is crucial if the business is to survive the current generation. Do this planning well before that day comes and the next generation will find the transition smoother and easier.

Do Your Homework Instead Of The Cliche Of The Day
[Business:Strategic-Planning] In the past month, I have asked dozens of businesspeople about their plans for the coming year. In response, many of them have replied with sincerity and determination, "I am going to take my business to the next level." I am amazed how many people have said exactly the same thing. Instead of putting out the effort many people just mouth a cliche and then wonder why nothing positive happens. Doing the homework really helps success happen.

Are You Using A Band-Aid?
[Business:Management] Instead of treating the symptom with a band-aid solution dig in, discover core issues, and fix them and rid yourself of the symptom. Work on your key factors for success and get past the obvious.

Huddle Up Team!
[Business:Team-Building] So there I was on the couch, bonding with my young grandson in front of the television set on Sunday, watching a football game together. The TV camera was focused on the offensive team in a huddle when he asked, "What are they doing?" "Well Jared they are in a huddle." "What's a huddle?" "It's kind of a team meeting where they get the instructions for the next play." "Why do they do that?" "So they all know what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, and what each member of the team is supposed to do."

Does Your Brand Still Attract?
[Business:Branding] Brands, just like everything else, age over time and become less relevant to their customer base (who are also aging and changing. Your brand might be becoming antiquated and need a redo.

Got A Case of PPS-Plan Procrastination Syndrome?
[Business:Management] Procrastination is something that affects all of us but the process of overcoming it is easy. Just answer three questions and the path out of Plan Procrastination Syndrome becomes clear.

Reverse Reversals Through Effective Leadership
[Business:Management] Effective leaders are always working on improving their skills, looking ahead, determining their personal and business future. Leadership is both a mindset and a skill set. Those who work at becoming better leaders will continue to improve and have greater ability to overcome difficulty.

Think You are Immortal?
[Business:Change-Management] A business based exclusively on the owner is a business awaiting on disaster. A business based on systems and processes can survive much longer than a business based only on the talents of one person.

Build The Winning Team
[Business:Change-Management] Great sports teams win year after year. To accomplish their winning record, they have great leaders at the helm. Same thing in business... great leaders know how to build a winning team.

Personalized Power Pushes Product
[Business:Customer-Service] The closer we can get to our customers and clients the stronger the relationship. Personalizing communications can strengthen the bond, increase loyalty, and reduce defections.

Risk - It's Everywhere!
[Business:Continuity-Disaster-Recovery] Everything we do as businesspeople opens us up to some degree of risk yet we can't grow unless we accept the risks we take. It is important to develop strategies to minimize the risks so we can continue to move forward with a high probability of success.

Make It More Than The Buzz Word Du Jour
[Business:Marketing] It is easy so speak in cliches, platatudes, and buzzwords. It is difficult to make those statements meaningful but when you do, it does exceed expectations.

Give Them A Choice
[Business:Marketing] On a recent, warm Sunday afternoon I had an overpowering taste for an ice cream cone. I usually manage to ignore that type of temptation but maybe it was the weather, the mood, whatever, this time I indulged myself.

Manage Talent Or Lose It
[Business:Productivity] A talented staff is one of a company's key assets and retaining them is a key factor for success yet few companies proactivly work at keeping their talent pool happy, motivated, and inspired. It doesn't show up on a balance sheet or a profit and loss statement but one of a company's most valuable assets is the talent of the staff.

Sell The Next Sale Today
[Business:Marketing] While there are some "preselling" programs, if venders used a little imagination, there could be many more which would insure happy customers coming back time after time.

Improve Like the Airlines?
[Business:Customer-Service] One of the worst industries for customer satisfaction is the airline industry, especially after a very busy summer travel season. Now they are addressing customer service issues in a methodical method designed to improve. All businesses should look at this model. If the airlines can improve their customer service, we all should be able to do even better.

Courage in Management
[Business:Management] It takes courage to be a good delegater. Courage to let others do a great job and get the credit, courage to not micromanage, courage to not satisfy one's own ego, courage to manage effectively for greater productivity.

Perception, Not Fact, Determines Competency
[Business:Sales] In this highly technical world, few of us are able to determine or judge the technical competency of the products or services we need or want to purchase so we base our decisions on how we "feel" (or our perception) of those who are competing for our businesses. Look at the "soft" issues that surround your offering to insure the perception of your competency is congruent with the fact of your competency.

Plan, Coordinate and Compete
[Business:Marketing] Coordinating a marketing or advertising campaign requires planning in order to reap maximum benefit but in many cases, planning is a "snap decision" and the synergy of a campaign is wasted.

Generate Ideas, Not Arguments
[Business:Management] By setting the framework of a meeting as an "idea generator" it opens up constructive dialogue and participants do not have to aggressively put forth and defend their opinions.

Customers Are Not Equal So Don't Promote Equally
[Business:Marketing] Customers are not all alike, they represent huge differences in the amount of potential business they represent. Promoting to them based on their potential can gain you a far higher return on your marketing investment.

So What Do You Expect?
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Rather than hope you will get what you expect, clearly define them, write them down, develop an action plan to achieve them and there will be a much better chance your expectations will become a reality.

Should You Fire A Customer?
[Business:Customer-Service] A small percentage of customers are just not worth the effort. They expect more than they are willing to pay for. At some point it might be in the companies best interest to send them to a competitor and let them try to make them happy.

Beware Of Miscommunication Gaps
[Business:Management] Stop errors and misunderstanding at every level by improving communication clarity and gaining confirmation of understanding.

Brand it- Differentiate it- Sell it
[Business:Branding] Everything is a commodity. Branding takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary, outstanding, and particular.

Use Pareto to Advantage
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Recognizing and understanding the 80 / 20 rule is one thing, using it to advantage is another. It is a valuable piece of knowledge in the planning process.

Cruise Control for Your Business?
[Business:Change-Management] There are times when a business or parts of a business go on cruise control. But it becomes problematical if it stays there too long because, like a car on a busy freeway, it takes active management to move a business forward.

The Generalist vs The Specialists
[Business:Branding] Positioning your business as an expert or a specialist will attract prospects looking for your area of expertise and eliminate those who are going to waste your time because they are looking for something else.

When You're Hot And When You're Not
[Business:Marketing] In every industry the popularity of products and services go in cycles. Some cycles are slow, others are of amazing velocity which brings opportunities and risks. Those who are attuned to these market dynamics can take advantage of these changes in their marketplace, but must manage the risks.

Get out of "StatusQuoVille!"
[Business:Management] Those who are satisfied in their businesses success may put the enterprise on "automatic" and let it drift, comfortable in the status quo. But it can't stay on "automatic" for long and will either start drifting downwards or become reinvigorated and energized. Either way it can't stay in StatusQuoVille.

Use The Whole Thing
[Business:Advertising] When designing and writing a direct mail flyer without the help of a professional, many businesses will not think to include "teaser" copy to get the piece opened and often will forget to use all the space available to create compelling, readable, attractive, evocative direct mail advertising.

Eliminate Objections Before They Object
[Business:Sales] Instead of waiting for objections to surface after you have submitted the proposal, weave objection-killing questions in your presentation to eliminate or diminish them.

Marketing is Simple in Theory but Complex in the Real World
[Business:Marketing] Knowing what to do is easy, doing it hower requires dedication, planning, follow-through, inspiration, and perspiration.

What is Your Excuse?
[Business:Sales-Management] The prospect may say the reason is "price" but that often means the salesperson didn't create enough "value."

Own Up and It Won't Explode
[Business:Customer-Service] It is so easy to want to not take responsibility for an error, but often when you attempt to dodge the issue you lose a customer. When you admit the error and quickly rectify you gain a customer for life.

Are You a Turtle?
[Business:Management] In order to keep thriving in business you have to keep moving forward, but with caution. Manage risk the same way a turtle does, stick out your neck to move forward, and your business will have the same longevity as that wary creature from pre-history.

Are You an Optimist?
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] Instead of repeating a task and being dissatisfied with the results, change the task and develop a new way of getting the results you want. Work backwards starting with the desired results to design the process to a new and better accomplishment.

Are You Doing the Right Thing or the Comfortable Thing?
[Business:Management] Doing the right thing may not help you win a popularity contest but having the courage to do the right thing will win respect and help you become a stronger leader.

Does Your Car Know The Time?
[Business:Customer-Service] Companies that think first of customer needs or ways to add to the buying experience will create stronger bonds and retain their customers longer. It's even better if you can figure out how to do it at little or no cost.

Got Goal Clarity?
[Business:Management] The first steps towards achieving goals is to make those goals clearly understood, make them specific, and to insure everyone understands them. Otherwise they are just "wishes." With goal clarity, everyone knows the objective and works towards it without confusion, duplication of effort, or even obstruction.

Don't Forget the "Attaboy!"
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Showing appreciation by praising those who do things right gives positive reinforcement that instills a sense of self worth, creates a better work atmosphere than dressing down those who underperform.

What's the "Experience" at Your Place?
[Business:Customer-Service] The CEO of a fast-growth, iconic, category-busting company asks execs to look inward and reassess changes in "customer experience." Are you looking inward to see whether the "customer experience" is eroding?

Got Hot Stuff? Jump On Early But Closely Manage The Risk!
[Business:Marketing] Managing products (or services) through the ebb and flow of popularity requires vigilance, discipline, metrics, and guts. Do it right and you win big. Do it wrong and you lose out.

Please Don't Make Me Change Vendors
[Business:Customer-Service] Taking your long-term customers for granted and giving them less-than-wonderful-service is a slippery slope to customer defections, lower sales, and a business in decline. Focus on continuing to give your customers full attention, great service, and they won't defect.

It's Like A Jigsaw Puzzle
[Business:Management] A business is made of many components, departments, and pieces - just like a jigsaw puzzle. And, just as the puzzle isn't complete without all the components in their correct position, a business isn't complete without all the components working together.

Are You an Ostrich or Angry?
[Business:Negotiation] Avoidance and anger are at either end of the dispute resolving spectrum. In most cases, taking a middle road - discussion, negotiation, and building consensus works better and avoids angry conflict.

Don't Be Stuck for an Answer
[Business:Networking] When you have the opportunity to make a first impression make it a good one by describing your profession, do in an interesting, benefit-laden, thought-provoking manner that interests the other party and elicits deeper conversation.

Change Happens - Anticipate It - Embrace It
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Those who understand that the environment they compete in is constantly changing will be able to take advantage of the future. Those who resist change will be wondering what happened to them.

Does Your Company Have A CVO?
[Business:Marketing] A company without a vision is like a ship without a rudder; it is being tossed on the waves of the marketplace without intentional direction. To succeed, some time and attention must be focused on creating a vision of the future and methods of attaining it. Among the many hats a owner wears should be Chief Visionary Officer.

See Clearly Through the Fog of Cliche
[Business:Management] A cliche is an overused, non-specific, shorthand description used because "we all agree on its meaning." The problem is that cliches often get used to mean specifics thus fogging our understanding. To be understood, take the time and communicate in specifics.

Getting Out Is Harder Than Getting In
[Business:Small-Business] There is a plethora of help (many books, SBA loans and educational programs, support groups, etc.) for those who want to start a business but far less help for those who are at the exit side of their careers. Yet, creating an exit strategy is equally important. Time (years) and creative thought should be devoted to it while advice from professionals with expertise can make the transition easier and more profitable.

Change Tense and Stop Self-limiting
[Self-Improvement:Attraction] We can change ourselves by changing our point of view, outlook, frame of reference, or just the tense in our text.

Look Back Before Looking Forward
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Before making plans it is important to reflect on the past, discover your triumphs and defeats, analyze them and create methods to have more triumphs, fewer defeats.

Experiences of an Accidental Judge
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] Watching inventors explain their inventions heightened my respect for the creative mind, entrapreneurship, and the American Dream.

Directions? I Don’t Need No Stinking Directions!
[Business:Customer-Service] No matter what business you are in, to some extent we are all in the customer-service / hospitality industry. We can all learn how to better represent our company from this lesson I learned recently.

Get Into the Zone
[Business:Management] The "comfort zone" is a nice place to be but very little, if any achievement happens there. The place to grow, achieve, and find adventure is in the "achievement zone." Go there and become great!

Learned While Almost Naked
[Business:Customer-Service] Proper communications instead of disregarding the concerns or needs of customers, clients, and patients, can improve retention and reduce customer defection. All it would have taken to keep me was a couple words of information.

Ever Tried Winking In The Dark
[Business:Marketing] In order to be noticed and attract prospects / clients / customers etc. you have to get your message to them. Don't "wink in the dark" and wonder why no one notices. So it in the spotlight where they can see you.

Persist Yet Again
[Self-Improvement:Success] Success rarely happens in an "instant of brilliance." Rather it happens slowly over time until, one day, you've reached it. Having a long-term perspective keeps the business in the game instead of quitting at the first point of non-acheivement.

Can A Minus Become A Plus?
[Business:Change-Management] Every business makes errors. Having a process for discovering them and eliminating them will substantially improve how you do business, improve customer satisfaction, improve staff satisfaction, eliminate waste, and raise the overall compentency level.

Plant The Culture Seed In The Right Place
[Business:Workplace-Communication] Making your company culture understood, accessable, and transmitted to all the stakeholders requires nurturing and preparing the groundwork. Sow the seed well and it will bear delicious fruit.

Giving it Away is a Good Investment
[Business:Sales] Prospects are naturally risk averse when looking at a new product or service. If you can figure out how to lower the risk to zero they'll try it and, if they like what they tried, come back to buy it

Build Your "Customer List On Steroids"
[Business:Marketing] If customer retention is important, a customer list is just the starting point. Create a "Customer List On Steroids" and pump up your response by marketing to targeted customers based on what you know about them from segmented information.

While Waiting at the Airport
[Business:Small-Business] Airlines have developed systems and processes to deliver a standardized level of service to passenger/customers. They have trained the crew to fit into those systems and processes. Few small businesses have discovered this model and the result is a lack of systems and processes.

Specialty Equals Special - Always
[Business:Change-Management] All businesspeople feel their business is unique, different, and special. Prospects, clients, and customers must continually be impressed with those special qualities or they will feel that business is actually ordinary. It is up to management to continually keeping that "specialness" by reinvigorating it with qualities that keep it from becoming ordinary.

How I Spent the Summer
[Business:Management] That evergreen first day of school assignment works for those of us who are no longer in school also. Review how you spent your summer and, if your summer activities didn't include business-planning, do it now. Your grades will improve!

Are You Making it Fun at Work?
[Business:Management] Business is serious, but it can be made into serious fun. When games and competition are added to the workplace, teamwork and joy can happen, and more focus and productivity can be the result.

Balance the "Teeter-Totter"
[Business:Management] There must be a balance between the sales and marketing function of a business and the fulfillment function. The administration should do the balancing act to keep the whole company working and producing at peak performance levels.

Will You Be in the Innovation Hall of Fame?
[Self-Improvement:Creativity] Creating a culture of innovation leads the company into the future with a mindset of being at the cutting edge, far ahead of the competition.

There is a Leadership Difference
[Business:Management] There is a difference while some companies flourish while others who sell the same products and / or services language. The difference is the quality of the leadership. Leadership starts with a vision of the future and the ability to communicate that vision and to inspire others to embrace it.

Repeat Until Memorized
[Business:Branding] Say it once - it is forgotten. Say it often and it will become memorized.

It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
[Business:Marketing] Rather than try something once, twice, or even three times, if the goal is big enough, pursue your targets with a long-range focus. When you land them, it will be worthwhile.

Turn a Promotion into a "Fest"
[Business:Marketing] Instead of another "ho-hum" ordinary promotion, expand your vision, and explode it into a festival or a bigger than life extravaganza! The first step is thinking big.

Prove Yourself Every Time
[Business:Customer-Service] There is a tendency for companies to become complacent about long-term customers. Somehow a mindset of "we've got them for life" sets in. When that happens the customer starts looking elsewhere because others are aggressively seeking that business.

The Right Answer is "Yes!"
[Business:Customer-Service] Having a "customer-pleasing" culture goes beyond mission statement prose, it goes deeply into culture and training. The payoff is in high customer retention and increased sales.

"Warm Fuzzies" or Real Service?
[Business:Customer-Service] Don't just use the "warm and fuzzie" words "customer service," build a working value-added customer service system to retain customers longer and attract more referals

Rely on Your Plan, not Yourself
[Business:Strategic-Planning] The process of planning and execution is structured and predictable with safeguards in place to sound alarms if something goes awry. Without planning companies are tied to the mecurial brilliance and, if something falters, chaos and disaster become very possible.

Try Listening for a Change
[Business:Management] They (your customer, staff member, prospect) will tell you all you need to know about the situation you are discussing (complaint, a better way to do something, objection) if you let them so stop talking and start listening.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Obtain objective feedback on your business, your business ideas, your stratagies by creating a "Board of Advisors" or "R & D Team." You will get an objective outside view, creative new ideas, and trusted advisors to act as a sounding board.

Take Two Pills to Cure a Dreaded Infectious Disease
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Businesses become stale; stratigies become old and tired. Challenges and goals are prescriptions for relieving the pain caused by stagnation of the creative process.

Analyze the Product Mix Just Like a Bowl of Nuts
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Product mix analysis can lead to optimization of the effort to promote every product category and every product or service within a category. The concept is simple but sucess is riding on execution.

Is the Business Keeping the Promises you Make?
[Business:Management] Businesses make many promises. Successful businesses keep them. Check your promises and see whether you are "in integrity" with all your stakeholders - customers, staff, owners, vendors, and community.

Would you Invest?
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] There is a huge difference between building a great product (or service) and building a great company that builds a great product (or service). Which would you invest in?

Get Out of Your Easy Chair and Do Something!
[Business:Management] A business that is "warm and comfy" may soon be facing "survival mode" unless management inspires the company to get out of the comfort zone and get back to work.

Show Up and You're Halfway There
[Business:Customer-Service] A Customer Service mentality drives confidence in the mind of the customer. "Showing up" is follow-through and builds confidence, trust, and referrals.

Business Relationships Depend On Many "Little Things" And One "Big Thing"
[Business:Customer-Service] When dealing with a big business or a small businesses you are always dealing with people. Making that person-to-person relationship a positive experience is critical to creating repeat business. It requires many small, personal actions to enhance and strengthen the bond and a smile.

A Bunt Can Get You on Base
[Business:Marketing] Instead of investing all your marketing in a "home run" strategy that may not be successful, a "bunt" can get you started towards a score and the risk is much less. Then, when you know you have a winning strategy "swing for the fence!"

Can You Toot Your Horn?
[Business:Networking] When you have the opportunity to meet someone new and inform them or your profession or business, make the most of it. Intrigue them by intriguing them. "Toot your own horn" instead of saying something generic and insipid.

"Rule of Thumb" is Just a Starting Point
[Business:Marketing] There industry norms for pricing but don't rely on them for more than just a guide; your strategy should also be part of the pricing equation.

Don't Hire A Grump To Deliver Great Customer Service
[Business:Customer-Service] Hiring the right person to be out there serving the public is critical - put "grumps" in the background, "friendlies" out in front.

Sports Are Easy, Business is Tough
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] Because the goals in sports are easy to comprehend, they are often used as an analogy to the goals of business. Yet, the goals in business are much more difficult to define and understand. It takes more skills and motivation to succeed in business and that must be understood also.

Plain Talk Vs Obfuscation
[Business:Negotiation] When negotiating, in order to be clearly understood, use language the other person is familiar with and comfortable with. Negotiating is not the place to show off your large vocabulary and ability to be articulate. Rather it is the place to be clear, concise, and persuasive.

Just Ask One Simple Question
[Business:Customer-Service] Customer satisfaction and sales growth run on parallel tracks. Discover whether your businss is satisfying your customers by asking just one question and use the answer to determine whether you are gaining in the customer service battle.

Is the Family Dysfunctional, the Business Dysfunctional, or Both?
[Business:Change-Management] Family businesses have more stress because of pressures imposed across generaions, marriage,or sibling relationships. This stress must be acknowledged and resolved to enhanse the business and strengthen the family.

Learn A Lesson from Oprah
[Business:Ethics] Oprah goofed. She owned up to it and went on with her life. Her customers (audience) forgave and forgot. Learn this lesson

Once Upon a Time
[Business:Networking] Your personal introduction is an opportunity to put yourself or your business in the limelight yet so many people introduce themselves in generic and dull terms, a comoditization of their vocation instead of attracting interest in a short, vibrant statement that glows.

Complaints? Cut 'm Off At The Pass Pardner
[Business:Customer-Service] Being proactive when you know your customer will be disappointed (it happens) can save the relationship and is so much better than waiting for them to explode and then never return.

Are Expectations and Boundaries Clearly In Place?
[Business:Management] Managing a business is much like managing small children at recess - clearly communicating expectations and boundaries leads to success otherwise it is chaos.

Add Value in the Perception, the Package, and the Presentation
[Business:Marketing] Unless your product or service is percieved to have more value it is a commodity. In mose cases, real value can be added to your products and / or services without substantially increasing costs and you will become the prefered vendor.

Intentionalize The Coming Year In Three Steps
[Business:Strategic-Planning] At the beginning of a new year or new quarter or even a new week, it is time to work on making your business more intentional, smoother running, and more profitable.

After Christmas World Class Customer Service is Needed
[Business:Customer-Service] A no-hassle, effecient, and friendly return policy will increase customer loyalty at a time when lines can be long and nerves can get frayed. This is an opportunity to show how good your company is!

Are You Charging "The Ideal Price?"
[Business:Marketing] Pricing your products or services to maximize your sales volume and profitability is difficult. Consider these strategies to creating your ideal pricing strategy.

Overwhelmed by the Holidays? Prepare Now for Next Year
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] If you take notes now, next year the holidays will go smoother and everyone will enjoy them better... and business will still get done.

What's the Secret Code?
[Business:Management] An effective business must communicate its ethical and performance standards to the staff and customers otherwise nobody knows the reasons for existance, standards, and goals. Don't keep it a secret.

Thoughts from a Post-Thanksgiving Nap
[Business:Management] Businesses that are comfortable get lazy and are vulnerable to lean and hungry competitors. Get out of that lounge chair and regain that competitive momentum... before it's too late.

Who Has the Keys to Open the Door of Success?
[Business:Management] There are many strategies that can lead a company to success. Each strategy has "Key Factors." Using the right key can turn the lock to open the door.

An Insinscere Smile Is Better Than A Sincere Frown
[Business:Customer-Service] Even if you don't feel like it, showing appreciation to your customer is important - a smile and chearful word can brighten their day and instill good thoughts about you, your company, and your products. On the other hand, telling your customer exactly how you feel (I won't bother finishing this sentence).

Have Fire-Drills to Survive Chaos
[Business:Management] As recent events prove, disasters happen. We can't seem to eliminate hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, lightening, fire, or tsunami. But, if we plan for our businesses to survive a disaster, the chances of being able to continue in business after the devestation are substantilly increased.

Create Your MIBAGs
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Make your goals much larger and acheive much more!

Agenda-ize to Make Your Meetings More Productive
[Business:Management] Meetings without agendas will be dull, slow, and ineffecient causing more of the same in order to accomplish anything. The agenda keeps progress moving forward, helps participants prepare, and creates a sense of mission.

It Was an Open and Shut Case - Or Not
[Business:Management] Sometimes it is the smallest of details that can send customers away - like leaving the "closed" sign on the door.

How Real Is Perception?
[Business:Marketing] As consumers, people understand the concept of quality, yet often "quality" is something we sense rather than measure. Determine how your target market percieves quality, design your products and services to that measurement, and your prospects will consider you as delivering a greater amount of that quality than your competition.

The CEO is 10,000 Feet Above the Fire
[Business:Management] The role of CEO (or owner) is to look at the big picture. If you are not overseeing and insuring the future of the company then who is?

A Seamless Front End To Constant Follow-up
[Business:Sales-Training] Systemizing the sales process from the first contact throughout the relationship increases the probability of making the sale while decreasing the impact of competition.

Values - Got Them?
[Business:Ethics] A company without a "living" Values Statement is a company built without a moral and ethical foundation which focuses the company on its relationship with customers, staff, vendors, and the community it serves.

An Opportunity is a Terrible Thing to Waste
[Business:Marketing] If you have the opportunity to speak in front of a group, have appropriate hand-out material and offers so your audience will be able to remember you and your expertise in the future. Don't waste this opportunity... maximize it!

Don't Land Your Plane (or Business) With The Wheels Up!
[Business:Sales-Management] Even the most mundane, repetitive tasks must be done correctly every time. If not, the results can be fatal. Use a checklist to insure the job is done right every time.

Create Your Dashboard for Success
[Business:Management] Every business has key factors for success. Know what they are, measure them, monitor them, so you can act proactively when they deviate from normalcy.

Innovate Today for Great Leaps Forward Tomorrow
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Developing a process to innovate can accelerate the forward momentum of a company. Here is the thought process to initiate and impliment that process.

Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain!
[Business:Customer-Service] A complaint is an opportunity to back up your commitment. It's not hype when it's true!

Let Me Tell You a Little Story
[Business:Presentation] Instead of cold, dry, easily forgotten facts, an engaging, clever story can communicate the same message with impact, inspiration, retention, and entertainment value.

Align The Enterprise & Make Beautiful Music Together
[Business:Management] A company with all functions in alignment is harmonious, positive, and effecient.

Try It Out On Your Team First
[Business:Management] Your staff can often take your idea, tweak it and improve it, if you give them the task. An enpowered team can utilize the great power in synergy.

Confidence = Preparation + Courage
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] If you are confident of the outcome, your whole approach will be different than if you are worried about the results of your task. Being well prepared coupled with personal courage will give you the confidence to go out there and get it done... and done right.

Is "Plan B" Ready?
[Business:Strategic-Planning] When planning a new project take time to consider your strategy if your new endevour doesn't work out the way you expect. You can do it in just four paragraphs.

There Is Security in Change... But Use Caution
[Business:Small-Business] While consistancy may be comfortable, businesses must change and evolve or the marketplace will bass them by. Create a culture of change to keep ahead or at least keep up with our changing marketplace.

Vision Getting Dim?
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Companies that let their vision dim run the risk of becoming lethargic, complacent and uncompetitive. Updating and renewing the Vision energizes the company at all levels - exciting staff, customers, and vendors.

Don't Just Talk About the Weather, Use It to Advantage
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Using weather data to predict sales volume and therefore inventory levels, staffing requirements, and promotional offers works for many companies. Weather might not be the metric for your business but, if you discover what functions are the key factore you can turn that data to your advantage.

And The Difference is... Attitude
[Business:Customer-Service] Some businesses go out of their way to please the customer, others just go through the motions. The difference comes from an intentional promotion of a positive, customer-pleasing attitude.

Think Outside The Cup and Saucer
[Self-Improvement:Innovation] An observation that shows how one company solved an "out-of-the-box" creative yet simple solution to a vexing problem. Strategy does not have to be complex or expensive to be effective.

Client or Customer? There Really Is A Difference
[Business:Marketing] Understanding the difference between a customer and client is crucial if you want to create a long-term, lasting relationship and grow your business on return sales.

Got Stimulation?
[Business:Small-Business] Stimulating creative and critical thinking is difficult under normal circumstances. Getting away from the day-to-day makes it much easier and more effective.

Logo-ize For Instant Identification & Increased Awareness
[Business:Branding] A Logo is a shortcut to visual identification and memory retention and the key to better communication.

Don't Wait - Sell The Future Now!
[Business:Small-Business] Making the next appointment or the next sale when finishing the current sale will shorten your sales cycle and increase your rate of retention and it's easy to do.

Be Like Bill - Think!
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Bill Gates takes two weeks a year to work, by himself, on the future of Microsoft. All CEO's need quiet time to work on the future of their businesses. Here are ways to help consider their future.

You Don't Yet Know What You Don't Know
[Business:Small-Business] Even if you have done the research, talked to professionals,and written a business plan you won't start learning what you don't know until you open... then you start learning!

Alice In Wonderland - A Parable for A Business Plan
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Alice didn't know where to go, had no plan, no goals, and ended up at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Many small businesses are in the same quandry. A Plan and a Strategy would have helped Alice and, most certainly, will help your business.

Creative Metrification - A Technique to Improve
[Business:Small-Business] Many important business activities like Customer Satisfaction are difficult to measure. Creative Metrification Techniques give management tools to quantify these "soft" area of the business in order to chart or track improvement.