Mission, Purpose and a Video Challenge
I've been taking the words of wisdom from Carrie Wilkerson, author of "The Barefoot Executive" to heart lately. After all, she is a force of nature when it comes to getting things done.
The challenge was simple on the surface. Video blog. One take only. Talk about something you know (extemporaneously) for 3-5 minutes. Minimal editing.
Armed with an HD camcorder, a tripod, and some basic editing software this video is the result. There is something a little nerve wracking about actually recording yourself especially when you have no redo. It is much easier talking to real people, even a […]
The 7 Unspoken Truths About Pay for Performance
Pay for performance normally works something like this. You figure out goals for each employee that ties back to the overall corporate objective and then set the employees variable pay (bonus or incentive) based on the degree to which the employee meets those objectives.
There are 7 unspoken truths about why most organizations fail to make pay for performance work very well.
1. The Planning Horizon is Too Long
Most pay for performance planning cycles are based on a yearly cycle. Business is fast paced and things are constantly changing. If […]
Our Secret Marketing Plan Revealed (Next Steps)
Last week I wrote a post called “Marketing Yourself Is Your Real World“. In it I included a diagram of our “Simplified Marketing Plan For Manifast” which was actually pretty complex even after being simplified.
Well we obviously can’t implement everything at once. So I put together the next few things that need to get done in card format in our actual Manifast tool (partial screen shot below) as a project (blue) and outcomes (light yellow). Still pretty aggressive but achievable.
Now it is action time.
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Know Who You Are (It Simplifies Decisions)
Are you one of those people who chases every business opportunity you see hoping to cash in on the next great thing? Are you not finishing what you start because you are juggling too many things?
Stop it.
The people who make the most money over the long-term focus on one thing at a time and get it finished. They have a vision of where they want to be and single-mindedly pursue it through to success.
Real Life Example
Our business was recently approached with an offer to front another business in the consulting body shopping business and make some easy money on the […]
Marketing Your Product is Your Real World
12 years ago when we started our company, I thought that branding, marketing and selling were something that someone else would handle. Sure as the president of the company I needed to set direction, but the icky parts were going to be done by someone else and I could focus on the project work for clients; you know, "delegate".
Today I know deep down in my heart that branding, marketing and selling are your business. Building a business means dealing with those subjects head-on. You can delegate the work, but you should not ever delegate the strategy (or the […]
An Entrepreneurs Fable
Once upon a time three inspired information technology technicians working for a large consulting company decided to start a business. One was an architect, one was a project manager and one was a developer. One became the CEO, one became the salesman and one became the lead technician.
This was a time of plenty. Everyone was starting a technology business and overnight success was coming to companies that had nothing to show… no products, no customers and no revenue… the gold rush of the Internet. Companies were spending money like there was no end of it… other people’s money (OPM (rhymes […]
How Much Effort Does It Take To Move From Good to Great?
I was asked a question today. It was about our Manifast product which is aimed at allowing businesses to bring strategy, working on the business and developing your people to the same level of importance as working in the business; serving customers and fighting fires.
Roughly the question went like "How much effort is required to setup the tool and maintain the information in it? Is the benefit of doing all that stuff worth it?"
Aside from the context of the tool the question is really more fundamental:
"Is the effort of documenting, planning and executing your strategy, building your business and developing your […]
The Paradox of Referral Fees
Offering referral fees to others to send business your way is a two edged sword at times:
- On one hand you can really increase your customers,
- On the other hand you might not get the customers you really want or need.
Therein lies the paradox.
On The Positive Side
On the positive side you are offering a financial incentive to others to refer business your way. Your customers and "agents" can earn some cold hard cash sending business your way.
You hope that the person doing the referring is looking out for both your and the potential client's best interest in making the connection.
But There Is […]
Are You Too Busy To Add Big Dollars To Your Bottom Line?
- Do you have a company culture of continuous improvement?
- Are you dedicating 10% or more of your time to working on your business?
- Do you delegate parts of your business and have a methodology for holding people accountable for performance?
If you are not, you are impacting your profitability in a big way.
As a business owner this is coming right off your bottom line. If you are losing $10,000 in costs (i.e. profit) and you have margins of 5%, you would have to earn another $200,000 in revenue to make that back.
Business advisors like Jeff Pallister can come into many businesses […]
Chain Reaction (to Sustainable Profits)
I read Chain Reaction – A Business Novel by Jeff Pallister a few months ago. I enjoyed the book and found that a lot of Jeff's thinking paralleled our thinking about how business could be.
Jeff Pallister is a speaker, author and management consultant who specializes in applying creativity and teamwork to generate increased profitability.
The book itself is about the company president Ryan Vale who was hired by the founders to get the company back on track. Most of the founders are reaching the end of their careers and want to cash out by selling the company […]