Posts Tagged ‘guiding principles’
Yes, business person: your work is creative
I am talking to you, the accountant. And you, the attorney. I am talking to you: the realtor, the banker, the writer, and the art hanger. Everybody reading this, all of our work is creative. It is the core idea in my interview on Jessica Matthews’ How I Create Me podcast. Creativity is transformation When…
Read MoreAn introduction to company culture
It’s not really a “thing”, it’s more of a concept. An abstract we can talk about but not physically build. Right? No that’s not right. Culture is when we put ping pong tables in the office and offer beer on tap and relaxation pods. Right? Is it when I let all my employees work from…
Read MoreThe things in your business that you can’t control
In business, you have to focus on the things you can control. Things like knowing how to pass the so what test, and creating systems for your three business pillars. In part because your business will always be open to things that you can’t control. Those sudden surprises, whether good or bad. External surprises There…
Read MoreThe three pillars of a sustainable business
When you search for images of an ancient Greek temple, most of what you see will have at least a foundation and columns remaining. This image springs to mind when I think of a sustainable business. The foundation is the mission. The columns are the business pillars of happy employees, loyal clients, and business goals. …
Read MoreYour next employee is exactly nothing like you
There are so many theories about how to decide who to hire. Only hire somebody you’d want to hang out with on a weekend. As well as Hire people who are completely different from you, and that you wouldn’t otherwise connect with. And everything in between. What’s a business owner to do? The hiring balance…
Read MoreTo find success, define success
A few weeks ago we established that “failure” is not a moment in time, an ending, or an event. But what about success? Success, it turns out, is also not final. It isn’t like a movie we are watching, with a defined endpoint, when success has been achieved, the music begins, and we fade off…
Read MoreThe one question that will transform your performance reviews
You can throw company happy hours, host team dinners, buy pinball machines and eliminate job titles all you want. But once you put an employee in a performance review, there is a strict hierarchy of who reports to whom. And that hierarchy is what makes it challenging to get good feedback: the employee knows you…
Read MoreFix your marketing: add your brand
Pretend, for a moment, that you are in the business of pens. Now pretend that you are planning your marketing efforts for your pens. And you come up with the message you want to get out there: We sell pens With that message, what makes somebody buy your pens rather than somebody else’s? Price, proximity,…
Read MoreHow to pick the worst clients
If a strategy is about knowing what not to do, then client profiles are about knowing who not to target. Much of this will happen as a process of exclusion as you build your Customer Profile. But that is not enough. There are certain traits you want to look out for, that make universally bad…
Read MoreYour employees don’t know what to do
Job titles are great for algorithms in job search sites; job roles are better for managing your business. Following my March article explaining this difference, I received some great feedback from people writing roles for their own business. The next step is to instruct your team. Does everybody know what they should be doing? It’s…
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