Posts Tagged ‘innovation strategies’
Mistakes Are Not Failures: Why Solving Your Own Errors Matters. (The Worksheet)
Managing people is never more important than when managing mistakes. How do you react when an employee makes an error? Do you want them to feel bad and repent? Or do you want them to learn, grow, and do better next time? Who has responsibility Last week, we talked about taking responsibility for mistakes with…
Read MoreWhy Professional Problems Happen: A Client-Centric Problem-Solving Strategy. (The Worksheet)
There’s a story about a high school nurse giving crutches to every student. If they had a nosebleed, a cold, or a cut on their arm, she gave them all crutches. Maybe it was a symbolic gesture telling students to take care of themselves. But more likely it was a simple story about solving the…
Read MoreWorking In vs. On Your Business: How To Shift Your Leadership. (The Worksheet)
You must work on your business, not in it. Since you started your business, you’ve probably heard a version of this idea every month. But what does it mean, really? How do you know when you are working ON your business rather than in it? Work ON your business Working on your business means looking…
Read MoreThe SWOT Paradox: Turn Your Strategy Upside Down And Find Opportunities. (The Worksheet)
SWOT is probably familiar to anyone who works in business. A SWOT analysis is one of the most fundamental tools in business strategy. But what if we flipped it? What if we challenged the way we see our strengths and our threats? What might we learn about our business? SWOT Analysis explained A SWOT maps…
Read MoreWhat You Can Control: Three Steps to Effective Risk Planning. (The Worksheet)
Seen recently on a social media platform: “We don’t have a Plan B, to write a plan b would be to accept failure before we even begin.” If that sentence inspires you, please read on. Let me share why this is not a sound approach to business. Accepting failure Managing risk is not about accepting…
Read MoreFrom Goals to Gratitude: Better Goals For Devoted Clients. (The Worksheet)
“The secret to setting up the correct goals is to always tie your goals to your customers,” writes Pooja Agnihotri in her insightful book, 17 Reasons Why Businesses Fail. I agree. As regular readers will know: your business goals should address your 3 core pillars of Business Goals, Happy Employees, and Loyal Customers. The question…
Read MoreUnlock Success: Set Goals for Extra Productivity. (The Worksheet)
What is your role as the owner of a small business? Your primary role is to create the conditions for success. You don’t do all the work; instead, you empower your employees to be capable and motivated. When you set business goals, set goals for employee productivity and happiness. Productivity goals What do you want…
Read MoreThe Secret to Business Goals That Work: Small Steps, Big Impact. (The Worksheet)
Writing goals should be pretty easy, right? I have an idea of what I want to achieve. So I write that down. And then I’m done. But it does make you wonder: Why do 61% of corporate leaders say they struggle to meet their goals (The Economist research)? Writing the wrong goals Because writing goals…
Read MoreStrategy Simplified: What It Really Means for Your Business. (The Worksheet)
What is strategy, anyway? Many people equate strategy with having a plan or thinking deeply about an issue. However, strategy has a specific definition and plays a crucial role in driving success within your organization. Let’s look at the most recent evolution of the definition. What strategy was In the past, strategy was often simplistically…
Read MoreMeetings, Not Monologues: A Collaborative Approach. (The Worksheet)
You know whenever you call a meeting at work, all your employees jump up for joy and yell, “Yay! A meeting! I can’t wait!” Well, no, this probably doesn’t happen. Meetings are rarely met with this exuberance. Memes about how awful meetings are get shared every single day. But it doesn’t have to be this…
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