A Monday Meeting Worth Looking Forward To: Energy Through Culture

We’re three months into the business year, and I’m starting to hear a familiar refrain from business owners:  “My team is doing fine—but something’s missing.”  That spark they felt at the annual kickoff has fizzled. Monday meetings feel more like to-do lists than moments of connection or excitement. The challenge It’s easy to slip into…

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Delegation Isn’t Doing Less: It’s Thinking Less

A list of tasks ending with: “and run it by me when you are done”.  This is how many people delegate.  The problem? That’s not delegation — it’s moving from doing it all to micromanaging. To move from micromanaging to real delegation, you need one more step. The challenge The hardest part of delegation is…

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What Are You Doing To Make Business Practical?

Just start

Right about now you are probably thinking about what you have achieved in your business this year.  And what you can do to grow your business next year. A lot of it comes down to being practical. Practical gets things done Being practical means knowing what to do next.  And the single most important question…

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What Are You Doing To Make Business Fun?

Anything you have to do should be at least a little bit fun.  That’s especially true when you do it every day for most of the day. In other words: your job.  And the same goes for your employees.  It’s important for your employees to enjoy their work to have a successful business. Make it…

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The Most Important Question Your Business Should Always Ask

The most important question a business can ask itself is: What should we do next? In any workflow, not just end-of-year reviews and lessons learned analyses. From failure to focus There is a challenge to working on lessons learned.  That challenge is negativity.  When all you talk about is problems and mistakes, you end up…

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How to Turn This Year’s Lessons Into Next Year’s Success

Every year a business writes its own story—full of wins, surprises, and lessons.  The secret to a stronger sequel?  Knowing exactly what worked well and what to improve. Lessons Learned This is the time to capture the lessons that will set you up for a stronger new year.  Perform an after action review on the…

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Goals Don’t Work—People Do: The Challenge of Gaining Employee Buy-In

You’ve set the goals for the quarter. Now comes the real work.  Because let’s be honest: businesses don’t hit targets, people do.  Getting your team’s buy-in isn’t optional. It’s the secret to getting things done. Buy-In is more than a memo Getting buy-in isn’t just about announcing a new goal at the Monday meeting or…

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Sticking with the Plan: Keep Your New Productivity Alive

Congratulations: your productivity plan is in place.  You’re on track to hit your targets and see real business growth. But here’s the part many overlook: Now comes the maintenance phase — and it’s just as critical. Productivity stumbles The period after a change is the most vulnerable.  You have gone through the extra attention and…

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Productivity for Every Role: Applying Equal Rules to Unique Jobs

The principles of productivity are the same across all roles in a business.  But no two “to-do lists” look exactly the same.  Let’s explore how professional priorities shape our productivity plans. Productive roles From an intern to the CEO, each role in a business has different targets and different expectations on their shoulders. And that…

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