We are starting the last quarter of 2019, and with that you have a great opportunity to have a successful close to 2019. Henry Ford famously said: “If you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.” If you want to finish the year strong and you believe that you can, you will… Read More »
Grow Your Business by 30, 40, or 50 Percent without Capital Investment
If you are like most business owners I meet, you want to grow your business but you believe it will take capital to do so. The reason business owners say they want to grow is that they are not making enough money now. Here’s the issue: Revenue growth can come with added costs if you… Read More »
CEO Projections for 2019
Back in April of this year I posted a blog post on the results of the 2019 CEO confidence index and projections. I then researched information on the longest economic expansions in U.S. History. With the news these days concerning the economy and the slow down in manufacturing, I felt it was worth repeating again…. Read More »
Business Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard
When I was a teenager, my mother and stepfather got divorced and my mom and I moved to a mountain community and lived in a cabin that my aunt owned. We lived there while my mom ran a bakery that she had purchased with the proceeds from her divorce. The mountain cabin had no insulation,… Read More »
THE 10,000-HOUR RULE
In Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book Outliers,he coined the term “the 10,000-Hour Rule” in which he explained that to become an expert in almost any field requires 10,000 hours of practice. Gladwell provided examples such as the Beetles, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, and others whom after practicing for 10,000 hours became experts in their fields. The… Read More »
How Do You Value an Hour of Your Time?
BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #9 I often ask owners and executives what an hour of their time is worth. This exercise quickly clarifies priorities and helps them evaluate the time spent on work someone else can do. It also highlights the issue most people are grappling with in the workplace these days: distractions. Think about it…. Read More »
The Unemployment Crunch
We are facing one of the tightest labor markets in 50 years. Employers are not able to hire enough employees to meet demand. This Wall Street Journal article on May 13 explained that small companies are adding employees at the slowest rate in eight years, not because they do not have the work for… Read More »
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO DISTRACTION
BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #8 ARE YOU ADDICTED TO DISTRACTION The average person checks their cell phone 40 times per day—even when there has been no alert to indicate a message or an email. If you are like the average person, then these addictive distractions are getting in the way of your productivity. During graduate school I… Read More »
NARROW YOUR CONCENTRATION
BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #7 If 20 percent of your efforts will generate 80 percent of your results as I discussed in the last business breakthrough, what would 20 percent of the 20 percent produce? You can produce extraordinary results by narrowing your focus and attention even more. Many business owners are overwhelmed by… Read More »
ELIMINATE THE DISTRACTIONS
BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH #6 In my last Business Breakthrough, I discussed the Pareto principle and how 80 percent of your results are being generated by 20 percent of your efforts. But that knowledge only helps you if you know what your 20 percent is—and you intensely focus on that 20 percent that is the… Read More »