“Planning is an unnatural process; it is much more fun to do something. The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.”
— Sir John Harvey Jones
Wordcount: 613 Time to read: 5 minutes
Long-term organizational success and sustainability require leadership’s dedication to three operational imperatives. In this post, I explain consistency of performance, the second operational imperative, and why it’s at the root of the highest, most perfect form of promotion, marketing and attracting new clients.
Wordcount: 592 Time to read: 4 minutes
Tired of looking for staff and finding ten “maybe” candidates for every “WOW” candidate? According to Einstein, doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If you want to get consistently better candidates (different results), you have to try something different. In this issue, Larry offers three concrete ideas.
Wordcount: 833 Time to read: 4½ minutes
Everybody loves the change they do unto others. Nobody likes the change others do unto them. Learn how to flip that script and make change a welcome guest in your organization.
Wordcount: 563 Time to read: 3½ minutes
When you being to believe you understand your customers needs is when you begin to lose sight of who your customer is. The demands on your customers that create change in their world can be completely hidden from yours. Ensuring you fully understand what drives your customers, over time, helps ensure you know who they really are.
Wordcount: 599 Time to read: 3 minutes
The first time every new leader takes charge, they quickly realize how ill-prepared their education left them. As humorously depicted in the Rodney Dangerfield film, Back To School, running a business ain’t as simple as it might seem. This installment talks about the pitfalls and provides some useful tips.
Wordcount: 844 Time to read: 5 minutes
As a consultant with expertise in strategic planning, I get called to help clients for one of two reasons. They’re either trying to develop their first strategic plan or tired of having them fail. For either scenario, the reasons a strategic plan, or to be more specific, a strategic objective, fails are the same.
Wordcount: 623 Time to read: 3½ minutes
Values are the bricks and like-mindedness is the mortar of organizational culture. When you and I have common values, we automatically have common ground. Common ground is where we can respect one another and find enjoyment working together. Enjoyment creates an emotional draw that attracts people.
Wordcount: 391 Time to read: 2 minutes
Nobody knows which ideas will succeed until one does. Success stories are often written off as bad ideas that won’t work by the experts before they’ve been tried or tested. How do you answer the question “How will COVID affect my business?” Read this post and find out!
Wordcount: 578 Time to read: 3 minutes
Sometimes the cost of not planning is negligible. Sometimes it’s expensive. The ease and speed with which a lack of planning can become fatal is almost impossible to grasp or prepare for. When it happens, game over.
Wordcount: 668 Time to read: 3½ minutes
Do you want the successful organization you’ve built to survive when you and your leadership team are gone? Then you’re looking for the Holy Grail of business too. Read this post to find out how to create sustainable, profitable growth with generational sustainability.
Wordcount: 524 Time to read: 3 minutes
There are big business tactics small businesses will never be able to use. That’s not true for one of the most powerful. Small businesses tend to let themselves be overwhelmed by the urgent, failing to anticipate, plan, and prepare for the inevitable changes they will face if they survive and succeed.