I used to be petrified of failure, but being an entrepreneur cured me of that. I used to think that business owners knew some magical formula for success, but being an entrepreneur cured me of that too. The secret is in knowing that separation breeds indifference. When you aren’t close to your customers, you don’t care how they are treated. Or if you do care, you care too late … [Read more...]
Are you the reason you’re business is failing?
It has taken me 15 years, an MBA, starting my own firm, acquiring and firing partners and staff to understand one infinite business fact. Your gut is always right, no matter what situation no matter who the players. That knot in your stomach that tells you something isn’t right, never lies. So as I come out of a difficult situation I find that I am not doing something that I … [Read more...]
Business Advice for Dummies
As a business owner particularly when you are starting out, ‘constructive criticism’ is something that you get in spades. Some of the criticism is great, it tells you things about yourself and your company that you didn’t know. Other times it can feel like a direct attack, so how do you know the difference and how do you find the silver lining? Consider the source Sometimes … [Read more...]
For Love of the Game
This morning I had the privilege of attending an Executive Breakfast that focused on employee engagement and what that actually means. It was a timely discussion because I hear the phrase employee engagement in just about every explanation of what’s wrong with an organization. But what is it really? What does employee engagement mean and why is it important to your business? … [Read more...]
The Business of Deceit
We all know that a sweet lie feels better than a hard truth, but in business it’s supposed to be all about the facts. In a world where perception can be skewed as quickly as a tweet is posted, how can you make sure that your business is telling you the hard truth all of the time? The truth is that you can’t. You can’t make sure that everything that reaches your eyes is beyond … [Read more...]
The Rules of Engagement
In business, relationships are everything. It’s who you know that can help you get where you want to be and all that hard work will come to fruition on that magical moment when you meet the right person at the right time in the right place. Until that time the most meaningful relationship you can have is taking care of yourself as a CEO and here's how you do it. Reward … [Read more...]
The New Business Credit
One of the most difficult areas to maneuver as an entrepreneur is getting your hands on the cash you need when you need it. Capital is a tricky thing, you never have it when you need it and what you do have is never enough. So what’s a small business to do? Well, enter Lendo Limted. This caught my eye in the Wall Street Journal and here’s we entrepreneurs need to know… It’s … [Read more...]
Building Bridges
The worth of an entrepreneurs is in their ability to bring create solutions and to build relationships. What hinders small business is that we either don’t use our networks enough or we only use our networks. What small business is most guilty of is not networking because they could be doing something else. The thing is that having coffee or lunch with a contact is something … [Read more...]
Great Expectations and the Entrepreneur
Every entrepreneur envisions that time when they land the big contract, but then the demands start and you think ‘this was not what I signed up for’. You suddenly have to be somewhere at a certain time and some clients demand a certain amount of hours. Typically a consultant has very fluid hours, but what do you do when this happens? And what happens when you end up on a team … [Read more...]
And the Winner Is…
Success…and then what? As we start our businesses, we are constantly chasing a dream. We work insane hours, sacrifice everything that means anything to us because we know that success is coming. When we finally get it what happens? As I found out that I had been awarded a big contract, a colleague reminded me to not get comfortable with the success, to remember that I was … [Read more...]